2020/2123(INI) | [ParlTrack]

Role	Committee	Rapporteur	Shadows
Lead	ECON	SIMON Sven ( EPP)	MARQUES Pedro ( S&D), EROGLU Engin ( Renew), BECK Gunnar ( ID), LAMBERTS Philippe ( Verts/ALE), VAN OVERTVELDT Johan ( ECR), PAPADIMOULIS Dimitrios ( GUE/NGL)

Amendments	Dossier
329	2020/2123(INI) 2020/10/20 ECON 329 amendments... Amendment 1 # Motion for a resolution Citation 3 — having regard to the Statute of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and of the ECB, in particular Articles 15 and 21 thereof, Amendment 10 # Motion for a resolution Citation 6 — having regard to the monetary dialogues with the President of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, of 6 February, 8 June and 28 ~~June~~September 2020, Amendment 100 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 b (new) 3 b. recalls that ECB measures, if they were in line with its mandate, could have favourable effects on financing conditions and investment in the short-term, but warns that credit driven expansions can lead to a costly misallocation of real resources (“malinvestments”), thereby contributing to the zombification of the economy as a whole; Amendment 101 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4 4. Calls for an urgent re-evaluation of systemic risk in the financial sector following the ~~pandemic; welcomes, in this regard, the establishment~~unlawful expansion of the money supply by the ECB, the inflation of the ECB´s balance sheets, rapidly increasing TARGET 2-imbalances, and the further zombification of the European economy and deterioration of real income prospects, especially of young Europeans through the (T)LTROs; doubts the independence of athe working board relating to the pandemic, which has been established at the European Systemic Risk Board; advises that a qualitative assessment of idiosyncratic risk be included in future stress tests; Amendment 102 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4 4. Calls for an urgent re-evaluation of systemic risk in the financial sector following the pandemic; welcomes, in this regard, the establishment of a working board relating to the pandemic at the European Systemic Risk Board; advises that a qualitative assessment of idiosyncratic risk be included in future stress tests; recommends, further, a more in-depth assessment of the level 2 and 3 instruments held by European banks; Amendment 103 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4 a (new) 4 a. Calls on the ECB to deal urgently with the increasing regional and social inequalities within and among Member States, as well as the increasing unemployment rates, especially regarding the youth, women and vulnerable groups; Amendment 104 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4 a (new) 4 a. Welcomes the ECBs efforts to monitor and reduce its Environmental Performance and Environmental Footprint,5a _________________ 5a https://www.ecb.europa.eu/ecb/orga/clima te/green/html/ecb.environmentalstatement 202010~d0c3d15950.en.html#toc1 Amendment 105 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 5. NUnderlines that the inflation target set by the ECB has no legal base in the Treaties and, moreover, should urgently be revised by taking into account the development of asset prices; notes that inflation is underestimated in the euro area due to an inadequate share of housing costs in the HICP basket2 ; calls for a re- adjustment of the basket to reflect the fact that European households spend 24 % of their income on housing-related expenditure; _________________ 2 cf. ‘Persistent low inflation in the euro area: Mismeasurement rather than a cause for concern?’ (https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/ etudes/IDAN/2018/614214/IPOL_IDA(20 18)614214_EN.pdf). Amendment 106 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 5. ~~Notes that inflation is underestimated in the euro area due to an inadequate share of housing costs in the HICP basket2 ; calls for a re-adjustment of the basket to reflect the fact~~Suggests that the ECB provide a comprehensive assessment of how housing costs could be reflected in the HICP basket; notes that European households spend 24 % of their income on housing- related expenditure; ~~_________________ 2cf. ‘Persistent low inflation~~ believes that this issue, and more broadly issues concerning the ~~euro area: Mismeasurement rather than a cause for concern?’ (https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData /etudes/IDAN/2018/614214/IPOL_IDA(20 18)614214_EN.pdf).~~measuring of price stability and specifying corresponding policy targets, would be suitable topics for the upcoming Strategy Review and should be subject to a broad public debate; Amendment 107 # Marc ANGEL Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 5. Notes that inflation is underestimated in the euro area due to an inadequate share of housing costs in the HICP basket2 ; calls for a re-adjustment of the basket to reflect the fact that European households spend 24 % of their income on housing-related expenditure; _________________ 2 cf. ‘Persistent low inflation in the euro area: Mismeasurement rather than a cause for concern?’ (https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData /etudes/IDAN/2018/614214/IPOL_IDA(20 18)614214_EN.pdf).n the euro area reflects the evolution of actual expenditure made by households on goods or services; highlights the importance of this indicator to assess price stability in the euro area; Amendment 108 # Marc ANGEL Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 a (new) 5 a. welcomes the ECB's efforts in maintaining price stability; notes that the target for inflation has not been systematically attained and further efforts are needed; highlights that the euro area registered deflation in the past months; highlights that deflation poses important risks to the euro area, which calls for strong ECB intervention; acknowledges the monetary policy transmission difficulties; calls on the ECB to study other unconventional monetary policies that have the potential to impact demand and, consequently, reach the inflation target; Amendment 109 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 6. ~~Acknowledg~~Deplores President Lagarde’s ~~strong~~impractical and unlawful call for ‘full alignment of fiscal and monetary policies’; recalls that both monetary and fiscal expansions work to a considerable extent by bringing spending forward in time, thereby disrupting the intertemporal allocation of resources; believes that the structural contribution that monetary policy makes to sustainable growth is limited; Amendment 11 # Motion for a resolution Citation 6 — having regard to the monetary dialogues with the President of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, of 6 February, 8 June and 28 ~~June~~September 2020, Amendment 110 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 6. Acknowledges President Lagarde’s strong call for ‘full alignment of fiscal and monetary policies’, to ‘rethink and reset’ the numerical ceilings in the Stability and Growth Pact and to ‘explore every avenue available in order to combat climate change’; Amendment 111 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 6. Acknowledges President Lagarde’s strong call for ‘full alignment of fiscal and monetary policies’; stresses however that it is not the role of fiscal policy to enhance the impact of monetary policy or to reduce its possible side effects; considers that fiscal policy and monetary policy need to compensate for each other: an expansive monetary policy should go hand in hand with a restrictive fiscal policy and the other way around, only in crisis situations they should strengthen each other; Amendment 112 # Marc ANGEL Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 6. ~~Acknowledg~~Welcomes President Lagarde’s strong call for ‘full alignment of fiscal and monetary policies’; underlines that there are strong complementarities between fiscal and monetary policies and that a monetary union without a common fiscal policy is exposed to too much pressure; welcomes in this regard the Commission’s plan to issue up to €750bn bonds to finance the recovery and the green transition and calls on the ECB to include these bonds in its asset purchases programmes; Amendment 113 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 6. Acknowledges President Lagarde’s strong call for ‘full alignment of fiscal and monetary policies’; welcomes the ECB's Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme to support the economic recovery of the Eurozone; supports the Commission’s plan to issue bonds of up to 750 billion to finance the recovery. Amendment 114 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 6. ~~Acknowledge~~Supports President Lagarde’s strong call for ‘full alignment of fiscal and monetary policies’; Amendment 115 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 a (new) 6 a. Is deeply concerned about the regional redistribution effect within the monetary union; notes in this respect that the banks in the northern euro area hold a disproportionately high amount of deposits with the ECB, and thus pay disproportionately high penalty interest to the ECB; by contrast, banks in the southern euro area benefit disproportionally from the negative interest rates on TLTRO loans, which implies that weak banks in the south may become a burden for banks in the north; Amendment 116 # Marc ANGEL Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 a (new) 6 a. Welcomes President Lagarde’s commitment ‘to use all the tools that will produce the most effective, efficient, and proportionate outcome’ to support the eurozone’s economic recovery; Amendment 117 # Motion for a resolution Subheading 1 a (new) Strategy Review Amendment 118 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 b (new) 6 b. Is concerned that certain European countries have profited disproportionately from the PSPP, since national central banks and the ECB have purchased certain government bonds whose volume exceeds these member states' share in GDP, in two cases even by respectively 43 billion and 51 billion euros, well above the average of 14.4% of GDP for the entire Eurozone; stresses that this strengthens the suspicion that the main goal of the PSPP is fiscal stabilisation of overindebted Member States of the euro area, which falls outside the scope of the mandate of the ECB. Amendment 119 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 a (new) 6 a. Welcomes the ECBs Strategy Review in order to make sure that our monetary policy strategy is fit for Purpose; encourages the ECB to include the Parliament in the Review process; Amendment 12 # - having regard to the final report of the High-Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance, ‘Financing a sustainable European Economy’, published in January 2018, Amendment 120 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 b (new) 6 b. Welcomes that the ECB is discussing the adaptation of its inflation measurements, notes that the HICP is a very narrow concept of inflation measurement which underestimates inflation in the euro area due to an inadequate share of housing costs in the HICP basket2a; calls for an adjustment to reflect the fact that European households spend 24 % of their income on housing- related expenditure, encourages the ECB to also take into account the asset price inflation caused inter alia by low interest rates; _________________ 2a cf. ‘Persistent low inflation in the euro area: Mismeasurement rather than a cause for concern?’ (https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData /etudes/IDAN/2018/614214/IPOL_IDA(20 18)614214_EN.pdf). Amendment 121 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 c (new) 6 c. Recalls that there are risks associated with sovereign debt; notes that in some Member States financial institutions have overly invested in bonds issued by their own governments, constituting excessive ‘home bias’; Amendment 122 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 c (new) 6 c. is open to discuss the horizon over which price stability should be achieved by the ECB, agrees that Central Bank decisions have an Impact with a time lag and therefore should rather have a medium term orientation; Amendment 123 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 d (new) 6 d. encourages the ECB to consider to also focus on targeting the Money Supply and not only the Inflation rate; Amendment 124 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. Notes the quick and substantial ECB monetary policy response to the COVID-19 crisis in a context of emergency; expects that the ECB will withstand its support as long as it is needed, and points to the negative consequences of a premature withdrawal of the measures; Amendment 125 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. ~~Not~~Deplores the ~~quick and substantia~~dangerous and unlawful ECB monetary policy response to the COVID-19 crisis ~~in a context of emergency~~under the pretence of "emergency", notes that the Treaties do not provide for an emergency clause to drastically increase M1 and M3 and the balance sheet of the ECB; Amendment 126 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. Notes the quick and substantial ECB monetary policy response to the COVID-19 crisis in a context of emergency; underlines, however, that the ECB accommodative monetary policy stance was the minimum necessary to support the economic recovery and to safeguard medium-term price stability; further considers that the euro area is facing an economic contraction of a magnitude and speed that are unprecedented in peacetime and, if the ECB had not taken those monetary policy decisions, the entire system would have fallen apart; Amendment 127 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. Notes the quick and substantial ECB monetary policy response to the COVID-19 crisis in a context of emergency; urges the ECB to limit flexibility of its self imposed issuer limit and capital key only to the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP), and to not broaden this flexibility to the general ECB’s asset-purchase programmes (APP); Amendment 128 # Marc ANGEL Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. ~~Not~~Welcomes the quick and substantial ECB monetary policy response to the COVID-19 crisis in a context of emergency; acknowledges the positive impact of such response on the economic situation of the euro area; warns against a premature withdrawal of the measures; Amendment 129 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. Notes the quick and substantial ECB monetary policy response to the COVID-19 crisis in a context of emergency and stresses that monetary policy will probably have to remain accommodative for a considerable period of time; Amendment 13 # Motion for a resolution Citation 6 a (new) - Having regard to the hearing on 3 December 2019 of Isabel Schnabel; Amendment 130 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. Notes the quick and substantial ECB monetary policy response to the COVID-19 crisis in a context of emergency and takes the view that the ECB should strengthen its role of lender of last resort for the euro area; Amendment 131 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. Notes the quick and substantial ECB monetary policy response to the COVID-19 crisis in a context of emergency, yet underlines the temporary nature of the measure; Amendment 132 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. ~~Not~~Welcomes the quick and substantial ECB monetary policy response to the COVID-19 crisis in a context of emergency; Amendment 133 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 a (new) 7 a. Notes that the ECB has failed consistently to achieve its own objective of price stability since the financial crisis and deplores the fact that the ECB statute enshrines price stability as the principal mandate of the ECB at the expense of promoting full employment; calls for the current review of the ECB’s monetary policy strategy to include measuring against the feasibility of a dual mandate to support financial stability, employment and environmental sustainability; Amendment 134 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 a (new) 7 a. Regrets that Greek debt has become eligible for ECB purchases; Amendment 135 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 8. Stresses that monetary policy alone will not suffice to achieve a sustainable economic recovery; and emphasises that far- reaching structural reforms and initiatives are necessary to restore and enhance competitiveness across the Union; believes that the impact of monetary policy on the recovery is limited and, while respecting the independence and mandate of the ECB, expresses caution regarding the further expansion of monetary measures; e crucial role that a common European fiscal policy can play to support the recovery and stabilise European economies, while reducing the burden on the monetary policy; believes that the impact on the recovery of a monetary policy centred on price stability is limited and hence considers that, while respecting the independence of the ECB, its mandate should be broadened; recalls that in its statement announcing the review of its monetary policy, the ECB stated that it will, in addition to price stability, also take into account how “other considerations, such as financial stability, employment and environmental sustainability, can be relevant in pursuing the ECB’s mandate2a”; _________________ 2a https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/pr/date/2 020/html/ecb.pr200123~3b8d9fc08d.en.ht ml Amendment 136 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 8. Stresses that monetary policy alone will not ~~suffice to~~ achieve a sustainable economic recovery but only ensure the further decline of the euro and the enhance the systemic risks in the European financial sector; emphasises that far- reaching structural reforms and initiatives are necessary to restore and enhance competitiveness across the Union, including curbing the ECB´s ultra- accommodative monetary policy; believes that the impact of monetary policy on the recovery is ~~limited~~detrimental and, while respecting the independence and mandate of the ECB, ~~expresses caution regarding~~calls on the ECB to immediately cease the further expansion of monetary measures; Amendment 137 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 8. Stresses that monetary policy alone will not suffice to achieve a sustainable economic recovery; emphasises that far- reaching structural reforms and initiatives are necessary to restore and enhance competitiveness across the Union; believes that the impact of monetary policy on the recovery is limited and, while respectxpresses concern about the imbalances in the monetary area and believes that the excessive current account surpluses ing the ~~independence and mandate of the ECB, expresses caution regarding the further expansion of monetary measures~~balance of payments of some Member States should be addressed more decisively; Amendment 138 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 8. Stresses that monetary policy alone will not suffice to achieve a sustainable economic recovery; emphasises that a far- reaching structural reform~~s and initiatives are~~ of the ECB legal framework is necessary to restore and enhance competitiveness across the Union; believes that the ~~impact~~ability of monetary policy alone t~~he recovery is limited and, while respect~~o sustain eurozone economic growth ing the ~~independence and mandate of the ECB, expresses caution regard~~longer term impact is constrained by the ECB’s objectives and tasks as currently set out in the TFEU and ing the ~~further expansion of monetary measures~~Statute of the ESCB; Amendment 139 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 8. ~~Stresse~~Considers that monetary policy alone will not be sufficeient to achieve a sustainable economic recovery; emphasises that far- reaching structural reforms and initiatives are necessary to restore and enhance competitiveness across the Union; believes that the impact of monetary policy on the recovery is limited and, while respecting the independence and mandate of the ECB, expresses caution regarding the further expansion of monetary measure, nor that it can contribute to solving the structural problems of the Eurozone’s architecture and the European economy as a whole, unless it is complemented by demand-side expansionary fiscal policies at the Member State level to support aggregate demand and achieve inclusive economic growth, as well as radical reforms aimed at addressing the asymmetries that were at the root of the Eurozone crisis; Amendment 14 # Motion for a resolution Citation 6 b (new) - having regard to its resolution of 29 May 2018 on sustainable finance1a, _________________ 1a Texts adopted, P8_TA(2018)0215 Amendment 140 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 8. Stresses that