2015/2354(INI) | [ParlTrack]

Draft opinion
Citation A a (new)

Aa. having regard to its resolution of 14 January 2014 on effective labour inspections as a strategy to improve working conditions in Europe (2013/2112(INI));

Amendment 10 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Welcomes~~Expresses its concern on the Single Market Strategy (SMS), which will ~~help to inject new life into Europe’s economies by~~ likely aggravate social dumping and the negative effects on worker's labour and social conditions of enhanced competition in goods and services in the current Single Market; calls for the developmen~~ing up borders and removing barriers for goods and services;~~ t of a Social Progress Protocol that ensures a revision of the EU's regulation on the Single Market so that it does not jeopardize fundamental social rights; notes, in this respect, the reference to the European Social Charter in TFEU's article 151;

Amendment 100 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Welcomes the establishment of a platform for combating undeclared work and encourages, in particular, Member States and social partners fully to engage with that platform so that more effective action may be taken against undeclared work and bogus self-employment;

Amendment 101 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Highlights the importance of strong and independent social partners, a good social dialogue as well as the participation of employees in company matters for the functioning of the Single Market;

Amendment 102 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Highlights the importance of strong and independent social partners, and a good social dialogue

Amendment 103 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 b (new)

9b. Supports measures in favour of closing the gaps in the European antidiscrimination legislation in employment especially with regard to the people with disabilities; Additionally, supports the implementation of the Council Directive 2000/78/EC on equal treatment in employment and occupation without delay.

Amendment 104 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 b (new)

9b. Restates its firm opposition to the Commission proposal for a directive on single-member private limited liability companies;

Amendment 105 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 c (new)

9c. Emphasises the need to involve the social partners in discussions on possible national reforms to regulated professions;

Amendment 11 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Welcomes the Single Market Strategy (SMS), which ~~will help to inject new life into Europe’s economies by opening up b~~should offer new opportunities to EU wordkers ~~and removing barriers for goods and service~~, businesses and consumers;

Amendment 12 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Welcomes~~Takes the view that the Single Market Strategy (SMS)~~, which will~~ may help to inject new life into Europe’s economies by opening up borders and removing barriers for goods and services;

Amendment 13 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Welcomes~~Takes note of the Single Market Strategy (SMS), which ~~will help~~is supposed to inject new life into Europe’'s economies by opening up borders and removing barriers for goods and services;

Amendment 14 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Welcomes the Single Market Strategy (SMS), which will help to inject new life into Europe’s economies by opening up borders ~~and~~, removing barriers for goods and services and facilitating personal mobility, in particular for workers and apprentices;

Amendment 15 #

Ulla TØRNÆS, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Renate WEBER

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Welcomes the Single Market Strategy (SMS), which ~~will~~could help to inject new life into Europe’s economies by opening up borders and removing unjustified barriers for goods and services;

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Welcomes the Single Market Strategy (SMS), which will help to inject new life into Europe’s economies by opening up borders and removing barriers for goods and services; Welcomes the Commission's determination in the Better Regulation agenda including strengthened stakeholder involvement through for example the REFIT Platform, strengthened impact assessments and a strengthening of the REFIT programme; believes that better, more effective and simple legislation will reduce administrative burdens and boost growth and job-creation; regrets, however, that the SMS does not devote particular attention to skills-matching as skills- mismatches remain a barrier to growth and development of the European Single Market;

Amendment 17 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to combat fiscal and social dumping which creates unfair competition between the economies of individual countries within the EU, causing intolerable imbalances which, with the opening of borders and removal of barriers for goods and services, are likely to widen, to the detriment of the quality of those goods and services, not to mention jobs and working conditions; believes that this is the only way in which the single market will be able to withstand the competition from non-EU countries and prevent the social safety net from becoming ever smaller, leading to huge job losses;

Amendment 18 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Notes that the establishment of the internal market in which the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital is ensured is an essential objective of the Union;

Amendment 19 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Believes that in order to secure the objectives of the Single Market and to generate growth and jobs, the EU must enhance competitiveness, along the lines set out in the Declaration of the European Council on competitiveness;

Amendment 2 #

Maria ARENA, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Jutta STEINRUCK

Draft opinion
Citation B a (new)

Ba. having regard to its resolution of 19 January 2016 on Towards a Digital Single Market Act (2015/2147(INI));

Amendment 20 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)

1c. Regrets that the Single Market Strategy is neglecting the potential of the industrial sector with regard to sustainable growth and quality job creation in Europe; calls on the Commission to revise its strategy in this regard;

Amendment 21 #

Maria ARENA, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Jutta STEINRUCK

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 d (new)

1d. Regrets that the Single Market Strategy does not take the social dimension of the single market sufficiently into account and does neither include proposals to fight unemployment and social exclusion nor to promote social cohesion; believes therefore that the Single Market Strategy does not satisfy the obligations laid down in Articles 3 TEU and 9 TFEU; calls on the Commission to revise its strategy in this regard;

Amendment 22 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 e(new)

1e. Stresses that a forward-looking Single Market Strategy must put the interest of workers, consumers as well as small and medium sized enterprises in the focus, as they are the key drivers of the single market; underlines that the Single Market Strategy must put more emphasis on the fight against unemployment and in particular long-term, youth and more than 50 years old unemployment, the promotion of social cohesion as well as the effects of digitalisation on the world of work;

Amendment 23 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 f (new)

1f. Considers that the internal demand - and especially the improving of purchasing power, the adoption of innovative measures and the investment in green economy - is essential to tap the full potential of the Single Market and promote sustainable growth;

Amendment 24 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. ~~Believ~~Stresses that ~~barriers to doing business across borders are barriers to growth and job creation~~Member States have a right to regulate services, professions and commerce in line with their social policy objectives;

Amendment 25 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Believes that barriers to doing business across borders ~~are barriers to growth and job creat~~can hamper growth and job creation depending on their nature; calls therefore for a thorough analysis of the matter on a case by case basis including any potential social and environmental dimension;

Amendment 26 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Believes that barriers to doing business across borders arcould be barriers to growth and job creation;

Amendment 27 #

Ulla TØRNÆS, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Believes that barriers to doing business across borders ~~are barriers to~~within the EU can also hamper growth and job creation;

Amendment 28 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Believes that barriers to doing business across borders are barriers to growth and job creation; believes that particular attention must be devoted to reduce administrative burdens through for example simplified VAT-requirements, one-stop-shops for digital public services for businesses with a particular focus for SME's and simplified rules for setting up businesses;

Amendment 29 #

Maria ARENA, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Jutta STEINRUCK

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Believes that barriers to doing business across borders and working in other Member States are barriers to growth and job creation; supports the establishment in border areas of Eures cross-border partnerships, which play a key role in the development of a genuinely European labour market;

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas Article 3 TEU obliges the Union to work for the sustainable development of Europe based on balanced economic growth and price stability, a highly competitive social market economy, aiming at full employment and social progress, and a high level of protection and improvement of the quality of the environment;

Amendment 30 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Believes that barriers to doing business across borders are barriers to growth and job creation; calls, however, for due account to be taken of the fact that in the single market, reciprocal arrangements are vital for preventing unfair competition and social dumping;

Amendment 31 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Believes that without competitive professional and business services across the EU businesses may struggle to remain competitive and maintain and create new jobs;

Amendment 32 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Insists that better regulation should focus on the quality and not the quantity of legislation, including the closing of regulatory loopholes; underlines the need to not only assess short-term effects but also the long-term value of legislation as well as the consequences of non- legislation; considers it indispensable in the context of impact assessments to give social and environmental considerations at least the same weight as economic considerations;

Amendment 33 #

Maria ARENA, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Jutta STEINRUCK

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Calls on the commission to conduct a regulatory impact assessment of the proposed services passport so as to assess its value and its impact on businesses, before it is adopted;

Amendment 34 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Stresses the importance of fair competition as a fundamental principle of a functioning Single Market; calls on the Commission and the Member States to put an end to cross-border wage, fiscal dumping and social dumping which likewise hamper workers, enterprises and social security systems in the host Member States; considers the principle of equal pay for equal work at the same place as advocated by Commission President Juncker as an important tool to fight market distortions;

Amendment 35 #

Maria ARENA, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Jutta STEINRUCK

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Calls on Member States to set up structures to advise and assist cross- border workers with regards to economic and social consequences of working in another Member State;

Amendment 36 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)

2c. Recalls that competition policy is enforced at the European level; highlights that unfair competition in the Single Market damages law-abiding companies, in particular small and medium enterprises; believes therefore that unfair competition based on wage, fiscal dumping or social dumping should be tackled in the same manner as price fixing and cartel agreements, including sanctions;

Amendment 37 #

Maria ARENA, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Jutta STEINRUCK

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)

2c. Calls for clear EU rules on social security systems coordination and calls on member states to implement thoroughly these rules and to carry out effective inspections to prevent abuses;

Amendment 38 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 d (new)

2d. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to take decisive measures to curb bogus self-employment, wage and social dumping as well as letter box companies which hamper the Single Market;

Amendment 39 #

Maria ARENA, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Jutta STEINRUCK

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 e (new)

2e. Recalls its 2014 report on effective labour inspections as a strategy to improve working conditions in Europe, which highlights the importance of labour inspectorates to prevent distortions of the Single Market; reiterates its call on the Commission to investigate the benefits of introducing a European social security card;

Amendment 4 #

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas Article 9 TFEU obliges the Union to take into account requirements linked to the promotion of a high level of employment, the guarantee of adequate social protection, the fight against social exclusion, and a high level of education, training and protection of human health when defining and implementing its policies and activities;

Amendment 40 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 f (new)

2f. Calls for the introduction of a European labour inspectorate in order to better tackle the cross-border dimension of unfair competition and market distortions;

Amendment 41 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 g (new)

2g. Recalls that all workers in the Single Market must have the right to enjoy the highest possible level of protection as regards health and safety at work regardless of the size of the company which employs them, the place of employment or the underlying contract;

Amendment 42 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Notes that the deepening of the single market and the digital single market ~~will~~can bring new opportunities and challenges, ~~such as skills, new forms of employment and financial structures, which will have to be addressed~~and that this process must be of benefit to workers, businesses and consumers;

Amendment 43 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Notes that the deepening of the ~~single market and the digital single market will bring new opportunities and challenges, such as~~digital single market poses new challenges in terms of skills, and new forms of employment an, which will have to be addressed fin~~ancial structures, which will have to be addressed~~ regular dialogue with the social partners; stresses that under no circumstances "digitalization" should be used as a tool to lower current social standards by circumventing existing labour and social regulations;

Amendment 44 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Notes that the deepening of the single market and the digital single market ~~will~~should bring new opportunities and challenges, such as skills, new forms of employment ~~and~~, social protection, health and safety at work as well as financial structures, which will have to be addressed;

Amendment 45 #

Ulla TØRNÆS, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Notes that the deepening of the single market and the digital single market ~~will~~could bring new opportunities and challenges, such as skills, new forms of employment and financial structures, which will have to be addressed; stresses that the quality of employment and adequate social protection of the workers concerned has to be guaranteed at all times;

Amendment 46 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Notes that the deepening of the single market and the digital single market will bring new opportunities and challenges, such as skills, new forms of employment and financial structures, which will have to be addressed; notes with concern that 47 % of the EU-population is insufficiently digitally skilled and that the demand for digitally skilled employees are growing by 4 % per year, underlines in this regard the importance of Member States investing in digital education;

Amendment 47 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Stresses the importance of rolling out digital infrastructure in rural areas, so that they can take advantage of the wide range of opportunities offered by the single market, in particular the job opportunities offered by teleworking;

Amendment 48 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to take measures to facilitate and implement 'smart working', in order to improve the productivity and quality of life of workers and their families, especially in a digital single market;

Amendment 49 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Considering that our economic and social society is becoming a digital one, that 40% of the EU population can be considered as insufficiently digitally skilled and that public expenditure on education has seen a 3.2% decrease since 2010; encourages member states to invest effectively in education and skills, which poses a threat to the EUs competitive position in the medium term and to the employability of its labour force;

Amendment 5 #

Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas the economic consequences of the financial crisis have not yet been overcome and the GDP still remains below the level of 2008 in several Member States;

Amendment 50 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Notes the importance of promoting mobility through training, apprentices, skills and employability via programmes like Erasmus+ and EURES which provide opportunities for millions of Europeans to gain useful experience;

Amendment 51 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Notes the potential of the collaborative economy for job creation and a more inclusive labour market across Member States; believes that a country-by-country taxation principle needs to be established;deleted

Amendment 52 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Notes the potential of the collaborative economy for job creation and ~~a more inclusive labour market across Member States; believes that a country-by-country taxation principle needs to be established;~~ economic growth; welcomes the Commission's intention to publish, in the near future, guidelines on how EU law applies to the various types of collaborative economy; calls on the Commission and the Member States to look into the need for, and where appropriate introduce, a regulatory framework at the most appropriate level that will fill regulatory gaps in areas such as consumer protection, taxation, licensing, health and safety standards, social security and job protection;

Amendment 53 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Notes the potential of the collaborative economy for job creation and a more inclusive labour market across Member States; believes that a co~~untry-by-country taxation principle needs to be established~~mmon consolidated corporate tax base for businesses needs to be established and that, given the natural adjustments in individual countries, the Commission and the Member States should take the necessary measures to achieve equal rights and conditions, including pay and tax, for all workers in the European Union;

Amendment 54 #

Ulla TØRNÆS, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Notes the potential of the collaborative economy for job creation and a more inclusive labour market across Member States~~; believes that a country-by-country taxation principle needs to be established;~~.

Amendment 55 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Notes the potential of the collaborative economy for job creation and a more inclusive labour market across Member States; ~~believes that a country-by-country taxation principle needs to be established~~notes the need to adapt and modernise legislation to reach the potential of the shared economy;

Amendment 56 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Notes the potential of the collaborative economy for job creation and a more inclusive labour market across Member States; ~~believ~~stresses that ~~a country-by-country taxation principle needs to be established~~using that work within the concept of the collaborative economy may not lead to avoidance of taxes and social contributions nor to non- compliance with employment and social regulations and calls on the Commission to also provide guidance on this;

Amendment 57 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Notes the potential and challenges of the collaborative economy for job creation and a more inclusive labour market across Member States; calls on the Commission and the Member States to take measures to ensure that the collaborative economy does not lead to an increase of precarious employment or bogus self-employment; believes that a country-by-country taxation principle needs to be established;

Amendment 58 #

Csaba SÓGOR

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Notes the potential of the collaborative economy for job creation and a more inclusive labour market across Member States; considers that the issue of regulatory uncertainty related to new business models needs to be addressed, as it would benefit businesses, workers and consumers alike; believes that a country- by-country taxation principle needs to be established;

Amendment 59 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Calls on the Commission to support the reduction of the burden of taxation and social security contributions on labour, for both the employed and self-employed, in order to increase the purchasing power of workers, employees and the self-employed, and their families, and improve the competitiveness of SMEs, micro-enterprises and innovative start-ups;

Amendment 6 #

Draft opinion
Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas the Single Market is characterised by persistently high unemployment rates; whereas the financial crisis increase the number of the unemployed by over 6 million; whereas by the end of 2015 there were more than 22 million people in the Union without work;

Amendment 60 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Welcomes the fact that the commission will issue guidelines on the collaborative economy which will provide much needed legal certainty in many areas such as health and safety norms, social security and employment protection;

Amendment 61 #

Maria ARENA, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Jutta STEINRUCK

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Notes the aims of the labour mobility package to contribute to a deeper and fairer single market; stresses however the importance of ensuring that measures contained within this package are proportionate and take into account the consequences of large amounts of mobility to particular regions;

Amendment 62 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to support job creation in the collaborative economy by developing appropriate safeguards, while at the same time providing a platform that will allow entrepreneurs to grow, innovate and create sustainable quality jobs;

Amendment 63 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Welcomes the opportunities that the SMS offers to SMEs; believes that developing the right business environment by improving private venture capital frameworks for SMEs and fully applying the ‘Think Small First’ principle across the single market is crucial for growth and job creationExpresses its concern on the ways the SMS may affect SMEs; believes that increased dependence on capital markets will transfer risk and volatility from the financial sector to the SMEs, thus jeopardizing its potential development; objects to the ‘Think Small First’ principle as it is leading to the exemption of SMEs from social and employment law;

Amendment 64 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Welcomes the opportunities ~~that the SMS offers~~offered by the Single Market to SMEs; believes that developing the right business environment ~~by improving private venture capital frameworks for SMEs and fully applying the ‘Think Small First’ principle across the single market is crucial for growth and job creation~~is crucial for sustainable growth and quality job creation; calls on the Commission when drafting and assessing legislation to take account of the effects on SMEs, which are the backbone of the European economy;

Amendment 65 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. ~~Welcom~~Takes the ~~opportunit~~viesw that the SMS can offer~~s to SME~~ fresh opportunities to SMEs, micro-enterprises and innovative start- ups; believes that developing the right business environment by improving private venture capital frameworks for SMEs ~~and fully applying the ‘Think Small First’ principle across the single market~~, facilitating access to credit, reducing the tax burden, red tape and tax obligations for SMEs is crucial for growth and job creation;

Amendment 66 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Welcomes the opportunities that the SMS offers to SMEs; believes that developing the right business environment by improving private venture capital frameworks for SMEs and fully applying the ‘Think Small First’ principle across the single market is crucial for growth and job creationa clear and stable regulatory environment for SMEs is crucial for growth and job creation; acknowledges the relevance of the ‘Think Small First’ principle and agrees that it should apply throughout the single market, but maintains that it must not result in less protection for consumers, workers and the environment;

Amendment 67 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

Amendment 68 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Welcomes the opportunities that the SMS offers to SMEs; believes that developing the right business environment by lightening the regulatory burden, providing easier access to funding, improving private venture capital frameworks for SMEs and fully applying the ‘Think Small First’ principle across the single market is crucial for growth and job creation;

Amendment 69 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Takes note of the Commission proposal to introduce a services passport; warns against the misuse of such an instrument to undermine national labour and employment standards or national control competences; points out the great number of statutory violations in the context of the posting of workers; rejects therefore any coverage of requirements in the framework of the Posting of Workers Directive or the Enforcement Directive by such a passport;

Amendment 7 #

Draft opinion
Recital E a (new)

Ea. whereas between 2010 and 2013 the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion in the EU 28 increased from 117 million to 121; Whereas that women are far more vulnerable and exposed to social exclusion and poverty ; whereas in 2013 16.7% of the Union population were at risk of poverty after social transfers, 9.6% were in a situation of serious material deprivation and 10.7% of households were considered to have low work intensity;

