2018/2120(INI) | [ParlTrack]

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Awaiting committee decision

2018/2120(INI) European semester for economic policy coordination: employment and social aspects in the annual growth survey 2019

Role	Committee	Rapporteur	Shadows
Opinion	BUDG
Lead	EMPL	HARKIN Marian (ALDE)	KOZŁOWSKA-RAJEWICZ Agnieszka (EPP), ARENA Maria (S&D), BIZZOTTO Mara (ENF)
Opinion	FEMM	PICIERNO Pina (S&D)

Lead committee dossier: EMPL/8/13406
Legal Basis RoP 52

Subjects

Links

Activites

2018/06/14 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading

Documents

Amendments	Dossier
147	2018/2120(INI) 2018/12/05 FEMM 24 amendments... Amendment 1 # Ernest URTASUN Draft opinion Recital B B. whereas persistent gender gaps in the EU, such as the 11.6 % gender employment gap1 , the 16.2 % gender pay gap2 and the 37.2 % gender pension gap3 , among others, are not only unfair, but also put women in vulnerable or precarious situations, such as poverty or social exclusion; whereas urgent efforts are needed to eliminate these gaps as they remain one of the main barriers for achieving gender equality and an unacceptable form of gender discrimination; _________________ 1 European Institute for Gender Equality, Gender Statistics Database. 2 Boll, C. and Lagemann, A., ‘Gender pay gap in EU countries based on SES (2014)’, Luxembourg: European Commission, 2018. 3 European Commission, Pension Adequacy Report 2018. Amendment 10 # Ernest URTASUN Draft opinion Paragraph 1 a (new) 1 a. Calls on the Commission and the Council to introduce a gender equality pillar in the 2020 Strategy and an overarching gender equality objective; Amendment 11 # Jérôme LAVRILLEUX Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Calls on the Commission to ~~include the G~~monitor the situation with regard to gender Eequality ~~Index as one of~~through the European Semester~~’s tools for monitoring~~, so as to gain a clear idea of progress towards employment and social targets; Amendment 12 # Jérôme LAVRILLEUX Draft opinion Paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. Emphasises that unemployment, poverty and social exclusion are matters of concern, especially for women; stresses, therefore, that it is important to make sure that the European Semester process remains focused on delivering smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, with greater coordination of national and European policies in order to create more good-quality jobs within the EU, thereby addressing the gaps between women and men in the areas of unemployment, pay and pensions; Amendment 13 # Jérôme LAVRILLEUX Draft opinion Paragraph 2 b (new) 2b. Is concerned that the labour market is vertically and horizontally segregated throughout the EU, that there are pay and pension gaps between women and men, and that few women are involved in decision-making; emphasises that the employment rate of women is still below that of men; emphasises, furthermore, that this divergence in the employment rate is particularly marked among mothers and women with care responsibilities; Amendment 14 # Jérôme LAVRILLEUX Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. ~~Reiterates its c~~Calls on the Commission to ~~support the Member States in making greater use of struc~~adopt a comprehensive approach to all types of care services, and to strengthen provisions that make it possible for appropriate European funding schemes to be used in an effective and mutural ~~funds for invest~~ly reinforcing manner in the areas of lifelong learning, and infrastructure research and development, in p~~ublic care structures and services for children, the elderly and other depend~~articular via existing European Structural and Investment Funds; notes the proposal for a European Social Fund+ and other financial instruments, and the InvestEU fund, which paves the way for sound public and private investments in ~~order to facilitate women’s return to the labour market and ensure a work-life balance~~infrastructure, with the aim being to finance care infrastructure; encourages the Member States to prioritise funding aimed at childcare and long-term care using the European Structural and Investment Funds, without prejudice to the negotiations on the next multiannual financial framework; Amendment 15 # Jérôme LAVRILLEUX Draft opinion Paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. Encourages the Member States to identify effective funding models, including targeted funding, which strike a balance between public and private financing and are also tailored to suit national and local circumstances; Amendment 16 # Ernest URTASUN Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Calls for the full commitment of the European Semester to the European Pillar of Social Rights~~, underlin~~ and considers the European Semester should contribute to the realisation of the social rights outlined in the Pillar and monitor the delivery of all 20 key principles, with special attention to ensuring equal treatment and opportunities between women and men, the right to equal pay for work of equal value, and the right to high- quality, affordable care services; Considers that the European economic governance should refocus from the narrow objective of GDP growth towards well-being and convergence with high minimum standards for gender equality; Amendment 17 # Jérôme LAVRILLEUX Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new) 4a. Emphasises the importance of lifelong learning for women, too, since it gives women an opportunity to retrain in a constantly shifting labour market; calls for increased promotion of digital and ICT-related topics that can help girls address the stereotypes that exist in education and bridge gender gaps in employment rates and pensions; Amendment 18 # Ernest URTASUN Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new) 4 a. Stresses the need to prioritise action to tackle the problems of unemployment, poverty and social exclusion, which affect women above all, to give priority to sustainable employment/quality jobs with rights and quality public services which ensure social inclusion, especially in the areas of education, health, childcare, care for persons with support needs, public transport and social services; Amendment 19 # Ernest URTASUN Draft opinion Paragraph 4 b (new) 4 b. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to monitor women’s labour participation on the basis of the number of hours worked per week, contract types, and women’s financial independence and thus to fight female poverty; calls for an increase of minimum wages, offering at least a living wage, binding measures to reach wage transparency and conducting pay audits on the company level in order to achieve equal pay for equal work and for work of equal value in all sectors and professions; calls furthermore on the Member States to unblock the Women on Boards directive; Amendment 2 # Jérôme LAVRILLEUX Draft opinion Recital B B. whereas persistent gender gaps in the EU, such as the ~~11.6 %~~ gender employment gap1, the 16.2 % gender pay gap2 and the 37.2 % gender pension gap3, among others, are ~~not only unfair, but also~~ still too wide and put women in vulnerable or precarious situations, such as poverty or social exclusion; ~~_________________ 1 European Institute for Gender Equality, Gender Statistics Database. 2 Boll, C. and Lagemann, A., ‘Gender pay~~whereas urgent action needs to be taken to bridge these gaps in ~~EU countries based on SES (2014)’, Luxembourg: European Commission, 2018. 3 European Commission, Pension Adequacy Report 2018.~~order to improve gender equality in the EU; Amendment 20 # Ernest URTASUN Draft opinion Paragraph 4 c (new) 4 c. Calls on the Member States and the Commission to remove all the constraints on women participating in the labour market and to eliminate all tax- related gender biases and other incentives that perpetuate unequal gender roles; Amendment 21 # Ernest URTASUN Draft opinion Paragraph 4 d (new) 4 d. Calls for guidelines to ensure genuine accountability and meaningful dialogue with civil society organisations and trade unions, making national and European Parliament equal partners. Amendment 22 # Jérôme LAVRILLEUX Draft opinion Paragraph 5 a (new) 5a. Emphasises that it is important to monitor the percentage of the total population considered to be NEETs between the ages of 15 and 24, as well as other auxiliary indicators, and to focus in particular on young women and girls as there is a major difference between the sexes when it comes to the proportion of young people who are not in employment, education or training; Amendment 23 # Jérôme LAVRILLEUX Draft opinion Paragraph 5 b (new) 5b. Calls for policies that support entrepreneurship among women, giving them access to financing and business opportunities by providing them with bespoke training and introducing measures to bring about a work-life balance; Amendment 24 # Jérôme LAVRILLEUX Draft opinion Paragraph 5 c (new) 5c. Welcomes the Commission proposal on work-life balance as a good way of encouraging employment among women and making the employment rate among women more balanced; calls on the Member States to improve gender equality in relevant sectors and in businesses whilst placing a special emphasis on disabled women, as they are particularly vulnerable in the labour market; calls on the Council to unblock the Women on Boards Directive; Amendment 3 # Jérôme LAVRILLEUX Draft opinion Recital B a (new) Ba. whereas bridging the gender pension gap – which currently stands at almost 40% on average within the EU, and which is also the result of the accumulation of inequalities experienced throughout women’s lives, as well as periods of absence from the labour market – is particularly important; whereas acknowledging women’s work as carers is a sound basis upon which effective action can be taken to address the issue of women accruing fewer pension entitlements; Amendment 4 # Jérôme LAVRILLEUX Draft opinion Recital C C. whereas the quality of care services varies widely within and among Member States, private and public facilities, rural and urban areas and different age groups; whereas women a~~re mo~~re affected by cuts to public services, including healthcare, education and housing, both directly as service users and employees, and indirectly through their support for family members who rely on core public services; Amendment 5 # Ernest URTASUN Draft opinion Recital C C. whereas women are more affected by cuts to public services, including healthcare, education ~~and housing~~, housing and childcare and long-term care services, both directly as service users and employees, and indirectly through their support for family members who rely on core public services; Amendment 6 # Jérôme LAVRILLEUX Draft opinion Recital D a (new) Da. whereas women are more likely to take career breaks owing to their role within the family, and whereas it is more often women who stop work to care for a child or sick relative; whereas this role that women play can impede their careers; having regard to the ongoing discussions on establishing a work-life balance; Amendment 7 # Ernest URTASUN Draft opinion Recital D a (new) D a. Calls on the Member States to set specific quantitative targets in their NRPs regarding women’s employment in general, together with specific measures targeting groups of women with very low employment rates, such as young women, older women, migrant women, disabled women, single mothers, and Roma women; Amendment 8 # Jérôme LAVRILLEUX Draft opinion Recital D b (new) Db. whereas the European Semester should contribute to the completion of the European Pillar of Social Rights to ensure equal treatment and equal opportunities for women and men, as well as to uphold the right to equal pay for equal work by women and men and the right of access to good-quality, affordable healthcare; Amendment 9 # Jérôme LAVRILLEUX Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. ~~Regrets the lack of a gender perspective and gender indicators~~ Advocates gender mainstreaming th~~e framework of~~roughout the European Semester, and calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure greater inclusion of a gender mainstreaming perspective in the development of country-specific recommendations, stability and convergence programmes and national reform programmes by introducing qualitative targets and measures that address persistent gender gaps, and ~~to systematically ap~~by carrying out assessments on the state of play ~~the principle of gender budgeting~~with regard to gender equality in different sectors, in particular by using gender-disaggregated data; source: 631.916 2019/01/10 EMPL 123 amendments... Amendment 1 # Jean LAMBERT Motion for a resolution Citation 1 a (new) – having regard to the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by world leaders in September 2015 and endorsed by the Council which voiced its commitment to their implementation, Amendment 10 # Maria ARENA Motion for a resolution Recital A b (new) Ab. whereas increasingly employees are being hired on temporary and part- time contracts, the majority of whom would prefer a standard, full-time contract1a.The proportion of part-time workers increased from 16.8% to 18.7% of the total in employment from 2008 to 2017, with higher levels and a larger increase for younger people. Although more people are now working, the total hours worked in 2017 was still slightly below the level of 2008; __________________ 1a COM(2018) 761 final, p. 14. Amendment 100 # Romana TOMC Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10. Notes that micro-enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are important for sustainable and inclusive development ~~and~~, economic growth and new job creation; calls on the Commission and the Member States to give greater consideration to the interests of MSMEs in the policymaking process; Amendment 101 # Ulrike TREBESIUS Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 a (new) 10a. Stresses the importance of creating the right regulatory framework for businesses and small and micro enterprises to create jobs by for example implementing smart regulation and avoiding overly restrictive employment legislation; Amendment 102 # Claudiu Ciprian TĂNĂSESCU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 a (new) 10a. Calls on the Commission and Member States to step up their efforts to ensure fairer taxation, including in the digital economy, which is a prerequisite for promoting more