monetary policy alone will not suffice to achieve a sustainable economic and social recovery; emphasises that far- reaching ~~structural reform~~reforms, investments and initiatives are necessary to restore and enhance ~~competitiveness across the Union; believes that the impact of monetary po~~sustainabilicty ~~on the recovery is limited and, while res~~and compecti~~ng the independence and mandate of the ECB, expresses caution regarding the further expansion of monetary measures~~tiveness across the Union; Amendment 141 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 8. Stresses that monetary policy alone will not suffice to achieve a sustainable economic recovery; emphasises that far- reaching structural reforms and initiatives are necessary to restore and enhance competitiveness across the Union; believes that the impact of monetary policy on the recovery is limited and, while respecting the independence and mandate of the ECB, ~~expresses caution regarding the further expansion of monetary measures~~calls on the ECB to consider the possibility of using other unconventional policy measures that have the potential to impact demand more directly and stimulate the economy; Amendment 142 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 8. Stresses that monetary policy alone will not suffice to achieve a sustainable economic recovery; emphasises that far- reaching structural reforms and initiatives are necessary to restore and enhance competitiveness across the Union; believes that the impact of monetary policy on the recovery is limited and, while respecting the independence and mandate of the ECB, expresses caution regarding the further expansion of monetary measures, particularly in light of potential undesired side-effects of an ultra-accommodative monetary policy, such as the impact on savers or the risk of asset price inflation; Amendment 143 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 8. Stresses that monetary policy alone will not suffice to achieve a sustainable economic recovery; emphasises that far- reaching structural reforms and initiatives are necessary to restore and enhance competitiveness across the Union; believes that the impact of monetary policy on the recovery is limited and, while respecting the independence and mandate of the ECB, expresses caution regarding ~~the~~any further expansion of monetary measures; Amendment 144 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 a (new) 8 a. Recalls that one of the six Commission priorities for 2019-24 is to build an economy that works for people and delivers stability, jobs, growth and investment, while reducing poverty and inequality; notes that this objective will not be met unless the monetary financing prohibition rule as set out in Article 123 TFEU is revised; highlights that this provision prevents the ECB from doing what all other central banks do, namely purchasing sovereign bonds directly from central governments; is convinced that this revision is all the more important at a time when the coronavirus has shaken Europe and the world to its core, and we are redesigning our industry and economy in line with big environmental, societal, and technological changes; Amendment 145 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 a (new) 8 a. Questions the findings of the ECB’s research on the impact of asset purchases on inequality (WP 2170), which contradicts the academic literature and focuses narrowly on income inequality and not on wealth inequality; is concerned with the seemingly systematic biases in central bank staff research on the impact of asset purchases programmes in comparison with research produced by independent academics2b; urges the ECB to take steps in addressing the risk of groupthink and self-censorship which may be embedded within its research processes; _________________ 2bhttps://voxeu.org/article/fifty-shades-qe- central-bankers-versus-academics Amendment 146 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 a (new) 8 a. Warns that the ECB's ultra- accommodative monetary policy is currently dominated by the utter lack of sound fiscal policies in some Member States; is disappointed that those Members States have failed year after year to make use of the low interest rate environment to consolidate their budgets; points out that high overall debt levels and the need to refinance them can put a severe strain on budgets once interest rates go up again; Amendment 147 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 a (new) 8 a. Draws attention to President Lagarde’s recent public acknowledgement of mismeasurements in potential output estimates by the European Commission, which led to an excessively restrictive and pro-cyclical fiscal stance in the euro area; Amendment 148 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 a (new) 8 a. Warns Member States against taking the low-interest rate environment for granted as a rise in interest rates could have adverse impacts on national budgets; Amendment 149 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 a (new) 8 a. points out that the ECB has few instruments left to fend off adverse macroeconomic shocks; urges the ECB to normalise monetary policy as soon as possible; Amendment 15 # Motion for a resolution Citation 7 a (new) - having regard to the occasional paper of the ECB Crypto-assets Task Force published in September 2020 entitled “ Stablecoins: Implicationsfor monetary policy, financial stability, market infrastructure and payments, and banking supervision in the euro area” Amendment 150 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 b (new) 8 b. Welcomes the adoption of non- standard monetary policy measures, such as the increase of the envelope for the Pandemic emergency purchase programme (PEPP) to a total of €1,350 billion and the extension of the net purchase horizon until at least the end of June 2021, as well as the additional €120 billion temporary envelope under the asset purchase programme (APP) until the end of the year; notes, however, that the ECB could have given twice this sum directly to the Eurosystem central banks by purchasing government debt on the primary market, instead of fuelling speculation on the secondary market; further underlines that by offering banks long-term funding and attractive conditions through the refinancing operations of the third series of targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTRO III) and the new series of emergency longer-term refinancing operations (PELTROs) programmes, up to around €3 trillion in liquidity at a negative rate that can be as low as - 1.00%, the current monetary policy is using credit institutions as intermediaries without the necessary monitoring and reporting to ascertain whether refinancing operations are really translating into lending to the real economy; Amendment 151 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 b (new) 8 b. Stresses that prolonged non- standard policy measures may have significant distributional effects between the poor and the wealthy, young and old, borrowers and lenders, and also between regions with different financial structures. Urges therefore the ECB to include in its next annual report a comprehensive and detailed analysis of the side effects of its monetary policy measures and its impact on income and wealth inequality; Amendment 152 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 9. Notes the ~~importance~~adverse effect of active monetary policy ion alleviating the pressure of financial constraints on small and medium-sized enterprises~~; acknowledges that the percentage of SMEs facing financial constraints decreased from 18 % in 2009-12 to 8 % in 2016-19~~ since the interest rate on long-term refinancing operations is based on the interest rate of the ECB deposit facility, which is currently-0.5%, and the ECB has established a one-year special interest rate period of -1%, if the commercial banks do not reduce net lending in the period from March 2020 to March 2021; thus allowing banks to receive particularly large subsidies from the ECB if they take out additional loans from the ECB and pass them on to companies and households; this “Funding for Lending” supports the enterprises in the euro area, because more favorable loans are available and investment projects with low profitability can be continued, and bankruptcies are avoided; calls for the ECB to immediately end this policy of zombification of the economy; Amendment 153 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 9. Notes the importance of active monetary policy in alleviating the pressure of financial constraints on small and medium-sized enterprises; acknowledges that the percentage of SMEs facing financial constraints decreased from 18 % in 2009-12 to 8 % in 2016-19; stresses, however, that these percentages have increased considerably due to the COVID- 19 crisis; Amendment 154 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 9. Notes the importance of active monetary policy in alleviating the pressure of financial constraints on small and medium-sized enterprises; acknowledges that the percentage of SMEs facing financial constraints decreased from 18 % in 2009-12 to 8 % in 2016-19; underlines that the COVID-crisis has a strong impact on SMEs; Amendment 155 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 9. Notes the ~~importance of active~~short term effect of monetary policy in alleviating the pressure of financial constraints on small and medium-sized enterprises; acknowledges that the percentage of SMEs facing financial constraints decreased from 18 % in 2009-12 to 8 % in 2016-19; Amendment 156 # Marc ANGEL Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 a (new) 9 a. Stresses the importance of Government bonds for the stability of financial markets; highlights the positive impact of ECB’s monetary policy on maintaining the stability of public debt markets, avoid speculative attacks against Government bonds and keep their yields low; highlights that lower interest rates did not lead governments to take on more debt; stresses the importance of maintaining the policies that contributed for such results and adopt new others to assure that those results are kept for a long time; Amendment 157 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 a (new) 9 a. Believes that the ECB should redesign its extraordinary monetary policies in a way that their effective transmission to the real economy is ensured, in particular through the introduction of a mandatory requirement to use the extra liquidity to provide lending to the real economy rather than for investment in risky financial assets; calls, moreover, on the ECB to carefully assess the benefits and side-effects of its policy, in particular with regard intended action to combat deflation in the future; Amendment 158 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 a (new) 9 a. Recalls that the asset purchase programs of the ECB have pushed up asset prices, making it difficult, especially for young people, to buy a home or build up wealth; stresses the unequal effects of ultra-accommodative monetary policies on the haves and the have-nots, and calls on the ECB to thoroughly study the redistributive effects of such policies, especially taking into account the capacity to provide collateral for taking out credits, and publish the results; Amendment 159 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 a (new) 9 a. Calls for the revision of the ECB monetary policy, including inflation target and political mandate; calls the ECB to initiate and actively participate in a constructive dialogue on deficit spending, the future of monetary policy and fighting climate change by actively supporting a carbon-neutral economy; Amendment 16 # Motion for a resolution Citation 7 a (new) - having regard to its resolution of 14 March 2019 on climate change - a European strategic long-term vision for a prosperous, modern, competitive and climate neutral economy in accordance with the Paris Agreement1b, _________________ 1b Texts adopted, P8_TA(2019)0217 Amendment 160 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 a (new) 9 a. Stresses, however, that the transmission of monetary policy to Member States was dishomogeneous and credit access' conditions imposed by national banking institutions to SMEs and large corporations differed substantially, with big firms often benefiting from easier financing; Amendment 161 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 b (new) 9 b. Calls for all appropriate measures to allow the ECB to act as a true lender of last resort, being able to buy unlimited EIB bonds to finance the economy, including public projects, having in that way a broad mandate beyond ensuring price stability, being an independent powerful economic institutional actor under full democratic accountability; Amendment 162 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 b (new) 9 b. recalls that The Targeted Longer- term Refinancing Operations (TLTROs) further zombify the European economy and deteriorate the real income prospects, especially of young Europeans; Amendment 163 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 c (new) 9 c. Warns that the stock of outstanding long-term loans, most of which now have a maturity of three years, has jumped to about €1.6 trillion, most of which are distributed among four countries; thus, the ECB does not seem to follow a country distribution according to her capital key when granting longer-term loans; regrets that given full allotment, the allocation policy seems to be driven by solely by demand of the individual banks. Amendment 164 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 d (new) 9 d. to ensure that banks with higher risks have access to long-term refinancing operations, Regrets that the collateral requirements were relaxed on 7 April 2020, to ensure that banks with higher risks have access to long-term financing operations; stresses that this policy drastically increases risk in the European financial system; Amendment 165 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 e (new) 9 e. Calls on the ECB to end its stimulus package immediately, including phasing out TLTRO; Amendment 166 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 f (new) 9 f. Warns that the negative effects on banks’ net interest income and the increase in banks' lending capacity and lower costs for provisions and losses, which rewards risky behaviour and spurs speculation, poses significant systemic threats in the banking sector and the real economy; Amendment 167 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 ~~10. Asks the ECB to monitor the proportionality of quantitative easing to the risks in its balance sheets, asset price inflation and the potential misallocation of resources;~~deleted Amendment 168 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10. Asks the ECB to ~~monitor the proportionality of quantitative easing to~~end its quantitative easing operations immediately, and focus all its energy to lowering the risks in its balance sheets, asset price inflation and the potential misallocation of resources; Amendment 169 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10. ~~Ask~~Welcomes the ECB tofor its continuous monitoring of the proportionality and effectiveness of quantitative easing ~~to the risks in its balance sheets, asset price inflation and the potential misallocation of resources~~, including its potential side effects; stresses the importance of maintaining a highly accommodative monetary policy with low interest rates; recalls in this regard that the alternative to unconventional monetary policies would be to make additional cuts in the reference interest rate, which could cause severe disturbances in the financial markets and the economy; Amendment 17 # Motion for a resolution Citation 7 a (new) - having regard to the European Parliament resolution of 14 March 2019 on gender balance in EU economic and monetary affairs nominations (2019/2614(RSP)); Amendment 170 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10. Asks the ECB to monitor the proportionality of quantitative easing to the risks in its balance sheets, asset price inflation and the potential misallocation of resources; notes that, in using this tool, the ECB is also encouraging Member States to run up greater debts, which is unfair on future generations; Amendment 171 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10. ~~Asks the ECB to monitor the proportionality~~Believes that long-term low interest rates and reliance ofn quantitative easing ~~to the risks in its balance sheets, asset price inflation and the potential misallocation of resources~~, while justified by economic circumstances and the lack of supportive fiscal policies, can also have undesirable side effects, such as asset price inflation or solvency implications for the insurers and pension funds, that need to be monitored; Amendment 172 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10. Asks the ECB to monitor ~~the proportionality of~~ quantitative easing to the risks in its balance sheets, asset price inflation and the potential misallocation of resources; Amendment 173 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 a (new) 10 a. Underlines that the ECB has taken significant risks into its balance sheet through the bond purchase program; warns that sooner or later said risks will materialise as economic loss; calls on the ECB to study the effects of such event, discuss them with its shareholders and publish the results of such discussion; Amendment 174 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 11. Regrets the detrimental impact of long-term low interest rates on insurers and pension funds and expresses concern about the potential impacts on solvency; stresses the financial burden this places on many citizens across the Union;deleted Amendment 175 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 11. ~~Regrets the detrimental impact of long-term low interest rates on insurers and pension funds and expresses concern about the potential impacts on solvency; stresses the financial burden this places~~ Notes the concerns expressed by pension and insurance funds with regard to lower returns on their deposits due to the low interest rates’ environment; highlights however that low interest rates are not only necessary to fulfil the ECB price stability mandate, but they also had and continue to have considerable positive effects on growth, employment and investment in the euro area; underlines that low interest rates offer opportunities to consumers, companies, including SMEs, workers and borrowers, who can benefit from stronger economic momentum, lower unemployment and lower borrowing costs; highlights that the negative effects on banks’ net interest income have been counterbalanced by far by the benefits from more bank lending and lower costs for provisions and losses; highlights that pension man~~y citizens across the Union~~d insurance funds benefit from the financial stability and economic growth provided by the low interest rates environment; Amendment 176 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 11. Regrets the detrimental impact of long-term low interest rates on the purchasing power of consumers, the increase of zombie firms, the reduced incentive for governments to pursue structural reforms, the growth of shadow banking, lower productivity growth, as well as their effect on insurers and pension funds and expresses concern about the potential impacts on solvency; stresses the financial burden this places on many citizens across the Union; Amendment 177 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 a (new) 11 a. (new) points furthermore at the distributional consequences of the monetary policy such as exacerbated wealth inequality due to increased financial asset prices in stock, bond and real exchange markets, as financial assets are primarily held by the very wealthy; fears the downward pressure on the exchange rate of the euro creating a risk of competitive devaluations which has a major impact on trade conflicts; Amendment 178 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 a (new) 11 a. Emphasises that low interest rates have made issuing new debt cheaper; reiterates that debt levels incertain member state are still unsustainable; stresses that in 5 euro area member states debt levels are still well above 100% of GDP; reiterates that low interest rates are instrumental in the emergence of market bubbles, primarily, but certainly not only, in the real estate market; Amendment 179 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 b (new) 11 b. Underlines that the ECB’s non- standard monetary policy measures have kept interest rates lower, thereby forestalling member states and highly indebted private enterprises from defaulting on their unsustainable debts; Amendment 18 # Motion for a resolution Citation 7 a (new) - having regard to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Amendment 