Amendment 70 #

Ulla TØRNÆS, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. ~~Welcom~~Notes the Commission’s support for dual education systems; stresses the importance of ensuring that the SMS does not in any way undermine dual education systems;

Amendment 71 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. ~~Welcom~~Notes the Commission’s support for dual education systems; stresses the importance of ensuring that the SMS does not in any way undermine dual education systems; underlines the important role of social partners in the development of dual education systems;

Amendment 72 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Welcomes the Commission’s support for dual education systems; stresses the importance of ensuring that the SMS does not in any way undermine dual education systems; believes that dual education systems within the EU could be strengthened by a European benchmark on dual education which could highlight the correlation between dual education and youth employment;

Amendment 73 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Welcomes the Commission’s support for dual education systems; stresses the importance of ensuring that the SMS does not in any way undermine dual education systems; while ensuring the quality of apprenticeships and in particular employment protection and adequate social security coverage; points out that a dual education system used in one Member State cannot be copied blindly into another Member State;

Amendment 74 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Welcomes the Commission’s support for dual education systems~~; stresses the importance of ensuring that the SMS does not in any way undermine dual education systems;~~ , which help to tailor the skills and qualifications of European workers more closely to the real needs of the labour market; stresses the importance of ensuring that the SMS does not in any way undermine dual education systems and that it instead helps to facilitate mobility for people on dual education schemes, in particular in border areas;

Amendment 75 #

Ulla TØRNÆS, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. ~~Regrets that the services market remains fragmented; calls on the Commission to deli~~Calls on the Member States scrupulously to observer the ~~necessary~~ procedure for~~ms that will remove barriers in the service sector by adopting a targeted sector-specific approach for services~~ notifying new regulatory measures affecting services to the Commission;

Amendment 76 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Regrets that the services market remains fragmented; calls on the Commission to deliver ~~the necessary reforms that will remove barriers in the service sect~~on implementation of the Services Directive; underlines that assessments show that when administrative barriers are lower, more b~~y adopting a targeted sector-specific approach for services~~usinesses are created and thereby is the potential for job-creation strengthened;

Amendment 77 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. ~~Regrets that the services market remains fragmented; c~~Calls on the Commission to deliver the necessary reforms that will ~~remove barriers in the service sector by adopting a targeted sector-specific approach for service~~ensure high social standards in the service sector in full respect of national rules on service provision and labour standards; stresses the need to protect Member States right to include social and environmental criteria in their public procurement tenders;

Amendment 78 #

Maria ARENA, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Jutta STEINRUCK

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. ~~Regret~~Notes that the services market remains fragmented; calls on the Commission to deliver the necessary reforms that will remove barriers in the service sector ~~by adopting a targeted sector-specific approach for servic~~, improve working conditions and raise the quality of services without undermining the social and labour standards as well as industrial relation systems in the host Member States;

Amendment 79 #

Csaba SÓGOR

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Regrets that the services market remains fragmented; considers that existing barriers to the free exchange of services, including the inadequate enforcement of existing rules, limit the opportunities for businesses and lead to unnecessarily high prices and hamper job-creation; calls on the Commission to deliver the necessary reforms that will remove barriers in the service sector by adopting a targeted sector-specific approach for services;

Amendment 8 #

Draft opinion
Recital F a (new)

Fa. whereas policies to lower labour, social, environmental and consumer protection standards are risking a race to the bottom, thereby contributing to a distortion of fair competition in the Single Market;

Amendment 80 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Regrets that the services market remains fragmented; calls on the Commission to deliver the necessary reforms that will remove barriers in the service sector by adopting a targeted sector-specific approach for services; points out that if on the one hand barriers are removed, safeguards need to be adopted to ensure the quality of employment in the different service sectors; recalls the exceptional character of services of general interest in particular social, care, health and education services, and stresses that their quality, availability, accessibility and affordability has to be guaranteed as a first priority;

Amendment 81 #

Sven SCHULZE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Calls on the Commission to work towards a simplified and standardised form in the procedure for the cross-border provision of services in order to reduce the requirements in relation to the posting of workers and thereby integrate SMEs more effectively into the internal market;

Amendment 82 #

Ivo BELET, Jeroen LENAERS, Elisabeth MORIN-CHARTIER, David CASA, Georges BACH, Sofia RIBEIRO, Tom VANDENKENDELAERE, Claude ROLIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Stresses that the possible introduction of a services passport for companies, which aims to further promote the free movement of services, should be without prejudice to the competence of the host Member State to ensure the effective enforcement and control of national and European employment legislation;

Amendment 83 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Welcomes the commission's legislative proposal to address regulatory barriers restricting access to certain professions as an important step in opening up the single market and fostering job growth;

Amendment 84 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Believes that the lowering of administrative burdens and compliance costs on businesses, especially SMEs, and repealing unnecessary legislation, while continuing to ensure high standards of consumer, employee, health and environmental protection is key to deliver the objectives of the SMS;

Amendment 85 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)

7b. Welcomes the services passport as a useful tool for simplifying the compliance with member states requirements; stresses the importance of ensuring flexibility in order to ensure that member states are free to set requirements subject to their own needs;

Amendment 86 #

Ulla TØRNÆS, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Calls on the Commission to work with the Member States to simplify and speed up procedures for the recognition of professional qualifications, including by facilitating and encouraging the introduction of Common Training Frameworks; calls on the European Commission and the Member States to boost ICT and STEM training and education in order to equip both the current and the future workforce with the relevant e-skills;

Amendment 87 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Calls on the Commission to work with the Member States to simplify and speed up procedures for the recognition of professional qualifications, including by facilitating and encouraging the introduction of Common Training Frameworks and a Services Passport to facilitate cross-border recognition of qualifications;

Amendment 88 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

Amendment 89 #

Maria ARENA, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Jutta STEINRUCK

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Urges the Commission to enforce proper information and consultation rights for workers in its revision of bankruptcy legislation, in order to avoid the irregular use of bankruptcy procedures; stresses that the protection of workers should be the cornerstone of any revision of insolvency legislation;

Amendment 9 #

Draft opinion
Recital G a (new)

Ga. whereas good regulation can benefit businesses and workers alike and help promote economic growth and quality job creation in the Single Market;

Amendment 90 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Calls on the Member States to make use of the possibility to introduce social requirements in the context of public procurement;

Amendment 91 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

Amendment 92 #

Ulla TØRNÆS, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Renate WEBER

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to support quality job creation in the "collaborative" economy by developing appropriate safeguards~~, while at the same time providing a platform that will allow entrepreneurs to grow, innovate and create jobs.~~ that ensure that employment and social security legislation fully applies to workers in this sector and are extended to self-employed workers; stresses the need to fight practices such as "bogus" self- employment and undeclared work in this sector;

Amendment 93 #

Sven SCHULZE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to support job creation in the collaborative economy by dpreve~~loping appropriate safeguards~~nting legal grey areas where existing requirements in relation to tax and employment law and other regulations as well as consumer rights are undermined, while at the same time providing a pregulatformy framework that will allow entrepreneurs to grow, innovate and create jobs.

Amendment 94 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to support job creation in the collaborative economy by ~~developing appropriate safeguards~~adapting and modernising legislation, while at the same time providing a platform that will allow entrepreneurs to grow, innovate and create jobs.

Amendment 95 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to support job creation in the collaborative economy by developing appropriate safeguards, while at the same time providing a platform that will allow entrepreneurs to grow, innovate and create jobs; Insists that in order to harness the opportunity of the digitalisation of jobs, that will only increase with the single market strategy, there is a need to create secure flexible work time arrangements for a better work life balance.

Amendment 96 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to support job creation in the collaborative economy by developing appropriate safeguards, while at the same time providing a platform that will allow entrepreneurs to grow, innovate and create jobs.; calls on the Commission, in addition, to promote specific support for entrepreneurs in order to provide them with the ideal conditions for achieving the objectives of growth, innovation and job creation;

Amendment 97 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to support job creation in the collaborative economy by developing appropriate safeguards, in particular in the areas of social welfare and taxation, while at the same time providing a platform that will allow entrepreneurs to grow, innovate and create jobs.

Amendment 98 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Stresses in this regard the need to increase, in an effective manner, the information on EU funds available to SMEs, micro-enterprises and innovative start-ups; points out, moreover, that to ensure the quality of the use of EU funds it is essential to implement a system to supervise and monitor the use of those resources;

Amendment 99 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Stresses importance of having a social dialogue in terms of the opportunities and changes that a single market brings surrounding employment.

source: 578.463

2016/02/26 IMCO 380 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 a (new)

- having regard to Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on consumer rights, amending Council Directive 93/13/EEC and Directive 1999/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directive 85/577/EEC and Directive 97/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council,

Amendment 10 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 13 a (new)

– having regard to the Communication from the Commission on Unleashing the potential of crowd-funding in the European Union (COM(2014)172 final),

Amendment 100 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Calls on the Commission to ask the REFIT platform to address barriers toregarding innovation and put forward proposals for ways to reduce or remove them;

Amendment 101 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Calls on the Commission to ask the REFIT platform to address barriers to innovation and put forward proposals for ways to reduce or remove them; believes that in order to ensure better regulation, existing legislation should be reviewed and, where necessary, simplified to make it fit for purpose, while all new legislation should be future-proof and digital by default and follow the ‘think small first’ principle;

Amendment 102 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Calls on the Commission to ask the REFIT platform to address barriers to innovation and put forward proposals for ways to reduce or remove them; stresses that this process must not lead to lower employment, consumer protection and environmental standards;

Amendment 103 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Calls on the Commission to ask the REFIT platform to address barriers to innovation and put forward proposals, in addition to the proposal for the establishment of a European Innovation Council, for ways to reduce or remove them;

Amendment 104 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Considers that further development of the single market requires the elimination of barriers to trade between Member States; supports the European Declaration of Competitiveness from February 2016, in particular the commitment to regulatory simplification and burden reduction, to do more to reduce the overall burden of EU regulation especially on SMEs and microenterprises, and to establish where possible burden reduction targets in specific sectors; recommends that work on establishing such burden reduction targets should commence immediately;

Amendment 105 #

Marlene MIZZI, Sergio Gaetano COFFERATI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Evelyne GEBHARDT, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Olga SEHNALOVÁ, Nicola DANTI, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Pina PICIERNO, Maria GRAPINI, Lucy ANDERSON, Marc TARABELLA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Calls on the Commission to actively involve all stakeholders, in particular social partners and consumers organisations to assess impacts of draft legislation and better regulation activities in the single market, run the proportionality and subsidiarity check (at ex-ante stage), and monitor implementation (ex-post stage); stresses, furthermore, that any exemptions for SMEs and micro entities must be assessed on a case-by-case basis for each proposal, while ensuring that exemptions do not lead to circumvention of social, labour or environmental legislation;

Amendment 106 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

Amendment 107 #

Lucy ANDERSON, Maria GRAPINI, Marc TARABELLA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. ~~Welcomes the Commission’s determination to address the difficulties faced by SMEs as a result of the complexity of differing national VAT regulations; extend~~Considers as a priority the development of a simplified, uniform and consistent online VAT system to reduce compliance costs for small and innovative companies operating across Europe; welcomes the introduction of the VAT Mini One-Stop Shop, which is a step towards ending the temporary EU VAT regime; nevertheless its ~~full support to the Commission in respect of the VAT~~ concerned that absence of the threshold puts certain SMEs in a difficult position to comply with the current regime; thereform;e calls on the Commission to ~~assess the feasibility of further coordination and, in particular, to assess the possibility of a single tax in the e-commerce sector;~~ urgently come forward with proposals to introduce this;

Amendment 108 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. ~~Welcomes~~Calls on the Commission~~’s determination~~ to address the difficulties faced by SMEs as a result of the complexity of differing national VAT regulations; ~~extends its full support to the Commission in respect of the VAT reform; call~~in particular calls on the Commission to consider how the new rules con ~~the Commission to assess the feasibility of further coordination and, in particular, to assess the possibility of a single tax in the e-commerce sector~~cerning place of supply for VAT on digital services can be amended so as to accommodate the specific needs of small and micro-businesses;

Amendment 109 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Welcomes the Commission’s determination to address the difficulties faced by SMEs as a result of the complexity of differing national VAT regulations; extends its full support to the Commission in respect of the VAT reform; c~~alls on the Commission to ass~~onsiders as a priority the development of a simplified, uniform and consistent online VAT system in order to always provide to businesses the ~~fea~~possibility ~~of further coordination and, in particular, to assess the possibility of a single tax in the e-commerce sector;~~ to report VAT online; is concerned that the absence of a threshold makes it difficult for certain SMEs to comply with the current regime; calls therefore on the Commission to review this regime in order to make it more business-friendly;

Amendment 11 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 13 b (new)

– having regard to the Communication from the Commission of 2 December 2015 on ‘Closing the loop - An EU action plan for the Circular Economy’,

Amendment 110 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. WHighlights the need for reduced compliance costs caused by VAT requirements; welcomes the Commission’s determination to address the difficulties faced by SMEs as a result of the complexity of differing national VAT regulations; extends its full support to the Commission in respect of the VAT reform; ~~calls on the Commission to assess the feasibility of further coordination and, in particular, to assess the possibility of a single tax in the e-commerce sector;~~

Amendment 111 #

Marlene MIZZI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Catherine STIHLER, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Maria GRAPINI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

Amendment 112 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Welcomes the Commission’s determination to address the difficulties faced by SMEs as a result of the complexity of differing national VAT regulations; extends its ~~full~~ support to the Commission in respect of the VAT reform, but reminds that these initiatives should respect Member States competences; calls on the Commission to assess the feasibility of further coordination and, in particular, to assess the possibility of a ~~single tax in the e-commerce sector~~llowing Member States to reduce rates of VAT for the press, digital, publishing, e-books and on line publications in order to avoid discrimination in the single market;

Amendment 113 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

Amendment 114 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Welcomes the Commission’s determination to address the lack of tax coordination within the EU, and in particular the difficulties faced by SMEs as a result of the complexity of differing national VAT regulations; extends its full support to the Commission in respect of the VAT reform; calls on the Commission to assess the feasibility of further coordination and, in particular, to assess the possibility of a single tax in the e- commerce sector;

Amendment 115 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

Amendment 116 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

Amendment 117 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Welcomes the recent initiatives for more efficient and transparent public procurement, through better use of procurement data and greater voluntary assessment of procurement in certain large-scale infrastructure projects; calls on the Member States to cooperate with the Commission to implement these initiatives;

Amendment 118 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Supports the Commission’s efforts to ensure tax fairness in the European Union and combat aggressive tax planning and tax avoidance practices; calls on the Commission to focus on working towards a Common Corporate Tax Base and a country-by-country reporting obligation for transnational corporations;

Amendment 119 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Hopes that the Commission will continue the process of reforming the public procurement system, which it began with the 2014 directives, moving towards an increasing characterisation of demand in the area of procurement, with the aim of rewarding technological innovation and energy efficiency;

Amendment 12 #

Marlene MIZZI, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Catherine STIHLER, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Maria GRAPINI

Motion for a resolution
Citation 13 c (new)

– having regard to the summary report of the Commission of 27 January on the public consultation ‘Tackling unjustified geo-blocking’1b, __________________ 1bFirst brief results of the public consultation on Geo-blocking and other geographically based restrictions when shopping and accessing information in the EU, of 27 January 2016.

Amendment 120 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Draws attention to the difficulties faced by some businesses, ~~and~~ in particular SMEs and start-ups, in securing funding; calls on the Commission, while continuing the valuable support provided to those companies through the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) and programmes such as Horizon 2020 and COSME, to explore ways of further facilitating access to them, and develop new funding models especially for micro- enterprises, ~~for instance by reducing~~reduce the periods for calls ofor applications ~~to six-month periods and further simplifying the relevant procedures~~, simplify the relevant administrative procedures, develop pro- active measures for continuous information and trainings on projects; calls upon the Commission to ensure that crowdfunding can be done seamlessly across borders, and encourages the Member States to introduce incentives for crowdfunding;

Amendment 121 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Draws attention to the difficulties faced by businesses, and in particular SMEs and start-ups, in securing funding; calls on the Commission, while continuing the valuable support provided to those companies through the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) and programmes such as Horizon 2020 and COSME, to explore ways of further facilitating access to them, especially for micro-enterprises, for instance by reducing calls for applications to six-month periods and further simplifying the relevant procedures and increasing the visibility of European funding; welcomes the Commission’s intention to use funds from the COSME programme to fund information campaigns targeting young innovative SMEs; invites all regional and local authorities responsible for supporting companies, particularly those involved in the Enterprise Europe Network, to participate in these campaigns;

Amendment 122 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

Amendment 123 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Draws attention to the difficulties faced by businesses, and in particular SMEs and start-ups, in securing funding; calls on the Commission to further address this issue, in particular through the Capital Markets Union initiative, and by taking into account the specificity of funding that innovative businesses such as start-ups need at different development stage; calls also on the Commission, while continuing the valuable support provided to those companies through the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) and programmes such as Horizon 2020 and COSME, to explore ways of further facilitating access to them, especially for micro-enterprises, for instance by reducing calls for applications to six-month periods and further simplifying the relevant procedures;

Amendment 124 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Draws attention to the difficulties faced by businesses, and in particular SMEs and start-ups, in securing funding; calls on the Commission, while continuing the valuable support provided to those companies through the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) and programmes such as Horizon 2020 and COSME, to explore ways of further facilitating access to them, especially for micro-enterprises, for instance by reducing calls for applications to six-month periods and further simplifying the relevant procedures and by ensuring that crowd-funding can be done seamlessly across borders and facilitating tax-deducible crowd-funding for social and other public interest causes, including by giving advice to the Member States;

Amendment 125 #

Inese VAIDERE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Draws attention to the difficulties faced by businesses, and in particular SMEs and start-ups, in securing funding; calls on the Commission, while continuing the valuable support provided to those companies through the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) and programmes such as Horizon 2020 and COSME, to explore ways of further facilitating access to them, especially for micro-enterprises, for instance by reducing calls for applications to six-month periods and further simplifying the relevant procedures; calls on the European Commission to use the EU budget guarantee to increase the share of loans to the SMEs, especially in smaller EU states with less developed local market;

Amendment 126 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Draws attention to the difficulties faced by businesses, and in particular SMEs and start-ups, in securing funding; calls on the Commission, while continuing the valuable support provided to those companies through the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) and programmes such as Horizon 2020 and COSME, to explore ways of further facilitating access to themse and other programmes and instruments, especially for micro-enterprises, for instance by reducing calls for applications to six-month periods and further simplifying the relevant procedures; calls on the Commission to further enhance awareness of financing instruments through targeted communication campaigns;