favourable inclusion; Amendment 103 # Ulrike TREBESIUS Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 b (new) 10b. Believes that Member States can only create jobs if the market allows for it, if they can rely on a qualified workforce, if labour markets are sufficiently flexible, if labour costs including wages are in line with productivity, if social protection systems make work more attractive and if regulation is proportionate and evidence based; Amendment 104 # Agnieszka KOZŁOWSKA Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 11. CIs concerned that such little attention was given to work-life balance in Annual Growth Survey 2019: For a stronger Europe in the face of global uncertainty; calls on the Member States and the Commission to take all necessary measures to improve work-life balance and boost gender equality; calls for the development of accessible and affordable high-quality care services and childcare and early education services~~, as well as~~; calls for the recognition of informal carers as well as improved working conditions and adequate forms of support for family carers, who deliver the greaterst part of care in the EU; calls for promoting flexible working arrangements and take-up of advantageous maternity, paternity, parental and carer’s leave; deplores the continuing gender pay gap; recognises that this issue requires a multifaceted response, and calls on the Member States to address it as a matter of urgency; is of the strong opinion that a fast adoption of the directive on work-life balance for parents and carers is a necessary step towards improved work-life balance; Amendment 105 # Jean LAMBERT Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 11. Calls on the Member States and the Commission to take all necessary measures to improve work-life balance and boost gender equality; calls for the development of accessible and affordable high-quality care services throughout the life-cycle and childcare and early education services, ~~as well as adequate forms of support for family carers, who deliver the greater part of care in the EU~~to continue to pursue the attainment of the 2002 Barcelona childcare targets, and legislation promoting flexible work arrangements, as well as adequate forms and recognition of the important work of family carers, who deliver the greater part of care in the EU by offering pension and social security creditability as well as training and skills recognition; deplores the continuing gender pay gap; recognises that this issue requires a multifaceted response, and calls on the Member States to address it as a matter of urgency; Amendment 106 # Maria ARENA Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 11. Calls on the Member States and the Commission to take all necessary measures to improve work-life balance and boost gender equality; calls for the development of accessible and affordable high-quality care services and childcare and early education services, as well as adequate forms of support for family carers, who deliver the greater part of care in the EU; deplores the continuing gender pay and pension gap; recognises that this issue requires a multifaceted response, and calls on the Member States to address it as a matter of urgency; calls on the EU and the Member States, in cooperation with the social partners and gender equality organisations, to set out and implement policies to close the gender and pension pay gap; calls on the Member States to carry out wage-mapping on a regular basis as a complement to these efforts; Amendment 107 # Heinz K. BECKER Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 11. Calls on the Member States and the Commission to take all necessary measures to improve work-life balance and boost gender equality; calls for the development of accessible and affordable high-quality care services and childcare and early education services, as well as adequate forms of support for family carers, who deliver the greater part of care in the EU; deplores the continuing gender pay gap; and pension gap; recognises that this issue requires a multifaceted response, and calls on the Member States to address it as a matter of urgency; Amendment 108 # Agnieszka KOZŁOWSKA Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 a (new) 11a. Highlights the fact that gender discrimination is still persisting problem, as evidenced by the gender pay gap (with the average gross hourly earnings of male employees about 16% higher than those of female employees) and the pension gap of 37%; stresses that the pension gap, which is the most important indicator of gender inequality is due to the underrepresentation of women in well-paid sectors, discrimination in the labour market and the high rate of women in part-time work as well as not sufficient mechanisms of reconciliation of family and work-related obligations between men and women; Amendment 109 # Agnieszka KOZŁOWSKA Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 12. Recalls that increasing life expectancy requires the adaptation of pension systems in order to ensure sustainable and adequate pensions; reiterates its call for care credits in pension systems to compensate for lost contributions of women and men due to child and long-term care responsibilities as a tool to reduce the gender pension gap; Amendment 11 # Jean LAMBERT Motion for a resolution Recital B B. whereas there are substantial disparities in employment rates across the EU between Member States but also within them as well as disparities in the quality of employment; Amendment 110 # Ulrike TREBESIUS Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 12. Recalls that increasing life expectancy and low birth rates requires the adaptation of pension systems in order to ensure sustainable and adequate pensions; calls for more tax incentives for families in order to increase birth rates; Amendment 111 # Romana TOMC Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 12. Recalls that increasing life expectancy requires the adaptation of pension systems, and in some Member States the implementation of appropriate reforms, in order to ensure sustainable and adequate pensions; Amendment 112 # Jean LAMBERT Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 12. Recalls that ~~increasing life expectancy~~change in the age- composition of the population requires the adaptation of pension systems in order to ensure sustainable and adequate pensions and safeguard intergenerational equity; Amendment 113 # Maria ARENA Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 a (new) 12a. Highlights that universal access to public, solidarity-based and adequate retirement and old age pensions must be granted to all; acknowledges the challenges faced by Member States to strengthen the sustainability of pension systems but stresses the importance of safeguarding the solidarity in the pension systems; believes that the best way to ensure sustainable, safe and adequate pensions for women and men is to increase the overall employment rate and quality jobs across all ages, improving working and employment conditions, and by committing the necessary supplementary public spending; believes that reforms of pension systems should focus amongst others on the effective retirement age and reflect labour market trends, birth rates, the health and wealth situation, working conditions and the economic dependency ratio; considers that these reforms must also take account of the situation of millions of workers in Europe, particularly women, youngsters and self-employed, suffering insecure, atypical employment, periods of involuntary unemployment and working- time reduction; Amendment 114 # Jean LAMBERT Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 a (new) 12a. Notes that social and health care services are essential to support the fight against poverty and social exclusion and calls on the Commission and Member States to provide investment and fiscal space to develop these services to be affordable, accessible and of high quality; cautions that in the absence of continued public investment in health and care policies, life expectancy could reverse in the years to come; Amendment 115 # Jean LAMBERT Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 13. Deplores the failure to include the housing crisis among the top policy priorities for 2019, a~~s house~~nd calls upon the Commission and Member States to make better use of the Semester to monitor and support progress on housing affordability and homelessness ares fundamental issues of concern ~~in many Member States;~~ ; calls on the Commission as a first step to include EUSILC housing cost overburden indicator into the social scoreboard in line with principle 19 of the EPSR; Amendment 116 # Claudiu Ciprian TĂNĂSESCU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 13. Deplores the failure to include the housing crisis among the top policy priorities for 2019, as house affordability and homelessness are fundamental issues of concern in many Member States; stresses that the high overcrowding rates among the young (15-29 year olds) has an adverse effect education, personal and professional development and quality of life; believes that priority should be given to allocating public funding to young people not living in decent conditions; Amendment 117 # Ulrike TREBESIUS Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 13. Deplores the failure to include the housing crisis among the top policy priorities for 2019, as house affordability and homelessness are fundamental issues of concern in many Member States; notes that migration within the EU, migration from outside the EU and low or negative interest rates set by the ECB are aggravating the situation; Amendment 118 # Jean LAMBERT Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 a (new) 13a. Calls on the Commission to propose a European Framework for Social and Affordable housing for the efficient coordination of Member State policies; Amendment 119 # Claudiu Ciprian TĂNĂSESCU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 14. Is of the opinion that cohesion policy, as one of the main investment policies of the European Union, has demonstrated its effectiveness in increasing social cohesion and reducing inequalities; encourages Member States to make full use of the funding available; welcomes the closer alignment of the European Semester and cohesion policy; Calls for increased synergy and complementarity between economic policy coordination and cohesion policy funding; Amendment 12 # Jean LAMBERT Motion for a resolution Recital C C. whereas while long-term unemployment and youth unemployment rates are declining at EU level, they remain high in a number of Member States; and long-term unemployment disproportionately affects young people as single parents, informal carers, people with long-term sickness, disability or health problems, migrants and people from ethnic and religious minorities continue facing specific barriers to accessing employment and discrimination at all stages of employment; Amendment 120 # Jean LAMBERT Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 14. Is of the opinion that cohesion policy, as one of the main investment policies of the European Union, has demonstrated its effectiveness in increasing social cohesion and reducing inequalities; encourages Member States to make full use of the funding available~~; welcomes the closer alignment of the European Semester and cohesion policy~~ for the implementation of the EPSR; Amendment 121 # Maria ARENA Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 a (new) 14a. Recalls that the AGS favours a number of areas of social investment, including health, long-term care systems and public housing. The EESC has argued for the many positive effects of well-planned, effective and efficient future-oriented social investment which should be viewed not as a cost but as an investment in Europe’s growth and employment potential. Implementing these objectives requires space for public spending; Amendment 122 # Ulrike TREBESIUS Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 a (new) 14a. Warns that taking back labour market reforms that were implemented after the Euro crisis as has been done in several Member States will increase the vulnerabilities to crisis; encourages those Member States with high unemployment rates to pursue further reforms and thereby increase their ability to deal with economic downturns; Amendment 123 # Jean LAMBERT Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 a (new) 14a. Calls on the Member States, the Commission and the European Parliament to give greater recognition to the expertise of NGOs in the social field by working towards a civil dialogue as stipulated by article 11 of the Treaty on European Union in the framework of the Semester process; Amendment 13 # Maria ARENA Motion for a resolution Recital C a (new) Ca. whereas the youth unemployment rate at EU level stands at 18.6 % and 4.2 million young people are unemployed, including 2.9 million in the euro area; whereas the level of youth unemployment remains markedly higher than at its low point in 2008; whereas in 2015 the share NEETs remains high and represents14,8 % of 15-29 year olds not in employment, education or training, namely 14million of NEETs; Amendment 14 # Jean LAMBERT Motion for a resolution Recital C a (new) Ca. whereas quality employment is an important factor in the fight against poverty and social exclusion, it is insufficient to reach all members of society who are furthest from the labour market and at risk of poverty and social exclusion; Amendment 15 # Maria ARENA Motion for a resolution Recital C b (new) Cb. whereas young people not in employment, education or training are estimated to cost the EU €153bn (1.21% of GDP) a year – in benefits and foregone earnings and taxes (Eurofound report on youth unemployment) while the total estimated cost of establishing Youth Guarantee schemes in the Eurozone is €21bn a year, or 0.22% of GDP; Amendment 16 # Maria ARENA Motion for a resolution Recital C c (new) Cc. whereas an amount of € 1bn is currently allocated to the Youth Guarantee plan which is to be matched by €1billion from the European Social Fund for the period 2017 - 2020; Amendment 17 # Ulrike TREBESIUS Motion for a resolution Recital D D. whereas as new forms of work emerge, including platform and own- account work, social protection traditionally geared to covering workers in full-time open-ended contracts will need to be modernised and adapted; notes that