180 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 b (new) 11 b. Doubts the impact of the low interest rate and bond-buying policy on reaching the 2% inflation goal Amendment 181 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 c (new) 11 c. Recognises the existence of distributional consequences of the ECB policies; believes that wealth inequality has been exacerbated by the inflation of financial asset prices as financial assets are primarily held by the wealthy and very wealthy; Amendment 182 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 12. ~~Not~~Underlines the linkage between monetary policy and ~~increasing housing prices in the euro area; emphasises that the persistently high housing cost overburden rate of 9.6~~ economic growth; acknowledges that the share of income that European households spend on housing-related expenditure has been decreasing since 2013; is concerned, however, that the housing cost overburden rate, that fell from 11.4% in 2014 to 9.8% in 2018, is expected to increase due to the pandemic~~, and asks the ECB to evaluate the regional and sectoral impact of its quantitative easing programme on the cost of living across the Union~~; Amendment 183 # 12. Notes th~~e linkage between~~at monetary policy cand contribute to increasing housing prices in the euro area; emphasises that the persistently high housing cost overburden rate of 9.6 % in 2018 is expected to increase due to the pandemic, and asks the ECB to ~~evaluate the regional and sectoral impa~~keep monitoring potential effects of ~~its quantitative easing programme on the cost of living~~low interest rates and quantitative easing on the development of housing prices across the Union; Amendment 184 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 12. Notes the linkage between monetary policy and increasing housing prices in the euro area; emphasises that the persistently high housing cost overburden rate of 9.6 % in 2018 is expected to increase due to the pandemic, and asks the ECB to evaluate the regional and sectoral impact and the inter-generational fairness of its quantitative easing programme on the cost of living across the Union; Amendment 185 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 12. Notes the linkage between monetary policy and increasing housing prices in the euro area; emphasises that the persistently high housing cost overburden rate of 9.6 % in 2018 is expected to increase due to the pandemic, and ~~ask~~urges the ECB to evaluate the regional and sectoral impact of its quantitative easing programme on the cost of living across the Union; Amendment 186 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 a (new) 12 a. Welcomes ECB's policy on the European Deposit Insurance Scheme (EDIS) and its support for a fully mutualised system, which is in the same direction with the Commission and the ESM policy, completing in that way the third pillar of the Banking Union, for the benefit of the EU banking system and the depositors’ protection; Amendment 187 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 a (new) 12 a. Considers that the ECB bond- buying programmes violate at least the intent, if not the letter, of Article 123 TFEU; urges the ECB to refrain from assuming a political role and monetary financing government deficits; Amendment 188 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 b (new) 12 b. Notes the ECB's guidelines for the reduction of non-performing loans in the Member States and the Commission's legislative proposal on this matter; notes the practice in several Member States of banks selling private non-performing mortgages to private equity funds on a mass scale, which has proven to result in a higher rate of home repossessions; notes the failure of several Member States to deal with this problem through adequate consumer protection laws and measures; calls for the introduction of legal protection from repossession for mortgage-holders at the EU level; Amendment 189 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 b (new) 12 b. Warns against the risk of excessive valuations on bond markets, which risk to be difficult to handle if interest rates start to rise again, particularly for countries involved in an excessive deficit procedure or with high levels of debt; Amendment 19 # Motion for a resolution Citation 7 b (new) - having regard to Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, speech "Women are central, not just in central banks" of 28 September 2020 at the Annual Meeting 2020 of the Verein für Socialpolitik; Amendment 190 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 13. Understands that the severity of the crisis has forced the ECB to shift attention away from its monetary policy framework strategy review, which has been postponed to mid-2021; calls on the ECB to involve Parliament in the review process;deleted Amendment 191 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 13. ~~Understand~~Deplores that the ~~severity of the crisis has forced~~crisis is abused as a pretext by the ECB to shift attention away from its monetary policy framework strategy review, which has been postponed to mid-2021; calls on the ECB to involve Parliament in the review process; Amendment 192 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 13. Understands that the severity of the crisis has forced the ECB to shift attention away from its monetary policy framework strategy review, which has been postponed to mid-2021; believes that the ECB's new objectives should mainly be geared to achieving full employment; calls on the ECB to involve Parliament in the review process; Amendment 193 # Clara PONSATÍ OBIOLS Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 13. Understands that the severity of the crisis has forced the ECB to shift attention away from its monetary policy framework strategy review, which has been postponed to mid-2021; notes that this reviewing process has been going on for months now; calls on the ECB to ~~involve~~present Parliament ~~in the review process;~~formal interim results and conclusions and share with it the current status of key discussions. Amendment 194 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 13. Understands that the severity of the crisis has forced the ECB to shift attention away from its monetary policy framework strategy review, which has been postponed to mid-2021; believes that the policy review should focus on exploring and analysing rapidly evolving developments, such as the domination of fintech on payment services and the impact of digital currencies on inflation, which will shape the future monetary policy; calls on the ECB to involve Parliament in the review process; Amendment 195 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 13. Understands that the severity of the crisis has forced the ECB to shift attention away from its monetary policy framework strategy review, which has been postponed to mid-2021; calls on the ECB to involve Parliament in the review process; welcomes in that regard President Lagarde’s commitment during the Monetary Dialogue held on 28 September 2020 to interact closely in that context and to ensure regular dialogues; Amendment 196 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 a (new) 13 a. Stresses that more than five years of Quantitative Easing and negative interest rates have not sufficiently contributed to enhancing the real economy; hence encourages the ECB to look into other monetary policy tools such as direct transfers to households; calls on the ECB and tasks the ECON Committee to carry out studies investigating which political governance framework would be required in order to legally implement such schemes, and to evaluate the comparative economic effectiveness of direct transfers in comparison with quantitative easing or dual rate policy; Amendment 197 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 a (new) 13 a. Invites the ECB to review the adequacy of its inflation target as part of its monetary policy review; notes that in light of structural changes such an overall shift towards a less capital- intensive services economy, the demographic development, a global savings glut and a high demand for safe assets, the current inflation target of 'below, but close to, 2%' might be in need of a review; Amendment 198 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 a (new) 13 a. Stresses that any monetary policy framework strategy review should acutely consider the nature of the European economy that is increasingly services- bound and digitalised, and should assess to which extent this distresses the transmission of monetary policies into the real economy; Amendment 199 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 a (new) 13 a. Recalls that the ECB as an EU institution is bound by the Paris Agreement and that this commitment should be reflected in all of its policies; stresses that climate action and environmental protection should be prioritised among the objectives of the ECB; Amendment 2 # Motion for a resolution Citation 3 — having regard to the Statute of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and of the ECB, in particular Article 15 and 21 thereof, Amendment 20 # Motion for a resolution Citation 7 b (new) - having regard to the Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Amendment 200 # Motion for a resolution Subheading 3 a (new) Recalls that, as an EU institution, the ECB is bound by the Paris Agreement on climate change and that this should be reflected in its policies, with full respect for its mandate and independence; Amendment 201 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 b (new) 13 b. Reiterates its position that the ECB should explicitly take into account the Paris Agreement and the ESG goals in its guidelines orienting its purchase programmes; reiterates that such guidelines may act as a pilot for establishing a future ESG-oriented investment policy consistent with high standards on an EU sustainable taxonomy; recalls its concerns regarding the fact that the CSPP Programme benefits mainly large corporations and carbon-intensive activities; call on the ECB to revise its implementation of the market neutrality principle in line with the objectives of the Paris Agreement and the ESG goals; Amendment 202 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 b (new) 13 b. Recalls President Lagarde’s commitment that climate action and environmental protection will play a key role in the ECB strategic review; stresses that the ECB should incorporate climate factors into its supervisory and monetary policy operations; Amendment 203 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 c (new) 13 c. Recalls that the ECB is a member of the Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System (NGFS); recalls that the NGFS has provided six recommendations for central banks, supervisors, policy makers and financial institutions to enhance their role in the greening of the financial system and the managing of environment and climate-related risks, namely to integrate climate-related risks into financial stability monitoring and micro- supervision, integrate sustainability factors into own-portfolio management, bridge data gaps, build awareness and intellectual capacity and encourage technical assistance and knowledge sharing, achieve robust and internationally consistent climate disclosure and support the development of a taxonomy; Amendment 204 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 d (new) 13 d. Welcomes ECB’s decision to accept, as of 1 January 2021, bonds with coupon structures linked to certain sustainability performance targets as collateral, using the objectives set out in the EU Taxonomy Regulation and the UN Sustainable Development Goals as guiding tools for this purpose; Amendment 205 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 14. Notes the impact of climate change on inflation dynamics and transmission risks in monetary policy; recalls the impact of the ECB in maintaining price stability; emphasises that this mandate must not be confounded with climate policy;deleted Amendment 206 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 14. ~~Notes the impact of climate change on inflation dynamics and transmission risks in monetary policy; recalls the impact~~recalls that the mandate of the ECB ins maintaining price stability; emphasises that this mandate must not be confounded with climate policy; Amendment 207 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 14. ~~Notes~~Worries about the impact of climate change on inflation dynamics and transmission risks in monetary policy; re~~calls the impact of the ECB in maintaining price stability; emphasises that~~minds that climate-related risks, both physical and transition risks, are a source of financial risk and it falls within thise mandate ~~must not be confounded with climate policy~~of central banks and supervisors to ensure that the financial system is resilient to those risks; Amendment 208 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 14. Notes the impact of climate change on inflation dynamics and transmission risks in monetary policy; recalls the impact of the ECB in maintaining price stability; emphasises that this mandate must ~~not be confounde~~go hand in hand with climate policy; Amendment 209 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 14. Notes the impact of climate change on inflation dynamics and transmission risks in monetary policy; recalls the impact of the ECB in maintaining price stability; emphasises that this mandate must not be confounded with climate policy and underlines in that sense that, as an EU institution, the ECB has a narrowly defined mandate enshrined in Article 127 TFEU that should be reflected in its policies; Amendment 21 # Motion for a resolution Citation 7 b (new) - having regard to its resolution of 28 November 2019 on the climate and environment emergency1c, _________________ 1c Texts adopted, P9_TA(2019)0078 Amendment 210 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 14. Notes the impact of climate change on inflation dynamics and transmission risks in monetary policy; recalls the impact of the ECB in maintaining price stability; emphasises that this mandate must ~~not be confounded with climate policy~~take full account of the latest climate science; recalls Article 127 TFEU according to which the ECB, without prejudice to the objective of price stability, shall “support the general economic policies of the Union with a view to contributing to the achievement of the objectives of the Union as laid down in Article 3 of the Treaty on European Union”; considers that within the legal provision of Art. 3 TEU, environmental protection and economic, social and territorial cohesion are currently the most important and most relevant secondary objectives for the ECB; Amendment 211 # Marc ANGEL Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 14. Notes the impact of climate change on inflation dynamics and transmission risks in monetary policy; ~~recalls the impact~~stresses that the mandate of the ECB in maintaining price stability~~; emphasises that this mandate must not be confounded with climate policy~~ is compatible with its secondary mandate of supporting the general economic policies of the Union; emphasises that achieving a climate- neutral economy by 2050, at the latest, is one essential objective of the Union; recalls that the ECB, as an European institution, is bound by the Paris Agreement; Amendment 212 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 – subparagraph 1 (new) Considers that the fight against climate change and the promotion of sustainability should be reflected in the ECB policies in line with its mandate and independence, therefore recalls the statement of its President that the ECB is supporting the development of the EU taxonomy as a way of facilitating the incorporation of environmental considerations in central bank portfolios; Amendment 213 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 a (new) 14 a. Recalls the Statutes of the ECB provides in Article 2 that, if the objective of price stability is achieved and is not called into question, the ECB's monetary policy shall be conducted with a view to furthering the objectives of the EU as laid down in Article 3 of the EU Treaty, which explicitly mentions as objectives of the Union "the improvement of the quality of the environment", and that the ECB's stated intention to contribute actively to the success of the Green Deal is therefore by no means contrary to the Treaties Amendment 214 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 a (new) 14 a. Notes that, both climate change- related shocks to the financial sector and the effects of climate policies on the real economy have the potential to affect the transmission of monetary policy; Amendment 215 # Marc ANGEL Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 a (new) 14 a. Welcomes President Lagarde’s commitment to examine climate-friendly changes to ECB’s operations and ‘to explore every avenue available in order to combat climate change’ Amendment 216 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 b (new) 14 b. Encourages the ECB to move forward with its monetary policy strategy review to examine the risks posed by climate change and how these risks feed into the monetary policy framework and to align its collateral framework and its annual stress testing exercise with the Paris agreement, and to disclose its level of alignment with the Paris agreement. Amendment 217 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 b (new) 14 b. Recalls that banks' environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings do not reflect their lending activity to carbon- intensive companies; Amendment 218 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 c (new) 14 c. Agrees with Christine Lagarde that one could question “whether market neutrality should be the actual principle that drives our monetary-policy portfolio management” and also agrees with Isabel Schnabel that “market neutrality may not be the appropriate benchmark for a central bank when the market by itself is not achieving efficient outcomes”; encourages the ECB to research on the suitability of the market neutrality principle; invites the ECB to investigate over the possibility of superimposing it with other benchmarks such as the EU taxonomy for sustainable activities Amendment 219 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 c (new) 14 c. Asks the ECB to make publicly available reliable data on the carbon intensity of its purchases and to help financial institutions to face data collection challenges; calls the ECB to apply the "do not significantly harm" principle to its purchases not including socially and environmentally harmful companies in its programmes; Amendment 22 # Motion for a resolution Citation 7 c (new) - having regard to its resolution of 15 January 2020 on the European Green Deal1d, _________________ 1d Texts adopted, P9_TA(2020)0005 Amendment 220 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 15. ~~Note~~Regrets that the purchases of green bonds and their share of the ECB’s portfolio continue to increase; warns therefore for the creation of green asset bubbles; Amendment 221 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 15. Notes that the purchases of green bonds and their share of the ECB’s portfolio continue to increase, even though remaining relatively small; calls on the ECB to complement the EU’s climate efforts by increasing its purchase of EIB- issued green bonds, given the EIB commitments to align all its operations with the Paris Agreement by end 2020, end financing for fossil fuel energy projects from the end of 2021 and dedicate 50 % of its support to climate action and environmental sustainability by 2025; Amendment 222 # Marc ANGEL Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 15. ~~Not~~Welcomes that the purchases of green bonds and their share of the ECB’s portfolio continue to increase and highlights the key achievement obtained with the Regulation on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment (known as ‘Taxonomy regulation’) that establishes the criteria for determining whether an economic activity qualifies as environmentally sustainable; Amendment 223 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 15. Notes that the purchases of green bonds and their share of the ECB’s portfolio continue to increase; Understands however that according to a study by the Bank for International Settlements Green Bonds do not lead to decarbonisation; Amendment 224 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 15. Notes that the purchases of green bonds and their share of the ECB’s portfolio continue to increase; highlights that the purchase of large amounts of green bonds could lead to market distortions; Amendment 225 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 a (new) 15 a. Is concerned by the fact that 62.1 % of ECB corporate bond