Amendment 127 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

Amendment 128 #

Jens NILSSON, Ramón Luis VALCÁRCEL SISO, Antonio LÓPEZ-ISTÚRIZ WHITE, Verónica LOPE FONTAGNÉ, Elena GENTILE, Maria GRAPINI, Martina ANDERSON, Nicola DANTI, Catherine STIHLER, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Sven GIEGOLD

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

Amendment 129 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Draws attention to the difficulties faced by businesses, and in particular SMEs ~~and~~ , start-ups, and social economy enterprises in securing funding; calls on the Commission, while continuing the valuable support provided to those companies through the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) and programmes such as Horizon 2020 and COSME, to explore ways of further facilitating access to them, especially for micro-enterprises, for instance by reducing calls for applications to six-month periods and further simplifying the relevant procedures;

Amendment 13 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the single market has been~~, and remains,~~ presented as the cornerstone of EU integration and was supposed to act as the engine of growth and jobs, which has unfortunately not occurred in practice, and whereas its record today is nothing less than disastrous, which should force a general reappraisal of the policies of the European Union;

Amendment 130 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

Amendment 131 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

Amendment 132 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Asks Member States to transpose internal market rules in a coherent and consistent way and to implement fully and correctly the internal market rules and legislation; stresses the fact that requirements for extra tests and registrations, the non-recognition of certificates and standards, territorial supply constraints and similar measures create extra costs for consumers and retailers, thereby depriving European citizens of the full benefits of the single market; calls also on the Commission, with the aim of ensuring better governance, to operate an adequate policy towards those Member States which fail to properly apply internal market rules and to do so, where appropriate, by means of infringement procedures and by speeding up those procedures using a fast-track approach;

Amendment 133 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Calls on the Commission to implement the Capital Markets Union and more particularly the framework for simple transparent standardised securitisation (STS), and swift adoption of the Prospectus Directive as fast as possible, as those measures will help SMEs to access finances;

Amendment 134 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Points out that differences in external factors, such as ease of access to credit, taxation regimes and labour regulations, mean that some SMEs find themselves at a disadvantage compared to others; believes that these imbalances adversely affect the proper functioning of the single market and can prevent virtuous SMEs from developing their full potential; takes the view that the Commission should use its available tools to ensure that conditions for growth are as equitable as possible;

Amendment 135 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)

8b. Encourages the Commission to set up an easily accessible database containing all EU and national labelling requirements; at the same time warns against the multiplication of labels and labelling requirements and calls for simplification, including by bringing together various aspects of sustainability in one label, while reducing differences in national mandatory labelling requirements and establishing common benchmarks/criteria at EU-level, where appropriate;

Amendment 136 #

Ildikó GÁLL-PELCZ, Ivan ŠTEFANEC, Dariusz ROSATI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 c (new)

8c. Acknowledges the competence of local authorities with regard to urban planning; highlights, however, that urban planning should not be used as a pretext to circumvent the right to free establishment; recalls, in this connection, the importance of proper enforcement of the Services Directive; urges Member States to remove barriers to free movement and to open up their markets in order to stimulate competitiveness and promote diversity among shops, which is essential if shopping areas – in particular in town and city centres – are to remain attractive;

Amendment 137 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. ~~Draws attention to the fact that~~Points out that, despite the fact that the European Parliament adopted the directive on combating late payment in commercial transactions in February 2011, each year thousands of SMEs across Europe go bankrupt while waiting for their invoices to be paid, including by public administrations; calls on the Commission and the Member States to step up their efforts to facilitate the application and enforcement of the Late Payment Directive; calls, furthermore, on the Member States to consider, in the event of unsatisfactory implementation of the Late Payment Directive, forms of adequate compensation for companies owed money by a public administration on the Commission to carefully assess, when reporting to the Parliament, whether additional legislative measures or revision of the directive are not needed;

Amendment 138 #

Lucy ANDERSON, Maria GRAPINI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Draws attention to the fact that each year thousands of SMEs across Europe go bankrupt while waiting for their invoices to be paid~~, including by public administrations~~; calls on the Commission and the Member States to step up their efforts to facilitate the application and enforcement of the Late Payment Directive; calls, furthermore, on the Member States to consider, in the event of unsatisfactory implementation of the Late Payment Directive, forms of adequate compensation for companies owed ~~money by a public administra~~remuneration for commercial transactions;

Amendment 139 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Draws attention to the fact that each year thousands of SMEs across Europe go bankrupt while waiting for their invoices to be paid, including by public administrations; calls on the Commission and the Member States to step up their efforts to facilitate the application and enforcement of the Late Payment Directive; calls, furthermore, on the Member States to consider, in the event of unsatisfactory implementation of the Late Payment Directive, forms of adequate ~~compensa~~protection for companies owed money by a public administration, so that they are not forced to go bankrupt because of it;

Amendment 14 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the single market has been, and remains, the cornerstone of EU integration and the engine of growth and jobs and Article 3(3) TEU obligates European legislators to find a balance between the market economy principle and the EU’s social integration;

Amendment 140 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Draws attention to the fact that each year thousands of SMEs across Europe go bankrupt while waiting for their invoices to be paid, including by public administrations; calls on the Commission and the Member States to step up their efforts to facilitate the application and enforcement of the Late Payment Directive; calls, furthermore, on the Member States to consider, in the event of unsatisfactory implementation of the Late Payment Directive, forms of adequate compensation for companies owed money by a public administration; calls for consideration to be given to taking legislative measures to change the system of paying taxes from the accrual accounting method to the cash accounting method;

Amendment 141 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Draws attention to the fact that each year thousands of SMEs across Europe go bankrupt while waiting for their invoices to be paid, including by the EU institutions and national public administrations; calls on the Commission and the Member States to step up their efforts to facilitate the application and enforcement of the Late Payment Directive; calls, furthermore, on the Member States to consider, in the event of unsatisfactory implementation of the Late Payment Directive, forms of adequate compensation for companies owed money by a public administration;

Amendment 142 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Draws attention to the fact that each year thousands of SMEs and start-ups across Europe go bankrupt while waiting for their invoices to be paid, including by public administrations; calls on the Commission and the Member States to step up their efforts to facilitate the application and enforcement of the Late Payment Directive; calls, furthermore, on the Member States to consider, in the event of unsatisfactory implementation of the Late Payment Directive, forms of adequate compensation for companies owed money by a public administration;

Amendment 143 #

Marlene MIZZI, Sergio Gaetano COFFERATI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Catherine STIHLER, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Maria GRAPINI, Lucy ANDERSON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Considering that big enterprises regularly win calls for tenders, calls on the Commission to analyse the possibility of revising the Directive on public procurement in the sense that the subcontractors, who are usually SMEs, should be paid no later than 30 days;

Amendment 144 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. ~~Welcom~~Acknowledges the legislative initiative on business insolvency, including early restructuring and second chances, which ~~will ensure that~~could be one method to encourage Member States to provide a regulatory ~~environment that is able to accommodate failure without discouraging entrepreneurs from trying new ideas~~and non-regulatory environment that accepts that failure sometimes happens and encourages innovation, but reminds that the costs and consequences of failing companies affects not only the company’s owner and shareholders, but also its creditors, employees, citizens and taxpayers; stresses that the legal framework on business insolvency must ensure responsible risk-taking providing certainty and fairness to creditors and employees; calls on the Commission, in this context, to reinforce workers’ protection and the defence of their interest, including through guaranteeing the full respect of their right to information and consultation, and establishing preferential rights for employees in case a business goes bankrupt;

Amendment 145 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Welcomes the legislative initiative on business insolvency, including early restructuring and second chances, which will ensure that Member States provide a regulatory environment that is able to accommodate failure without discouraging entrepreneurs from trying new ideas; emphasises that failure and learning from failures is a key part of entrepreneurial innovation and therefore ultimately the success which drives economic growth;

Amendment 146 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Welcomes the legislative initiative on business insolvency, including early restructuring and second chances, which will ensure that Member States provide a regulatory environment that is able to accommodate failure without discouraging entrepreneurs from trying new ideas, but draws the attention to the fact that the bankruptcy procedures need to be more efficient;

Amendment 147 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Welcomes the legislative initiative on business insolvency, including early restructuring and second chances, which will ensure that Member States provide a regulatory environment that is able to accommodate failure without discouraging entrepreneurs from trying new ideas; calls on the Commission to ensure that this initiative will align insolvency proceedings across the EU and reduce the length and costs of proceedings;

Amendment 148 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Welcomes the legislative initiative on business insolvency, including early restructuring and second chances, which will ensure that Member States provide a regulatory environment that is able to accommodate failure without discouraging entrepreneurs who are victims of economic downturns from trying new ideas;

Amendment 149 #

Marlene MIZZI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Evelyne GEBHARDT, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Catherine STIHLER, Nicola DANTI, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Pina PICIERNO, Maria GRAPINI, Marc TARABELLA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Regrets that the Commission did not emphasise enough the specific role of traditional manufacturing by Crafts and SMEs as an important contribution to both competitiveness and economic stability in Europe; encourages the Commission to exploit the full potential of digitalisation and innovation of the manufacturing industry in particular for micro and small manufacturers and start- ups, as well as for less industrialised regions to help reduce regional disparities and revitalise local economies; believes that stronger SMEs Crafts policy has to be put forward as one of the top priorities of all European Institutions and Member States over the next years;

Amendment 15 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the single market has been, and remains, the cornerstone of EU integration and the engine of growth and jobs, as well as a prerequisite for building the competitiveness of the EU economy on the global market;

Amendment 150 #

Marlene MIZZI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Catherine STIHLER, Nicola DANTI, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Pina PICIERNO, Maria GRAPINI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Calls on the Commission to develop a strategy to ensure the neutrality of all the rules applicable to all infrastructure projects, regardless of their construction and management modes, whether public, private or in public-private partnerships;

Amendment 151 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)

11b. Notes that companies, especially SMEs, are either not aware of the rules applicable in other Member States or have difficulties in finding and understanding the information on the rules and procedures applicable for their business; calls on the Commission to interlink all different portals, access points and information websites in a single gateway that will provide SMEs and start-ups with user-friendly information so that they can make well-informed decisions, save time and costs;

Amendment 152 #

Marlene MIZZI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Nicola DANTI, Maria GRAPINI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 c (new)

11c. Calls on the Commission to develop the Points of Single Contact from a regulatory portal into a system of fully- fledged online business portals promoting regular exchange of information by and between business representatives and assisting national business or citizens to compete in other EU Member States;

Amendment 153 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Welcomes the Commission’s Single Digital Single Market Strategy, and in particular the announced Single Digital Gateway; calls on the Commission to explore all ways of making the best use of the Single Digital Gateway to help European start-ups to scale up across EuropeGateway, which should build on existing Points of Single Contact (PCSs) setup under the Services Directive and to connect PSCs to other similar single market networks; calls on the Commission to explore all ways of making the best use of the Single Digital Gateway to help European start-ups to scale up across Europe; urges the Commission to create a single entry point for businesses and consumers to all single market related information, assistance, problem solving and to national and EU-wide procedures needed to operate cross-border in the EU;

Amendment 154 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Welcomes the Commission’s Digital Single Market Strategy, and in particular the announced Single Digital Gateway; calls on the Commission to e~~xplore all ways of making the best use of the Single Digital Gateway to help European start- ups to scale up across Europe~~nsure that the Single Digital Gateway is the single entry point for businesses to all single market related information, assistance, problem solving and to national and EU-wide procedures, needed to operate cross- border in the EU;

Amendment 155 #

Marlene MIZZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Welcomes the Commission’s Digital Single Market Strategy, and in particular the announced Single Digital Gateway; calls on the Commission to explore all ways of making the best use of the Single Digital Gateway to help European start-ups to scale up across Europe by providing accurate and clear information in different languages on all necessary procedures and formalities to operate domestically or in another EU country;

Amendment 156 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Welcomes the Commission’s Digital Single Market Strategy, and in particular the announced Single Digital Gateway; calls on the Commission to explore all ways of making the best use of the Single Digital Gateway, as a single end-to-end digital process for businesses, to set up and operate across the EU and therefore to help European start-ups to scale up across Europe;

Amendment 157 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Welcomes the Commission’s Digital Single Market Strategy, and in particular the announced Single Digital Gateway; calls on the Commission to explore all ways of making the best use of the Single Digital Gateway to help European start-ups to scale up across Europe; urges the Commission for their swift implementation;

Amendment 158 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

Amendment 159 #

Marlene MIZZI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Catherine STIHLER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)

12a. Recalls the urgent need to provide consumers with an equivalent level of protection online and offline; stresses the need for all economic operators operating online and offline in the single market to take all reasonable and appropriate measures to fight against counterfeiting, in order to ensure consumer protection and product safety;

Amendment 16 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the single market has been, and remains, the cornerstone of EU integration and the engine of growth and jobs, however the integration of the Single Market is not an irreversible process and its continued existence should not be taken for granted;

Amendment 160 #

Marlene MIZZI, Sergio Gaetano COFFERATI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Evelyne GEBHARDT, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Catherine STIHLER, Jens NILSSON, Maria GRAPINI, Marc TARABELLA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Emphasises that the collaborative (or sharing) economy is growing fast and while changing the way that many services and assets are provided and consumed~~; und~~, it can steerl in~~es, furthermore, the strong link between these new business models and the performance~~novation and has the potential to bring additional benefits and opportunities for companies and consumers ofn the single market;

Amendment 161 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Emphasises that the ~~collaborative (or~~ sharing) economy is growing fast reshaping old services and markets and changing the way that many services and assets are provided and consumed; underlines, furthermore, the strong link between these new business models and the performance of the single market; notes that the fast development of the sharing economy presents opportunities but also poses many challenges and legal uncertainties that might affect consumers, workers and traditional business providers and suppliers;

Amendment 162 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Emphasises that the collaborative (or sharing) economy is growing fast and changing the way that many services and assets are provided and consumed; underlines, furthermore, the strong link between these new business models and the performance of the single market; notes that the collaborative economy enables more flexible types of employment for many people otherwise unable to work; highlights the economic, societal and environmental benefits encouraged by the collaborative economy;

Amendment 163 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

Amendment 164 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

Amendment 165 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Emphasises that the collaborative (or sharing) economy is growing fast and changing the way that many services and assets are provided and consumed; underlines, furthermore, the strong link between these new business models and the performance of the single market; calls the Commission to limit the barriers that result from the first mover advantage and to ensure market access of smaller platforms offering such services in order to provide a vibrant and competitive market, which dissuades a structure in which a few dominant platforms try to use their market share to circumvent existing legal obligations and standards;

Amendment 166 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. EWelcomes new sharing economy business models and recognises their enormous potential for innovation; emphasises that the collaborative (or sharing) economy is growing fast and changing the way that many services and assets are provided and consumed; underlines, furthermore, the strong link between these new business models and the performance of the single market;

Amendment 167 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

~~13.~~ Emphasises that the collaborative (or sharing) economy is growing fast ~~and chang~~, is revolutionising the way that many services and assets are provided and consumed and offers new opportunities for enterprises and consumers, while requiring due attention from the legislator; underlines, furthermore, the strong link between these new business models and the performance of the single market;

Amendment 168 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Emphasises that the collaborative (or sharing) economy is growing fast and changing the way that many services and assets are provided and consumed; underlines, furthermore, the strong link between these new business models that put social utility at the heart of their objectives which seek to develop social inclusiveness and the performance of the single market;

Amendment 169 #

Jens NILSSON, Nicola DANTI, Elena GENTILE, Maria GRAPINI, Lucy ANDERSON, Sven GIEGOLD

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Emphasises that the collaborative (or sharing) economy isand the social economy are growing fast and changing the way that many services and assets are provided and consumed; underlines, furthermore, the strong link between these new business models and the performance of the single market;

Amendment 17 #

Sergio Gaetano COFFERATI, Jens NILSSON, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Maria GRAPINI, Catherine STIHLER, Lucy ANDERSON, Josef WEIDENHOLZER, Evelyne GEBHARDT

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the single market has been, and remains, the cornerstone of EU integration and the engine of growth and jobs by facilitating trade across the EU and thus contributing to growth and prosperity;

Amendment 170 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to come forward with proposals to prevent abuses in the employment area and bogus self- employment, to examine infringements of workers’ rights and social protection provisions in the sharing economy as well as to assess the impact of crowdworking and crowdsourcing; calls on the Commission to establish an European Forum, which organises regular exchanges with stakeholders, including social partners, who play a decisive role in the transition of the different employment sectors towards the digital economy, in order to promote an effective legal framework as well as quality employment and workers’ rights;

Amendment 171 #

Marlene MIZZI, Sergio Gaetano COFFERATI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Evelyne GEBHARDT, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Catherine STIHLER, Jens NILSSON, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Maria GRAPINI, Marc TARABELLA, Lucy ANDERSON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a. Calls on the Member States to ensure that employment rights, high quality working conditions, effective social welfare coverage and a real level playing field in the single market are guaranteed in the growth of the sharing economy, taking into account its potential for more flexible forms of employment, identifying new forms of employment, enhancing the rights and protection of genuine self- employed workers;

Amendment 172 #

Marlene MIZZI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Evelyne GEBHARDT, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Catherine STIHLER, Olga SEHNALOVÁ, Nicola DANTI, Pina PICIERNO, Maria GRAPINI, Marc TARABELLA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Welcomes the Commission’s announced initiative on the European agenda for the ~~collaborative economy~~sharing economy including the guidance on how EU law applies to this new sector, and its intention to look at that economy in order to assess what needs to be done in order to tac~~company~~kle the challenges it poses, to support its growth and its major contribution to the economic system; welcomes the Commission approach to examine the extent to which the provisions of the Services Directive, the e-Commerce Directive and the EU consumer protection acquis are applicable to the sharing economy and if there is need for further regulation, calls on the Commission to go beyond these provisions and examine the issue of social security and employment rights of workers, health and safety norms, taxation and licensing;

Amendment 173 #

Lara COMI, Antonio TAJANI, Andreas SCHWAB

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Welcomes the Commission’s announced initiative on the ~~European agenda for the~~ collaborative economy, and its intention to ~~look at that economy in order to assess what needs to be done to accompany its growth and its major contribution to the economic system~~clarify, with a guidance, the interaction between the provisions of existing EU law for the application and functioning of collaborative economy business models;

Amendment 174 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Welcomes the Commission’s announced initiative on the European agenda for the collaborative economy, and its intention to look at that economy in order to assess what needs to be done to accompany its growth and its major contribution to the economic system; takes the view that regulatory intervention in this field should be characterised by flexibility, to enable the rules to be promptly adapted and enforced in a rapidly changing sector which calls for fast and effective adjustments;