social protection needs to be devised decentrally according to the needs and ability of each Member State; Amendment 18 # Agnieszka KOZŁOWSKA Motion for a resolution Recital D D. whereas as new forms of work emerge and expand, including platform and own- account work, social protection traditionally geared to covering workers in full-time open-ended contracts will need to be modernised and adapted; Amendment 19 # Maria ARENA Motion for a resolution Recital D a (new) Da. whereas the increasing of the employment rate in Member States has been unfortunately accompanied - due to the economic crisis, austerity policies and structural reforms - by the increase of atypical, precarious and non-formal forms of employment, zero-hour contracts included, the weakening of social dialogue, the decentralisation of the collective consultation in some Member States giving rise to negative impact on workers’ rights; Amendment 2 # Jean LAMBERT Motion for a resolution Citation 1 b (new) – having regard to the European Pillar of Social Rights proclaimed by the European Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission in November 2017, Amendment 20 # Maria ARENA Motion for a resolution Recital D b (new) Db. whereas the most precarious work involve the inability of individuals to enforce their rights, where social insurance protection is absent, where health and safety is put at risk and where work does not provide sufficient income to enable people to live decently; whereas insecurity is another key element of precariousness and it encompasses work uncertainty, income insufficiency, lack of protection against dismissal, an unknown length of employment and uncertainty about future employment; Amendment 21 # Maria ARENA Motion for a resolution Recital D c (new) Dc. whereas as opposed to precarious work, decent jobs with employment security must be promoted and required to help tackle unemployment across the EU but also to boost the domestic demand and stimulate growth; Amendment 22 # Agnieszka KOZŁOWSKA Motion for a resolution Recital E E. whereas although income inequality in the EU decreased slightly in 2017, in- work poverty remains unacceptably high, standing at 9.6 % of the working population and mainly concern women; Amendment 23 # Ulrike TREBESIUS Motion for a resolution Recital E a (new) Ea. whereas Member States have the primary role in delivering employment policies including youth employment policies and whereas such measures are best delivered at the national level; Amendment 24 # Maria ARENA Motion for a resolution Recital F F. whereas the total number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion (AROPE) stands at 22.5 % and while this is below pre-crisis levels, the Europe 2020 headline target of reducing AROPE by 20 million remains far from being reached; whereas the AROPE rate for children continues to decline but is still unacceptably high; points out that high levels of inequality reduce the output of the economy and the potential for sustainable growth; Amendment 25 # Agnieszka KOZŁOWSKA Motion for a resolution Recital F F. whereas the total number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion (AROPE) stands at 22.5 % and while this is below pre-crisis levels, the Europe 2020 headline target of reducing AROPE by 20 million remains far from being reached; whereas the AROPE rate for children continues to decline but is still unacceptably high; whereas the AROPE rate for children from single parent households is twice the average for children overall; Amendment 26 # Jean LAMBERT Motion for a resolution Recital G G. whereas globalisation has helped to drive and underpin economic growth but its benefits are unequally shared both between and within Member States; whereas the growth model itself needs to be re-examined; Amendment 27 # Maria ARENA Motion for a resolution Recital G G. whereas globalisation ~~has helped to drive and underpin economic growth but its~~ benefits are unequally shared; Amendment 28 # Maria ARENA Motion for a resolution Recital G a (new) Ga. whereas the report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stresses the urgency of actions against climate change, which may become irreversible in three years. Budgets should also be made available at all levels of governance (both public and private investment) to modernise and decarbonise industry, transport and energy; Amendment 29 # Claudiu Ciprian TĂNĂSESCU Motion for a resolution Recital H H. whereas the EU economy is now entering its sixth year of continuous growth ~~and~~, recovery in investment, rising consumer demand and constant job creation, albeit at a rate varying from country to country, but the dispersion of growth rates across the euro area is the smallest in the history of the EMU; Amendment 3 # Jean LAMBERT Motion for a resolution Citation 7 a (new) – having regard to its resolution of 15 November 2018 on care services in the EU for improved gender equality; Amendment 30 # Maria ARENA Motion for a resolution Recital H H. whereas the EU economy is now entering its sixth year of continuous growth and the dispersion of growth rates across the euro area is the smallest in the history of the EMU; regrets that the growth benefits are unequally shared. Amendment 31 # Claudiu Ciprian TĂNĂSESCU Motion for a resolution Recital K a (new) Ka. whereas the inclusion of the European Pillar of Social Rights in the European Semester as from 2018 has helped foster inclusive growth and employment and reduce macroeconomic imbalances; Amendment 32 # Jean LAMBERT Motion for a resolution Recital K a (new) Ka. whereas civil society organisations make an essential contribution in providing services for inclusion as well as representing their views in policymaking; Amendment 33 # Jean LAMBERT Motion for a resolution Recital K b (new) Kb. whereas there are a number of specific groups including children, marginalised communities and persons with disabilities who are at greater risk of poverty and social exclusion; Amendment 34 # Jean LAMBERT Motion for a resolution Recital L L. whereas 80 million Europeans have disabilities and one-third of Europeans aged 15 and over is affected by chronic diseases and are therefore at greater risk of poverty and social exclusion; Amendment 35 # Agnieszka KOZŁOWSKA Motion for a resolution Recital L L. whereas 80 million Europeans have disabilities and are therefore at greater risk of poverty and social exclusion; whereas 80% of care in the EU is provided by unpaid informal carers and 75% of them are women; Amendment 36 # Jean LAMBERT Motion for a resolution Recital L a (new) La. whereas persisting health inequalities and an increasing burden of chronic diseases lead to high levels of premature mortality across the EU while affecting workforce, productivity and welfare systems; Amendment 37 # Jean LAMBERT Motion for a resolution Recital M M. whereas the employment rate of women in 2017 is 66.5 %, yet the gender employment gap remains substantial, as does the gender pay gap and consequently the gender pension gap; women standing to earn 40% less in pension income due to the accumulation of gender inequalities over their life span; Amendment 38 # Heinz K. BECKER Motion for a resolution Recital M M. whereas the employment rate of women in 2017 is 66.5 %, yet the gender employment gap remains substantial, as does the gender pay gap, and whereas therefore more women than men suffer poverty in old age; Amendment 39 # Agnieszka KOZŁOWSKA Motion for a resolution Recital M M. whereas the employment rate of women in 2017 is 66.5 %, yet the gender employment gap remains substantial, as does the gender pay gap; and gender pension gap; Amendment 4 # Agnieszka KOZŁOWSKA Motion for a resolution Citation 8 a (new) – having regard to its resolution of 29 November 2018 on the situation of women with disabilities; Amendment 40 # Heinz K. BECKER Motion for a resolution Recital N N. whereas informal or family carers are at greater risk of experiencing poverty, both during their period of caring and when accessing pension entitlements; whereas family carers are predominantly women, who provide around 70 % of all care services in Europe; Amendment 41 # Agnieszka KOZŁOWSKA Motion for a resolution Recital N N. whereas informal or family carers are at greater risk of experiencing poverty, both during their period of caring and when accessing pension entitlements; whereas majority of carers in Europe are women; Amendment 42 # Agnieszka KOZŁOWSKA Motion for a resolution Recital O O. whereas significant progress has been made towards reaching the 2020 headline target of an early school leaving rate of 10 % and on reaching the target of 40 % for tertiary education attainment, but large disparities still persist between Member States; whereas the quality of tertiary education should remain at the highest level while achieving 2020 headline targets; Amendment 43 # Ulrike TREBESIUS Motion for a resolution Recital O a (new) Oa. encourages the Member States to increase the accessibility and public acceptance of vocational training; Amendment 44 # Agnieszka KOZŁOWSKA Motion for a resolution Recital P P. whereas ~~more than 40 % of adults in the EU do not have basic digital skills;~~ in the digital era, digital skills are essential for any personal or professional tasks; whereas more than 40 % of adults in the EU do not have basic digital skills; whereas the gender gap in basic digital skills persists among females over 55 years old, but comes down to almost zero among the younger users; whereas the rate of individuals with basic digital skills is 27% for both men and women, but there is a gender gap of 12.9% when digital skills above basic are considered; Amendment 45 # Jean LAMBERT Motion for a resolution Recital P P. whereas more than 40 % of adults in the EU do not have basic digital skills and basic literacy and numeracy skills are still lacking among more than 60 million adults; Amendment 46 # Jean LAMBERT Motion for a resolution Recital P a (new) Pa. whereas housing is the highest expenditure for Europeans, whereas housing prices are growing faster than income in most Member States; whereas inequality and housing exclusion are mutually reinforcing; Amendment 47 # Ulrike TREBESIUS Motion for a resolution Recital Q Q. whereas housing exclusion, homelessness and housing affordability represent a highly significant challenge in many Member States; notes that housing problems have increased due to mass migration within the EU and from third countries; notes that housing problems have increased due to flight into real estate that is intentionally caused by the ECBs negative interest rate policy; Amendment 48 # Jean LAMBERT Motion for a resolution Recital Q Q. whereas housing exclusion, homelessness and housing affordability represent a highly significant challenge in many Member States; whereas women, children and people with a migrant background are particularly more vulnerable to housing exclusion and homelessness; Amendment 49 # Claudiu Ciprian TĂNĂSESCU Motion for a resolution Recital Q a (new) Qa. whereas no fewer than ten EU Member States recorded overcrowding rates above the European average in 2017, with seven (Slovakia, Latvia, Poland, Croatia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania) reporting that over half of all young people did not have enough living space. Amendment 5 # Agnieszka KOZŁOWSKA Motion for a resolution Citation 8 b (new) – having regards to its resolution of 15 November 2018 on care services in the EU for improved gender equality; Amendment 50 # Agnieszka KOZŁOWSKA Motion for a resolution Recital Q a (new) Qa. whereas low skilled and older workers are significantly less likely to participate in re-skilling and training programmes; whereas MSMEs often lack resources to organise training and re- skilling for their employees; Amendment 51 # Jean LAMBERT Motion for a resolution Recital Q a (new) Qa. whereas long-term challenges, such as population ageing, digitalisation and its impacts on work, climate change and unsustainable use of natural resources remain pressing; Amendment 52 # Maria ARENA Motion for a resolution Paragraph -1 (new) -1. Recommends the Commission to change the title of AGS to Annual sustainable growth survey. Amendment 53 # Maria ARENA Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 a (new) 1a. Stresses that the need to invest in social development is not just a means of guaranteeing that economic growth and convergence can be achieved, but must also be a specific target in itself; calls for measures preventing a race to the bottom in terms of taxation and social standards, building on better use of social indicators in this context; takes note of recent studies by the OECD (OECD, “in it together: why less inequalities benefits all”, 2015) and the IMF (IMF report ‘causes and consequences of income inequality”, June 2015) underlining that social inequalities in Europe hamper economic recovery; stresses that more effort is needed to improve the political visibility and impact of the scoreboard of key employment and social indicators; calls for the Commission to make sure that Member States with low social performance adequately address the problems of social inequalities; stresses that employment and social considerations should be put on equal footing with the economic ones in the framework of the Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure; Amendment 54 # Jean LAMBERT Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 a (new) 1a. Emphasises that the EU’s social goals and commitments are just as important as its economic goals; calls on the Commission and the Member States to reinforce social rights by implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) in such a way as to build a real social dimension for the EU (through legislation, policy-making mechanisms and financial instruments provided at the appropriate level); therefore stresses that the Member States’ reforms, as advocated by the Commission through the country specific recommendations should aim at transformative actions towards a socially just and environmentally sustainable union; Amendment 55 # Agnieszka KOZŁOWSKA Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 a (new) 1a. Notes that pension adequacy is still a challenge, as the risk of social exclusion is increasing with age and the gender pension gap of 37% still poses a challenge to many women and the whole society; Amendment 56 # Jean LAMBERT Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 b (new) 1b. Notes that not all elements of the