purchases take place in the sectors that are responsible for 58.5 % of euro area greenhouse gas emissions; urges the ECB to align its asset purchasing programmes and collateral frameworks with the Paris Climate Agreement to support the ecological transition; calls, in this respect, for a restructuring of the ECB’s portfolio of securities held under the CSPP and PEPP in order to reduce its holding of bonds linked with fossil fuel industries and increase its holding of bonds linked with sustainable investments; Amendment 226 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 a (new) 15 a. Warns the banking sector of green asset bubbles following the mediatic and political hype around sustainable investments and the so-called climate- neutral economy by, among many others, the President of the ECB; stresses that fostering such bubbles is detrimental to the financial resilience and stability of the banking sector; Amendment 227 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 a (new) 15 a. Welcomes President Lagarde’s openness, as part of the ECB’s monetary policy strategy review, to revisit the strict application of the "market neutrality" principle, in order to avoid financing projects that conflict with the European Union’s target to be carbon-neutral by 2050; Amendment 228 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 b (new) 15 b. Stresses that the ECB’s refinancing operations provide banks with funding irrespective of whether their lending contributes to or harms the EU’s environmental objectives; calls therefore on the ECB to align its refinancing operations to the banking sector with the Paris Agreement to encourage more sustainable bank lending and fill the green investment gap; Amendment 229 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 16. Encourages efforts to increase research capabilities regarding the impact of ~~climate change~~migration, the common currency and accomodative monetary policies on financial stability and the euro area; Amendment 23 # Motion for a resolution Citation 7 d (new) - having regard to its resolution of 8 October2020 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the framework for achieving climate neutrality and amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 (European Climate Law)1e, _________________ 1e Texts adopted, P9_TA- PROV(2020)0253 Amendment 230 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 16. Encourages efforts to increase research capabilities regarding the impact of climate change on financial stability and the euro area; and the way that central banking can contribute to an inclusive and sustainable economy and the fight against climate change; calls on the ECB to conduct a study investigating the alignment of the APP with the EU Taxonomy Regulation, with a particular focus on the corporate sector purchase programme (CSPP) and corporate asset purchases under the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP); Amendment 231 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 16. Encourages efforts to increase research capabilities regarding the impact of climate change on financial stability and the euro area; suggests that the ECB make the question of how central banking and bank supervision can contribute to a sustainable economy and the fight against climate change one of its research priorities; further suggests that, to that end, the ECB also cooperate with international networks other than the NGFS, especially the Sustainable Banking Network and the UN Principles for Responsible Banking initiative; Amendment 232 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 a (new) 16 a. Agrees with ECB’s member of the executive board Isabel Schnabel’s following statement: “In the presence of market failures, market neutrality may not be the appropriate benchmark for a central bank when the market itself is not achieving efficient outcomes”2c; hence encourages the ECB to reassess the reliability and suitability of the market neutrality principle as part of its review, and to consider the possibility of superimposing it with other benchmarks such as the EU taxonomy for sustainable activities; _________________ 2c"When markets fail – the need for collective action in tackling climate change", Speech by Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the European Sustainable Finance Summit, Frankfurt am Main, 28 September 2020, available at: https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/key/date/ 2020/html/ecb.sp200928_1~268b0b672f.e n.html Amendment 233 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 a (new) 16 a. Calls on the ECB to regularly assess and communicate in a clear and transparent way the alignment of its operations, particularly monetary policy, with the Paris Climate Agreement, and to make carbon footprint disclosure an eligibility criterion for debt-issuing firms for any future asset purchase programme; Amendment 234 # 16 a. Recalls that the ECB is an independent body with a strict and limited mandate enshrined in article 127 TFEU, namely to ensure price stability, which means the EU´s obligations under the Paris Agreement on climate change fall outside the scope of the ECB's mandate; Amendment 235 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 a (new) 16 a. Welcomes the continuous efforts of the ECB to protect the environment and set strategic objectives and measures to support the achievement of EU targets; Amendment 236 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 b (new) 16 b. Recommends the ECB to integrate climate-and-environment risks into its collateral framework and its asset purchases and to advocate for and contribute to the creation of an EU taxonomy of unsustainable investments for this purpose. Amendment 237 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 c (new) 16 c. Calls on the ECB to disclose the Paris alignment of its own operations as well as those of the European banking sector; Amendment 238 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 17 17. Calls on the ECB to continue its efforts to ensure the stability of financial markets for all possible contingencies related to Brexit; calls on the ECB to evaluate the progress achieved in key pieces of EU financial legislation connected to Brexit contingencies, such as EMIR II, and to take all necessary measures in order to minimise the negative consequences of Brexit, especially for regions and countries directly influenced; Amendment 239 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 17 17. Calls on the ECB to continue its efforts to ensure the stability of financial markets for all possible contingencies related to ~~Brexit~~the withdrawal of the United Kingdom to the European Union; Amendment 24 # Motion for a resolution Citation 7 e (new) - having regard to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals, Amendment 240 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 17 a (new) 17 a. Welcomes the publication of the ECB Ethics Committee’s opinions for cases of conflict of interest and post- mandate gainful employment by the members of the ECB’s Executive Board, Governing Council and Supervisory Board. Calls on the ECB to emulate this transparency on potential conflict of interest and post mandate gainful employment at all levels of the organisation, and to actively promote this approach with other EU agencies and bodies Amendment 241 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 17 a (new) 17 a. notes the ECBs evaluation of a digital Euro, highlights that according to the Report on a Digital Euro it is not a crypto-asset but Central Bank Money4a, welcomes the transarency of those steps, but asks for more Research on this issue before taking more meaningful Action especially on its Impact on the Banking Sector, and underlines that a Digital Euro should not be used to replace Banks; _________________ 4a https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/other/ Report_on_a_digital_euro~4d7268b458.e n.pdf Amendment 242 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 17 a (new) 17 a. Recognises the importance of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in the EU; point sout, in this respect, the need to encourage public and private investments in the EU, and calls, therefore, for further efforts to ensure the financing of the real economy; Amendment 243 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 17 b (new) 17 b. Regrets with strong concerns that only 2 of the 25 Members of the ECB’s Governing Council are women, despite repeated calls from the European Parliament, and from senior figures in the ECB including its President Christine Lagarde, to improve gender balance in EU economic and monetary affairs nominations. Calls on EU Member States to commit to providing a short-list with a least one woman and one man for all future nominations Amendment 244 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 17 b (new) 17 b. reminds the ECB that Cash Payments are still a very important form of payments,5a that it should not further reduce the amount of different banknotes in circulation, and make sure that a potential Digital Euro does not endanger the existence of Cash; _________________ 5a https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/scpops /ecb.op201.en.pdf Amendment 245 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 18. Expresses concern about the steadily increasing divergence of TARGET2 balances within the ESCB~~; notes that the interpretation of these divergences is contested~~, indicating continued capital outflows from the euro area periphery; calls on the ECB to clarify the underlying factors and the potential risks relating to the imbalances that this could cause; highlights the TARGET2 claims of the Bundesbank, which rose beyond 1 trillion euros, 59 billion euros in September 2020 alone, leading to more risk for Germany; Amendment 246 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 18. Expresses concern about the steadily increasing divergence of TARGET2 balances within the ESCB; notes that ~~the interpretation of these divergences is contested;~~ Germany's TARGET2 balance already exceeded EUR 1.1 trillion in September 2020,1a that in its reply to letter QZ 120 the ECB confirmed that such claims were comparable to those indicative of a currency break-up;1b stresses that these TARGET2 balances are not likely to fall, and that, logically, these balances will probably increase further in future; points out that national central banks have no way of recovering these liabilities, and that in the free economy a debt that cannot be recovered should be written off, that this state of affairs is increasingly undermining the credibility and reputation of the ECB; stresses, therefore, that the ECB should propose ways of dealing with this problem in a credible manner, for example by posting collateral or through the regular settlement of balances using tangible assets such as gold or foreign exchange reserves; _________________ 1a https://www.bundesbank.de/en/tasks/paym ent-systems/target2/target2- balance/target2-balance-626782 1b https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/other/ 170120letter_valli_zanni_1.en.pdf Amendment 247 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 18. ~~Expresses concern about the steadily~~Notes the increasing divergence of TARGET2 balances within the ESCB; ~~not~~acknowledges that the ~~interpretation of these divergences is contested~~se divergences are a consequence of a broader economic divergence process that results from the single market and the euro architecture; stresses the importance of pursuing policies that promote convergence to compensate the increasing economic divergence; Amendment 248 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 18. Expresses concern about the steadily increasing divergence of TARGET2 balances within the ESCB; ~~notes that the interpretation of these divergences is contested;~~ Amendment 249 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 a (new) 18 a. Notes the commitment by the ECB to continue its reinvestment policies beyond the end of the net asset purchases; calls on the ECB to prioritise the purchasing of bonds connected with long- term strategic investments that contribute to inclusive and sustainable growth and the transition towards a carbon-neutral economy; calls on the ECB to immediately develop transparent and standardised criteria for the selection of beneficiaries for the programme that fully incorporate environmental, social and governance factors, therefore divesting from carbon-intensive sectors and firms; Amendment 25 # - having regard to the Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Amendment 250 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 a (new) 18 a. Considers it necessary to implement bank structural reform proposals as soon as possible, with a clear and compulsory separation between retail and investment activities to reduce interdependencies and excessive risk- taking in the banking sector; deplores the lack of interest shown by the European institutions in proceeding with such reforms; Amendment 251 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 19 19. ~~Calls on the ECB to increase its monitoring of the development of crypto- currencies and the increased cyber- security risks, and to assess the possible need for C~~Underlines that the development of a CBDC misses the point of decentralised and encrypted safe stores of value, unless its issuance algorithm is completely separated from central Bbank ~~Digital Currencies; calls on the ECB to ensure an adequate balance between allowing regulatory financial innovation in the FinTech area and ensuring financial stability~~ing policy, and it is untraceable and anonymous; recalls that the development of CBDCs does not fall within the mandate of the ECB; Amendment 252 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 19 19. Calls on the ECB to increase its monitoring of the development of crypto- currencies and the increased cyber-security risks, and to assess the possible need for Central Bank Digital Currencies~~; calls on the ECB to ensure an adequate balance between allowing regulatory financial innovation in the FinTech area and ensuring financial stability;~~ whilst at the same time recognising the importance of cash; Welcomes recent statements by the ECB that a digital euro could support Europe’s drive towards continued innovation and that it could also contribute to its financial sovereignty and strengthen the international role of the euro.Believes that issuing currencies is and should remain a sovereign monopoly. Calls on the ECB to ensure an adequate balance between allowing regulatory financial innovation in the FinTech area and ensuring financial stability and consumer protection; in this respect, is concerned around the potential impact of the malfunctioning of the asset management function of some stablecoins as highlighted by the ECB in May 2020. Welcomes therefore the statements of ECB board member Panetta on the strategic nature of the EU payment systems which makes that it cannot be outsourced towards non EU players, as well as the need of a proper strong regulation in the EU focussing on consumer protection, before any type of global stablecoin could become active in the EU. Amendment 253 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 19 19. Calls on the ECB to increase its monitoring of the development of crypto- currencies and the increased cyber-security risks, a~~nd to assess the possible need for Central Bank Digital Currencies~~lso taking into account the associated risks of money laundering, terrorism financing and other criminal activities related with the anonymity provided by crypto-assets as outlined in the reports of the ECB's Crypto-Assets Task force; welcomes the ECB's analysis and preparatory work towards the introduction of a digital euro; supports in that regard the ECB's recommendation that the issuance of a digital euro should be accessible outside the euro area, in a way that is consistent with the objectives of the Eurosystem, in order to stimulate the demand for the euro among foreign investors, fostering thus a stronger role for the euro internationally; calls on the ECB to ensure an adequate balance between allowing regulatory financial innovation in the FinTech area and ensuring financial stability; Amendment 254 # Marc ANGEL Motion for a resolution Paragraph 19 19. CTakes note of the outcomes of the analysis of the ECB Crypto-Assets Task Force; is concerned with the risks of money laundering, terrorism financing and other criminal activities related with the anonymity provided by crypto-assets; takes note of the ECB’s Report on a digital euro; calls on the ECB to increase its monitoring of the development of crypto- currencies and the increased cyber- security risks, and to assess the possible need for Central Bank Digital Currencies; takes note of the ongoing work and experiences of other central banks in regard to crypto-assets; calls on the ECB to ensure an adequate balance between allowing regulatory financial innovation in the FinTech area and ensuring financial stability; Amendment 255 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 19 19. Calls ~~on the ECB~~all supervisory authorities to increase its monitoring of the development of crypto- currencies, crypto-assets and the increased cyber-security risks, and to assess the possible need for Central Bank Digital Currencies, taking into account that such a system may not enhance the risk of a bank run, should not jeopardise consumers privacy and must respect the competition in the banking landscape; calls on the ECB to ensure an adequate balance between allowing regulatory financial innovation in the FinTech area and ensuring financial stability; Amendment 256 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 19 19. Calls on the ECB to increase its monitoring of the development of crypto- currencies and the increased cyber-security risks, and to assess the possible need for Central Bank Digital Currencies; calls on the ECB to ensure an adequate balance between allowing regulatory financial innovation in the FinTech area ~~and~~, ensuring financial stability and providing a sufficient level of consumer protection; Amendment 257 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 19 19. Calls on the ECB to increase its monitoring of the development of crypto- ~~currencies~~assets, including stablecoins, and the increased risks in cyber- security ~~risks~~and money-laundering, and to assess the possible need for Central Bank Digital Currencies; calls on the ECB to ensure an adequate balance between allowing regulatory financial innovation in the FinTech area and ensuring financial stability; Amendment 258 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 19 a (new) 19 a. reiterates that cash remains important for most of EU citizens as 76% of all transactions in the euro area are carried out in cash, amounting to more than half of the total value of all payments; points furthermore at the fact that the demand for cash in the euro area currently outstrips the rate of nominal GDP growth and keeps in mind that in crisis times, the demand for cash surges even higher; Amendment 259 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 19 a (new) 19 a. Takes note of the ECB's report on a digital euro; agrees with the ECB that a digital Euro would have to satisfy a range of minimal requirements including robustness, safety, efficiency and protection of privacy; stresses that a potential digital Euro can complement, but must not replace cash of a means of payment; Amendment 26 # Motion for a resolution Citation 7 g (new) - having regard to the Commission Summer 2020 Economic Forecast, Amendment 260 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 19 a (new) 19 a. Welcomes the development of crypto-currencies as a market-driven emergent alternative to the euro; calls on national central banks and supervisory authorities to monitor its development and risks in the area of cyber-security; Amendment 261 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 20 20. Shares the ECB’s concerns regarding the rapid growth of the non-bank financial sector; stresses the need for adequate regulation in this field; is concerned in this respect about the findings by ESMA in it Trends Risks and Vulnerability report, 2, 2020 around the severe liquidity challenges experienced by some money market funds end March 2020. Agrees with ESMAs Chairs statement that the one area in which the regulatory framework was not capable of responding adequately to the pandemic stresses was in the Money Market Funds sector and that the exceptional interventions of central banks were in fact decisive in ensuring that these funds would continue to meet regulatory requirements. Agrees therefore that further reforms of the regulatory framework of these funds are needed. Amendment 262 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 20 20. Shares