Amendment 175 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Welcomes the Commission’s announced initiative on the European agenda for the collaborative economy, and its intention to look at that economy in order to assess what needs to be done to accompany its growth and its major contribution to the economic system; stresses the need to clarify the regulatory uncertainty surrounding the application of the rules in this sector, both as regards consumer rights, health and safety standards and competition, taxation, social security and employment;

Amendment 176 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Welcomes the Commission’s announced initiative on the European agenda for the collaborative economy, and its intention to look at that economy in order to assess what needs to be done to accompany its growth and its major contribution to the economic system; stresses that existing consumer protection standards have also to be applied and enforced in the digital economy;

Amendment 177 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Welcomes the Commission’s announced initiative on the European agenda for the collaborative economy, and its intention to look at that economy in order to assess what needs to be done to accompany its growth and its major contribution to the economic system; calls on the Commission to ensure the best possible conditions for the collaborative economy to develop and thrive;

Amendment 178 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Welcomes the Commission’s announced initiative on the European agenda for the collaborative economy, and its intention to look at that economy in order to assess what needs to be done to accompany its growth and its major contribution to the economic system; underlines in particular the need for further clarification as regards the fiscal and social rules applicable to these activities;

Amendment 179 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Welcomes the Commission’s announced initiative on the European agenda for the collaborative economy, and its intention to look at ~~that economy~~business established in that sphere in order to assess what needs to be done to accompany its growth and its major contribution to the econom~~ic system~~y;

Amendment 18 #

Lucy ANDERSON

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the single market ~~has been, and remains, the~~is a cornerstone of EU integration and ~~the~~an engine of growth and jobs;

Amendment 180 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14a. Stresses that the new security features the collaborative economy provide such as the security of payments, geolocalisation and insurance, empower consumers and therefore require to assess where ex-post remedies might be more effective than ex-ante regulations; calls in this respect on the Commission to further promote public-private cooperation in order to address the existing barriers in the collaborative economy in particular to the increased use of digital identity to build consumers trust in online transactions, to the development of digital solutions for the payment of taxes, to providing cross border insurance schemes, and to the modernisation of employment legislation;

Amendment 181 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Considers that, in the collaborative economy, the same rules should apply to the same services, with a view to ensuring a level playing field and consumer safety while avoiding fragmentation that would hamper the development of new business models;deleted

Amendment 182 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. ~~Considers that, in the collaborative economy, the same rules should apply to the same services, with a view to ensuring a level playing field~~ Strongly believes that only a single market approach can be taken with regard to the collaborative economy, as fragmentation of the single market through local or national rules prevents Europeand co~~nsumer safety while avoiding fragmentation that would hamper the development of new business mod~~mpanies of the collaborative economy from scaling up at European levels;

Amendment 183 #

Ildikó GÁLL-PELCZ, Ivan ŠTEFANEC, Dariusz ROSATI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Considers that, in the collaborative economy, ~~the same rules should apply to the same services, wi~~serious care must be taken as regards the a ~~view to ensuring a level playing field and consumer safety while avoiding fragmentation that would hamper the development of new business models~~pproach in order to ensure that fair conditions of competition are maintained for all actors on the free market without leading to the reduction or elimination of the sharing economy;

Amendment 184 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Considers that~~, in the collaborative economy,~~ the emergence of new business models, including collaborative or sharing economy, should incentivise the Commission to review the level of regulation on a given market and assess whether it is not too burdensome for companies, notably SMEs, and therefore is not hampering entrepreneurship; considers that the same rules should apply to the same services, with a view to ensuring a level playing field and consumer safety while avoiding fragmentation ~~that would hamper the development of new business models~~;

Amendment 185 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Considers that, in the collaborative economy, the ~~same rules should apply to the same services, with a view~~Commission should look at the existing regulatory framework for service providers and the consumer acquis to ensur~~ing~~e a level playing field and consumer safety while avoiding fragmentation that would hamper the development of new business models;

Amendment 186 #

Marlene MIZZI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Evelyne GEBHARDT, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Catherine STIHLER, Maria GRAPINI, Lucy ANDERSON, Marc TARABELLA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Considers that, in the ~~collaborative~~sharing economy, ~~the same~~similar rules should apply to ~~the same~~similar services, with a view to ~~ensuring~~preserve the solid framework of existing regulations, safeguard high quality of services, independent of how their access and provision is organised, ensure a level playing field, and consumer ~~safet~~rights and safety and full adherence to employment and social rights by companies operating in the sharing economy while avoiding fragmentation that would hamper the development of new business models;

Amendment 187 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Considers that, in the collaborative economy, ~~the same rul~~all similar services should ~~apply to~~meet the same ~~servic~~regulatory objectives, with a view to ensuring a level playing field and consumer safety while avoiding fragmentation that would hamper the development of new business models;

Amendment 188 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Considers that, in the collaborative economy, the development of new business models, innovative services and temporary use of assets should be encouraged, but with the same rules ~~should~~ applying to the same services, with a view to ensuring a level playing field and consumer safety ~~while avoiding fragmentation that would hamper the development of new business models~~;

Amendment 189 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Considers that, in the collaborative economy, the same rules should apply to the same services, with a view to ensuring a level playing field, social security for employees and consumer safety while avoiding fragmentation that would hamper the development of new business models;

Amendment 19 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the single market has been, and remains, the cornerstone of EU integration and the engine of sustainable growth and jobs;

Amendment 190 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15a. Welcomes the increased competition and consumer choice arising from the sharing economy, as well as opportunities for job creation, economic growth, competitiveness, a more inclusive job market and a more circular EU economy through the more efficient use of resources, skills and other assets; urges the Commission and Member States to support the further development of the sharing economy by identifying artificial barriers and relevant legislation hindering its growth;

Amendment 191 #

Marlene MIZZI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Marc TARABELLA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15a. Calls for action to firm up the various aspects of the circular economy, in order to be able to harness its growth and jobs potential as quickly as possible;

Amendment 192 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Draws attention to the important role of ~~standards for innovation and progress in the single market; calls on the Commission to support and reinforce European standards, including by exploiting the opportuni~~improving implementation of technical standards, product safety rules and testing requirements and making the framework for standardisation more efficient and fit for purpose, in order to enhance innovation and progress in the single market; calls on the Commission to support more democratic and modernise European standardisation process not dominated solely by big private companies, voluntary standards and self-regulation by supporting social partners’, consumers organisations’ and SMEs’ initiatives ~~offered by the ongoing negotiations for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)~~; encourages the promotion of a greener single market for emerging low-carbon and environmental technologies, services and products through the development of a green technologies and standards across the EU;

Amendment 193 #

Lucy ANDERSON, Evelyne GEBHARDT

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Draws attention to the important role of standards for innovation, smart, inclusive and sustainable development and progress in the single market; calls on the Commission to support and reinforce European standards, including ~~by exploiting the opportunities offered by the ongoing negotiations for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP~~in international trade negotiations, notably by taking into account the outcome of its public consultation on Standards for the Digital Single Market; highlights the benefits of open standards that are minimalistic and easily implementable for SMEs; emphasises the importance of standardisation that can be achieved both via standard-essential patents (SEPs) and open licensing models; welcomes the Commission’s efforts in the development of a balanced framework for negotiations between right holders and implementers of SEPs in order to ensure fair licensing conditions, as highlighted in the European Parliament resolution of 19 January 2016 on Towards a Digital Single Market Act (2015/2147(INI));

Amendment 194 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Draws attention to the important role of EU technical standards for innovation and progress in the single market; calls on the Commission to ~~support and reinforce European standards, including by exploiting t~~guarantee EU standards will be matched o~~pportunities offered by the ongoing negotiations for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)~~r bettered in harmonisation exercises undertaken in any and all trade negotiations;

Amendment 195 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. ~~Draws attention to the important role of standards for innovation and progress in the single market; c~~Calls on the Commission to ~~support and reinforce~~promote and protect European standards, including ~~by exploit~~ing the ~~opportunities offered by the ongoing negotiations for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)~~context of free trade and services agreements already concluded or being negotiated with other countries;

Amendment 196 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Draws attention to the important role of standards for innovation and progress in the single market; calls on the Commission to support and reinforce European standards, including by exploiting the opportunities offered by the ongoing negotiations for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP); makes it clear, however, that those standards should not involve areas of regulation that can be better regulated by the social partners or the national legislator; considers it imperative in this connection that social players and social partners should be more involved in the processes of standard setting in order to promote transparency and public acceptance;

Amendment 197 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

Amendment 198 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Draws attention to the important role of standards for innovation and progress in the single market; calls on the Commission to support and reinforce European standards, including by exploiting the opportunities offered by the ongoing negotiations for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and to request the inclusion in the text of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) of the harmonization of standards for products and services;

Amendment 199 #

Marlene MIZZI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Maria GRAPINI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

Amendment 2 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 8 a (new)

– having regard to its resolution of 3 May 2010 on delivering a single market to consumers and citizens1a, __________________ 1a Text adopted, A7-0132/2010.

Amendment 20 #

Marlene MIZZI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Evelyne GEBHARDT, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Catherine STIHLER, Jens NILSSON, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Pina PICIERNO, Maria GRAPINI, Marc TARABELLA

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas the proper functioning of the Single Market is based on the constant adjustment and provision of an integrated response to the major economic and social challenges of the future, and on finding a balance between an open economy stimulating economic growth and quality job creation and an economic system delivering consumer protection as well as social and environmental safeguards to citizens;

Amendment 200 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Draws attention to the important role of standards for innovation and progress in the single market; believes that timely action needs to be taken to develop high EU standards for quality, interoperability and safety in furtherance of EU industrial policy, and that those standards should also be promoted at international level; calls on the Commission to support and reinforce European standards, including by exploiting the opportunities offered by the ongoing negotiations for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP);

Amendment 201 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Draws attention to the important role of standards for innovation and progress in the single market; calls on the Commission to support and reinforce European standards, including by exploiting the opportunities offered by the ongoing negotiations for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP); stresses that standards should not be imposed top- down, but set in a market-driven, open, inclusive and competitive way in order to be easily implementable by SMEs, to avoid the risk of closed value chains, while nonetheless avoiding delays in their publication;

Amendment 202 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Draws attention to the important role of standards for innovation and progress in the single market; calls on the Commission to support and reinforce European standards and make the framework for standardization more efficient and fit for purpose, including by exploiting the opportunities offered by the ongoing negotiations for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP);

Amendment 203 #

Lara COMI, Antonio TAJANI, Andreas SCHWAB

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Draws attention to the important role of standards for innovation and progress in the single market; calls on the Commission to support and reinforce European standards, ~~including by exploiting the opportunities offered by~~and not to compromise standards and quality during the ongoing negotiations for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP);;

Amendment 204 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Draws attention to the important role of standards for innovation, competitiveness and progress in the single market; calls on the Commission to support and reinforce European standards, as already provided for by Regulation No 1025/2012, including by exploiting the opportunities offered by the ongoing negotiations for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP);

Amendment 205 #

Ildikó GÁLL-PELCZ, Ivan ŠTEFANEC, Dariusz ROSATI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Draws attention to the important role of standards for innovation, prosperity and progress in the single market; calls on the Commission to support and reinforce European standards, including by exploiting the opportunities offered by the ongoing negotiations for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP);

Amendment 206 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Draws attention to the important role of standards for ~~innovation and progress in~~the functioning of the single market; calls on the Commission to support and reinforce European standards, including by exploiting the opportunities offered by the ongoing negotiations for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP);

Amendment 207 #

Marlene MIZZI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Olga SEHNALOVÁ, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Maria GRAPINI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16a. Calls on the Commission, being responsible for competition in the EU internal market, in cooperation with national surveillance authorities, to ensure a level playing field among competitors serving the market;

Amendment 208 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16a. Is critical about extending standardisation requirements beyond primarily technical standardisation to include environmental, health and service standards, because this would create problems as far as democracy and economic policy are concerned;

Amendment 209 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16a. Underlines the important role played by the standardisation system in the free circulation of products, and increasingly services; notes that the voluntary use of standards has contributed between 0.3 and 1% to GDP in Europe, and positively benefits labour productivity;

Amendment 21 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas the deepening of the European internal market remains a key economic issue, especially in the context of the development of new technologies, where a market with critical mass is needed to promote the emergence of innovative and competitive players on the global scene;

Amendment 210 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)

16b. Recalls that the vast majority of standards are developed in response to an industry-identified need, following a bottom-up approach to ensure market relevance of the standards; supports the commitment contained in the Single Market Strategy towards ensuring Europe remains at the forefront of standards development globally; encourages standardisation which is compatible with an international approach either through the development of global international standards or the recognition of equivalent international standards where appropriate; notes the intention to establish a framework and priorities for standardisation activities under a Joint Initiative for Standardisation; calls on the Commission to ensure that the Joint Initiative remains driven by such a bottom-up, industry-identified need and thus prioritises and delivers only those standards which respond to identified needs and demonstrate market relevance, and does not lead to unnecessary standards being pursued or inconsistent requirements compared to other related standards being established;

Amendment 211 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 c (new)

16c. Notes that the proposal for a Joint Initiative on European Standardisation will build on the Independent Review of the European Standardisation System, and supports its objective for the European standardisation community to develop actions that will improve the system as a whole, including recommendations regarding inclusiveness and support to the competitiveness of European business;

Amendment 212 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 d (new)

16d. Calls on the Commission in its engagement with European Standardisation Organisations (ESOs) to support ESOs and their national counter- parts in their efforts to improve the involvement of the SMEs, both in the standard-setting process itself and the take-up of standards once set; further encourages on the Commission to work closely with ESOs, National Standards Bodies and others to improve the transparency of the standards process, in implementation of commitments contained in the work programme for European standardisation for 2016 and the underling Regulation;

Amendment 213 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 e (new)

16e. Considers that the Joint Initiatives should focus on continued improvements to working practices, in particular by establishing processes to review composition of technical committees and measures to promote an openness and inclusiveness allowing a broad range of stakeholders to contribute to discussions in technical committees;

Amendment 214 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 f (new)

16f. Considers that a more transparent and accessible appeals mechanism would build trust and improve standards setting processes; believes that where a standard has been requested by the European Commission following the adoption of legislation by the European Union, the European Parliament relevant committee may be able to play a role in public scrutiny and debate as part of such a process, in advance of a decision for formal objection if appropriate; emphasises that when determining standardisation requests to be given to standardisation bodies, that principles of proportionality and a risk-based approach should be included;

Amendment 215 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 g (new)

16g. Believes that increasing public awareness of proposed standards in draft form prior to final approval may increase accountability and transparency and provide for a more robust process, in line with the existing best practices found amongst the European standardisation community;

Amendment 216 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 h (new)

16h. Invites the Commission to report to the Parliament by the end of 2016 on its implementation of the Joint Initiative on European standardisation, and the progress that has been achieved in cooperation with the European standardisation community on the recommendations contained in the 2016 annual Union work programme;

Amendment 217 #

Marlene MIZZI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Catherine STIHLER, Maria GRAPINI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. ~~Underlines the importance of~~Acknowledges the intention of creating a fully harmonised intellectual property framework underlying the unitary patent; supports the Commission’s intention to eliminate uncertainties as to how the unitary patent will coexist with national and supplementary protection certificates (SPCs)~~, as well as the possible creation of a unitary SPC~~; warns against the further layer of complexity placed by the unitary patent and the Unified Patent Court on top of the current regime, thus calling for appropriate monitoring of the decisions of the European Patent Office to grant patents in accordance with the European Patent Convention;

Amendment 218 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Underlines the importance of the unitary patent; supports the Commission’s intention to eliminate uncertainties as to how the unitary patent will coexist with national and supplementary protection certificates (SPCs), as well as the possible creation of a unitary SPC whilst keeping in mind public health and patients’ interests;

Amendment 219 #

Ildikó GÁLL-PELCZ, Daniel DALTON, Antonio LÓPEZ-ISTÚRIZ WHITE, Carlos COELHO

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)

17a. Welcomes the Commission’s intention to propose a targeted SPC manufacturing waiver in order to stimulate the manufacturing of generic and biosimilar medicines in Europe; believes that such provisions could have a positive impact on access to high quality medicines in developing and least developed countries, help to avoid the outsourcing of production and foster job creation in the EU;

Amendment 22 #

Marlene MIZZI, Sergio Gaetano COFFERATI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Evelyne GEBHARDT, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Catherine STIHLER, Jens NILSSON, Olga SEHNALOVÁ, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Marc TARABELLA, Maria GRAPINI, Lucy ANDERSON

Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)

Ab. whereas a strong social market - which turns the focus back to the people, directed towards the fight against unemployment, poverty, inequalities, social exclusion and wage dumping, promoting respect of fundamental social rights, fair mobility and improvement of living and working conditions in Europe - is an important factor to increase solidarity and cooperation among Member States;

Amendment 220 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)

17a. Urges the Commission to introduce and implement before 2019 an SPC manufacturing waiver to boost the competitiveness of the European Generics and Biosimilar Industry in a global environment, as well as to maintain and create additional jobs and growth in the EU, without undermining the market exclusivity granted under the SPC regime in protected markets;

Amendment 221 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)

17a. Calls on the Commission to act swiftly on its declared intention of reviewing legislation on supplementary protection certificates (SPC) in the pharmaceutical sector, so as to allow production alone in the EU Member States, without prejudice to the marketing rights of certificate holders;

Amendment 222 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Calls for measures to facilitate access to the patent system in Europe for all micro-enterprises and SMEs that wish to use the European patent with unitary effect in innovating their products and processeUnderlines the importance of measures contained within the unitary patent scheme for improving access to SMEs, for instance assistance with translation costs; believes that further measures could be introduced, such as reductions in renewal fees for SMEs;

Amendment 223 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Calls for measures to facilitate access to the patent system in Europe for all micro-enterprises and SMEs that wish to use the European patent with unitary effect in innovating their products and processes, while acknowledging that for certain sectors innovative open licensing solutions are better suited to support innovation;

Amendment 224 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Calls for measures to facilitate access to the patent system in Europe for all micro-enterprises and SMEs and start-ups that wish to use the European patent with unitary effect in innovating their products and processes;

Amendment 225 #

Marlene MIZZI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Maria GRAPINI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

Amendment 226 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Calls for measures to facilitate access to the patent system in Europe for all micro-enterprises and SMEs that wish to use the European patent with unitary effect in innovating their products and processes; recalls the importance to license standard- essential patents effectively, within the restraints of EU competition law, under FRAND licensing terms, in order to preserve R&D and standardisation incentives and foster innovation;