European Pillar of Social Rights are reflected in the Social Scoreboard and that additional analyses should be developed in order to ensure that all the priorities of the EPSR should be captured by the Commission’s social monitoring; therefore, calls on the European Commission to strengthen its social situation monitoring capacity in the framework of the Semester, and to address or compensate for gaps in the social scoreboard; Amendment 57 # Agnieszka KOZŁOWSKA Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 b (new) 1b. Points out that Member States are faced with structural challenges in the labour market such as low participation, labour market segmentation as well as skills and qualification mismatches; notes that there is a growing need for effective measures for the integration and re- integration of inactive workforce including migrants in the labour market; Amendment 58 # Maria ARENA Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 b (new) 1b. Reminds the invite of the European Council to use the gender equality annual reports in the context of the European Semester to enhance gender mainstreaming; reiterates that the goal of coordinating economic, social and fiscal policies in the Member States can only be achieved if policies on equality are also coordinated; Amendment 59 # Jean LAMBERT Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 c (new) 1c. Calls for greater consistency within the European Semester, including ensuring that issues highlighted in the Joint Employment Report are adequately taken up in the Annual Growth Survey and the country specific recommendations and that priorities are sustained from one year to the next, unless they are deemed resolved; Amendment 6 # Agnieszka KOZŁOWSKA Motion for a resolution Citation 8 c (new) – having regard to European Economic and Social Committee Opinion on Digital gender gap; Amendment 60 # Jean LAMBERT Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 2. Notes that all Member State economies are forecast to continue growing but at a slower pace; highlights the need to bridge the investment gap for research and innovation in infrastructure including social, health and care services as well as health promotion and disease prevention and quality, energy efficient housing, as well as in human capital; calls on the Commission and the Member States to maximise their efforts in investing in affordable, accessible and high-quality education and training, including digital and transferable skills, and to promote lifelong learning and skills development; highlights the importance of addressing particular measures to women and girls, who are still underrepresented in the digital and Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) sectors, and of reinforcing the initial training and continuous professional development of teachers and trainers; calls on the Member States to strengthen their vocational education and training systems and increase their alignment with labour market needs; Amendment 61 # Agnieszka KOZŁOWSKA Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 2. Notes that all Member State economies are forecast to continue growing but at a slower pace; highlights the need to bridge the investment gap for research and innovation in infrastructure; calls on the Commission and the Member States to maximise their efforts in investing in affordable, accessible and targeted high- quality education and training, ~~including digital and transferable skills,~~reinforcing upskilling and reskilling measures and to promote lifelong learning and skills development including basic, digital and transferable skills; highlights the importance of reinforcing the initial training and continuous professional development of teachers and trainers; calls on the Member States to strengthen their vocational education, apprenticeship and training systems, reality based-learning and increase their alignment with labour market needs; Amendment 62 # Maria ARENA Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 2. Notes that all Member State economies are forecast to continue growing but at a slower pace; highlights the need to bridge the investment gap for research and innovation in infrastructure; calls on the Commission and the Member States to maximise their efforts in investing in affordable, accessible and high-quality education and training, including digital and transferable skills, and to promote lifelong learning and skills development; highlights the importance of reinforcing the initial training and continuous professional development of teachers and trainers; calls on the Member States to strengthen their vocational education and training systems ~~and increase their alignment with labour market needs~~; Amendment 63 # Maria ARENA Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. Notes the importance of skills and competences acquired in non-formal and informal learning environments; stresses, therefore, the importance of creating a validation system for non-formal and informal forms of knowledge, especially those acquired via voluntary activities; insists in the implementation of the lifelong learning framework approach towards a flexible education path recognizing formal, but also non-formal and informal learning to foster equity and social cohesion and allowing employment opportunities for more vulnerable groups; Amendment 64 # Jean LAMBERT Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. Shares the Commission’s opinion that the current economic growth should translate into frontloading of investment into decarbonisation of Europe’s industry, transport and energy systems; therefore calls on the Commission and the Member States to increase efforts to provide adequate and accessible training for the right set of skills including support to businesses in training, re-training, and up-skilling of workforce as well as re- adaptation of education and training systems; Amendment 65 # Ulrike TREBESIUS Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. Whereas in some Member States, unemployment remains high due to a lack of growth and structural weakness that derive to a large extent from ineffective and in many cases rigid labour market regulatory frameworks; believes in this regard that insufficient labour market reforms are the main reason for high unemployment; Amendment 66 # Maria ARENA Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 b (new) 2b. Welcomes the recognition of the importance of the social pillar, repeating the urgency of making it a reality in view of the poor economic and social performance in many countries since 2008. The social pillar should be fully integrated into the European semester. It should not feature only as an annex. The accompanying scoreboard indicates the scale of the task ahead if the EU is to achieve a "social triple-A rating". An acceptable level of incomes, living standards, social security, welfare provision, educational attainment and digital access has clearly not been achieved across all Member States[1]; [1]EESC opinion on Funding the European Pillar of Social Rights, OJC 262, 25.7.2018, p. 1; Amendment 67 # Ulrike TREBESIUS Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 b (new) 2b. Notes that despite improvements, there are substantial differences between Member States and across different regions, in terms of economic recovery and progress due to pre-existing structural weaknesses in several Member States notably in the field of employment and productivity; believes in this regard that gradual convergence across the EU also needs to address divergence within Member States, as regional disparities have an impact on European growth potential, as many policies and services are delivered at a regional level; Amendment 68 # Maria ARENA Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 c (new) 2c. Calls on the Commission to use the Pillar of Social Rights as a means to measure recommendations to Member States. The Pillar’s 20 principles should be used as markers for assessing countries’ success in integrating their commitment to the Social Pillar into their economic policies; Amendment 69 # Maria ARENA Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 d (new) 2d. As well as being used as a guide to policy recommendations, the scoreboard attached to the social pillar should be used as an example for similar analyses of performance of individual countries in relation to environmental and climate- change polices, so that they can be assessed at a similar level of seriousness; Amendment 7 # Agnieszka KOZŁOWSKA Motion for a resolution Recital A A. whereas the employment rate for those aged between 20 and 64 stood at 73.2 % in 2017, indicating that the EU is well on track to reach the 75 % employment rate target specified in the Europe 2020 strategy; whereas the EU gender employment gap still stands at 12% and the Europe 2020 employment rate target can be reached faster by ensuring equal opportunities between men and women regarding participation in the labour market and right to affordable care services of good quality; Amendment 70 # Heinz K. BECKER Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 3. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to carefully examine the issue of in-work poverty and to propose solutions at both EU and national level to counter this most insidious issue; believes that immediate and coordinated action must be taken to reverse this trend, which threatens to fragment social cohesion and intergenerational solidarity; reiterates its concern at the high number of people at risk of poverty and social exclusion despite the decreasing trend; is especially worried about the high rates of child poverty, rural poverty and poverty in old age, which affects considerably more women than men; asks the Commission and the Member States to adopt all necessary measures to significantly reduce poverty, particularly child poverty; calls on the Commission and the Member States to give greater recognition to the work and expertise of NGOs, anti-poverty organisations and people experiencing poverty themselves, encouraging their participation in the exchange of good practices; points out that high levels of inequality diminish economic output and the potential for sustainable growth; Amendment 71 # Jean LAMBERT Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 3. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to carefully examine the issue of in-work poverty and to propose solutions at both EU and national level to counter this most insidious issue; believes that immediate and coordinated action must be taken to reverse this trend, which threatens to fragment social cohesion and intergenerational solidarity; reiterates its concern at the high number of people at risk of poverty and social exclusion despite the decreasing trend; is especially worried about the high rates of child poverty; asks the Commission and the Member States to adopt all necessary measures to significantly reduce poverty, particularly child poverty; calls on the Commission and the Member States to give greater recognition to the work and expertise of NGOs, anti-poverty and social inclusion organisations and people experiencing poverty themselves, encouraging their participation in the exchange of good practices; points out that high levels of inequality diminish economic output and the potential for sustainable and inclusive growth; Amendment 72 # Ulrike TREBESIUS Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 3. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to carefully examine the issue of in-work poverty and to propose solutions at both EU and national level to counter this most insidious issue; believes that immediate and coordinated action must be taken to reverse this trend, which threatens to fragment social cohesion and intergenerational solidarity; reiterates its concern at the high number of people at risk of poverty and social exclusion despite the decreasing trend; is especially worried about the high rates of child poverty; asks the Commission and the Member States to adopt all necessary measures to significantly reduce poverty, particularly child poverty; calls on the Commission and the Member States to give greater recognition to the work and expertise of NGOs, anti-poverty organisations and people experiencing poverty themselves, encouraging their participation in the exchange of good practices; points out that ~~high~~the relatively low levels of inequality in the EU do not diminish economic output and the potential for sustainable growth; Amendment 73 # Maria ARENA Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. Recalls that decent wages are important not only for social cohesion, but also for maintaining a strong economy and a productive labour force; calls on the Commission and the Member States to implement measures to improve job quality and reduce wage dispersion, including by raising wage floors also in the form of, where applicable, minimum wages set at decent levels; in this context, calls for policies that respect, promote and strengthen collective bargaining and workers’ position in wage-setting systems which plays a critical role in achieving high level working conditions; believes all this should be done with a view to supporting aggregate demand and economic recovery, reducing wage inequalities and fighting in-work poverty; stresses in this context, that European legislation and policies must respect trade union rights and freedom, comply with collective agreements and uphold equal treatments of workers; Amendment 74 # Maria ARENA Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 b (new) 3b. Deplores the persistence of the gender pay and pension gap; calls on the EU and the Member States, in cooperation with the social partners and gender equality organisations, to set out and implement policies to close the gender and pension pay gap; calls on the Member States to carry out wage-mapping on a regular basis as a complement to these efforts; Amendment 75 # Agnieszka KOZŁOWSKA Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4 4. NDespite the fact that the EU unemployment rates are at their lowest level, the job vacancy rate in the EU was 2.2 % in 2018, up from 1.9 % in 2017, notes with concern that skills mismatches are considerable, and calls on the Member States to prioritise ~~quality~~ public investment in quality education and training as a driver of sustainable and inclusive growth; stresses that skills mismatch and shortages in the labour market