the ECB’s concerns regarding the rapid growth of the non-bank financial sector; stresses the need for adequate regulation in this field; takes the view that, in order to avoid an excessive transfer of assets to speculative financial channels, the rules governing the treatment of non-performing loans should be revised to ease the prudential measures and grant greater flexibility to banks in managing loans that have turned bad in exceptional times of crisis, as during the coronavirus pandemic; Amendment 263 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 20 20. Shares the ECB’s concerns regarding the rapid growth of the non-bank financial sector; stresses the need for adequate regulation in this field; stresses the need for the ECB to mitigate the systemic risk due to an increasing number of non-bank regulated entities clustered around banks for access to the payments system; to this end, further encourages the ECB to establish a level playing field through providing direct access to payments systems for regulated non- banks, subject to strict requirements; Amendment 264 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 20 20. Shares the ECB’s concerns regarding the rapid growth of the non-bank financial sector, also known as shadow banking; stresses the need for adequate regulation in this field; Amendment 265 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 20 20. Shares the ECB’s concerns regarding the rapid growth of the non-bank financial sector, previously known as shadow banking; stresses the need for adequate regulation in this field; Amendment 266 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 20 a (new) 20 a. Reiterates its concerns over the high level in certain Member States of complex and illiquid financial instruments classified as level 2 and level 3 and the difficulty of their valuation; welcomes, in this regard, the inclusion of level 2 and level 3 instruments in the scope of 2018 stress tests; reiterates its call on the SSM to make the reduction of these complex and illiquid financial instruments, including derivatives, its main supervisory priority; Amendment 267 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 20 a (new) 20 a. Welcomes the continuous efforts of the ECB to further strengthen its response and recovery capabilities in the event of a cyberattack on its own organisation; Amendment 268 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 21 21. Recognises the ECB’s success in ~~anti-~~counterfeiting~~, as evidenced by the continuously low share of counterfeit banknotes in total circulation; welcomes the introduction of modernised 100 euro and 200 euro notes with enhanced security features in 2019~~ its own money by drastically increasing the money supply; Amendment 269 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 21 21. Recognises the ECB’s success in anti-counterfeiting, as evidenced by the continuously low share of counterfeit banknotes in total circulation; welcomes the introduction of modernised 100 euro and 200 euro notes with enhanced security features in 2019; points out the importance of cash as a means of payment for EU citizens; Amendment 27 # Motion for a resolution Citation 9 a (new) - having regard to the ECBs Report on a Digital Euro,1a _________________ 1a https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/other/ Report_on_a_digital_euro~4d7268b458.e n.pdf Amendment 270 # 21 a. recalls that some member states de facto do not use the 1- and 2-Cent Coins, therefore asks the ECB to consider abolishing them; Amendment 271 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 22 22. Calls on the ECB to explore ways of strengthening the international role of the euro, as this would increase the EU’s ability to frame its policy stance independently vis-à-vis other global powers and is a key element in safeguarding European economic sovereignty;deleted Amendment 272 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 22 22. Calls on the ECB to explore ways of strengthening the international role of the euro, as this would increase the EU’s ability to frame its policy stance independently vis-à-vis other global powers and is a key element in safeguarding European economic sovereigntyorganising an orderly brake-up of the euro area; Amendment 273 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 22 22. Calls on the ECB to explore ways of strengthening the international role of the euro, as this would increase the EU’s ability to frame its policy stance independently vis-à-vis other global powers and is a key element in safeguarding European economic sovereignty; notes that making the euro more attractive as a reserve currency will further enhance its international use and regrets in that regard the scarcity of euro- denominated safe assets; underlines the need for the creation of a European safe asset; calls on the ECB to assess the possibility of issuing certificates of deposit under the existing legal basis; Amendment 274 # Marc ANGEL Motion for a resolution Paragraph 22 22. Calls on the ECB to explore ways of strengthening the international role of the euro, as this would increase the EU’s ability to frame its policy stance independently vis-à-vis other global powers and is a key element in safeguarding European economic sovereignty; underlines that strengthening the role of the euro requires the deepening of the European Monetary Union, including a fiscal capacity for the euro area with a stabilisation function, the creation of a European safe asset and the completion of the banking union and capital markets’ union; Amendment 275 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 22 a (new) 22 a. Welcomes the repeated calls of the ECB for the completion of the Banking Union through the creation of its third pillar, the European Deposit Insurance Scheme (EDIS), and the backstop to the Single Resolution Fund; Amendment 276 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 23 23. ~~Welcome~~Regrets Bulgaria and Croatia’s entry into ERM II in July 2020~~; supports a swift target date for the adop~~ and the forces accession of their banks to the SRF, which means that Croatioan ~~of the euro in both countries; welcomes~~and Bulgarian savers and investors will subsidize foreign insolvent banks; expresses its concern about the comprehensive screening of Croatian and Bulgarian banks by the ECB in July and August 2019, especially in light of the roles of the Croatian financial industry in the Sanader case; Amendment 277 # Marc ANGEL Motion for a resolution Paragraph 23 23. Welcomes Bulgaria and Croatia’s entry into ERM II in July 2020; supports a swift target date for the adoption of the euro in both countries; welcomes the comprehensive screening of Croatian and Bulgarian banks by the ECB in July and August 2019; draws attention to the requirement, laid down in the Treaties, for every Member State, except for Denmark, to adopt the single currency once they have met the Maastricht convergence criteria; Amendment 278 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 23 23. Welcomes Bulgaria and Croatia’s entry into ERM II in July 2020; supports a swift target date for the adoption of the euro in both countries; welcomes the comprehensive screening of Croatian and Bulgarian banks by the ECB in July and August 2019; underlines the requirement for every EU Member State except Denmark, to adopt the single currency once it has met the Maastricht convergence criteria; Amendment 279 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 23 23. Welcomes Bulgaria and Croatia’s entry into ERM II in July 2020; ~~supports a swift target date for the adoption of the euro in both countries~~believes, however, that it would be better if the two countries were to wait before adopting the euro; welcomes the comprehensive screening of Croatian and Bulgarian banks by the ECB in July and August 2019; Amendment 28 # Motion for a resolution Citation 9 a (new) - having regard to the ECB's report on a digital euro; Amendment 280 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 23 a (new) 23 a. Regrets with strong concerns that only 2 of the 25 Members of the ECB’s Governing Council are women, despite repeated calls from the European Parliament, and from senior figures in the ECB including its President Christine Lagarde, to improve gender balance in EU economic and monetary affairs nominations. Calls on EU Member States to commit to providing a short-list with a least one woman and one man for all future nominations; Amendment 281 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 23 a (new) 23 a. Underlines that, especially in light of Brexit, focus ought to be on consolidation and reflection rather than expansion and deepening of the European Monetary Union; Amendment 282 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 23 a (new) 23 a. Calls on the Commission and the ECB to recognize that not all Member States are poised to introduce the euro. Amendment 283 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 23 a (new) 23 a. Calls on the ECB to continue its fruitful cooperation also with the non- euro area EU Member States; Amendment 284 # Motion for a resolution Subheading 5 ATransparency and accountability Amendment 285 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 24 24. Echoes President Lagarde’s openness to greater dialogue and stresses the need to further enhance the ECB’s accountability and transparency arrangements; emphasises the need ~~to reflect on how~~of national parliaments to scrutin~~y of~~ize the ECB’s monetary policy ~~may be enhanced at EU level~~; Amendment 286 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 24 24. Echoes President Lagarde’s openness to greater dialogue and stresses the need to further enhance the ECB’s accountability and transparency arrangements; emphasises the need to reflect on how scrutiny of the ECB’s monetary policy may be enhanced at EU level; encourages all EU institutions to discuss adjustments in the mandate and improvements of the accountability framework of the ECB during the next Conference on the future of the European Union; Amendment 287 # Marc ANGEL Motion for a resolution Paragraph 24 24. Echoes President Lagarde’s openness to greater dialogue and stresses the need to further enhance the ECB’s accountability and transparency arrangements; emphasises the need to reflect on how scrutiny of the ECB~~’s monetary policy~~ by the European Parliament may be enhanced ~~at EU level~~; Amendment 288 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 24 a (new) 24 a. Calls the ECB to publish more detailed minutes of Governing Council meetings, including the votes of the members in order to enable more effective scrutiny, create the right incentives at the individual level for Governing Council members and, by allowing easier identification of the pros and cons of its policies, alleviate concerns raised in some euro area countries about the proportionality of the ECB’s actions; Amendment 289 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 24 a (new) 24 a. Underlines that ECB’s accountability goes hand in hand with its independence; notes the existing difference between the formal accountability framework of the ECB’s supervisory tasks and that concerning its monetary functions; calls for the negotiation of a formal Inter-Institutional Agreement to formalise and go beyond the existing accountability practices regarding the monetary functions; Amendment 29 # Motion for a resolution Citation 9 a (new) - having regard to Article 123 TFEU, Amendment 290 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 24 a (new) 24a. Calls on the ECB to draw up a proposal to make the allocation of voting rights on the ECB Governing Council more democratic, and recommends that votes be weighted according to shares in the capital of the ECB; Amendment 291 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 25 25. Emphasises that Executive Board Member nominations should be prepared carefully, with full transparency and together with Parliament in line with the Treaties; calls on the Council to draw up agender-balanced shortlists for any upcoming vacancies and to share this with Parliament, thus allowing Parliament to play a more meaningful advisory role in the appointment process; regrets that no satisfactory progress has been made to date; recalls th~~at the equal treatment of men and women is a constitutional principle that must be strictly adhered to;~~ e importance of paragraph 4 of EP resolution 2019/2614(RSP), in which the Parliament commits itself not to take into account shortlists that do not respect the gender balance principle; recalls that the equal treatment of men and women is a constitutional principle that must be strictly adhered to; acknowledges, in this context, the response given by the ECB in its feedback to the European Parliament resolution on the 2018 ECB Annual Report; regrets however that the gender imbalance, in particular at the top executive level, persists and that the rate of progress towards more gender representation is not satisfactory; welcomes the ECB’s new gender strategy and the adoption of more ambitious internal gender targets for the period 2020-2026; stresses that faster progress is required to achieve a substantial change across the organisational hierarchy; calls on the ECB to reinforce its efforts to promote gender balance and achieve a concrete change in the composition of the Board; Amendment 292 # Marc ANGEL Motion for a resolution Paragraph 25 25. Emphasises that Executive Board Member nominations should be prepared carefully, with full transparency and together with Parliament in line with the Treaties; calls on the Council to draw up a shortlist for any upcoming vacancies and to share this with Parliament, thus allowing Parliament to play a more meaningful advisory role in the appointment process; regrets that no satisfactory progress has been made to date; recalls th~~at the equal treatment of men and women is a constitutional principle that must be strictly adhered to~~e importance of paragraph 4 of Parliament’s resolution of 14 March 2019 on gender balance in EU economic and monetary affairs nominations, in which Parliament commits itself not to take into account shortlists that do not respect the gender balance principle; regrets that Parliament’s position was not taken into due account in recent shortlists of candidates proposed by the Eurogroup; Amendment 293 # Clara PONSATÍ OBIOLS Motion for a resolution Paragraph 25 25. Emphasises that Executive Board Member nominations should be prepared carefully, with full transparency, with no formal or informal Member State quotas, and together with Parliament in line with the Treaties; calls on the Council to ~~draw~~promote open recruitment calls, making public the list of applicants and their merits relevant to the post; drawing then up a shortlist for ~~any~~the upcoming vacancies and to share this with Parliament, thus allowing Parliament to play a more meaningful advisory role in the appointment process, including, among others, public hearings with the shortlisted candidates; regrets that no satisfactory progress has been made to date; recalls that the equal treatment of men and women is a constitutional principle that must be strictly adhered to; Amendment 294 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 25 25. Emphasises that Executive Board Member nominations should be prepared carefully, with full transparency and together with Parliament in line with the Treaties; calls on the Council to draw up a shortlist for any upcoming vacancies and to share this with Parliament, thus allowing Parliament to play a more meaningful advisory role in the appointment process; regrets that no satisfactory progress has been made to date; recalls th~~at the equal treatment of men and women is~~e Parliament’s resolution of 14 March 2019 on gender balance in EU economic and monetary affairs nominations and its commitment not to take into a cco~~nstitutional~~unt lists of candidates where the gender balance principle tha~~t must be strictly adhered to;~~ s not been respected alongside the requirements concerning qualifications and experience in the selection process; Amendment 295 # Marc ANGEL Motion for a resolution Paragraph 25 25. Emphasises that Executive Board Member nominations should be prepared carefully, with full transparency and together with Parliament in line with the Treaties; calls on the Council to draw up a gender- balanced shortlist for any upcoming vacancies and to share this with Parliament, thus allowing Parliament to play a more meaningful advisory role in the appointment process; regrets that no satisfactory progress has been made to date; recalls that the equal treatment of men and women is a constitutional principle that must be strictly adhered to; Amendment 296 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 25 a (new) 25 a. Notes that the share of women in all management positions of the ECB rose to 30.3 % and in its senior management positions to 30.8 % at the end of 2019; underlines, however, that this share still remains considerably low; welcomes, in this regard, ECB’s new strategy to further improve the gender balance of its staff at all levels, including the objective to fill at least half of new and open positions with women on all levels and the target to increase the share of women at the different levels to between 40 % and 51 % by 2026; calls on the ECB to further incentivise the participation of women and actively promote a balanced gender representation in all its positions; Amendment 297 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 26 26. Welcomes the detailed, section-by- section and substantial feedback provided by the ECB to Parliament’ resolution on the 2018 ECB Annual Report; calls on the ECB to continue and further enhance this commitment to accountability and to keep on publishing its written feedback to Parliament’s resolutions on the ECB Annual Report each year; Amendment 298 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 26 a (new) 26 a. notes the rise of non-performing loans on bank balance sheets and understands that, according to an ECB report of may 2020, the NPL ratio still remained above 10% in those euro area countries most affected by the recent economic and financial crisis, while it was below 5% in other countries; is however of opinion that the low interest rate policy of the ECB of the past years has led to a higher amount of loans being granted, and thus inevitably led to a higher amount of loans going into default as well; Amendment 299 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 27 27. ~~Recall~~Welcomes the German Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) decision of 5 May 2020 on the ECB, a~~s well as the ECB Governing Council statement of the same day; notes the continuous~~nd takes note of the subsequent ECB Governing Council statement and decision not to comply with the FCC´s instructions; regrets the insufficient marginal proportionality assessment of ~~all~~the programmes; ~~lauds~~takes note of the ECB’s subsequent decision to disclose non-public documents related to the public sector purchase programme (PSPP) to the Bundesbank; Amendment 3 # Motion for a resolution Citation 4 — having regard to Articles 127(1) and (2), 130 and 284(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and Article 3 of the Treaty of the European Union (TEU), Amendment 30 # Motion for a resolution Citation 9 b (new) - having regard to the ECBs study "The use of cash by householdsin the euro area";1b _________________ 1b https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/scpops /ecb.op201.en.pdf Amendment 300 # 27. Recalls the German Federal Constitutional Court decision of 5 May 2020 on the ECB, as well as the ECB Governing Council statement of the same day; considers that the GFCC decision, although not affecting the ability of the ECB and the ESCB to continue the implementation of the PSPP, puts in question the role and the attributions of the Court of Justice in the architecture of the European Union; recalls the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 11 December 2018, ruling that the PSPP does not exceed the ECB’s mandate and does not contravene the prohibition of monetary financing; notes the continuous proportionality assessment of all programmes; lauds the ECB’s subsequent decision to disclose non-public documents related to the public sector purchase programme (PSPP) to the Bundesbank; Amendment 301 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 27 27. Recalls the German Federal Constitutional Court decision of 5 May 2020 on the ECB, as well as the ECB Governing Council statement of the same day; notes the continuous proportionality assessment of all programmes; lauds the ECB’s subsequent decision to disclose non-public documents related to the public sector purchase programme (PSPP) to the Bundesbank, but insists that the ECB's action must not undermine the no-bailout principle