Amendment 227 #

Sergio Gaetano COFFERATI, Marlene MIZZI, Pina PICIERNO, Maria GRAPINI, Josef WEIDENHOLZER, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

Amendment 228 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18a. Calls on the Commission to put forward without delay a targeted legislative proposal which would enable European companies to manufacture generic and biosimilar medicines in the EU during the supplementary protection certificate (SPC) period, following the expiry of patent protection, in order to export to countries where no SPC is in place or to prepare for immediate launch following expiration of the SPC; believes that such SPC manufacturing waiver would contribute to avoid the outsourcing of production outside the EU and to create a level playing field between European companies and their competitors from third countries;

Amendment 229 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

~~19. Calls on the Commission to present a proposal for the protection of geographical indications for non- agricultural products in the EU;~~deleted

Amendment 23 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas the single market ihas under~~performing~~gone significant positive development in recent years, but there is still room for improvement in almost ~~all~~ areas – in stimulating a digital-driven market, encouraging start-ups, integrating global supply chains, dealing with new business models and ensuring market facilitation, standardisation and the licensing of professionals;

Amendment 230 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

~~19. Calls on the Commission to present a proposal for the protection of geographical indications for non- agricultural products in the EU;~~deleted

Amendment 231 #

Ivan ŠTEFANEC, Dariusz ROSATI, Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

~~19. Calls on the Commission to present a proposal for the protection of geographical indications for non- agricultural products in the EU;~~deleted

Amendment 232 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

~~19. Calls on the Commission to present a proposal for the protection of geographical indications for non- agricultural products in the EU;~~deleted

Amendment 233 #

Marlene MIZZI, Sergio Gaetano COFFERATI, Nicola DANTI, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Biljana BORZAN, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Catherine STIHLER, Olga SEHNALOVÁ, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Pina PICIERNO, Maria GRAPINI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Calls on the Commission to present awithout delay a legislative proposal for the protection of geographical indications for non-agricultural products in the EU with the aim of establishing a single European system putting thus an end to a inadequate and highly fragmented situation in Europe, and offering many and varied positive effects for citizens, consumers, producers and the whole European economic and social fabric;

Amendment 234 #

Maria GRAPINI, Lucy ANDERSON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Calls on the Commission to present a proposal for the protection of geographical indications for non-agricultural products in the EU, as already called for by Parliament; stresses that such an instrument would explicitly highlight the added value of many local productions, with obvious benefits for the producers and regions concerned and in terms of consumer awareness;

Amendment 235 #

Biljana BORZAN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Calls on the Commission to present a proposal for the protection of geographical indications for non-agricultural products in the EU to boost employment at local and regional level, as well as to protect cultural heritage of the EU;

Amendment 236 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Calls on the Commission to present a proposal for the protection of geographical indications for non-agricultural products in the EU considering that this would contribute to job stability, especially in poor rural areas;

Amendment 237 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Calls on the Commission to present a ~~proposal~~legislative proposal for the establishment of a single European system for the protection of geographical indications for non-agricultural products in the EU;

Amendment 238 #

Olga SEHNALOVÁ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19a. Is convinced that in order to reduce the unfair trading practices in the food supply chain across the single market effectively, the Commission should suggest concrete measures to create common binding rules and develop enforcement standards at the EU level;

Amendment 239 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19a. Notes that the full potential of public-private partnerships has not yet been harnessed in the majority of EU Member States; calls for the harmonisation of Member State framework rules on PPP, the dissemination of best practices and the promotion of this model;

Amendment 24 #

Marlene MIZZI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Evelyne GEBHARDT, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Catherine STIHLER, Maria GRAPINI, Marc TARABELLA

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas the single market ~~is underperforming~~could achieve more in almost all areas – in stimulating a digital-driven market, encouraging start- ups, integrating global supply chains, dealing with new business models and ensuring market facilitation, and standardisation ~~and the licensing of professionals~~;

Amendment 240 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19a. Notes that the new 2014 public procurement regime is less cumbersome, includes more flexible rules to better serve other public sector policies as well as Member States or local specialities; points out that there are still significant inefficiencies in public procurement across Member States that limit cross- border expansion and growth in domestic markets;

Amendment 241 #

Marlene MIZZI, Sergio Gaetano COFFERATI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Catherine STIHLER, Pina PICIERNO, Maria GRAPINI, Marc TARABELLA, Lucy ANDERSON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 b (new)

19b. Supports the general approach set out in the Commission’s Communication in relation to public procurement to improve procurement decisions and the transparency and quality of procurement systems; encourages national procurement authorities to promote greener and more social tendering processes by including social and environmental criteria in the public procurement tenders; calls on the Commission to use the upcoming evaluation report and revision of the Remedies Directive to address problems such as ‘abnormally low bids’ and other social dumping practices in the procurement process;

Amendment 242 #

Marlene MIZZI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Maria GRAPINI, Marc TARABELLA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 c (new)

19c. Agrees in principle with the Commission’s proposal to launch a voluntary ex-ante public procurement mechanism for large-scale infrastructure projects but suggests that the ceiling of EUR 700 million must be significantly lowered in response to the European Court of Auditors’ special report 10/2015, which detected errors relating to public procurement in around 40% of all the projects;

Amendment 243 #

Marlene MIZZI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Catherine STIHLER, Olga SEHNALOVÁ, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Maria GRAPINI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 d (new)

19d. Notes that consistent uniform application and proper enforcement of EU rules combined with regular monitoring and evaluation on the basis of qualitative and quantitative indicators, benchmarking and sharing of best practices is urgently needed to achieve more homogeneous implementation of existing single market legislation; recalls, therefore, the need to fully and thoroughly transpose and implement European rules concerning the functioning of the single market in all Member States;

Amendment 244 #

Marlene MIZZI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Catherine STIHLER, Olga SEHNALOVÁ, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Maria GRAPINI

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 3

~~A deeper~~On the single market

Amendment 245 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Points out that many measures have already been adopted but are not yet ~~applied~~properly enforced thus undermining the level playing field in the single market; points out, furthermore, that according to data provided by the Commission in mid- 2015, around 1 090 infringement proceedings were pending in the area of the single market; calls on the Commission, ~~therefore, to ensure that~~with a view to improve transposition, application and enforcement of single market legislation, to ensure that administrative coordination, cooperation and enforcement isare prioritised at all levels (EU, between Member States and national, local and regional authorities);

Amendment 246 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. PCalls on the Commission to deepen its work on enforcements; points out that many measures have already been adopted but are not yet applied; points out, furthermore, that according to data provided by the Commission in mid-2015, around 1 090 infringement proceedings were pending in the area of the single market; calls on the Commission, therefore, to ensure that enforcement is prioritised at all levels; believes that with regard to national measures or implementation early intervention may be more effective and better results achieved than through infringements procedures; stresses, nevertheless, that if the early intervention proceeding do not give results, the Commission must use all available measures, including infringement procedures, to ensure full implementation of legislation on the single market;

Amendment 247 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Points out that many measures have already been adopted but are not yet applied; points out, furthermore, that according to data provided by the Commission in mid-2015, around 1 090 infringement proceedings were pending in the area of the single market; calls on the Commission, therefore, to ensure that enforcement is prioritised at all levels by taking well-targeted enforcement actions, based on transparent and objective criteria, ensuring that the most economically significant cases of unjustified or disproportionate barriers are addressed;

Amendment 248 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to analyse unnecessary restrictions within the single market that are not justified by overriding reasons relating to the public interest, bringing forward ideas on how to overcome these challenges where necessary and report on that in 2017;

Amendment 249 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20a. Underlines that the retail and wholesale sector is the largest business sector in Europe; considers that reducing unnecessary regulatory administrative and practical barriers to retail businesses a priority;

Amendment 25 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas the single market is underperforming in almost all areas – in stimulating a digital-driven market, encouraging start-ups, integrating global supply chains, dealing with new business models and ensuring market facilitation~~, standardisation and the licensing of professionals~~;

Amendment 250 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 b (new)

20b. Welcomes the intention in the strategy to create a compliance culture and a continued zero tolerance to infringements of single market regulation; calls on the Commission and Members States to explore whether the Commission powers under the infringement procedures should not be aligned with those it has under competition policy;

Amendment 251 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Calls on the Commission to further support the Member States in developing a strong culture of compliance and enforcement, including by developing implementation plans for new major legislation and organising compliance dialogues with Member States; stresses that correct enforcement and better regulation are essential and should cover all business sectors and apply to existing and future legislation;Deleted

Amendment 252 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Calls ~~on the Commission to further support the Member States in developing~~for an increase in emphasis on a strong culture of compliance with and enforcement~~, including by developing implementation plans for new major legislation and~~ of the law in force; points out that organising ~~compliance~~ dialogues with Member States could be useful in this regard; stresses that correct enforcement and ~~better regulation are essential and should cover all business sectors and apply to existing and future legislat~~, in particular, objectivity in the interpretation of law by Member State authorities are essential for the development of economic activity in the Union;

Amendment 253 #

Philippe JUVIN, Antonio LÓPEZ-ISTÚRIZ WHITE, Ildikó GÁLL-PELCZ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Calls on the Commission to further support the Member States in developing a strong culture of compliance and enforcement, including by developing implementation plans for new major legislation and organising compliance dialogues with Member States; stresses that correct enforcement and better regulation are essential, given the fragmentation of the single market, restricting economic activity and consumer choice, and should cover all business sectors and apply to existing and future legislation;

Amendment 254 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Calls on the Commission to further support the Member States in developing a strong culture of compliance and enforcement, including by developing implementation plans for new major legislation and organising compliance dialogues with Member States; stresses that correct enforcement and better regulation are essential wherever regulatory fragmentation is hampering business activity and reducing consumer choice and should cover all business sectors and apply to existing and future legislation;

Amendment 255 #

Marlene MIZZI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Catherine STIHLER, Maria GRAPINI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Calls on the Commission to further support the Member States in developing a strong culture of compliance and enforcement, including by developing implementation plans for new major legislation and organising compliance dialogues with Member States; calls on Member States to fully commit to implement and enforce EU legislation and apply mutual recognition principle; stresses that correct enforcement and better regulation are essential and should cover all business sectors and apply to existing and future legislation;

Amendment 256 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Calls on the Commission to further support the Member States in developing a strong culture of compliance and enforcement, including bypromoting and broadening the Internal Market Information System (IMI), developing implementation plans for new major legislation ~~and~~, organising compliance dialogues with Member States and trainings for national public servants in charge of enforcement; stresses that correct enforcement and better regulation are essential and should cover all business sectors and apply to existing and future legislation;

Amendment 257 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Calls on the Commission to further support the Member States in developing a strong culture of compliance and enforcement, including by developing implementation plans for new major legislation ~~and~~, organising compliance dialogues with Member States and fostering more effective coordination between national regulators; stresses that correct enforcement and better regulation are essential and should cover all business sectors and apply to existing and future legislation;

Amendment 258 #

Marlene MIZZI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Catherine STIHLER, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Maria GRAPINI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)

21a. Recalls the importance of strengthening and streamlining existing single market tools for SMEs in order to simplify their cross-border expansion; urges the Commission and Member States to place greater emphasis on streamlining and improving Product Contact Points and Single Points of Contacts;

Amendment 259 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)

21a. Notes that Member States play a crucial role in the good governance and proper functioning of the single market, therefore, they need to jointly exercise a pro-active ownership and management of the single market, generating a new political impetus through consolidated state-of-health reports on the single market, regular and thematic discussions at Competitiveness Council meetings, dedicated annual European Council meetings and the inclusion of the single market as a pillar of governance in the European Semester;

Amendment 26 #

Marlene MIZZI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Catherine STIHLER, Jens NILSSON, Pina PICIERNO, Maria GRAPINI, Marc TARABELLA, Lucy ANDERSON

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas the single market is underperforming in almost all areas – in stimulating a digital-driven market, encouraging start-ups, integrating global supply chains, improving workers mobility and social rights, dealing with new business models and ensuring market facilitation, standardisation and the licensing of professionals – due to a number of physical, legal and technical barriers;

Amendment 260 #

Marlene MIZZI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Maria GRAPINI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 b (new)

21b. Reiterates that the EU could create its own set of scientifically-based, independent indicators on the degree of integration of the single market, to be published as part of the Annual Growth Strategy and calls for the adoption of a strategic paper of ‘the presidents’ of EU bodies a ‘Five Presidents Report’ to map the road to a Genuine Single Market;

Amendment 261 #

Marlene MIZZI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Catherine STIHLER, Olga SEHNALOVÁ, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Maria GRAPINI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 c (new)

21c. Stresses that the European Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee must strengthen its ties with national parliaments in order to coordinate and address issues in relation to transposition and implementation of single market rules;

Amendment 262 #

Marlene MIZZI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Jens NILSSON, Olga SEHNALOVÁ, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Maria GRAPINI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 d (new)

21d. Calls on the Commission to also strengthen the role of the institutional consultation of the social partners through the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions;

Amendment 263 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. ERecognises that the Solvit network and Single Point of Contact have given great assistance to businesses and consumers but could be improved; emphasises that it is necessary to reinforce the Solvit network and to improve awareness of the network and its practical role in solving interpretation problems relating to the single market; considers that data on issues raised with the Solvit network should be taken into account when the Commission considers how to identify priorities for enforcement action;

Amendment 264 #

Marlene MIZZI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Catherine STIHLER, Nicola DANTI, Maria GRAPINI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Emphasises that it is necessary to reinforce the Solvit network ~~and to improve awareness of the network~~, particularly by streamlining the existing EU mechanisms such as Solvit and EU Pilot to allow data sharing and a smooth handover between stages of complaint management, and to raise awareness of the network amongst citizens and SMEs, and its role in solving interpretation problems relating to the single market;

Amendment 265 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Emphasises that it is necessary to reinforce ~~the Solvit network and to improve awareness of the network and its role in solving interpretation problems relating to the single market~~practical problem-solving gateways such as Solvit network and to improve funding, expertise, legal certainty of the procedures as well as raise awareness of the existence of the network among business and its role in solving interpretation problems relating to the single market; calls for a cooperation between SOLVIT and the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) to be reinforced;

Amendment 266 #

Ildikó GÁLL-PELCZ, Ivan ŠTEFANEC, Dariusz ROSATI, Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Emphasises that it is necessary to reinforce the Solvit network and to improve awareness of the network and its role in solving interpretation problems relating to the single market; calls on the Commission to strengthen its efforts in helping Member States to solve the most problematic cases;

Amendment 267 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Emphasises that it is necessary to reinforce the Solvit network ~~and to improve awareness of the network~~, particularly by extending the interaction between SOLVIT, CHAP and EU Pilot cases to streamline the broader framework of EU complaint procedures, and to raise awareness of the network amongst citizens and SMEs, and its role in solving interpretation problems relating to the single market;

Amendment 268 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Emphasises that it is necessary to reinforce the Solvit network and to improve awareness of the network and its role in solving interpretation problems relating to the single market; calls on Member States to appropriately equip and adequately position their national SOLVIT centres in order for them to fulfil their role;

Amendment 269 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)

22a. Emphasises that transparency of national rules is a vital tool in enabling cross-border trade within the single market and helps in identifying non-tariff barriers; encourages Member States to make their rules more easily available online and in more than one language, in the interests of increasing trade, which will be of benefit to all;

Amendment 27 #

Marlene MIZZI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Maria GRAPINI

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas the single market is underperforming in almost all areas – in stimulating a digital-driven market, encouraging start-ups, integrating global supply chains, dealing with new business models and ensuring market facilitation, mutual recognition, standardisation and the licensing of professionals;

Amendment 270 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)

22a. Stresses that the new Commission proposal to develop a market information tool gathering information directly from selected market players can be implemented only within the constraints of national and European competition law rules; calls on the Commission before taking any further steps to provide more information on the parameters of this proposal and to consult for this initiative not only selected market players but as well as social partners, consumers organizations, SMEs and start-ups to fully understand the workings of the market;

Amendment 271 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 b (new)

22b. Considers that useful data on repeated and unresolved cases can be extrapolated from the complaints made to Solivt, which can help the Commission better target their enforcement actions and, where necessary, infringement proceedings;

Amendment 272 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

Amendment 273 #

Marlene MIZZI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Olga SEHNALOVÁ, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Maria GRAPINI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. ~~Takes note~~Regrets that the mutual recognition principle is not applied properly by many Member States; takes note, in this respect, of the Commission proposal, as part of strengthening the single market for goods, to improve mutual recognition through action to increase awareness of the mutual recognition principle and through the revision of the Mutual Recognition Regulation; emphasises that if the mutual recognition principle was applied properly by competent authorities throughout the EU, businesses would be able to focus strictly on doing business and boosting the EU’s growth and not on striving to overcome various hurdles imposed by not respecting mutual recognition by Member States;

Amendment 274 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. Takes note of the Commission proposal, as part of strengthening the single market for goods, to improve mutual recognition through action to increase awareness of the mutual recognition principle and through the revision of the Mutual Recognition Regulation; is sceptical with the Commission’s proposal for a traders’ self-declaration to legally bring a product into the market, as this might increase non-compliant products, threaten consumers’ health and safety and damage competition in the single market; calls instead on the Commission to ensure better market surveillance system by developing a European market surveillance framework and wider access to information about dangerous products which should help reduce non-compliant products in the single market; furthermore calls on European and national market surveillance authorities to investigate all claims of fraud vigorously;

Amendment 275 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

Amendment 276 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. ~~Takes note of~~Welcomes the Commission proposal, as part of strengthening the single market for goods, to improve mutual recognition through action to increase awareness of the mutual recognition principle and through the revision of the Mutual Recognition Regulation; notes that where full harmonisation is not possible, mutual recognition should be promoted as the alternative means to reduce fragmentation in the internal market;

Amendment 277 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

Amendment 278 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. ~~Takes note of~~Supports the Commission proposal, as part of strengthening the single market for goods, to improve mutual recognition through action to increase awareness of the mutual recognition principle and through the revision of the Mutual Recognition Regulation;

Amendment 279 #

Marlene MIZZI, Sergio Gaetano COFFERATI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Catherine STIHLER, Olga SEHNALOVÁ, Maria GRAPINI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. ~~Takes note of~~Anticipates the Commission proposal, as part of strengthening the single market for goods, to improve mutual recognition through action to increase awareness of the mutual recognition principle and through the revision of the Mutual Recognition Regulation;

Amendment 28 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas the single market must not be seen in isolation from other horizontal policy areas, particularly the digital single market, health, social and consumer protection, labour law and mobility of citizens, the environment, sustainable development, energy, transport and external policies;