should be tackled by making education systems cooperate more closely with business and social partners, such as employers’ associations and trade unions, and by promoting dual education, apprenticeship, work-based learning and reality-based learning in all forms and levels of education, including higher education; Amendment 76 # Maria ARENA Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4 4. Notes with concern that skills mismatches are considerable, and calls on the Member States to prioritise quality public investment in education and training as a driver of sustainable and inclusive growth; recalls that the role of Member States is to guarantee an access to quality education and training at affordable cost notwithstanding the labour market need across the EU; however, stresses that convergence between qualifications and skills with job opportunities is a precondition for creating a competitive EU labour market; calls therefore Member States to monitor the labour market needs and to promote key sectors which generate jobs; Amendment 77 # Jean LAMBERT Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4 4. Notes with concern that skills mismatches are considerable, and calls on the Member States to prioritise quality public investment ~~in education and training~~to ensure that everyone, regardless of their personal and social circumstances, can enjoy their right to quality and inclusive education and training; investing in quality and inclusive education, career counselling and training can act as a driver of sustainable and inclusive growth; Amendment 78 # Agnieszka KOZŁOWSKA Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4 a (new) 4a. Calls on the Commission to further support the job mobility portal EURES and other programmes, which facilitate learning and training mobility; notes that mutual recognition of qualifications enhances opportunity for employment especially in countries with high job vacancy rate; Amendment 79 # Maria ARENA Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 5. Underlines that the integration of ~~the~~ long-term unemployed individuals through individually tailored measures is a~~n important~~ key factor for fighting inequalities, poverty and social exclusion and ~~contributing to~~will ultimately contribute towards the sustainability of national social security systems; considers that it is necessary to take into account the social situation of these citizens and their needs in terms of sufficient incomes, adequate housing, public transport, health and childcare as well as a better monitoring at the European level of the policies implemented at the national level; Amendment 8 # Maria ARENA Motion for a resolution Recital A A. whereas the employment rate for those aged between 20 and 64 stood at 73.2 % in 2017, indicating that the EU is well on track to reach the 75 % employment rate target specified in the Europe 2020 strategy; whereas however the employment rate of women in 2017 is 66.5 %, yet the gender employment gap remains substantial, as does the gender pay gap; Amendment 80 # Heinz K. BECKER Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 5. Underlines that the integration of the long-term unemployed through individually tailored measures is an important factor for fighting poverty and social exclusion and contributing to the sustainability of national social security systems; calls, in this connection, for more effort to be made to cultivate skills relevant to the labour market, as well as for a massive increase in the share of practice-oriented training in order to achieve the objective of employability; Amendment 81 # Ulrike TREBESIUS Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 a (new) 5a. Recognises that the availability of non-standard forms of employment provides numerous benefits for workers who cannot or chose not to commit to ‘standard’ full-time employment which results in high participation rates amongst groups that might otherwise be excluded from work altogether; Amendment 82 # Jean LAMBERT Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 6. Calls on the Member States to ensure that young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs) ~~can avail of and benefit from the Youth Guarantee in a real and meaningful way;~~ , including those with complex needs in line with the recommendations of the European Commission and the European Court of Auditors, can avail of and benefit from the Youth Guarantee in a real and meaningful way; and highlights the importance of addressing current shortcomings in the quality of the offers and outreach of the scheme. Efforts should be made to establish quality standards; provide continued and increased financial support both through EU funding instruments and national budgets; and ensure the meaningful involvement of young people and youth organisations in the design, implementation and monitoring of measures under the Youth Guarantee; stresses the need to recognise that due to age criteria a number of those unemployed or underemployed when young have not been included in measures specifically targeting younger workers and therefore need the opportunity to update their skills; Amendment 83 # Heinz K. BECKER Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 6. Calls on the Member States to ensure that young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs), including young people with disabilities, can avail of and benefit from the Youth Guarantee in a real and meaningful way; stresses that education is the key to avoiding poverty; considers that increased training in basic digital skills, such as the use of digital media and a basic knowledge of programming, is essential at educational institutions; stresses in this connection the need for modern technical equipment in educational establishments, with appropriate digital infrastructure; calls on the Commission and the Member States, without further delay, to resolutely implement the dual training system which is established as the leading model in the EU; Amendment 84 # Ulrike TREBESIUS Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 6. Calls on the Member States to ensure that young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs) can avail of and benefit from the Youth Guarantee in a real and meaningful way; emphasises that the Youth Guarantee was devised to be a temporary mechanism to respond to a crisis and should not become a permanent feature and transfer mechanism; notes that the European Court of Auditors (ECA) warns that the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) risks to simply replace national funding rather than adding extra value; notes that the ECA warns of the poor quality of available data to assess results of the YEI; Amendment 85 # Maria ARENA Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 a (new) 6a. Notes that the EU continues to suffer from structural problems that need to be addressed; recognises that austerity measures are not appropriate to provide sustainable solutions for these problems; underlines the crucial need to boost the domestic demand by promoting public and private investment, by promoting socially and economically balanced structural reforms that reduce inequalities and promote quality and inclusive jobs, sustainable growth and social investment and responsible fiscal consolidation, thus reinforcing a favourable path towards more cohesion and upward social convergence environment for business and public services with a view to creating more quality jobs while balancing the social and the economic dimensions; stresses that those priorities will only be achieved if investment in human capital is prioritised as a common strategy; Amendment 86 # Maria ARENA Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 b (new) 6b. Highlights that socially responsible reforms must be based on solidarity, integration, social justice and a fair wealth distribution - a model that ensures equality and social protection, protects vulnerable groups and improves the living standards for all citizens; stresses also the need to reorientate the Union’s economic policies towards a social market economy; Amendment 87 # Agnieszka KOZŁOWSKA Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. Calls on the Commission and all Member States to initiate and/or strengthen the regulation of new forms of work; in this context, expresses concern about the coverage of atypical workers and self- employed workers, who often do not have full access to the social protection system; calls on the Commission and the Member States to develop and promote measures with proven effectiveness in reducing undeclared work, enabling the recognition of domestic and care workers’ labour rights as well as improving working conditions; Amendment 88 # Jean LAMBERT Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. Calls on the Commission and all Member States to initiate and/or strengthen the regulation of new forms of work; in ~~this context, expresses concern about the~~particular to ensure full coverage of atypical workers and self- employed workers, who often do not have full access to the social protection system and to basic workers’ rights such as paid leave, or paid holiday; Amendment 89 # Ulrike TREBESIUS Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. Calls on the ~~Commission and all Member States to initiate and/or strengthen~~Member States to study and consider the regulation of new forms of work; in this context, expresses concern about the coverage of atypical workers and self-employed workers, who often do not have full access to the social protection system; notes that many forms of atypical employment are voluntary; Amendment 9 # Maria ARENA Motion for a resolution Recital A a (new) Aa. whereas in the Commission’s Annual Growth Survey 2019 there is more recognition of the need to strengthen the EU’s social dimension, to respond to inequalities inside and between regions and in terms of access to education, and to achieve coordination between policy instruments; whereas it remains to be specified how these objectives are to be achieved; Amendment 90 # Claudiu Ciprian TĂNĂSESCU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 8. Calls on the Member States to increase the coverage and effectiveness of active labour market policies, particularly with regard to the employment market and public employment services, working in close cooperation with the social partners; Amendment 91 # Jean LAMBERT Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 8. Calls on the Member States to increase the coverage and effectiveness of active labour market policies, working in close cooperation with the social partners and other relevant stakeholders, including civil society where appropriate; Amendment 92 # Ulrike TREBESIUS Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 8. Calls on the Member States to increase the coverage and effectiveness of active labour market policies by making them more result-oriented, working in close cooperation with the social partners; Amendment 93 # Maria ARENA Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 a (new) 8a. Highlights the importance of the automatic stabilisation dimension of welfare systems to absorb social shockwaves caused by external effects as recessions; calls therefore on the Member States to introduce policies to re-establish security in employment by providing pro- active protection, including in case of dismissals; with a view to ILO Recommendation No 202 which defines the social protection floors, calls also on the Member States to ensure and increase their investment in social protection systems in order to guarantee their performance in tackling and preventing poverty and inequalities while ensuring their sustainability; Amendment 94 # Jean LAMBERT Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 a (new) 8a. Calls on the Member States to increase efforts to promote quality employment by creating measures to improve job security, ensure adequate minimum wages and fair remuneration, protect and promote the health and wellbeing of employees, improve their skills and ensure work-life balance; Amendment 95 # Jean LAMBERT Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 b (new) 8b. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to step up efforts for the further labour market inclusion of groups who are furthest away from the labour market, such as single parents, informal carers, people with long-term sickness, disability, health problems or complex chronic diseases, migrants and refugees and people from ethnic and religious minorities as well as their better integration into society; Amendment 96 # Jean LAMBERT Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 9. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to step up efforts for the further inclusion of people with disabilities in the labour market, by removing legislative barriers to creating incentives for their employment and ensuring the accessibility of workplaces; and furthermore, calls on the Commission and Member States to ensure that all actions on the inclusion of Roma are in line with the general principles of the agreed National Roma Integration Strategies; Amendment 97 # Agnieszka KOZŁOWSKA Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 9. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to step up efforts for the further inclusion of people with disabilities in the labour market, by removing legislative barriers to creating incentives for their employment and ensuring the accessibility of workplaces by greater use of new technologies in communication and mobility of people with disabilities; Amendment 98 # Agnieszka KOZŁOWSKA Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10. Notes that micro-enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are important for sustainable and inclusive development and job creation; Calls for further support for micro-, small-and medium-sized enterprises to organise training for employees; calls on the Commission and the Member States to give greater consideration to the interests of MSMEs in the policymaking process; Amendment 99 # Heinz K. BECKER Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10. Notes that micro-enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are extremely important for sustainable and inclusive development and job creation in Europe; calls on the Commission and the Member States to give greater and better consideration to the interests of MSMEs in the policymaking process; source: 632.783