and be consistent with the ban on the monetary financing of governments; Amendment 302 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 27 27. ~~Recall~~Notes the German Federal Constitutional Court decision of 5 May 2020 on the ECB, as well as the ECB Governing Council statement of the same day; notes the continuous proportionality assessment of all programmes; ~~lauds~~takes note of the ECB’s subsequent decision to disclose non-public documents related to the public sector purchase programme (PSPP) to the Bundesbank; regrets that such documents were made available to the Bundestag and not to the Members of the European Parliament; Amendment 303 # Marc ANGEL Motion for a resolution Paragraph 27 27. ~~Recalls~~Takes note of the German Federal Constitutional Court decision of 5 May 2020 on the ECB, as well as the ECB Governing Council statement of the same day; ~~not~~acknowledges the ECB’s continuous proportionality assessment of all programmes; ~~lauds the~~ notes ECB’s subsequent decision to disclose non-public documents related to the public sector purchase programme (PSPP) to the European Parliament, the German Federal Government, the Bundestag and the Bundesbank; Amendment 304 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 27 a (new) 27 a. Considers that the ECB bond- buying programmes violate Article 123 TFEU; urges the ECB to cease its usurped political role and the monetary financing of government deficits; Amendment 305 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 27 a (new) 27 a. Points at the ongoing debates on the ECB monetary policy and accountability in the parliaments of the member-states of the Eurozone; Amendment 306 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 28 28. ~~Acknowledges, and congratulates the ECB and President Lagarde on,~~Looks forward to the ongoing efforts of the ECB to improve communication and transparency with the European Parliament and national parliaments; Amendment 307 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 28 28. Acknowledges, and congratulates the ECB and President Lagarde on, the ongoing efforts to improve communication and transparency with the European Parliament; regrets in this respects the comments made by ECB Board Member Isabel Schnabel in her hearing before the European Parliament on 3 December 2019, who labelled worries about negative interest rates "a dangerous narrative that needs to be dispelled"; underlines that such comments do not contribute to a credible communication environment; Amendment 308 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 28 28. Acknowledges, and congratulates the ECB and President Lagarde on, the ongoing efforts to improve communication and transparency with the European Parliament; suggests on the other hand a regular dialogue in camera between ECON members and relevant ECB representatives following on publication of the latest available account of proceedings of the Governing Council to assess ECB decisions ahead of and in parallel with the monetary dialogues; Amendment 309 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 28 28. Acknowledges, and congratulates the ECB and President Lagarde on, the ongoing efforts to improve communication and transparency with the European Parliament and agrees further with President Lagarde that the ECB has to enhance its communication to citizens on the impact of its policies; Amendment 31 # Motion for a resolution Citation 9 c (new) - having regard to the 2020 update of the ECB`s Environmental Statement,1a _________________ 1a https://www.ecb.europa.eu/ecb/orga/clima te/green/html/ecb.environmentalstatement 202010~d0c3d15950.en.html#toc1 Amendment 310 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 28 28. Acknowledges~~, and congratulates the ECB and President Lagarde on,~~ the ongoing efforts to improve communication and transparency with the European Parliament; calls for these efforts to be further intensified; Amendment 311 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 28 28. Acknowledges~~, and congratulates~~ the ECB and President Lagarde on, the ongoing efforts to improve communication and transparency with the European Parliament; Amendment 312 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 28 a (new) 28 a. Welcomes the publication of the ECB Ethics Committee’s opinions for cases of conflict of interest and post- mandate gainful employment by the members of the ECB’s Executive Board, Governing Council and Supervisory Board. Calls on the ECB to emulate this transparency on potential conflict of interest and post mandate gainful employment at all levels of the organisation, and to actively promote this approach with other EU agencies and bodies; Amendment 313 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 28 a (new) 28 a. Welcomes the fact that since 2017 the ECB has been publishing the full list of all CSPP holdings, including the names of issuers, together with aggregated data on those holdings by country, risk, rating and sector; deplores that a similar policy has not been implemented with regard to ABSPP and CBPP3; underlines that more transparency is required, in particular for CBPP3, given the significant size of the programme; Amendment 314 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 28 a (new) 28 a. Reminds the ECB that employing a highly paid Executive Board Member with the sole task of engaging in public relations mainly in Germany is an abuse of the function of the ECB’s Executive Board and a waste of resources; considers that explaining monetary policy should be left to professional journalists; calls therefore on the ECB to review the tasks given to its Board Member Isabel Schnabel; Amendment 315 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 28 b (new) 28 b. Calls on the ECB to disclose the full amounts of profits made by the Eurosystem through ANFAs and SMP from 2010 until the full expiration of the programme, with a specific breakdown per country that has been subject to SMP purchases (Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Italy); Amendment 316 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 28 c (new) 28 c. Regrets that the ECB has not yet included Greek bonds in the PSPP despite Greece’s improvements in terms of debt sustainability and re-accession to bonds markets; calls on the ECB to justify why it has not yet been carried out a debt sustainability analysis of the Greek bonds, which is a precondition for the inclusion of Greek bonds in quantitative easing programmes; Amendment 317 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 29 29. Reinforces its call for the adoption of an enhanced whistleblowing policy and a revision of the ECB’s Staff Rules aligned, as a minimum, with the standards and goals stated in the EU Directive 2019/1937 of 16 December 2019 on the protection of whistleblowers to both protect and enable whistleblowers by helping them raise concerns confidently without fear of retaliation, including anonymity where required; Amendment 318 # Sven SIMON Motion for a resolution Paragraph 29 a (new) 29 a. Calls for a more detailed disclosure of social and employee matters as well as governance affairs in line with EU Directive 2014/95 on Non-Financial Reporting.; Amendment 319 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 29 a (new) 29 a. Calls for a more detailed disclosure of social and employee matters as well as governance affairs in line with EU Directive 2014/95 on Non-Financial Reporting; Amendment 32 # Motion for a resolution Recital A A. whereas the Commission’s Summer 2020 Economic Forecast, taking into account economic shocks caused by the national and regional lockdown measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, projects that the euro area economy will contract by 8.7 % in 2020, which is .4 percentage points worse than the EU as a whole, implying that those Member States whose currency is not the euro absorbed the economic shock better, and grow by 6.1 % in 2021, and the EU-27 economy will contract by 8.3 % in 2020 and grow by 5.8 % in 2021; Amendment 320 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 29 a (new) 29 a. Calls for a full external audit of the ECB; Amendment 321 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 29 b (new) 29 b. Urges the ECB, in order to prevent conflicts of interest, to publish declarations of financial interests for its Governing Council members, especially with regard to their holdings of financial assets; urges the ECB to ensure that the Ethics Committee is not chaired by a former President or other past members of the Governing Council of the ECB, nor by anyone prone to conflict of interest; calls on the ECB Governing Council to follow the EU Staff Regulations and Code of Conduct and require a two-year professional abstention period for its outgoing members after the conclusion of their mandate; Amendment 322 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 29 c (new) 29 c. Stresses the importance of physical money as the only legal tender, and reminds all euro area countries that euro coins and banknotes and other robust stores of value must not be rejected in transactions; Amendment 323 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 29 d (new) 29 d. Rejects the establishment and issuance of a safe asset in the euro area, which remains untested and politically controversial; recalls that during the financial panic of 2007, runs on asset- backed securities were indiscriminate, and depended neither on their complexity nor on their intrinsic performance, which made new issuances impossible even for simple products, while secondary markets froze; warns that the same could happen to the market of the safe asset; recalls the conclusion of the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) that the safe asset does not entail any built-in promise to offer a stable source of finance for governments during a crisis; Amendment 324 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 29 e (new) 29 e. Recalls that gold is money and fiat is debt; welcomes that central banks added 650 tons of gold to their reserves in 2019, including 100 tons repatriated by the National Bank of Poland, thereby taking the necessary precautions for the inevitable; welcomes the decision of the Romanian parliament of 24 April 2019 to repatriate the country´s gold reserves, and to stipulate that no more than five per cent can be held abroad; calls on the other Member States to follow the Romanian example; underlines that gold bolsters confidence in the stability of the central bank’s balance sheet and creates a sense of security; firmly agrees with Polish National Bank governor Adam Glapinski that "gold symbolised the strength of a country"; calls, therefore, on all national central banks, especially those in the euro area, to hold on to sufficient amounts of physical gold, and repatriate any gold reserves currently kept outside the national borders; Amendment 325 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 29 f (new) 29 f. Deplores the support of the President of the ECB for the creation of a fiscal capacity, designed to establish a permanent transfer mechanism from member states with sound economic policies to highly indebted member states with inefficient and outdated governance structures; questions whether such advice falls within the area of monetary policy and within the mandate of the ECB; Amendment 326 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 30 30. Instructs its President to ~~forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the ECB.~~buy gold; Amendment 327 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 30 a (new) 30 a. Regrets the negative attitude of the ECB regarding the European Ombudsman’s case1f on the ECB President’s membership in the ‘Group of Thirty’; calls on the ECB to put an end to the President’s membership of the G30, to re-examine the Ombudsman’s recommendations and to carefully review its internal policies in order to protect itself from potential cognitive capture by the financial sector; _________________ 1f Case 1697/2016/ANA Amendment 328 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 30 b (new) 30 b. Recalls its demand that the ECB should ensure the independence of the members of its internal Audit Committee; urges the ECB to publish declarations of financial interests for its Governing Council members in order to prevent conflicts of interest; urges the ECB to ensure that the Ethics Committee is not chaired by a former President or other past members of the Governing Council, nor by anyone liable to conflict of interest; calls the Governing Council to follow the EU Staff Regulations and Code of Conduct and require a two-year professional abstention period for its outgoing members after the conclusion of their mandate; Amendment 329 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 30 c (new) 30 c. Deplores the fact that more than 97 % of the members of the ECB's advisory groups are from the private financial sector; believes that this situations causes bias, conflicts of interest and regulatory capture in the policy- making process; calls for the greater representation of independent academic experts and consumer protection advocates in all advisory bodies; Amendment 33 # Motion for a resolution Recital A A. whereas the Commission’s Summer 2020 Economic Forecast, taking into account economic shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, projects that the eEuro area economy will contract by 8.7 % in 2020 and grow by 6.1 % in 2021, and the EU-27 economy will contract by 8.3 % in 2020 and grow by 5.8 % in 2021; whereas the structural contribution that monetary policy makes to sustainable growth is however limited and policy makers should therefore undertake productivity-enhancing reforms and pursue sound fiscal policies; Amendment 34 # Motion for a resolution Recital A A. whereas the Commission’s Summer 2020 Economic Forecast, taking into account economic shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, projects that the euro area economy will contract by 8.7 % in 2020 and grow by 6.1 % in 2021, and the EU-27 economy will contract by 8.3 % in 2020 and grow by 5.8 % in 2021; whereas the contraction in 2020 is, therefore, projected to be significantly greater and with wider divergences than initially projected; whereas growth in 2020 will be less robust than initially projected; Amendment 35 # Motion for a resolution Recital A a (new) A a. whereas, according to Eurostat, in August 2020, the seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate has continued to rise for five consecutive months, reaching 8.1 % in the euro area and 7.4 % in the EU; whereas Eurostat estimates that 15.603 million persons in the EU, of whom 13.188 million in the euro area, were unemployed in August 2020, which translates into an increase of unemployed persons by 238 000 in the EU and by 251 000 in the euro area compared to July 2020; whereas, in August 2020, youth unemployment rate has reached 17.6 % in the EU and 18.1 % in the euro area and continues to be more than double than the average rate; whereas women continue to be more exposed to unemployment with higher unemployment rates than men; whereas unemployment rates remain widely divergent among and within Member States; Amendment 36 # Motion for a resolution Recital A b (new) A b. whereas, according to the Eurosystem staff macroeconomic projections of September 2020, by the end of the projection horizon, the level of real GDP would stand 3.5 % below its expected level in the Eurosystem staff projections of December 2019; Amendment 37 # Motion for a resolution Recital B B. whereas, according to the Eurosystem staff macroeconomic projections of June 2020, annual inflation for the euro area in the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) will be 0.3 % in 2020, 0.8 % in 2021 and 1.3 % in 2022 on average, while inflation projections show substantial variance across the euro area; Amendment 38 # Motion for a resolution Recital B B. whereas, according to the Eurosystem staff macroeconomic projections of June 2020, annual inflation for the euro area in the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) will be 0.3 % in 2020, 0.8 % in 2021 and 1.3 % in 2022; whereas inflation projections show substantial variance across the euro area; Amendment 39 # Motion for a resolution Recital B B. whereas, according to the E~~urosystem~~CB staff macroeconomic projections of ~~June~~September 2020, annual inflation for the euro area in the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) ~~will be~~is expected to increase from 0.3 % in 2020~~, 0.8 % in 2021 and 1.3 % in 2022~~ to 1.0% and 1.3% in 2021 and 2022, respectively; Amendment 4 # Motion for a resolution Citation 4 — having regard to Articles 127(1), (2) and (25), 130, 132 and 284(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), Amendment 40 # Motion for a resolution Recital B B. whereas, according to the Eurosystem staff macroeconomic projections of ~~June~~September 2020, annual inflation for the euro area in the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) will be 0.3 % in 2020, ~~0.8~~1.0 % in 2021 and 1.3 % in 2022; Amendment 41 # Marc ANGEL Motion for a resolution Recital B a (new) B a. whereas, according to Eurostat, the unemployment rate in August 2020 was 7,4% in the EU and 8,1% in the euro area; whereas the unemployment rate is expected to increase; whereas the unemployment rate is uneven across the European Union; whereas extraordinary regional inequalities persist in unemployment both within and among the Member States; whereas a high youth unemployment rate remains a serious issue to be tackled in the EU; Amendment 42 # Motion for a resolution Recital B a (new) B a. whereas ECB’s profit in 2019 amounted to EUR 2.366 billion, increased by EUR 790 million compared with 2018; whereas this increase can mainly be attributed to the higher income earned on the US dollar portfolio and on the asset purchase programme (APP) portfolio; Amendment 43 # Motion for a resolution Recital B a (new) B a. whereas a stronger role of the euro, and its increased use as a reserve currency, would increase the EU’s ability to frame its policy stance independently vis-à-vis other global powers and is a key element in safeguarding European economic sovereignty; Amendment 44 # Motion for a resolution Recital B a (new) B a. whereas disadvantaged individuals – including those with low incomes and education levels, younger workers and women – were far more heavily affected by the Covid19 crisis than others1a; _________________ 1a https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/key/date/ 2020/html/ecb.sp200918~8aaf49cd79.en.h tml Amendment 45 # Motion for a resolution Recital B a (new) B a. Whereas Article 123 TFEU and Article 21 of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank prohibit the monetary financing of governments; Amendment 46 # Motion for a resolution Recital B a (new) B a. Whereas Article 123 TFEU and Article 21 of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank prohibit the monetary financing of governments; Amendment 47 # Motion for a resolution Recital B a (new) B a. whereas the ECB data on the HICP from this year shows a deflationary Impact due to the COVID Crisis in several member states;1a _________________ 1a https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/table.do ?tab=table∈it=1⟨uage=en&pcode=teicp00 0&plugin=1 Amendment 48 # Motion for a resolution Recital B a (new) B a. whereas ECB's September projections for global real GDP (excluding the euro area) are for - 3.7% in 2020, 6.2% in 2021 and 3.8% in 2022; Amendment 49 # Motion for a resolution Recital B a (new) Ba. whereas Article 123 TFEU prohibits the monetary financing of governments; Amendment 5 # Motion for a resolution Citation 4 — having regard to Articles 123, 127(1) and (2), 130 and 284(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), Amendment 50 # Motion for a resolution Recital B b (new) B b. whereas notwithstanding the repeated calls of the European Parliament to receive a gender-balanced shortlist of at least two names for ECB Executive Board positions, the shortlist for the appointment of a new Executive Director to replace Yves Mersch was composed only of men; whereas women continue to be strongly underrepresented in the Governing Council of the ECB; Amendment 51 # Motion for a resolution Recital B b (new) B b. whereas in 2019 the ECB’s net profit amounted to EUR 2,366 billion, compared with EUR 1,575 billion in 2018; whereas this increase can mainly be attributed to the increase in net interest income on the US dollar portfolio and on the asset purchase programme (APP) portfolio; Amendment 52 # Motion for a resolution Recital B b (new) Bb. whereas the rotation principle applied on the ECB's Governing Council allocates only four votes to the five largest euro area countries, which account for more than 80 % of euro area GDP, but 11 to the 14 remaining countries, although they