Amendment 280 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. Takes note of the Commission proposal, as part of strengthening the single market for goods, to improve mutual recognition through action to increase awareness as well as ensuring better application and enforcement of the mutual recognition principle and through the revision of the Mutual Recognition Regulation;

Amendment 281 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)

23a. Considers in addition that the Commission should be more proactive in identifying sectors with high potential for cross border trade and digitalisation and where the mutual recognition principle could apply;

Amendment 282 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)

23a. Calls on the Commission to clarify how the proposed market information tools would work and the legal base for such tools;

Amendment 283 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. ~~Reiterates its call for the rapid adoption~~Highlights the need for a new of the Product Safety and Market Surveillance ~~Package by the Council; underlines the importance of the indication of country of origin, which is crucial to protect consumers and to strengthen the fight against counterfeiting~~legislation at the European level;

Amendment 284 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. ~~Reiterates its call for the rapid adoption of~~Believes that the Product Safety and Market Surveillance Package ~~by the Council; underlines the importance of the indication of country of origin~~had many potential benefits but that a new approach is needed if no agreement is reached in the Council; supports the Commission’s commitment to strengthen market surveillance through closer cooperation between Member States’ enforcement authorities; underlines the importance of product traceability, which is crucial to protect consumers and to strengthen the fight against counterfeiting;

Amendment 285 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Reiterates its call for the rapid adoption of the Product Safety and Market Surveillance Package by the Council; ~~underlines the importance of the indication of country of origin, which is crucial to protect consumers and to strengthen the fight against counterfeiting;~~

Amendment 286 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

Amendment 287 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

Amendment 288 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

Amendment 289 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Reiterates its call for the rapid adoption of the Product Safety and Market Surveillance Package by the Council; underlines the importance of adequate information regarding products intended for the retail market and the indication of country of origin, which is crucial to protect consumers and to strengthen the fight against counterfeiting;

Amendment 29 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas counterfeiting is a serious threat to public health and safety and the total value of counterfeit goods trafficking has increased significantly in recent years, exacerbating the devastating impact of counterfeiting on innovation, employment and the branding of European companies;

Amendment 290 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Reiterates its call for the rapid adoption of the Product Safety and Market Surveillance Package by the Council; underlines the importance of the indication of country of origin, which is crucial to protect consumers and to strengthen the fight against counterfeiting, as well as giving producers the advantage of a distinctive designation, making them more competitive in a globalised world in which products are in danger of becoming increasingly uniform;

Amendment 291 #

Philippe JUVIN, Antonio LÓPEZ-ISTÚRIZ WHITE, Ildikó GÁLL-PELCZ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Reiterates its call for the rapid adoption of the Product Safety and Market Surveillance Package by the Council; underlines the importance of the indication of country of origin, which is crucial to protect consumers and to strengthen the fight against counterfeiting; asks the Commission to use the review of the Mutual Recognition Regulation to ensure that non-conform and unsafe products are not placed on the market;

Amendment 292 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Reiterates its call for the rapid adoption of the Product Safety and Market Surveillance Package by the Council; underlines the importance of providing relevant information on retail products, in particular the indication of country of origin, which is crucial to protect consumers and to strengthen the fight against counterfeiting;

Amendment 293 #

Marlene MIZZI, Sergio Gaetano COFFERATI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Olga SEHNALOVÁ, Nicola DANTI, Maria GRAPINI, Lucy ANDERSON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Reiterates its call for the rapid adoption of the Product Safety and Market Surveillance Package by the Council and calls on the Commission to fully engage in its role as a solution facilitator in this respect; underlines the importance of the indication of country of origin, which is crucial to protect consumers and to strengthen the fight against counterfeiting;

Amendment 294 #

Biljana BORZAN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

Amendment 295 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)

24a. Calls on the Commission and Member States to give the highest political prominence to the retail sector as a pillar of the single market, including the digital single market, and to lift regulatory, administrative and practical obstacles hampering the start-up of businesses, development and continuity and making it difficult for retailers to fully benefit from the internal market; considers that retail market legislation should be evidence- based, taking into account the needs of the sector;

Amendment 296 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)

24a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to tighten up the penalties for counterfeiting and to make sure that EU legislation in this area is fully enforced;

Amendment 297 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Stresses that regulatory differences between Member States regarding differing labelling requirements create unnecessary obstacles to the activities of suppliers of goods; calls on the Commission to consider introducing a mandatory scheme for the provision of key information for furniture, established at EU level; considers that such an initiative would be beneficial for consumers, industries and trade operators, ensuring transparency, adequate recognition of European products and harmonised rules for operators in the single markethave expanded significantly; new requirements create additional costs for businesses, lead to confusion among consumers and diverging national requirements fragment the single market; calls on the Commission to present a plan to reduce the number of EU and national labelling requirements and create a framework to assess which labels are essential and non- essential and pave the way to provide adequate information in different ways to consumers and professional users on products in a transparent manner;

Amendment 298 #

Ivan ŠTEFANEC, Dariusz ROSATI, Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

Amendment 299 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

Amendment 3 #

Marlene MIZZI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Maria GRAPINI

Motion for a resolution
Citation 8 b (new)

– having regard to its resolution of 19 January 2016 on Towards a Digital Single Market Act,

Amendment 30 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas the creation of a single capital market would encourage greater cross-border risk-sharing and more liquid markets;

Amendment 300 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Stresses that regulatory differences between Member States regarding differing labelling requirements create unnecessary obstacles to the activities of suppliers of goods; calls on the Commission to ~~consider introducing a mandatory scheme for the provision of key information for furniture, established at EU level~~review all labelling requirements, present a plan to reduce the number of EU and national labelling requirements, create a framework to assess which ones are essential to consume the product; highlights that all other information could be provided by digital means and not necessarily on the product; stresses that new requirements create additional costs for businesses, lead to confusion among consumers and diverging national requirements fragment the single market; considers that such an initiative would be beneficial for consumers, industries and trade operators, ensuring transparency, adequate recognition of European products and harmonised rules for operators in the single market;

Amendment 301 #

Marlene MIZZI, Sergio Gaetano COFFERATI, Biljana BORZAN, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Evelyne GEBHARDT, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Catherine STIHLER, Olga SEHNALOVÁ, Maria GRAPINI, Marc TARABELLA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Stresses that regulatory differences between Member States regarding differing labelling or quality requirements for the same products in different Member States create unnecessary obstacles to the activities of suppliers of goods and discriminate against different consumers; calls on the Commission to consider introducing a mandatory ~~scheme for the provision of key information for furniture, established at EU level~~labelling and quality scheme for products, established at EU level, for providing consumers with key information and ensuring equality in products’ quality in the different Member States; considers that such an initiative would be beneficial for consumers, industries and trade operators, ensuring transparency, adequate recognition of European products and harmonised rules for operators in the single market;

Amendment 302 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

Amendment 303 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Stresses that regulatory differences between Member States regarding differing labelling requirements create unnecessary obstacles to the activities of suppliers of goods; underlines the added-value of eco- labelling to help consumers in making informed choices and to stimulate a longer duration of use of products; calls on the Commission to consider introducing a mandatory scheme for the provision of key information ~~for furniture~~to consumers, established at EU level; considers that such an initiative would be beneficial for consumers, industries and trade operators, ensuring transparency, adequate recognition of European products and harmonised rules for operators in the single market;

Amendment 304 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Stresses that regulatory differences between Member States regarding differing labelling requirements create unnecessary obstacles to the activities of suppliers of goods and consumer protection, with regard to medical and other products; calls on the Commission to consider introducing a mandatory scheme for the provision of key information for furniture, established at EU level; considers that ~~such an initiative~~closer harmonisation of these rules would be beneficial for consumers, industries and trade operators, ensuring transparency, adequate recognition of European products and harmonised rules for operators in the single market;

Amendment 305 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

Amendment 306 #

Marlene MIZZI, Sergio Gaetano COFFERATI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Catherine STIHLER, Maria GRAPINI, Marc TARABELLA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

Amendment 307 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

26. Emphasises, in respect of the single market in services, that there is a clear need to improve the cross-border provision of services, while reconciling economic freedoms and workers’ rights; urges the Member States to ensure proper and more effective application of the Services Directive, while avoiding the practice of gold-plating; welcomes the Commission proposal to improve notification under the Services Directive; agrees to extend the notification procedure provided for in Directive 2015/1535 to all the sectors not covered by that directiveand proper implementation of the Services Directive; reiterates that facilitating the temporary provision of services by companies in another Member State should go hand in hand with guaranteeing the protection of workers posted to another Member State and ask for the revision, without delay, of the Posting of Workers Directive in order to ensure full respect of workers’ rights and of the equal treatment principle and to fight effectively social dumping and unfair competition;

Amendment 308 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

Amendment 309 #

Marlene MIZZI, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Catherine STIHLER, Maria GRAPINI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

26. Emphasises, in respect of the single market in services, that there is a clear need to improve the cross-border provision of services; urges the Member States to ensure proper and more effective application of the Services Directive, while avoiding the practice of gold-plating; ~~welcomes the Commission proposal to improve notification under~~underlines, in the context of the Services Directive~~; agr~~, the neesd to ~~extend the notification procedure provided for in Directive 2015/1535 to all the sectors not covered by that directive~~reduce the number of regulated professions in the internal market, by identifying those professions which are currently overregulated, and removing unnecessary professional qualification requirements;

Amendment 31 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas, according to Parliament’s own research, the ~~anticipated gain from~~ completingon of the single market ~~stands at a trillion euros~~could have the potential to bring an efficiency gain of EUR 615 billion per year;

Amendment 310 #

Lucy ANDERSON, Maria GRAPINI, Evelyne GEBHARDT, Christel SCHALDEMOSE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

26. ~~Emphasises, in respect of the single market in services, that there is a clear need to improve the cross-border provision of services; urges the~~Urges Member States to ensure ~~proper and mor~~the effective application of the Services Directive~~, while avoiding the practice of gold-plating; welcomes~~; stresses that employment and social standards must be guaranteed in both the Cdom~~mission proposal to improve notification under the Services Directive; agrees to extend the notification procedure provided for in Directive 2015/1535 to all the sectors not covered by that directive~~estic and cross-border provision of services; underlines that any extension of the notification procedure provided for in Directive 2015/1535 must not be inappropriately applied to services of general economic interest;

Amendment 311 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

26. Emphasises, in respect of the single market in services, that there is a ~~clear~~ need to improve the cross-border provision of services; urges the Member States to ensure proper and more effective application of the Services Directive~~, while avoiding the practice of gold-plating~~; welcomes the Commission proposal to improve notification under the Services Directive; ~~agrees to extend the notification procedure provided for in Directive 2015/1535 to all the sectors not covered by that directive;~~

Amendment 312 #

Andreas SCHWAB, Birgit COLLIN-LANGEN, Sabine VERHEYEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

26. Emphasises, in respect of the single market in services, that there is a clear need to improve the cross-border provision of services; urges the Member States to ensure proper and more effective application of the Services Directive~~, while avoiding the practice of gold-plating~~ in order to deepen the single market for services and achieve better productivity and economy growth; welcomes the Commission proposal to improve notification under the Services Directive; ~~agrees to extend the~~supports a reformed notification procedure ~~provided for in Directive 2015/1535 to all the sectors not covered by that directive~~that is transparent and open to comment from all stakeholders, covering all sectors and subject to a robust proportionality methodology;

Amendment 313 #

Inese VAIDERE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

26. Emphasises, in respect of the single market in services, that there is a clear need to improve the cross-border provision of services; urges the Member States to ensure proper and more effective application of the Services Directive, while avoiding the practice of gold-plating; welcomes the Commission proposal to improve notification under the Services Directive; agrees to extend the notification procedure provided for in Directive 2015/1535 to all the sectors not covered by that directive; calls on the Commission to address the burdens to the fractured banking sector in Europe which creates difficulties for non-residents, especially SMEs to open a bank account in another Member State;

Amendment 314 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

26. Emphasises, in respect of the single market in services, that there is a clear need to improve the cross-border provision of services; urges the Member States to ensure proper and more effective application of the Services Directive, while avoiding the practice of gold-plating; welcomes the Commission proposal to improve notification under the Services Directive; agrees to extend the notification procedure provided for in Directive 2015/1535 to all the sectors not covered by that directive; rejects any suggestion that the scope of the Services Directive should be extended;

Amendment 315 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

26. Emphasises, in respect of the single market in services, that there is a clear need to improve the cross-border provision of services; urges the Member States to ensure proper and more effective application of the Services Directive, while ~~avoid~~respecting the p~~ractice of gold-plating~~ublic authorities’ right to regulate in the public interest; welcomes the Commission proposal to improve notification under the Services Directive; agrees to extend the notification procedure provided for in Directive 2015/1535 to all the sectors not covered by that directive;

Amendment 316 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

26. Emphasises, in respect of the single market in services, that there is a clear need to improve the cross-border provision of services, while taking care not to encourage social dumping; urges the Member States to ensure proper and more effective application of the Services Directive, while avoiding the practice of gold-plating; welcomes the Commission proposal to improve notification under the Services Directive; agrees to extend the notification procedure provided for in Directive 2015/1535 to all the sectors not covered by that directive;

Amendment 317 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

Amendment 318 #

Andreas SCHWAB

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)

26a. Points out that the requirements for proportionate regulation are clearly set out in Article 16, paragraph 1, of the Services Directive and the jurisprudence of the ECJ; recalls that the fact that one Member State imposes less strict rules than another does not mean that the latter’s rules are disproportionate and hence incompatible with European Union law; reiterates that rules that undermine, hinder or make unattractive cross-border services are only compatible with the requirements of the internal market if they serve overriding reasons of public interest, and are really suitable for this purpose and do not adversely affect the freedom to provide services more than is necessary to protect the public interest issue they are seeking to serve;

Amendment 319 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)

26a. Welcomes the Commission proposal to improve notification under the Services Directive, as the current procedure is inefficient and not transparent; believes that notification should occur earlier in the legislative process to allow for timely feedback from stakeholders and Member States and to minimise delays in the adoption of new legislation; agrees to extend the notification procedure provided for in Directive 2015/1535 to all the sectors not covered by that directive;

Amendment 32 #

Marlene MIZZI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Evelyne GEBHARDT, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Maria GRAPINI, Marc TARABELLA

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas, according to the European Parliament’s own ~~research~~partial and one-sided research on the cost of Non-Europe, the anticipated gain from completing the single market stands at a trillion euros;

Amendment 320 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)

26a. Acknowledges the Commission’s efforts to open up services’ markets within the parameters of the Services Directive and to improve notification under the Services Directive but considers, that the outcome of such exercise should enable a framework which allows employment and social standards in the service sector to be maintained and expanded as defined by Art. 3 of the EU Treaty; recognises that Member States are responsible for defining their social policy objectives and stresses that possible extension of the notification procedure provided for in Directive 2015/1535 to sectors not covered by that directive may not be misused to indirectly subject services, such as those in the general interest (public services) and that national, democratic law-making is fully respected;

Amendment 321 #

Sergio Gaetano COFFERATI, Jens NILSSON, Maria GRAPINI, Josef WEIDENHOLZER, Marc TARABELLA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. ~~Supports~~Regrets that the Commission proposal to introduce a services passport to help service providers demonstrate that they satisfy the requirements applicable to them in the Member State where they wish to provide their service on a temporary basis; considers that this initiative should be aimed at reducing administrative burden for service providers and simplifying the procedures applicable to cross-border service provisiois failing to deliver regarding the need to better ensure social and workers’ rights within the single market; calls on the Commission to ensure the full respect of the equal treatment principle and to refrain from submitting a proposal to introduce a services passport, which would represent a possible tool for employment abuses and which would entail the strong risk of leaning towards the inacceptable principle of the country of origin;

Amendment 322 #

Marlene MIZZI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Evelyne GEBHARDT, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Jens NILSSON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. ~~Support~~Considers the Commission proposal to introduce a services passport to ~~help~~demonstrate that service providers ~~demonstrate that they~~ satisfy the requirements applicable to them in the Member State where they wish to provide their service on a temporary basis, but regrets that the Commission has not consulted with the sectors it has prioritised before suggesting this initiative in the Single Market Strategy; opposes the country of origin principle and the introduction of issues affecting workers including the notion that information required under the Posted Workers Directive should be covered by a services passport; considers that this initiative should be aimed at reducing unjustified administrative burden for service providers and simplifying the procedures applicable to cross-border service provision and that it should be limited to services regulated by Directive 2006/123/EC on services in the internal market; stresses that the services passport shall not replace or diminish in any way the necessary controls and inspections by the host Member States and that competent authorities in the host country should be able to have specific access to key documents;

Amendment 323 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. ~~Support~~Notes the Commission proposal to introduce a services passport to help service providers demonstrate that they satisfy the requirements applicable to them in the Member State where they wish to provide their service on a temporary basis; considers that this initiative should be aimed at reducing administrative burden for service providers and simplifying the procedures applicable to cross-border service provision; demands that a possible service passport has to takes its place among the series of horizontal tools aimed at supporting internal market legislation, such as the Internal Market Information System (IMI) or the points of single contact, which have been provided for by the Services Directive as a single administrative interface for dealing with all the necessary administrative procedures regarding cross-border services activities; stresses that the introduction of a service passport must not lead to a situation in which the case- law developed by the ECJ on overriding reasons of public interest which can legitimise rules restricting the cross- border movement of services is weakened or repealed;

Amendment 324 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Supports the Commission proposal to introduce a services passport to ~~help service providers demonstrate that they satisfy the require~~facilitate, in key economic sectors such as business services, the developments a~~pplicable to them in the Member State where they wish to provide their service on a temporary basis~~nd mobility of companies across the single market; considers that this initiative should be aimed at ~~reduc~~simplifying administrative ~~burden~~procedures for service providers wan~~d simplifying th~~ting to operate pcro~~cedures applicable to cross-border service provision~~ss-border, and addressing obstacles of regulatory nature which discourage these companies from entering a market in another Member State;

Amendment 325 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Supports the Commission proposal to introduce a services passport to ~~help~~ensure service providers demonstrate that they satisfy the requirements applicable to them in the Member State where they wish to provide their service on a temporary basis or through secondary establishment; considers that this initiative should ~~be aimed at reducing administrative burden for service providers and simplifying the procedures applicable to cross-border service provision~~facilitate mutual recognition of regulatory requirements so businesses do not have to recomply with rules in the host Member State that has the same aim as requirements they already follow at home, as well as reducing administrative burden for service providers and simplifying the procedures applicable to cross-border service provision; believes that to improve the mutual recognition of professional qualifications, where systems are similar but not identical, processes should be established to bridge any differences including through training programmes and induction schemes in order to avoid a race to the bottom in terms of service provision standards; recognises that the Internal Market Information Service is working well in some Member States but needs substantial improvement in others;