Amendments

Dossier

147

2018/2120(INI)

2018/12/05 FEMM 24 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Ernest URTASUN

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas persistent gender gaps in the EU, such as the 11.6 % gender employment gap1 , the 16.2 % gender pay gap2 and the 37.2 % gender pension gap3 , among others, are not only unfair, but also put women in vulnerable or precarious situations, such as poverty or social exclusion; whereas urgent efforts are needed to eliminate these gaps as they remain one of the main barriers for achieving gender equality and an unacceptable form of gender discrimination; _________________ 1 European Institute for Gender Equality, Gender Statistics Database. 2 Boll, C. and Lagemann, A., ‘Gender pay gap in EU countries based on SES (2014)’, Luxembourg: European Commission, 2018. 3 European Commission, Pension Adequacy Report 2018.

Amendment 10 #

Ernest URTASUN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Calls on the Commission and the Council to introduce a gender equality pillar in the 2020 Strategy and an overarching gender equality objective;

Amendment 11 #

Jérôme LAVRILLEUX

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Calls on the Commission to ~~include the G~~monitor the situation with regard to gender Eequality ~~Index as one of~~through the European Semester~~’s tools for monitoring~~, so as to gain a clear idea of progress towards employment and social targets;

Amendment 12 #

Jérôme LAVRILLEUX

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Emphasises that unemployment, poverty and social exclusion are matters of concern, especially for women; stresses, therefore, that it is important to make sure that the European Semester process remains focused on delivering smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, with greater coordination of national and European policies in order to create more good-quality jobs within the EU, thereby addressing the gaps between women and men in the areas of unemployment, pay and pensions;

Amendment 13 #

Jérôme LAVRILLEUX

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Is concerned that the labour market is vertically and horizontally segregated throughout the EU, that there are pay and pension gaps between women and men, and that few women are involved in decision-making; emphasises that the employment rate of women is still below that of men; emphasises, furthermore, that this divergence in the employment rate is particularly marked among mothers and women with care responsibilities;

Amendment 14 #

Jérôme LAVRILLEUX

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. ~~Reiterates its c~~Calls on the Commission to ~~support the Member States in making greater use of struc~~adopt a comprehensive approach to all types of care services, and to strengthen provisions that make it possible for appropriate European funding schemes to be used in an effective and mutural ~~funds for invest~~ly reinforcing manner in the areas of lifelong learning, and infrastructure research and development, in p~~ublic care structures and services for children, the elderly and other depend~~articular via existing European Structural and Investment Funds; notes the proposal for a European Social Fund+ and other financial instruments, and the InvestEU fund, which paves the way for sound public and private investments in ~~order to facilitate women’s return to the labour market and ensure a work-life balance~~infrastructure, with the aim being to finance care infrastructure; encourages the Member States to prioritise funding aimed at childcare and long-term care using the European Structural and Investment Funds, without prejudice to the negotiations on the next multiannual financial framework;

Amendment 15 #

Jérôme LAVRILLEUX

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Encourages the Member States to identify effective funding models, including targeted funding, which strike a balance between public and private financing and are also tailored to suit national and local circumstances;