generate less than 20 % of euro area GDP;2a _________________ 2a https://www.ecb.europa.eu/ecb/orga/decisi ons/govc/html/votingrights.en.html Amendment 53 # Motion for a resolution Recital B b (new) B b. whereas according to Eurostat figures, the unemployment rate in July 2020 stood at 7.2% in the EU and 7.9 % in the euro area; whereas a high youth unemployment rate, at more than double the average rate, remains a serious issue to be tackled in the EU; Amendment 54 # Motion for a resolution Recital B b (new) B b. whereas between 2002 and 2019 the Money supply M3 has risen by more than 125%, the ECB total assets by nearly 500% and the Cash in circulation by more than 400 % while the nominal GDP of the Eurozone grew by only 55 %;2a _________________ 2a https://www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/policy_an d_exchange_rates/banknotes+coins/circul ation/html/index.en.html ; https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/annual/ba lance/html/index.en.html ; https://sdw.ecb.europa.eu/quickview.do?S ERIES_KEY=320.MNA.Q.N.I8.W2.S1.S1 .B.B1GQ._Z._Z._Z.EUR.V.N ; https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/table.do ?tab=table∈it=1⟨uage=en&pcode=teicp00 0&plugin=1 ; https://sdw.ecb.europa.eu/quickview.do?S ERIES_KEY=117.BSI.M.U2.N.V.M30.X. 1.U2.2300.Z01.E Amendment 55 # Motion for a resolution Recital B b (new) B b. whereas at the end of 2019 the size of the Eurosystem balance sheet had reached the high of EUR 4 671 425 million, the second all-time highest after the high of 2018; Amendment 56 # Motion for a resolution Recital B b (new) B b. Whereas the establishment of the SSM within the ECB has created a conflict of interest that endangers the pursuit of an independent monetary policy; Amendment 57 # Motion for a resolution Recital B b (new) B b. whereas SMEs, which remain the backbone of the EU’s economy and societies, and which enhance economic and social cohesion, need further support; Amendment 58 # Motion for a resolution Recital B b (new) B b. Whereas in a monetary union monetary policy should not be tailored to developments in particular countries; Amendment 59 # Motion for a resolution Recital B c (new) B c. whereas SMEs, remaining the backbone of the EU economy and society and enhancing economic and social convergence, have been severely hit by the Covid-19 crisis; whereas the developments in the general economic outlook have negatively affected their access to finance; Amendment 6 # Motion for a resolution Citation 4 — having regard to Articles 123, 127(1) and (2), 130 and 284(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), Amendment 60 # Marc ANGEL Motion for a resolution Recital B c (new) B c. whereas the TFUE defines the ECB mandate as to maintain price stability and support the general economic policies in the Union with a view to contributing to the achievement of the objectives of the Union; Amendment 61 # Motion for a resolution Recital B c (new) B c. whereas according to the November 2019 Eurobarometer survey, the public support for the European economic and monetary union with one single currency, the euro was 62 % in 2019; Amendment 62 # Motion for a resolution Recital B c (new) B c. Whereas, as part of its supervisory role, the European Central Bank has so far not always sufficiently taken into account the proportionality principle; Amendment 63 # Motion for a resolution Recital B c (new) B c. whereas small and medium-sized enterprises have been heavily affected by the current COVID-19 pandemic and need further support; Amendment 64 # Motion for a resolution Recital B d (new) B d. whereas the European Deposit Insurance Scheme has been considerably delayed, despite the clear proposals by the Commission, the ECB and the ESM for the urgent need for the creation of a fully mutualised system of depositors’ protection, as the third pillar of the Banking Union; Amendment 65 # Motion for a resolution Recital B e (new) B e. whereas the ECB should also support the general economic policies in the Union with a view to contributing to the achievement of the objectives of the Union, including the promotion of peoples’ well-being, social justice and social protection, economic, social and territorial cohesion, equality and solidarity and the combat against social exclusion and discrimination; Amendment 66 # Motion for a resolution Recital B f (new) B f. whereas in 2019 more than half of global green bond issuance was concentrated in the EU and almost half of global green bond issuance was denominated in euro; whereas, despite its increase, global green bond issuance represents only 2.85 % of the total global issuance in 2019 while green bonds denominated in euro in 2019 represent only 9 % of the total euro-denominated bonds; Amendment 67 # Motion for a resolution Recital B g (new) B g. whereas the ECB can hold up to 50% of the outstanding amount of individual PSPP-eligible securities issued by a supranational institution, including bonds issued by the EIB; Amendment 68 # Motion for a resolution Recital B h (new) B h. whereas the Commission has presented an updated target to reduce EU greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 % by 2030 compared to 1990 levels with the view to reaching climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest; whereas Parliament calls for climate action to be further strengthened and for the Union 2030 climate target to be raised to a reduction in emissions of at least 60 % by 2030 compared to 1990 levels; Amendment 69 # Sven SIMON Motion for a resolution Subheading 1 a (new) whereas at the end of 2019 the size of the Eurosystem balance sheet had stabilised at EUR 4.7 trillion, in line with the level reached at the end of 2018; Amendment 7 # Motion for a resolution Citation 5 a (new) - having regard to the ECB Survey on the Access to Finance of Enterprises in the euro area - October 2019 to March 2020, published in May 2020, Amendment 70 # Sven SIMON Motion for a resolution Subheading 1 b (new) whereas in 2019 the ECB’s net profit amounted to EUR 2.366 billion, compared with EUR 1.575 billion in 2018; whereas this increase can mainly be attributed to both an increase in net interest income and better results from financial operations.; Amendment 71 # Sven SIMON Motion for a resolution Subheading 1 c (new) whereas according to the November 2019 Eurobarometer poll, popular support for the euro rose to 76 % in 2019; Amendment 72 # Sven SIMON Motion for a resolution Subheading 1 d (new) whereas on 18 March 2020 the ECB announced a Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP) as a new, temporary programme for public and private sector asset purchases with an envelope of EUR 750 billion, in order to counter risks to monetary policy transmission in the euro area caused by the coronavirus pandemic; Amendment 73 # Sven SIMON Motion for a resolution Subheading 1 e (new) whereas on 4 June, the Governing Council decided to increase the PEPP envelope by to EUR 1.35 trillion, to extent the horizon of PEPP net purchases to at least the end of June 2021, and that maturing principal payments under the PEPP will be reinvested until at least the end of 2022 ; moreover, notes that net purchases under ECB’s asset purchase programme (APP) will continue at a monthly pace of €20 billion, together with the purchases under the additional €120 billion temporary envelope until the end of 2020; Amendment 74 # Sven SIMON Motion for a resolution Subheading 1 f (new) whereas other policy measures were taken to provide liquidity such as targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTRO III) and PELTRO, a pandemic- specific liquidity facility; Amendment 75 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 1. ~~Welcom~~Deplores the role of the ECB in ~~safeguarding euro stability~~massively inflating M1 and M3 and expanding its balance sheet up to almost 70% of euro area GDP, while some member states have slipped into deflation; highlights that the statutory independence of the ECB, as laid down in the Treaties, is a prerequisite for it to fulfil its mandate of maintaining price stability; insists that the objective of price stability aims only at safeguarding price stability and not the integrity of the euro area as it is, for which the ECB has no mandate; Amendment 76 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 1. ~~Welcomes the role of the ECB in safeguarding euro stability~~Acknowledges that, in accordance with Article 127(1) and Article 282(2) of the TFEU, the primary objective of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) is to maintain price stability; further acknowledges that, without prejudice to the objective of price stability, the ESCB shall support the general economic policies in the Union with a view to contributing to the achievement of the objectives of the Union as laid down in Article 3 of the Treaty on European Union; highlights that the statutory independence of the ECB, as laid down in the Treaties, ~~is a prerequisite for it to fulfil its mandate of maintaining price s~~shall be matched by an adequate level of transparency, integrity and accountability; Amendment 77 # Marc ANGEL Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 1. Welcomes the role of the ECB in safeguarding euro stability; highlights that the statutory independence of the ECB, as laid down in the Treaties, is a prerequisite for it to fulfil its mandate ~~of maintaining price stability~~; stresses that TFUE defines that, besides the primary mandate of ECB of maintaining price stability, ECB shall also support the general economic policies in the Union with a view to contributing to the achievement of the objectives of the Union; underlines that sustainable development, convergence, full employment, and social progress are general objectives of the Union as defined in TFEU; understands that the severity of the pandemic crisis has forced the ECB to shift attention away from its monetary policy framework strategy review, which has been postponed to mid-2021; Amendment 78 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 1. Welcomes the role of the ECB in safeguarding euro stability; highlights that the statutory independence of the ECB, as laid down in the Treaties, is a prerequisite for it to fulfil its mandate ~~of maint~~; stresses that according to TFEU the ECB's primary mandate is to maintaing price stability;, while supporting the general economic policies with a view to contributing to the achievement of the objectives of the Union; acknowledges the challenges to the transmission of monetary policy and calls on the ECB to further consider unconventional monetary policies that have the potential to stimulate the economy and address the severe economic impact of the pandemic crisis. Amendment 79 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 1. Welcomes the role of the ECB in safeguarding euro stability; highlights that the statutory independence of the ECB, as laid down in the Treaties, is a prerequisite for it to fulfil its mandate of maintaining price stability and supporting the Union’s general economic policies with a view to attaining Union objectives as laid down in article 3 of the Treaty on European Union; Amendment 8 # Motion for a resolution Citation 5 a (new) - having regard to the ECB staff macroeconomic projections for the euro area published on 10 September 2020 Amendment 80 # 1. Welcomes the role of the ECB in safeguarding euro stability; highlights that the statutory independence of the ECB, as laid down in the Treaties, is a prerequisite for it to fulfil its mandate of maintaining price stability; notes that such independence requires that the ECB shall not seek or take instructions from Union institutions or bodies, from any government of a Member State or from any other body; considers that the independence of the ECB cannot in any way be reconciled with political campaigning; Amendment 81 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 1. Welcomes the role of the ECB in safeguarding euro stability; highlights that the statutory independence of the ECB, as laid down in the Treaties, is a prerequisite for it to fulfil its mandate of maintaining price stability; stresses that this independence must not be infringed on; Amendment 82 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 1. Welcomes the role of the ECB in safeguarding euro stability; highlights that the statutory independence of the ECB, as laid down in the Treaties, is a prerequisite for it to fulfil its mandate of maintaining price stability; highlights that central bank independence should always be complemented with a corresponding level of accountability; Amendment 83 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 a (new) 1 a. Warns that the accommodative policies of the ECB lead to "forbearance lending", which means that companies only survive because the banks no longer sufficiently price in the credit default risk; regrets that even a new project with a nominal return of zero (e.g. cash hoarding) is advantageous because the bank and the company can share the premium paid by the ECB; calls on the ECB to investigate the risk of forbearance lending and present it to the European Parliament as soon as possible; Amendment 84 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 a (new) 1 a. Emphasises that the euro is not only an economic project but also a political one; stresses the irreversible nature of the single currency; draws attention to the requirement for every Member State, with the exception of Denmark, to adopt the single currency once they have met the Maastricht convergence criteria; Amendment 85 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 b (new) 1 b. Recalls that independence requires that the ECB shall not seek or take instructions from Union institutions or bodies, from any government of a Member State or from any other body; calls on the ECB and national governments to subscribe to a common code of conduct that would prohibit any meetings between ECB governing council member and officials and members, representatives or officials of national governments, except in the presence of at least one representative of each political party represented in the national party of the member state concerned; Amendment 86 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 c (new) 1 c. Takes note that the ECB has not shown any intent to normalise interest rates and even rejects the notion that its interest policy could be considered non- normal; calls on nonetheless on the ECB to normalize interest rates as soon as possible; considers that normalising monetary policy includes ending the practice of forward guidance; Amendment 87 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 d (new) 1 d. Regrettably has been led to the expectation that, when the time has come to normalise interest rates, there will be yet another crisis invoked that the ECB will use as a pretext to delay the unavoidable return to higher interest rates; recalls thate conomic theory has demonstrated in an irrefutable way that prosperity created by an expansionist monetary and credit policy is illusory and must end in a slump and an economic crisis; warns that if the credit expansion is not stopped in time, the boom turns into the crack-up boom; the flight into real values begins, and the whole monetary system founders. Amendment 88 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 2. Is concerned about the unprecedented healthcare and economic crisis caused by the national and regional lockdown measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with a sharp contraction of the euro area economy and rapidly deteriorating labour market conditions; notes that euro area activity is expected to rebound, although the speed and scale of the rebound remains highly uncertain and will most likely be very asymmetrical; Amendment 89 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 2. Is deeply concerned about the unprecedented healthcare, social and economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, with a sharp contraction of the euro area economy and rapidly deteriorating labour market conditions; notes that euro area activity is expected to rebound, although the speed and scale of the rebound remains highly uncertain; Amendment 9 # Motion for a resolution Citation 6 — having regard to the monetary — dialogues with the President of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, of 6 February, 8 June 2020 and 28 ~~June~~September 2020, Amendment 90 # Marc ANGEL Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 2. Is concerned about the unprecedented healthcare ~~and~~, economic and social crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, with a sharp contraction of the euro area economy and rapidly deteriorating labour market conditions, including the rise of unemployment; notes that euro area activity is expected to rebound, although the speed and scale of the rebound remains highly uncertain; Amendment 91 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 2. Is concerned about the unprecedented healthcare and economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, with a sharp contraction of the euro area economy and rapidly deteriorating labour market conditions; notes that euro area activity is expected to rebound, although the speed and scale of the rebound remains highly uncertain, and uneven across Member States; Amendment 92 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 a (new) 2 a. Stresses that according to the Bank of International Settlements1a,the proportion of zombie companies in most industrialized countries is on the rise, likely to be intensified further with the extensive corona emergency lending. _________________ 1aThe rise of zombie firms: causes and consequences, R. Banerjee and B. Hofmann, BIS Quarterly Review, September 2018 Amendment 93 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 a (new) 2 a. Believes that the effect of monetary policy on the recovery is limited; Amendment 94 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 b (new) 2 b. Emphasises that innovation and flexibility are prerequisites for competitive labour markets; considers moreover that the ECB's very accommodative monetary policy itself is an important determinant of the subdued productivity growth, as highly indebted corporations survive thanks to low interest rates, thus compressing productivity; Amendment 95 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 3. Is concerned, moreover, that the balance of risks to the growth outlook remains to the downside in a context of exceptional uncertainty where the extent of the contraction and the recovery will depend on the duration and effectiveness of the containment measures, the success of policies to mitigate the adverse impact on incomes and employment, and the extent to which supply capacity ~~and~~, domestic demand and international supply chains are permanently affected; Amendment 96 # Marc ANGEL Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 3. Is concerned, moreover, that the balance of risks to the growth outlook remains to the downside in a context of exceptional uncertainty where the extent of the contraction and the recovery will depend on the duration and effectiveness of the containment measures, the success of fiscal and monetary policies to mitigate the adverse impact on incomes and employment, and the extent to which supply capacity and domestic demand are permanently affected; Amendment 97 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 a (new) 3 a. Welcomes the relaxation of the Stability and Growth Pact rules due to the COVID-19 pandemic; calls on the ECB to propose the extension of this relaxation in order for Member States to enhance real economy in a long-term basis; calls on the ECB to be involved in a constructive dialogue to radically reform the existing European economic governance framework, based on lessons learned from the COVID-19 crisis as well as the financial crisis of 2008; Amendment 98 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 a (new) 3 a. Calls for vigilance against the risk of a resurgence in real estate bubbles and excessive household and private sector indebtedness in some Member States due to the accommodative interest policies of the ECB; warns that the ECB’s continued buying of private sector bonds is a subsidy enabling companies to have exceedingly high levels of debt, thereby contributing to the overindebtedness of the private sector Amendment 99 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 b (new) 3 b. Welcomes that the ECB launched a review of its monetary policy strategy in January 2020, since its monetary policy strategy was adopted in 1998 with some elements clarified in 2003; calls the ECB to enhance the dialogue with all interested parties in this process and to examine all possible ways in order to enforce financial stability, quality employment and environmental sustainability, paving the way for its enforced role in the future; source: 659.052