Amendment 326 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Supports the Commission proposal to introduce a services passport to help service providers demonstrate that they satisfy the requirements applicable to them in the Member State where they wish to provide their service on a temporary basis; considers that this initiative should be ~~aimed at~~based on the principle that a service provider provides information and documentation only once to a Member State, which is thereafter transmitted electronically to the relevant Member State, therefore meeting its objective of reducing administrative burden for service providers and simplifying the procedures applicable to cross-border service provision;

Amendment 327 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Supports the Commission proposal to introduce a services passport to help service providers demonstrate that they satisfy the requirements applicable to them in the Member State where they wish to provide their service on a temporary basis; considers that this initiative should be aimed at reducing administrative burden for service providers and simplifying the procedures applicable to cross-border service provision, and not at introducing the country of origin principle as a rule for the cross-border provision of services;

Amendment 328 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Supports the Commission proposal to introduce a services passport to help service providers demonstrate that they satisfy the requirements applicable to them in the Member State where they wish to provide their service on a temporary basis; considers that this initiative should be aimed at reducing administrative burden for service providers and simplifying the procedures applicable to cross-border service provision; at the same time, highlights the fact that the services passport is a temporary solution intended for use during the transition to a fully integrated single market;

Amendment 329 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Supports the Commission proposal to introduce a services passport to help service providers demonstrate that they satisfy the requirements applicable to them in the Member State where they wish to provide their service on a temporary basis; considers that this initiative should be aimed at reducing administrative burden for service providers and simplifying the procedures applicable to cross-border service provision; underlines however that a services passport could be superfluous if the Services Directive would be properly implemented and enforced;

Amendment 33 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas, according to Parliament’s own research, the anticipated gain from completing the single market stands at a trillion euros; whereas the free movement of goods and services under the single market is still being limited by: bureaucracy, legislation that is in many cases disproportionate to needs, and non- tariff barriers often arising from national and corporate protectionism;

Amendment 330 #

Andreas SCHWAB, Birgit COLLIN-LANGEN, Sabine VERHEYEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. SEmphasises the need to ensure consistent proportionality assessment of regulatory requirements and restrictions applicable to services; supports the Commission proposal to introduce a services passport to help service providers demonstrate that they satisfy the requirements applicable to them in the Member State where they wish to provide their service on a temporary basis; considers that this initiative should be aimed at reducing administrative burden for service providers and simplifying the procedures applicable to cross-border service provision;

Amendment 331 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Supports the Commission proposal to introduce a services passport to help service providers demonstrate that they satisfy the requirements applicable to them in the Member State where they wish to provide their service on a temporary basis; considers that this initiative should be aimed at reducing administrative burden for service providers and authorities and simplifying the procedures applicable to cross-border service provision; stresses that this must not be accompanied by the introduction of the country-of-origin principle;

Amendment 332 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)

27a. Welcomes the strong focus on the role of services in the single market and making sure that professionals and service companies, especially retailers, are not locked into their national markets; stresses that the further enlargement of the professional and services passports schemes will be central to avoiding the unnecessary red tape between Member States that holds back our citizens from working and trading across borders;

Amendment 333 #

Andreas SCHWAB, Birgit COLLIN-LANGEN, Sabine VERHEYEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)

27a. Stresses the importance of consistent proportionality assessment of regulatory requirements and restrictions in services markets; notes the Commission’s proposed analytical framework for Member States to use when reviewing existing or new regulation of professions, and believes this can contribute to ensuring consistency across Member States through being mandatory in nature;

Amendment 334 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)

27a. Welcomes, as a matter of principle, the initiatives announced by the Commission to increase transparency, efficiency and accountability in public procurement; stresses, however, that the implementation and application of new EU directives should take precedence over the introduction of new instruments such as the contract register; stresses in this connection that possible data analysis tools must not lead to new or additional reporting requirements; recalls that an ex-ante evaluation mechanism should be purely voluntary for large infrastructure projects;

Amendment 335 #

Birgit COLLIN-LANGEN, Sabine VERHEYEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)

27a. Takes the view, in respect of the professional services sector, that different approaches to regulation do not per se constitute an obstacle to the deepening of the internal market; stresses that rules on access to and the exercise of professions may be necessary for the protection of public interest and consumer protection and their evaluation makes sense only in the national context;

Amendment 336 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)

27a. Calls for an in-depth EU-assessment of the impact that liberalisations of services of general economic interest have had on the quality, universality and affordability of public service provision;

Amendment 337 #

Ivan ŠTEFANEC, Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)

27a. Agrees with the Commission that many of the Member States’ regulations on access to and exercise of regulated professions are disproportionate to requirements and create barriers restricting access to those professions;

Amendment 338 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)

27a. Highlights the fact that inefficient delivery services, especially as regards the final mile delivery, constitute important barrier to selling across borders in the EU; stresses that accessible, affordable, efficient and high-quality delivery services are an essential prerequisite for thriving single market; calls on the Commission to come up with a comprehensive action plan for parcel delivery and define goals to be realised on this market by the end of 2020; calls on the Commission to put more emphasis on dismantling barriers operators encounter in cross-border delivery;

Amendment 339 #

Lara COMI, Antonio TAJANI, Andreas SCHWAB

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)

27a. Considers that cross-border provision of services on a temporary basis, including professional services, should be considered a key element for the internal market as they create jobs and provide high-quality products and services to EU citizens; therefore considers the periodic guidance a useful instrument for the Member States, taking into account the different economical, geographical and social backgrounds of all Member States;

Amendment 34 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas, the single market makes a significant contribution to European economies and, according to Parliament’s own research, the anticipated gain from completing the single market stands at a trillion euros;

Amendment 340 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)

27a. Underlines the need for a fully electronic public procurement system; highlights the need for fast and comprehensive implementation of the Public Procurement Directive in its whole; highlights the wider use of the e- procurement to open the markets for SMEs;

Amendment 341 #

Nicola DANTI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)

27a. Welcomes the renewed focus, under the recent Single Market strategy, on regulated and liberal professions in Europe, which represent an important factor for growth and employment in the single market; calls on the Commission to propose specific measures to implement the recommendations of the Commission Working Group on ‘Action Lines for Bolstering the Business of liberal Professions’;

Amendment 342 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 b (new)

27b. Calls on the Commission to review the legislation on the exercise of regulated professions in the Member States and to begin the process of changing the rules in this area in order to increase access to those professions while maintaining their high standards;

Amendment 343 #

Marlene MIZZI, Sergio Gaetano COFFERATI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Christel SCHALDEMOSE

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 4

~~A fairer single market~~deleted

Amendment 344 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)

27a. Stresses that the creation of a truly fairer single market is essential for achieving the social and economic aims of the Union for a highly competitive social market economy aiming at full employment and social progress and a high level of protection and improvement of environmental quality and standards;

Amendment 345 #

Marlene MIZZI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Catherine STIHLER, Maria GRAPINI, Lucy ANDERSON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 b (new)

27b. Calls on the Commission to draw up a detailed assessment on the social impact of the single market legislation, as it has done on the economic impact and to include the "Monti II" clauses in all single market legislation;

Amendment 346 #

Marlene MIZZI, Sergio Gaetano COFFERATI, Biljana BORZAN, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Olga SEHNALOVÁ, Maria GRAPINI, Lucy ANDERSON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 c (new)

27c. Calls on the Commission to adopt a clear single market legislative agenda to strengthen workers’ rights, improve working conditions, promote equal treatment, prevent social dumping and exploitation of workers and ensure fair competition among the Member States;

Amendment 347 #

Marlene MIZZI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Maria GRAPINI, Lucy ANDERSON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 d (new)

27d. Welcomes the fact that the strategy refers to the high level of unemployment across the EU, but regrets that it does not present specific steps and measures that can help people find employment, such as improving education and training standards, meeting lifelong learning targets, and tackling skills mismatches and qualifications of workers and professionals; considers that it is self- evident that the single market is changing rapidly due to digitalisation of the different industries and the new jobs will require a different set of skills and qualifications;

Amendment 348 #

Marlene MIZZI, Sergio Gaetano COFFERATI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Evelyne GEBHARDT, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Catherine STIHLER, Olga SEHNALOVÁ, Nicola DANTI, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Pina PICIERNO, Maria GRAPINI, Marc TARABELLA, Lucy ANDERSON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 e (new)

27e. Disapproves that the Commission did not adopt any specific measures in the Single Market Strategy to address the needs of people and consumers with disability, elderly people and people living in rural and remote areas;

Amendment 349 #

Marlene MIZZI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Catherine STIHLER, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Maria GRAPINI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 f (new)

27f. Supports the Commission’s initiative to review the regulated profession, but reminds that any exercise should maintain high quality standards for employment and services, sound qualifications and consumers’ safety;

Amendment 35 #

Marlene MIZZI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Jens NILSSON, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Maria GRAPINI, Lucy ANDERSON

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas fragmentation of the single market is one of the major impediments to higher structural economic growth;

Amendment 350 #

Marlene MIZZI, Sergio Gaetano COFFERATI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Evelyne GEBHARDT, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Catherine STIHLER, Jens NILSSON, Nicola DANTI, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Pina PICIERNO, Maria GRAPINI, Marc TARABELLA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 g (new)

27g. Regrets that the Commission’s Communication does not announce any proposal in relation to the social economy although it plays a key role in the EU’s social and economic development; urges the Commission to explore the potential of this emerging sector and without undue delay to improve its visibility and a regulatory environment for social enterprises;

Amendment 351 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 h (new)

27h. Is of the opinion that a legal framework encompassing the different forms of social economy in Europe, i.e. cooperatives, foundations, mutual societies and associations will enable social economy enterprises, which do not benefit from the same measures applicable to SMEs, to operate on a legally sound basis and thus enjoy the advantages of the internal market and free movement; furthermore calls for the development of the Social Business Initiative (SBI), mainstreaming social entrepreneurship and social economy enterprises into the Small Business Act, and adopting the Statute for Mutuals;

Amendment 352 #

Marlene MIZZI, Sergio Gaetano COFFERATI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Maria GRAPINI, Lucy ANDERSON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 i (new)

27i. Regrets that the Commission’s Communication does not suggests any proposal to acknowledge the specific character of public services within the single market and in particular to adopt a legal framework for services of general economic interest (SGEI) based on Protocol N26 and Article 14 of the TFEU, for instance in relation to quality requirements and notably with regard to social and territorial cohesion;

Amendment 353 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Stresses that discrimination against consumers and entrepreneurs on the basis of nationality or place of residence, in both online and offline environments, is not acceptable within the single market;deleted

Amendment 354 #

Marlene MIZZI, Sergio Gaetano COFFERATI, Biljana BORZAN, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Catherine STIHLER, Olga SEHNALOVÁ, Maria GRAPINI, Lucy ANDERSON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Stresses that di~~scrimination against~~fferent terms and conditions for consumers and entrepreneurs on the basis of nationality or place of residence, in both online and offline environments, ~~is not acceptable~~should only occur within the single market if justified on the basis of objective reasons, such as compliance costs, copyright and non- viable business models;

Amendment 355 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. SEmphasises that the genuine single market should provide benefits and protection for citizens, consumers and businesses in terms of better quality, greater variety, reasonable prices, and safety of goods and services; stresses that unjustified discrimination against service recipients (consumers and entrepreneurs) on the basis of nationality or place of residence, in both online and offline environments, is not acceptable within the single market;

Amendment 356 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

Amendment 357 #

Lucy ANDERSON, Maria GRAPINI, Evelyne GEBHARDT

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Stresses that unjustified discrimination against consumers and entrepreneurs on the basis of nationality or place of residence that is not based on any objective and verifiable criteria, in both online and offline environments, is not acceptable within the single market;

Amendment 358 #

Olga SEHNALOVÁ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)

28a. Recalls the Commission the appeal of the Parliament to carry out a meaningful investigation about possible differences in the quality of products with the same brand and packaging which are distributed in the single market, that would enable to evaluate whether there is a need for adjustment of existing legislation; calls also on the Commission to confront this issue with the provisions of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive;

Amendment 359 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)

28a. Highlights that the ADR Directive and ODR platform may benefit consumers and businesses in cross-border transactions; calls for further mechanisms for adequate consumer redress to be introduced, including a collective approach to redress where needed;

Amendment 36 #

Marlene MIZZI, Sergio Gaetano COFFERATI, Biljana BORZAN, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Catherine STIHLER, Olga SEHNALOVÁ, Maria GRAPINI

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas a genuinely strategic approach ~~is called for, and whereas the response to the challeng~~should be developed, but the European Union is incapable of overcoming the difficulties faced which should ~~be political as much as technical in nature~~rather be tackled at national level;

Amendment 360 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)

28a. Agrees that when purchasing goods and services in the single market, consumers need transparent information and a set of modern and solid rights to protect their interests; is of the opinion that any review, merger or consolidation of consumer law directives should provide for a truly high level of consumers’ protection and enforceable rights, recognising existing best practices from national legislation;

Amendment 361 #

Olga SEHNALOVÁ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 b (new)

28b. Stresses the need of putting enforcement of consumer rules among priorities for the single market policies as well as seeking new ways to strengthen and improve enforcement of consumer acquis across the EU and Member States; emphasises the importance of the review of Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) in this regard;

Amendment 362 #

Marlene MIZZI, Sergio Gaetano COFFERATI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Evelyne GEBHARDT, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Olga SEHNALOVÁ, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Maria GRAPINI, Marc TARABELLA, Lucy ANDERSON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 b (new)

28b. Calls on the Commission to analyse the current legal uncertainties affecting consumers and if necessary to resolve them through clarification and supplements to the legal framework of consumers rights; reiterates its commitment to the principle of flexible harmonisation for any proposed EU legislation concerning consumers and that full harmonisation is only applied when it sets a very high level of consumer protection and provides clear benefits for consumers;

Amendment 363 #

Marlene MIZZI, Sergio Gaetano COFFERATI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Catherine STIHLER, Olga SEHNALOVÁ, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Maria GRAPINI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 c (new)

28c. Stresses that consumers must be able to exercise their rights easily; welcomes the implementation of the ADR Directive and Commission’s new online dispute resolution (ODR) platform; notes that redress mechanisms applicable across the Union have yielded limited results and therefore urges the Commission to bring forward a legislative proposal to ensure implementation of an affordable, expedient and accessible Europe-wide collective redress system;

Amendment 364 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29

29. Calls on the Commission to submit, as a matter of priority, a legislative proposal to address geo-blocking and other forms of discrimination by market operators; calls on the Commission to lay down effective criteria for assessing the unjustified character of geo-blocking;deleted

Amendment 365 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29

29. Calls on the Commission to submit, as a matter of priority, a legislative proposal to address geo-blocking and other forms of discrimination by market operators~~; calls on the Commission to lay down effective criteria for assessing the unjustified character of geo-blocking~~, which should include strong monitoring and enforcement provisions; stresses that any case groups of justified discrimination must be as concise and as clear as possible and based on legal requirements, rather than on business decisions;

Amendment 366 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29

29. Calls on the Commission to submit, ~~as a matter of priority, a legislative proposal to add~~with due regard for the freedom to run a business and freedom of contract, measuress ~~geo-blocking and other forms of discrimination by market operators~~to increase transparency and improve the provision of information to consumers and to counter unjustified geo- blocking; calls on the Commission to lay down ~~eff~~objective and targeted criteria for assessing the unjustified character of geo- blocking;

Amendment 367 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29

29. Calls on the Commission to ~~submit, as a matter of priority, a legislative proposal to~~press ahead with proposals for solutions, including of a legislative nature, which may help address geo-blocking and other forms of unjustified discrimination by market operators; calls on the Commission to lay down effective criteria for assessing the unjustified character of geo-blocking;

Amendment 368 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29

29. Calls on the Commission to submit, as a matter of priority, a legislative proposal to address geo-blocking and other forms of discrimination by market operators ; calls on the Commission to lay down effective criteria for assessing the unjustified character of geo-blocking to unleash opportunities for businesses to sell online and provide choices for consumers;

Amendment 369 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29

Amendment 37 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas a genuinely strategic approach is called for, and whereas the response to the challenges faced should be political as much as technical in nature, particularly in the case of unjustified non-tariff barriers within the single market;

Amendment 370 #

Marlene MIZZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29

29. CNotes that market operators often need to engage in market selection in order to function within the set market conditions; calls on the Commission to submit, as a matter of priority, a legislative proposal to address unjustified geo- blocking and other forms of discrimination by market operators; calls on the Commission to lay down ~~effectiv~~the criteria for assessing the unjustified character of geo- blocking;

Amendment 371 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29

29. Calls on the Commission to submit, as a matter of priority, a legislative proposal to address geo-blocking and other unjustified forms of discrimination by market operators; calls on the Commission to lay down effective criteria for assessing the unjustified character of geo-blocking;

Amendment 372 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29

29. Calls on the Commission to submit, as a matter of priority, a legislative proposal to address geo-blocking and other forms of discrimination by market operators such as with cross-border parcel delivery; calls on the Commission to lay down effective criteria for assessing the unjustified character of geo-blocking;

Amendment 373 #

Jens NILSSON, Ramón Luis VALCÁRCEL SISO, Antonio LÓPEZ-ISTÚRIZ WHITE, Verónica LOPE FONTAGNÉ, Elena GENTILE, Maria GRAPINI, Lucy ANDERSON, Nicola DANTI, Catherine STIHLER, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Sven GIEGOLD

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)

29a. Considers that given the multi-sided nature of service provision on the Internet, the application of the freedom of movement of services should not only be binding to Member States, but also to service providers offering online services in exchange for payment by end-users in the EU, insofar as limiting access to such services serves to form a barrier to trade between Member States;

Amendment 374 #

Biljana BORZAN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)

29a. Emphasises that on the single market there are products containing different ingredients under the same brand name and in the same packaging; calls on the Commission to make necessary steps to ensure that all European consumers are being sold products of equal quality;

Amendment 375 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)

29a. Emphasises that social economy enterprises represent a diversity of business models, that is key for a highly competitive and fairer single market; calls on the Commission to mainstream the social economy within its single market policies and to develop a European Action Plan for social economy enterprises in order to unlock the full potential for a sustainable and inclusive growth.