Amendment 16 #

Ernest URTASUN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Calls for the full commitment of the European Semester to the European Pillar of Social Rights~~, underlin~~ and considers the European Semester should contribute to the realisation of the social rights outlined in the Pillar and monitor the delivery of all 20 key principles, with special attention to ensuring equal treatment and opportunities between women and men, the right to equal pay for work of equal value, and the right to high- quality, affordable care services; Considers that the European economic governance should refocus from the narrow objective of GDP growth towards well-being and convergence with high minimum standards for gender equality;

Amendment 17 #

Jérôme LAVRILLEUX

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Emphasises the importance of lifelong learning for women, too, since it gives women an opportunity to retrain in a constantly shifting labour market; calls for increased promotion of digital and ICT-related topics that can help girls address the stereotypes that exist in education and bridge gender gaps in employment rates and pensions;

Amendment 18 #

Ernest URTASUN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Stresses the need to prioritise action to tackle the problems of unemployment, poverty and social exclusion, which affect women above all, to give priority to sustainable employment/quality jobs with rights and quality public services which ensure social inclusion, especially in the areas of education, health, childcare, care for persons with support needs, public transport and social services;

Amendment 19 #

Ernest URTASUN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4 b. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to monitor women’s labour participation on the basis of the number of hours worked per week, contract types, and women’s financial independence and thus to fight female poverty; calls for an increase of minimum wages, offering at least a living wage, binding measures to reach wage transparency and conducting pay audits on the company level in order to achieve equal pay for equal work and for work of equal value in all sectors and professions; calls furthermore on the Member States to unblock the Women on Boards directive;

Amendment 2 #

Jérôme LAVRILLEUX

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas persistent gender gaps in the EU, such as the ~~11.6 %~~ gender employment gap1, the 16.2 % gender pay gap2 and the 37.2 % gender pension gap3, among others, are ~~not only unfair, but also~~ still too wide and put women in vulnerable or precarious situations, such as poverty or social exclusion; ~~_________________ 1 European Institute for Gender Equality, Gender Statistics Database. 2 Boll, C. and Lagemann, A., ‘Gender pay~~whereas urgent action needs to be taken to bridge these gaps in ~~EU countries based on SES (2014)’, Luxembourg: European Commission, 2018. 3 European Commission, Pension Adequacy Report 2018.~~order to improve gender equality in the EU;

Amendment 20 #

Ernest URTASUN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)

4 c. Calls on the Member States and the Commission to remove all the constraints on women participating in the labour market and to eliminate all tax- related gender biases and other incentives that perpetuate unequal gender roles;

Amendment 21 #

Ernest URTASUN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 d (new)

4 d. Calls for guidelines to ensure genuine accountability and meaningful dialogue with civil society organisations and trade unions, making national and European Parliament equal partners.

Amendment 22 #

Jérôme LAVRILLEUX

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Emphasises that it is important to monitor the percentage of the total population considered to be NEETs between the ages of 15 and 24, as well as other auxiliary indicators, and to focus in particular on young women and girls as there is a major difference between the sexes when it comes to the proportion of young people who are not in employment, education or training;

Amendment 23 #

Jérôme LAVRILLEUX

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5b. Calls for policies that support entrepreneurship among women, giving them access to financing and business opportunities by providing them with bespoke training and introducing measures to bring about a work-life balance;

Amendment 24 #

Jérôme LAVRILLEUX

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)

5c. Welcomes the Commission proposal on work-life balance as a good way of encouraging employment among women and making the employment rate among women more balanced; calls on the Member States to improve gender equality in relevant sectors and in businesses whilst placing a special emphasis on disabled women, as they are particularly vulnerable in the labour market; calls on the Council to unblock the Women on Boards Directive;

Amendment 3 #

Jérôme LAVRILLEUX

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas bridging the gender pension gap – which currently stands at almost 40% on average within the EU, and which is also the result of the accumulation of inequalities experienced throughout women’s lives, as well as periods of absence from the labour market – is particularly important; whereas acknowledging women’s work as carers is a sound basis upon which effective action can be taken to address the issue of women accruing fewer pension entitlements;

Amendment 4 #

Jérôme LAVRILLEUX

Draft opinion
Recital C

C. whereas the quality of care services varies widely within and among Member States, private and public facilities, rural and urban areas and different age groups; whereas women a~~re mo~~re affected by cuts to public services, including healthcare, education and housing, both directly as service users and employees, and indirectly through their support for family members who rely on core public services;

Amendment 5 #

Ernest URTASUN

Draft opinion
Recital C

C. whereas women are more affected by cuts to public services, including healthcare, education ~~and housing~~, housing and childcare and long-term care services, both directly as service users and employees, and indirectly through their support for family members who rely on core public services;

Amendment 6 #

Jérôme LAVRILLEUX

Draft opinion
Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas women are more likely to take career breaks owing to their role within the family, and whereas it is more often women who stop work to care for a child or sick relative; whereas this role that women play can impede their careers; having regard to the ongoing discussions on establishing a work-life balance;

Amendment 7 #

Ernest URTASUN

Draft opinion
Recital D a (new)

D a. Calls on the Member States to set specific quantitative targets in their NRPs regarding women’s employment in general, together with specific measures targeting groups of women with very low employment rates, such as young women, older women, migrant women, disabled women, single mothers, and Roma women;

Amendment 8 #

Jérôme LAVRILLEUX

Draft opinion
Recital D b (new)

Db. whereas the European Semester should contribute to the completion of the European Pillar of Social Rights to ensure equal treatment and equal opportunities for women and men, as well as to uphold the right to equal pay for equal work by women and men and the right of access to good-quality, affordable healthcare;

Amendment 9 #

Jérôme LAVRILLEUX

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Regrets the lack of a gender perspective and gender indicators~~ Advocates gender mainstreaming th~~e framework of~~roughout the European Semester, and calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure greater inclusion of a gender mainstreaming perspective in the development of country-specific recommendations, stability and convergence programmes and national reform programmes by introducing qualitative targets and measures that address persistent gender gaps, and ~~to systematically ap~~by carrying out assessments on the state of play ~~the principle of gender budgeting~~with regard to gender equality in different sectors, in particular by using gender-disaggregated data;