Amendment 1 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 3

— having regard to the Statute of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and of the ECB, in particular Articles 15 and 21 thereof,

Amendment 10 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 6

— having regard to the monetary dialogues with the President of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, of 6 February, 8 June and 28 ~~June~~September 2020,

Amendment 100 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3 b. recalls that ECB measures, if they were in line with its mandate, could have favourable effects on financing conditions and investment in the short-term, but warns that credit driven expansions can lead to a costly misallocation of real resources (“malinvestments”), thereby contributing to the zombification of the economy as a whole;

Amendment 101 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Calls for an urgent re-evaluation of systemic risk in the financial sector following the ~~pandemic; welcomes, in this regard, the establishment~~unlawful expansion of the money supply by the ECB, the inflation of the ECB´s balance sheets, rapidly increasing TARGET 2-imbalances, and the further zombification of the European economy and deterioration of real income prospects, especially of young Europeans through the (T)LTROs; doubts the independence of athe working board relating to the pandemic, which has been established at the European Systemic Risk Board; advises that a qualitative assessment of idiosyncratic risk be included in future stress tests;

Amendment 102 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Calls for an urgent re-evaluation of systemic risk in the financial sector following the pandemic; welcomes, in this regard, the establishment of a working board relating to the pandemic at the European Systemic Risk Board; advises that a qualitative assessment of idiosyncratic risk be included in future stress tests; recommends, further, a more in-depth assessment of the level 2 and 3 instruments held by European banks;

Amendment 103 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Calls on the ECB to deal urgently with the increasing regional and social inequalities within and among Member States, as well as the increasing unemployment rates, especially regarding the youth, women and vulnerable groups;

Amendment 104 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Welcomes the ECBs efforts to monitor and reduce its Environmental Performance and Environmental Footprint,5a _________________ 5a https://www.ecb.europa.eu/ecb/orga/clima te/green/html/ecb.environmentalstatement 202010~d0c3d15950.en.html#toc1

Amendment 105 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. NUnderlines that the inflation target set by the ECB has no legal base in the Treaties and, moreover, should urgently be revised by taking into account the development of asset prices; notes that inflation is underestimated in the euro area due to an inadequate share of housing costs in the HICP basket2 ; calls for a re- adjustment of the basket to reflect the fact that European households spend 24 % of their income on housing-related expenditure; _________________ 2 cf. ‘Persistent low inflation in the euro area: Mismeasurement rather than a cause for concern?’ (https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/ etudes/IDAN/2018/614214/IPOL_IDA(20 18)614214_EN.pdf).

Amendment 106 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. ~~Notes that inflation is underestimated in the euro area due to an inadequate share of housing costs in the HICP basket2 ; calls for a re-adjustment of the basket to reflect the fact~~Suggests that the ECB provide a comprehensive assessment of how housing costs could be reflected in the HICP basket; notes that European households spend 24 % of their income on housing- related expenditure; ~~_________________ 2cf. ‘Persistent low inflation~~ believes that this issue, and more broadly issues concerning the ~~euro area: Mismeasurement rather than a cause for concern?’ (https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData /etudes/IDAN/2018/614214/IPOL_IDA(20 18)614214_EN.pdf).~~measuring of price stability and specifying corresponding policy targets, would be suitable topics for the upcoming Strategy Review and should be subject to a broad public debate;

Amendment 107 #

Marc ANGEL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Notes that inflation is underestimated in the euro area due to an inadequate share of housing costs in the HICP basket2 ; calls for a re-adjustment of the basket to reflect the fact that European households spend 24 % of their income on housing-related expenditure; _________________ 2 cf. ‘Persistent low inflation in the euro area: Mismeasurement rather than a cause for concern?’ (https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData /etudes/IDAN/2018/614214/IPOL_IDA(20 18)614214_EN.pdf).n the euro area reflects the evolution of actual expenditure made by households on goods or services; highlights the importance of this indicator to assess price stability in the euro area;

Amendment 108 #

Marc ANGEL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. welcomes the ECB's efforts in maintaining price stability; notes that the target for inflation has not been systematically attained and further efforts are needed; highlights that the euro area registered deflation in the past months; highlights that deflation poses important risks to the euro area, which calls for strong ECB intervention; acknowledges the monetary policy transmission difficulties; calls on the ECB to study other unconventional monetary policies that have the potential to impact demand and, consequently, reach the inflation target;

Amendment 109 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. ~~Acknowledg~~Deplores President Lagarde’s ~~strong~~impractical and unlawful call for ‘full alignment of fiscal and monetary policies’; recalls that both monetary and fiscal expansions work to a considerable extent by bringing spending forward in time, thereby disrupting the intertemporal allocation of resources; believes that the structural contribution that monetary policy makes to sustainable growth is limited;

Amendment 11 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 6

— having regard to the monetary dialogues with the President of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, of 6 February, 8 June and 28 ~~June~~September 2020,

Amendment 110 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Acknowledges President Lagarde’s strong call for ‘full alignment of fiscal and monetary policies’, to ‘rethink and reset’ the numerical ceilings in the Stability and Growth Pact and to ‘explore every avenue available in order to combat climate change’;

Amendment 111 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Acknowledges President Lagarde’s strong call for ‘full alignment of fiscal and monetary policies’; stresses however that it is not the role of fiscal policy to enhance the impact of monetary policy or to reduce its possible side effects; considers that fiscal policy and monetary policy need to compensate for each other: an expansive monetary policy should go hand in hand with a restrictive fiscal policy and the other way around, only in crisis situations they should strengthen each other;

Amendment 112 #

Marc ANGEL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. ~~Acknowledg~~Welcomes President Lagarde’s strong call for ‘full alignment of fiscal and monetary policies’; underlines that there are strong complementarities between fiscal and monetary policies and that a monetary union without a common fiscal policy is exposed to too much pressure; welcomes in this regard the Commission’s plan to issue up to €750bn bonds to finance the recovery and the green transition and calls on the ECB to include these bonds in its asset purchases programmes;

Amendment 113 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Acknowledges President Lagarde’s strong call for ‘full alignment of fiscal and monetary policies’; welcomes the ECB's Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme to support the economic recovery of the Eurozone; supports the Commission’s plan to issue bonds of up to 750 billion to finance the recovery.

Amendment 114 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. ~~Acknowledge~~Supports President Lagarde’s strong call for ‘full alignment of fiscal and monetary policies’;

Amendment 115 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Is deeply concerned about the regional redistribution effect within the monetary union; notes in this respect that the banks in the northern euro area hold a disproportionately high amount of deposits with the ECB, and thus pay disproportionately high penalty interest to the ECB; by contrast, banks in the southern euro area benefit disproportionally from the negative interest rates on TLTRO loans, which implies that weak banks in the south may become a burden for banks in the north;

Amendment 116 #

Marc ANGEL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Welcomes President Lagarde’s commitment ‘to use all the tools that will produce the most effective, efficient, and proportionate outcome’ to support the eurozone’s economic recovery;

Amendment 117 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 1 a (new)

Strategy Review

Amendment 118 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6 b. Is concerned that certain European countries have profited disproportionately from the PSPP, since national central banks and the ECB have purchased certain government bonds whose volume exceeds these member states' share in GDP, in two cases even by respectively 43 billion and 51 billion euros, well above the average of 14.4% of GDP for the entire Eurozone; stresses that this strengthens the suspicion that the main goal of the PSPP is fiscal stabilisation of overindebted Member States of the euro area, which falls outside the scope of the mandate of the ECB.

Amendment 119 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Welcomes the ECBs Strategy Review in order to make sure that our monetary policy strategy is fit for Purpose; encourages the ECB to include the Parliament in the Review process;

Amendment 12 #

- having regard to the final report of the High-Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance, ‘Financing a sustainable European Economy’, published in January 2018,

Amendment 120 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6 b. Welcomes that the ECB is discussing the adaptation of its inflation measurements, notes that the HICP is a very narrow concept of inflation measurement which underestimates inflation in the euro area due to an inadequate share of housing costs in the HICP basket2a; calls for an adjustment to reflect the fact that European households spend 24 % of their income on housing- related expenditure, encourages the ECB to also take into account the asset price inflation caused inter alia by low interest rates; _________________ 2a cf. ‘Persistent low inflation in the euro area: Mismeasurement rather than a cause for concern?’ (https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData /etudes/IDAN/2018/614214/IPOL_IDA(20 18)614214_EN.pdf).

Amendment 121 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 c (new)

6 c. Recalls that there are risks associated with sovereign debt; notes that in some Member States financial institutions have overly invested in bonds issued by their own governments, constituting excessive ‘home bias’;

Amendment 122 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 c (new)

6 c. is open to discuss the horizon over which price stability should be achieved by the ECB, agrees that Central Bank decisions have an Impact with a time lag and therefore should rather have a medium term orientation;

Amendment 123 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 d (new)

6 d. encourages the ECB to consider to also focus on targeting the Money Supply and not only the Inflation rate;

Amendment 124 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Notes the quick and substantial ECB monetary policy response to the COVID-19 crisis in a context of emergency; expects that the ECB will withstand its support as long as it is needed, and points to the negative consequences of a premature withdrawal of the measures;

Amendment 125 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. ~~Not~~Deplores the ~~quick and substantia~~dangerous and unlawful ECB monetary policy response to the COVID-19 crisis ~~in a context of emergency~~under the pretence of "emergency", notes that the Treaties do not provide for an emergency clause to drastically increase M1 and M3 and the balance sheet of the ECB;

Amendment 126 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Notes the quick and substantial ECB monetary policy response to the COVID-19 crisis in a context of emergency; underlines, however, that the ECB accommodative monetary policy stance was the minimum necessary to support the economic recovery and to safeguard medium-term price stability; further considers that the euro area is facing an economic contraction of a magnitude and speed that are unprecedented in peacetime and, if the ECB had not taken those monetary policy decisions, the entire system would have fallen apart;

Amendment 127 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Notes the quick and substantial ECB monetary policy response to the COVID-19 crisis in a context of emergency; urges the ECB to limit flexibility of its self imposed issuer limit and capital key only to the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP), and to not broaden this flexibility to the general ECB’s asset-purchase programmes (APP);

Amendment 128 #

Marc ANGEL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. ~~Not~~Welcomes the quick and substantial ECB monetary policy response to the COVID-19 crisis in a context of emergency; acknowledges the positive impact of such response on the economic situation of the euro area; warns against a premature withdrawal of the measures;

Amendment 129 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Notes the quick and substantial ECB monetary policy response to the COVID-19 crisis in a context of emergency and stresses that monetary policy will probably have to remain accommodative for a considerable period of time;

Amendment 13 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 a (new)

- Having regard to the hearing on 3 December 2019 of Isabel Schnabel;

Amendment 130 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Notes the quick and substantial ECB monetary policy response to the COVID-19 crisis in a context of emergency and takes the view that the ECB should strengthen its role of lender of last resort for the euro area;

Amendment 131 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Notes the quick and substantial ECB monetary policy response to the COVID-19 crisis in a context of emergency, yet underlines the temporary nature of the measure;

Amendment 132 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. ~~Not~~Welcomes the quick and substantial ECB monetary policy response to the COVID-19 crisis in a context of emergency;

Amendment 133 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7 a. Notes that the ECB has failed consistently to achieve its own objective of price stability since the financial crisis and deplores the fact that the ECB statute enshrines price stability as the principal mandate of the ECB at the expense of promoting full employment; calls for the current review of the ECB’s monetary policy strategy to include measuring against the feasibility of a dual mandate to support financial stability, employment and environmental sustainability;

Amendment 134 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7 a. Regrets that Greek debt has become eligible for ECB purchases;

Amendment 135 #