Amendment 376 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)

29a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to analyse unnecessary restrictions to retail establishment in the single market that are not justified by overriding reasons relating to the public interest, bringing forward proposals to overcome these problems where necessary, and report on that in Spring 2017;

Amendment 377 #

Jens NILSSON, Catherine STIHLER, Elena GENTILE, Maria GRAPINI, Lucy ANDERSON, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Sven GIEGOLD

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 b (new)

29b. Reiterates that the Commission’s Social Business Initiative (SBI) stressed that the single market needs an inclusive growth, focused on employment for all; calls, therefore, on the Commission to launch a second phase of the SBI by developing an Action Plan for the social economy enterprises in Europe;

Amendment 378 #

Jens NILSSON, Maria GRAPINI, Elena GENTILE, Lucy ANDERSON, Catherine STIHLER, Nicola DANTI, Sven GIEGOLD

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 c (new)

29c. Calls on the Commission to provide an analysis within the Single Market Strategy on how the development of digital technologies and online platforms contribute to the rise of social economy enterprises characterised by democratic business models and reinvestment of profit, creating added value to enterprises, consumers and workers;

Amendment 379 #

Marlene MIZZI, Sergio Gaetano COFFERATI, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Maria GRAPINI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)

30a. Calls the Commission to strengthen its efforts to identify possible infringements of EU law by Member States on a very early stage and to take a firm stance against any legislative measures, adopted or being proceeded in national parliaments, that could increase the fragmentation of the single market;

Amendment 38 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas a genuinely strategic approach is called for the further integration of the single market, and whereas the response to the challenges faced should be political as much as technical in nature;

Amendment 380 #

Ivan ŠTEFANEC

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)

30a. Highlights that the commitment and willingness of the Member States to properly implement and apply EU law is essential to make the single market successful; calls upon Member States to remove unjustified and disproportionate barriers to the single market and refrain from discriminatory and protectionist measures to foster jobs, growth and competitiveness;

Amendment 39 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

~~E. whereas the EU should pursue a genuine single market and treat it as a common asset of all citizens, economic operators and Member States;~~deleted

Amendment 4 #

Jens NILSSON, Elena GENTILE, Maria GRAPINI, Lucy ANDERSON, Sven GIEGOLD

Motion for a resolution
Citation 8 b (new)

– having regard to the Commission communication of 25 October 2011 entitled "Social Business Initiative - Creating a favourable climate for social enterprises, key stakeholders in the social economy and innovation" (COM (2001) 682 final),

Amendment 40 #

Marlene MIZZI, Sergio Gaetano COFFERATI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Catherine STIHLER, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Maria GRAPINI, Lucy ANDERSON

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas the EU should pursue a genuine single market and treat it as a common asset of all citizens, economic operators and Member States, and whereas the single market will only reach its full potential if it has the full support of all Member States in collaboration with each other;

Amendment 41 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas the EU should pursue a genuine single market and treat it as a common asset of all citizens, workers, economic operators and Member States;

Amendment 42 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)

Ea. whereas Member States have to refrain from discriminatory measures, such as trade and tax laws that only affect certain sectors or business models and distort competition, making it difficult for foreign business to establish themselves in a given Member State, which constitutes a clear breach of internal market principles;

Amendment 43 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)

E a. whereas some 5 000 professions are regulated in the EU, and in many cases the rules are unnecessary and – even if they are expected – excessive;

Amendment 44 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)

Ea. whereas the completion of the single market in the product and services and the removal of barriers is a top priority which requires fast-track approach from Member States and the EU institutions;

Amendment 45 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)

Ea. whereas the proposal of a trade-off between deepening the single market and addressing the major concerns of the citizens, contained in the Monti Report of 9 May 20101c, has not been subject to any proper follow-up so far; __________________ 1c‘A New Strategy for the Single Market - At the Service of Europe's Economy and Society’, report of 9 May 2010 to the President of the Commission

Amendment 46 #

Verónica LOPE FONTAGNÉ, Ramón Luis VALCÁRCEL SISO, Antonio LÓPEZ-ISTÚRIZ WHITE, Jens NILSSON

Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)

Ea. whereas rules and actions at EU level should be incorporated into a uniform strategic vision and thus be consistent with each other and not contradictory;

Amendment 47 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)

Ea. whereas there is a low level of recognition enjoyed by the social economy enterprises at European level and whereas most of these enterprises are not recognised by a European-level legal framework, but only at national level in some Member States, with different legal forms; whereas this lack of an EU legal framework hinders their capacity to operate cross-border within the internal market;

Amendment 48 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)

Eb. whereas the summary report of the Commission consultation on geo-blocking reveals strong consumer support for legislative measures against geo-blocking;

Amendment 49 #

Marlene MIZZI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Jens NILSSON, Maria GRAPINI

Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)

Eb. whereas barriers in the single market lead to less choice and more expensive products and services for consumers;

Amendment 5 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 8 c (new)

– having regard to the Council Conclusions of 7 December 2015 on the promotion of the social economy as a key driver of economic and social development in Europe,

Amendment 50 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 (new)

-1. Is of the opinion that the mid-term review of the EU’s 2020 Strategy should set ambitious targets to reach a green, knowledge-based social market economy and sustainable growth by 2020; stresses that the single market should be central in achieving the goal of a sustainable and highly competitive social market economy in the context of the EU 2020 Strategy’s long-term vision taking up the challenges of maintaining social justice and economic growth as well as focusing on benefits for citizens, consumer protection, and SMEs;

Amendment 51 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 a (new)

-1a. Reiterates that the perception of the single market as being solely tied to the economic aspects has exhausted its own potential and a new broader based strategy must be put into action, establishing a balance between economic rights and fundamental social rights, integrating consumers’ and citizens’ interests into the single market;

Amendment 52 #

Marlene MIZZI, Sergio Gaetano COFFERATI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Evelyne GEBHARDT, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Catherine STIHLER, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Maria GRAPINI, Marc TARABELLA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Support~~Notes the overall objectives of the Commission’s Single Market Strategy for goods and services, ~~and welcomes its vision for how~~ to unleash the full potential of the single market;

Amendment 53 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Supports the overall objectives of the Commission’s Single Market Strategy for goods and services, and ~~welcom~~acknowledges its vision for how to unleash the full potential of the single market but recalls on the Commission to improve the social and environmental side of the single market based on the Lisbon Treaty’s obligations;

Amendment 54 #

Maria GRAPINI, Nicola DANTI, Lucy ANDERSON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Supports the overall objectives of the Commission’s Single Market Strategy for goods and services, and welcomes its vision for how to unleash the full potential of the single market to the benefit of both consumers and businesses, in particular start-ups;

Amendment 55 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Supports the overall objectives of the Commission’s Single Market Strategy for goods and services, and welcomes its vision for how to unleash the full potential of the single market in order to increase the number of quality jobs and to develop SMEs;

Amendment 56 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Supports the overall objectives of the Commission’s Single Market Strategy for goods and services, and welcomes its ~~vision for how~~actions in key areas in order to unleash the full potential of the single market;

Amendment 57 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Supports the ~~overall~~ objectives of the Commission’s Single Market Strategy for goods and services, and welcomes its vision for how to unleash the full potential of the single market;

Amendment 58 #

Marlene MIZZI, Sergio Gaetano COFFERATI, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Supports the overall objectives of the Commission’s Single Market Strategy for goods and services: "Upgrading the Single Market: more opportunities for people and business", and welcomes its vision for how to unleash the full potential of the single market;

Amendment 59 #

Sergio Gaetano COFFERATI, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Maria GRAPINI, Catherine STIHLER, Lucy ANDERSON, Nicola DANTI, Josef WEIDENHOLZER, Evelyne GEBHARDT, Pina PICIERNO

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Believes in this respect that equal treatment principle for workers should be considered a pillar of an effective and socially sustainable single market and urges the Commission to take the necessary legislative and non-legislative actions in order to ensure that the this principle is fully respected in the single market;

Amendment 6 #

Jens NILSSON, Sven GIEGOLD, Maria GRAPINI, Lucy ANDERSON

Motion for a resolution
Citation 8 a (new)

– having regard to the Council Conclusions of 7 December 2015 on the promotion of the social economy as a key driver of economical and social development in Europe,

Amendment 60 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Welcomes the fact that the strategy is complementary to efforts made in other areas; believes that, by building on ~~the~~ initiatives ~~already being ta~~in other areas and developing explicit cross-cutting, horizontal measures designed to achieve a fairer single markent, the strategy has good potential to help ensure economic prosperity, increase the creation of quality jobs and growth and make Europe attractive for investments;

Amendment 61 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Welcomes the fact that the strategy iseeks to complement~~ary to~~ the efforts made in other areas; believes that, by ~~building on~~improving the initiatives already being taken, the strategy has good potential to help ensure economic prosperity and make Europe attractive for investments;

Amendment 62 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Welcomes the fact that the strategy is complementary to efforts made in other areas; believes that, by building on the initiatives already being taken, the strategy has good potential to help ensure economic prosperity, improve the wellbeing of Europeans by practical measures and make Europe attractive for investments and more resistant to global competition;

Amendment 63 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Welcomes the fact that the strategy is co~~mplementary to~~ordinated with efforts made in other areas, especially in the Digital Single Market Strategy; believes that, by building on the initiatives already being taken, the strategy has good potential to help ensure economic prosperity and make Europe more attractive for investments;

Amendment 64 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Welcomes the fact that the strategy is complementary to efforts made in other areas; believes that, by building on the initiatives already being taken, the strategy has good potential to help ensure economic prosperity and make Europe attractive for investments; stresses however the need in the implementation of this strategy to avoid inconsistencies and overlaps between the different initiatives;

Amendment 65 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

Amendment 66 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Regrets the lack of ambition shown by the Commission in the new Circular Economy Package presented on 2 December 2015, especially the lack of a resource efficiency target; calls for the Commission to urgently follow up on its previous announcements and present a comprehensive strategy on combatting food waste;

Amendment 67 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Highlights that it is crucial for all Single Market Strategy initiatives to be based on better regulation principles and on most efficient tools such as harmonisation and mutual recognition;

Amendment 68 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Underlines that proposals should be evidence-based and reduce regulatory and administrative burden on businesses, in particular, SMEs;

Amendment 69 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Underlines the urgent need to eliminate the remaining barriers from the single market in order to achieve tangible and quick results in terms of growth, innovation, job creation, consumer choice and new business modelsfact that if no tangible results have been obtained in terms of growth, innovation, job creation, consumer choice and new business models, this is due not to so-called obstacles to the completion of the single market but to the single market itself which is a negation of the multiple nature of the ‘common’ market of the continent of Europe;

Amendment 7 #

Jens NILSSON, Sven GIEGOLD, Maria GRAPINI, Lucy ANDERSON, Elena GENTILE, Evelyne GEBHARDT

Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 a (new)

– having regard the study of 2016 entitled "Social Economy", commissioned by the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection,

Amendment 70 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Underlines the urgent need to eliminate the remaining barriers from the single market, while preserving the maximum degree of consumer protection, in order to achieve tangible and quick results in terms of growth, innovation, job creation, consumer choice and new business models; is convinced that the objective of social progress and competitiveness must be taken into account in the further development of the single market as interdependent and complementary guiding principles;

Amendment 71 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Underlines the urgent need to eliminate the remaining ~~barriers~~unjustified restrictions on the free movement of persons, goods, services and capital, as well as restrictions arising from bureaucracy and excessive regulation, from the single market in order to achieve tangible and quick results in terms of growth, innovation, job creation, consumer choice and new business models;

Amendment 72 #

Marlene MIZZI, Sergio Gaetano COFFERATI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Catherine STIHLER, Nicola DANTI, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Pina PICIERNO, Maria GRAPINI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Underlines the urgent need to eliminate the remaining barriers from the single market in order to achieve tangible and quick results in terms of growth, innovation, job creation, consumer choice and new business models; believes that in order to achieve these goals, we should strive towards full harmonisation of legislation, and adopt a zero tolerance policy towards unjustified barriers established by Member States;

Amendment 73 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Underlines the urgent need to ~~eliminate the remaining~~put back at the heart of the single market those who live in it and use it daily, and to eliminate the existing unjustified barriers from the single market in order to achieve effective tangible and quick results in terms of growth, innovation, job creation, consumer choice and new business models;

Amendment 74 #

Maria GRAPINI, Lucy ANDERSON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

Amendment 75 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Underlines the urgent need to eliminate the remaining barriers from the single market in order to achieve tangible and quick results in terms of ~~growt~~competitiveness, growth, research, innovation, job creation, consumer choice and new business models;

Amendment 76 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Underlines the urgent need to eliminate the remaining unjustified barriers from the single market in order to achieve tangible and quick results in terms of growth, innovation, job creation, consumer choice and new business models;

Amendment 77 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Underlines the urgent need to eliminate the remaining barriers from the single market in order to achieve tangible and quick results in terms of sustainable growth, innovation, job creation, consumer choice and new business models;

Amendment 78 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Reiterates the importance of removing barriers (including linguistic, administrative and those relating to lack of information) which restrict the business potential of online cross-border trade and undermine consumers’ confidence in the single market; emphasises the importance of eliminating operational restrictions to the exercise of the retail activity such as the regulation of shop opening hours, retail specific and selective taxes and the disproportionate request of information to the companies;

Amendment 79 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Deplores the lack of progress and lack of focus on social and environmental concerns of the new Single Market Strategy since the Monti Report of 9 May 2010;

Amendment 8 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 11 a (new)

– having regard to its resolution of 11 December 2013 on the European Retail Action Plan for the benefit of all actors1a, __________________ 1a Text adopted, P7_TA(2013)0580.

Amendment 80 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Calls on the Commission and Member States to be disruptive in the implementation of the single market legislation; stresses the great potential of labour intense sectors such as retail and hospitality industry for job creation, integration and tackling youth unemployment;

Amendment 81 #

Marlene MIZZI, Sergio Gaetano COFFERATI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Evelyne GEBHARDT, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Catherine STIHLER, Olga SEHNALOVÁ, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Maria GRAPINI, Marc TARABELLA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Considers that the Monti report from 2010 "A new strategy for the single market" should be fully implemented and taken into account during the work on the Single Market Strategy;

Amendment 82 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Welcomes the strategy’s focus on aspects aimed at helping ~~businesses, in particular~~ SMEs, micro- enterprises and start-ups, to scale up their activities, grow and stay in the single market, thus facilitating their innovation and job creation; considers that all initiatives for SMEs and start-ups should be treated as a priority, but reminds that these initiatives should not provide opportunities for dishonest businesses to circumvent existing rules, lower workers’ and consumer standards, increase the risk of corporate fraud, criminal activities and letterbox companies;

Amendment 83 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Welcomes the strategy’s focus on aspects aimed at helping businesses, in particular SMEs, micro-enterprises and start-ups, to scale up their activities, grow and stay in the single market, thus facilitating their innovation and job creation; ~~consider~~underlines that all initiatives for SMEs and start-ups require immediate actions and should be treated as a priority;

Amendment 84 #

Marlene MIZZI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Evelyne GEBHARDT, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Virginie ROZIÈRE, Maria GRAPINI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Underlines that the Better Regulation Agenda should be at the heart of any initiatives from the Commission; more importantly, reiterates that new initiatives should be evidence-based and in particular take into account the impact on SMEs;

Amendment 85 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Disagrees with the Commission’s statement that its proposal on single member companies should be implemented immediately, which in its current form is not a suitable instrument to boost the single market;

Amendment 86 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

Amendment 87 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. ~~Believes that it is necessary to adopt a common definition of ‘innovative’ start- ups and SMEs, or~~Calls on the Commission to examine the possibility of establishing objective criteria, that can be used as a point of reference for the adoption of related measures; ~~calls on the Commission to propose such a definition;~~

Amendment 88 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Believes that it is necessary to ~~adopt a common definition~~better assess and identify the needs of ‘innovative’ start- ups and SMEs, ~~or objective criteria, that can be used as a point of reference for the adoption of related measures; calls on the Commission to propose such a definition~~for the adoption of related measures to be effective;

Amendment 89 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Believes that it is necessary to adopt a common definition of ‘innovative’ start- ups and SMEs, or objective criteria, that can be used as a point of reference for the adoption of related measures; calls on the Commission to propose such a definitionobjective assessment criteria for ‘innovative’ businesses, including start- ups and SMEs, that can be used so that effective support instruments can be applied to them;

Amendment 9 #

Marlene MIZZI, Liisa JAAKONSAARI, Christel SCHALDEMOSE, Catherine STIHLER, Maria GRAPINI

Motion for a resolution
Citation 12

~~- having regard to the study of November 2014 entitled ‘The EU furniture market situation and a possible furniture products initiative’, commissioned by the Commission,,~~deleted

Amendment 90 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Believes that it ~~is necessary~~could be helpful to adopt a common ~~definition of~~criteria to identify ‘innovative’ start- ups and SMEs, ~~or objective criteria, that can~~which could be used as aone point of reference for the adoption of related measures; ~~calls on the Commission to propose such a definition;~~

Amendment 91 #

Jens NILSSON, Sven GIEGOLD, Maria GRAPINI, Lucy ANDERSON, Elena GENTILE, Ramón Luis VALCÁRCEL SISO, Verónica LOPE FONTAGNÉ, Nicola DANTI, Catherine STIHLER, Evelyne GEBHARDT, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Antonio LÓPEZ-ISTÚRIZ WHITE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Believes that it is necessary to adopt a common definition of ‘innovative’ start- ups ~~and SMEs,~~, SMEs and social economy enterprises or objective criteria, that can be used as a point of reference for the adoption of related measures; reminds that social economy enterprises have revealed a huge innovative potential, coming up with creative solutions to major economic, social and environmental challenges: calls on the Commission to propose such a definition including social economy enterprises;

Amendment 92 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Believes that it is necessary to adopt a set of common definitions or indicators of ‘„innovative’‟ start- ups and SMEs, or objective criteria, that can be used as a point of reference for the adoption of related measures; calls on the Commission to propose such a definition;

Amendment 93 #

Maria GRAPINI, Nicola DANTI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Believes that it is necessary to ~~adopt~~use a common definition of ‘innovative’ start- ups and SMEs, or objective criteria, that can be used as a point of reference for the adoption of related measures; calls on the Commission to propose such a definition;

Amendment 94 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Believes that it is necessary to adopt a common definition of ‘innovative’ start- ups and SMEs, or objective criteria, that can be used as a point of reference for the adoption of related measures and for developing specific financial programmes; calls on the Commission to propose such a definition;

Amendment 95 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Believes that it is necessary to consider adoption of adopt a common definition of ‘innovative’ start- ups and SMEs, or objective criteria, that can be used as a point of reference for the adoption of related measures; calls on the Commission to propose such a definition;

Amendment 96 #