source: 631.916

2019/01/10 EMPL 123 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

activities	date: 2018-06-14T00:00:00 body: EP type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading committees: body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Budgets (Associated committee) committee: BUDG body: EP shadows: group: EPP name: KOZŁOWSKA-RAJEWICZ Agnieszka group: S&D name: ARENA Maria group: ENF name: BIZZOTTO Mara responsible: True committee: EMPL date: 2018-06-27T00:00:00 committee_full: Employment and Social Affairs (Associated committee) rapporteur: group: ALDE name: HARKIN Marian body: EP responsible: False committee: FEMM date: 2018-08-02T00:00:00 committee_full: Women’s Rights and Gender Equality rapporteur: group: S&D name: PICIERNO Pina
commission	body: EC dg: Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion commissioner: THYSSEN Marianne
committees/0	type Responsible Committee body EP associated True committee_full Employment and Social Affairs committee EMPL date 2018-06-27T00:00:00 rapporteur name: HARKIN Marian group: Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe abbr: ALDE shadows name: KOZŁOWSKA-RAJEWICZ Agnieszka group: European People's Party (Christian Democrats) abbr: PPE name: ARENA Maria group: Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats abbr: S&D name: TREBESIUS Ulrike group: European Conservatives and Reformists abbr: ECR name: LAMBERT Jean group: Greens/European Free Alliance abbr: Verts/ALE name: BIZZOTTO Mara group: Europe of Nations and Freedom abbr: ENF
committees/0	body EP responsible False committee_full Budgets (Associated committee) committee BUDG
committees/1	type Committee Opinion body EP associated True committee_full Budgets committee BUDG opinion False
committees/1	body EP shadows group: EPP name: KOZŁOWSKA-RAJEWICZ Agnieszka group: S&D name: ARENA Maria group: ENF name: BIZZOTTO Mara responsible True committee EMPL date 2018-06-27T00:00:00 committee_full Employment and Social Affairs (Associated committee) rapporteur group: ALDE name: HARKIN Marian
committees/2	type Committee Opinion body EP associated False committee_full Womens Rights and Gender Equality committee FEMM date 2018-08-02T00:00:00 rapporteur name: PICIERNO Pina group: Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats abbr: S&D
committees/2	body EP responsible False committee FEMM date 2018-08-02T00:00:00 committee_full Women’s Rights and Gender Equality rapporteur group: S&D name: PICIERNO Pina
docs	date: 2018-12-06T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE631.882 title: PE631.882 type: Committee draft report body: EP date: 2019-01-10T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE632.783 title: PE632.783 type: Amendments tabled in committee body: EP date: 2019-01-24T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE630.469&secondRef=02 title: PE630.469 committee: FEMM type: Committee opinion body: EP
events	date: 2018-06-14T00:00:00 type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP date: 2018-06-14T00:00:00 type: Referral to associated committees announced in Parliament body: EP date: 2019-02-26T00:00:00 type: Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading body: EP date: 2019-03-04T00:00:00 type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A8-2019-0162&language=EN title: A8-0162/2019 summary: The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs adopted the own-initiative report by Marian HARKIN (ADLE, IE) on the European Semester for economic policy coordination: Employment and Social Aspects in the Annual Growth Survey 2019. European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) Emphasising that the EU’s social goals and commitments are just as important as its economic goals, Members called on the Commission and the Member States to reinforce social rights in such a way as to build a real social dimension for the EU. They called for a full commitment by the European Semester to the EPSR, emphasising equal treatment and opportunities between women and men, the right to equal pay for work of equal value, and the right to high-quality, affordable care services. Investment Members highlighted the need to bridge the investment gap for research and innovation in infrastructure, including social, health and care services as well as health promotion and disease prevention and decent, energy-efficient housing, as well as in human capital. They called on the Commission and the Member States to maximise their efforts in investing in affordable, accessible and targeted high-quality education and training, reinforcing upskilling and reskilling measures including digital and transferable skills, and to promote lifelong learning and skills development. Decent wages Members called on the Commission and Member States to carefully examine the issue of in-work poverty and implement measures to improve job quality and reduce wage dispersion, including by raising wage floors also in the form of, where applicable, minimum wages set at decent levels. Fight against unemployment and measures to remedy skills mismatch While unemployment rates in the EU are at their lowest level, the job vacancy rate in the Union was 2.2 % in 2018, up from 1.9 % in 2017. The report stressed that convergence between qualifications and skills with job opportunities is a precondition for creating a competitive EU labour market and should be tackled by facilitating closer cooperation between education systems and businesses and trade unions, for example by promoting dual education, apprenticeships, work-based learning and reality-based learning in all forms and at all levels of education, including higher education. The integration of long-term unemployed individuals through individually tailored measures is also a key factor for fighting inequalities, poverty and social exclusion. Member States were called upon to ensure that young people not in employment education or training (NEETs), including young people with disabilities and those with complex needs, can, in line with the recommendations of the European Commission and the European Court of Auditors, avail of and benefit from the Youth Guarantee in a real and meaningful way. The teaching of basic digital skills in educational institutions should be strengthened. The report invited the Commission and the Member States to: - promote measures to reduce undeclared work, to allow the recognition of labour rights of domestic workers and care service providers and to improve working conditions; - increase the scope and effectiveness of active labour market policies; - step up efforts to further integrate people with disabilities into the labour market; - take the interests of SMEs and microenterprises into account in the policy process; - step up efforts to ensure fairer taxation, including in the digital economy; - take all necessary measures to improve work-life balance and promote gender equality. Pensions Acknowledging the challenges faced by Member States to strengthen the sustainability of pension systems, Members nevertheless stressed the importance of safeguarding solidarity in those systems. They believed that the best way to ensure sustainable, safe and adequate pensions for women and men is to increase the overall employment rate and create more quality jobs across all ages, improving working and employment conditions, and to commit the necessary supplementary public spending. Reforms of pension systems should focus, among other things, on the effective retirement age, and should reflect labour market trends, birth rates, the health and wealth situation, working conditions and the economic dependency ratio. These reforms must also take account of the situation women, young people and the self-employed, who are suffering from insecure, atypical employment, periods of involuntary unemployment or reductions in working time. date: 2019-03-13T00:00:00 type: Debate in Parliament body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20190313&type=CRE title: Debate in Parliament date: 2019-03-13T00:00:00 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P8-TA-2019-0202 title: T8-0202/2019 summary: The European Parliament adopted by 434 votes 142 with 39 abstentions, a resolution on the European Semester for economic policy coordination: Employment and Social Aspects in the Annual Growth Survey 2019. European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) Parliament called on the Commission and the Member States to reinforce social rights in such a way as to build a real social dimension for the EU. It called on the Commission to use the EPSR’s 20 principles as markers for assessing countries’ success in integrating their commitment to it into their economic policies, as well as to strengthen its social situation monitoring capacity. Social and employment issues should be placed on an equal footing with economic issues in the Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure. Investment Members highlighted the need to bridge the investment gap for research and innovation in infrastructure, including social, health and care services as well as health promotion and disease prevention and decent, energy-efficient housing, as well as in human capital. They called on the Commission and the Member States to maximise their efforts in investing in affordable, accessible and targeted high-quality education and training, reinforcing upskilling and reskilling measures including digital and transferable skills, and to promote lifelong learning and skills development. Decent wages Parliament called on the Commission and Member States to carefully examine the issue of in-work poverty and implement measures to improve job quality and reduce wage dispersion, including by raising wage floors also in the form of, where applicable, minimum wages set at decent levels. In this context, it called for the implementation of policies that respect collective bargaining and the position of workers in the wage-setting system. Fight against unemployment and measures to remedy skills mismatch While unemployment rates in the EU are at their lowest level, the job vacancy rate in the Union was 2.2 % in 2018, up from 1.9 % in 2017. The resolution stressed that convergence between qualifications and skills with job opportunities is a precondition for creating a competitive EU labour market and should be tackled by facilitating closer cooperation between education systems and businesses and trade unions, for example by promoting dual education, apprenticeships, work-based learning and reality-based learning in all forms and at all levels of education, including higher education. The integration of long-term unemployed individuals through individually tailored measures is also a key factor for fighting inequalities, poverty and social exclusion. Member States were called upon to ensure that young people not in employment education or training (NEETs), including young people with disabilities and those with complex needs, can, in line with the recommendations of the European Commission and the European Court of Auditors, avail of and benefit from the Youth Guarantee in a real and meaningful way. The teaching of basic digital skills in educational institutions should be strengthened. Socially responsible reforms Parliament acknowledged that austerity measures are not adequate to provide lasting solutions to the structural problems facing the Union. It stressed the need to boost domestic demand by promoting public and private investment and socially and economically balanced structural reforms that reduce inequalities and support quality and inclusive jobs, sustainable growth, social investment and responsible fiscal consolidation. Socially responsible reforms must be based on solidarity, integration, social justice and a fair distribution of wealth, thus creating a model that ensures equality and social protection, protects vulnerable groups and improves living standards for all citizens. Members stressed, in addition, the need to reorientate the Union’s economic policies towards a social market economy. The resolution invited the Commission and the Member States to: - promote measures to reduce undeclared work, to allow the recognition of labour rights of domestic workers and care service providers and to improve working conditions; - increase the scope and effectiveness of active labour market policies; - step up efforts to further integrate people with disabilities into the labour market; take the interests of SMEs and microenterprises into account in the policy process; - step up efforts to ensure fairer taxation, including in the digital economy; - take all necessary measures to improve work-life balance and promote gender equality. Pensions Acknowledging the challenges faced by Member States to strengthen the sustainability of pension systems, Parliament nevertheless stressed the importance of safeguarding solidarity in those systems. It believed that the best way to ensure sustainable, safe and adequate pensions for women and men is to increase the overall employment rate and create more quality jobs across all ages, improving working and employment conditions, and to commit the necessary supplementary public spending. Reforms of pension systems should focus, among other things, on the effective retirement age, and should reflect labour market trends, birth rates, the health and wealth situation, working conditions and the economic dependency ratio. These reforms must also take account of the situation women, young people and the self-employed, who are suffering from insecure, atypical employment, periods of involuntary unemployment or reductions in working time. date: 2019-03-13T00:00:00 type: End of procedure in Parliament body: EP
links
other	body: EC dg: url: http://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/employment-social-affairs-and-inclusion_en title: Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion commissioner: THYSSEN Marianne
procedure/dossier_of_the_committee	Old EMPL/8/13406 New EMPL/8/13406
procedure/legal_basis/0	Rules of Procedure EP 54
procedure/legal_basis/0	Rules of Procedure EP 52
procedure/stage_reached	Old Awaiting committee decision New Procedure completed
procedure/subject	Old 4.10 Social policy, social charter and protocol 4.15.02 Employment: guidelines, actions, Funds New 4.10 Social policy, social charter and protocol 4.15.02 Employment: guidelines, actions, Funds

activities/0/committees/1/date	2018-06-27T00:00:00
activities/0/committees/1/rapporteur	group: ALDE name: HARKIN Marian
activities/0/committees/1/shadows	group: EPP name: KOZŁOWSKA-RAJEWICZ Agnieszka group: S&D name: ARENA Maria group: ENF name: BIZZOTTO Mara
activities/0/committees/2/date	2018-08-02T00:00:00
activities/0/committees/2/rapporteur	group: S&D name: PICIERNO Pina
committees/1/date	2018-06-27T00:00:00
committees/1/rapporteur	group: ALDE name: HARKIN Marian
committees/1/shadows	group: EPP name: KOZŁOWSKA-RAJEWICZ Agnieszka group: S&D name: ARENA Maria group: ENF name: BIZZOTTO Mara
committees/2/date	2018-08-02T00:00:00
committees/2/rapporteur	group: S&D name: PICIERNO Pina
procedure/legal_basis/0	Old Rules of Procedure EP 052 New Rules of Procedure EP 52

activities	date: 2018-06-14T00:00:00 body: EP type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading committees: body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Budgets (Associated committee) committee: BUDG body: EP responsible: True committee_full: Employment and Social Affairs (Associated committee) committee: EMPL body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Women’s Rights and Gender Equality committee: FEMM
committees	body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Budgets (Associated committee) committee: BUDG body: EP responsible: True committee_full: Employment and Social Affairs (Associated committee) committee: EMPL body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Women’s Rights and Gender Equality committee: FEMM
links
other	body: EC dg: url: http://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/employment-social-affairs-and-inclusion_en title: Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion commissioner: THYSSEN Marianne
procedure	dossier_of_the_committee EMPL/8/13406 reference 2018/2120(INI) title European semester for economic policy coordination: employment and social aspects in the annual growth survey 2019 legal_basis Rules of Procedure EP 052 stage_reached Awaiting committee decision type INI - Own-initiative procedure subject 4.10 Social policy, social charter and protocol 4.15.02 Employment: guidelines, actions, Funds

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