2022/2032(INI) | [ParlTrack]

Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 (new)

-1. Points out that the farming and stockbreeding sector has been suffering from numerous crises that have seriously affected profitability, such as the climate crisis, trade wars, the effects of the pandemic and the impact of the war in Ukraine, accompanied by a rise in the price of energy, raw materials and supplies; stresses that all these crises are affecting the economic and social development of agricultural areas and hence social and territorial cohesion;

Amendment 10 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Stresses that rural areas have become more attractive to people from other regions owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, thereby creating the conditions for a positive reversal of certain negative trends affecting rural areas; calls on the Member States, in this connection, to focus more attention and resources on developing these regions, especially in fields such as establishing digital infrastructure in regions where levels of internet access penetration are below the EU average;

Amendment 11 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Points to the need to implement in an effective and harmonised manner at EU level the Contingency plan for ensuring food supply and food security in times of crisis, set out in Communication COM (2021) 689 from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions.

Amendment 12 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses the importance of increasing the resilience of the EU agri- food system and equipping it with the necessary tools to face new crises, such as the war in Ukraine, by investing in research and innovation, digitalisation, and the transition to more sustainable and territorially connected agriculture; highlights notably the importance of the re-localisation of food and feed production and processing, notably of plant proteins; underlines the opportunities offered by the Cohesion Policy and regional environmental strategies in supporting this re- localisation;

Amendment 13 #

Michaela ŠOJDROVÁ, Asim ADEMOV, Daniel BUDA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses the importance of increasing the resilience of the EU agri- food system and equipping it with the necessary tools to face new crises, such as the war in Ukraine, by investing in research and innovation, digitalisation, marketing campaigns to grow the organics sector and the transition to more sustainable and territorially connected agriculture;

Amendment 14 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses the importance of increasing the resilience of the EU agri- food system and equipping it with the necessary tools and flexibility to face new crises, such as the war in Ukraine, by investing in research and innovation, digitalisation, and the transition to more sustainable and territorially connected agriculture;

Amendment 15 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses the importance of increasing the resilience of the EU agri- food system and equipping it with the necessary tools to face new crises, such as the war in Ukraine, by investing in research and innovation, digitalisation, and the transition to more sustainable and territorially connected agriculture; recalls the primary need to ensure food security and the EU’s responsibility towards third countries dependent on food imports; stresses, in this connection, that the full use of Europe’s agricultural production potential is a prerequisite for the food security of our continent;

Amendment 16 #

Krzysztof JURGIEL, Zbigniew KUŹMIUK

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses the importance of increasing the resilience of the EU agri- food system and equipping it with the necessary tools to face new crises, such as the war in Ukraine, by investing in research and innovation, technical assistance to farmers in accessing different types of funding in full knowledge of the facts, digitalisation, and the transition to more sustainable and territorially connected agriculture;

Amendment 17 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses the importance of increasing the resilience of the EU agri- food system and equipping it with the necessary tools to face new crises, ~~such as the war in~~in particular the global impact of Russian aggression against Ukraine,; b~~y investing in research and innovation, digitalisation, and the transition to more sustainable and territorially connected agriculture~~elieves that ensuring food supply chain fluidity in the single market should be a priority for EU action; further investment in research, innovation and digitalisation is also needed;

Amendment 18 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses the importance of increasing the resilience of the EU agri- food system and equipping it with the necessary tools to face new crises, such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, by investing in research and innovation, digitalisation, and the transition to more sustainable and territorially connected agriculture;

Amendment 19 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Recalls that the climate crisis impacts underdeveloped regions disproportionally; therefore highlights the need to increase efforts to curb climate change and enhance climate mitigation in those regions; emphasises that Cohesion Policy must support a strong climate mainstreaming in agriculture and food related sectors, and ensure that all EU funding programmes and projects are embedded in strategies that support ambitious climate objectives; highlights the importance that regional environmental strategies be linked with ambitious climate targets that go beyond the overall target of achieving climate neutral EU by 2050, taking into account the potential contribution of the farming, food processing and forestry sectors; notes that these targets have to be in line with the overall EU targets in this regard;

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Recalls the key role that farmers and the agri-food sector have played during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite also facing huge hikes in input costs, in ensuring access to quality and affordable food, especially through short supply chains and trade in locally grown food;

Amendment 20 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2 b. Calls for a better access to funding to enable investments in the local energy transition, in particular at regional level, including energy efficiency, decentralised distribution of energy and a strong focus on renewable energy and sustainable circular economy; underlines that regional environmental strategies should exclude any kind of support for fossil fuels and gas infrastructure projects and should support renewable energy production, resource efficiency and sustainable development in the farming, food processing and forestry sectors ; Notes that the production of biomass from wood or agricultural products for energy production do not guarantee sustainability; suggests that National and regional authorities prioritize more sustainable options like wind or solar and subject bioenergy projects to strict and strong sustainability criteria;

Amendment 21 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)

2 c. Notes that the Cohesion Policy and Regional environmental strategies offer opportunities to support farmers and forest managers’ sustainable investments in climate change adaptation, notably aiming at prevention against flood, drought and fire; suggests that these opportunities be highlighted in the future in order to encourages Member States and regional authorities to make full use of these possibilities;

Amendment 22 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 d (new)

2 d. Requires that an additional instrument is to be founded that insures European regions from natural disasters that are based on climate change; at the same time to increase and reform the existing solidarity fund to be less bureaucratic and more easily accessible, suggest that these two funds should work rather as an insurance in which member states pay an annual fee based of the number of their inhabitants and invested in safe assets to be available if crisis occur;

Amendment 23 #

Krzysztof JURGIEL, Zbigniew KUŹMIUK

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 e (new)

2 e. Calls to strengthen the polluter- pays principle and promote decarbonisation both in mobility infrastructure and economy to contribute to the EU Green Deal and Fitfor55 Package;

Amendment 24 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Notes that the ongoing global energy crisis, which is causing an exponential increase in agricultural production costs, and the Russian aggression against Ukraine are posing particular challenges for cohesion policy and European solidarity, as they are destabilising the agricultural sector, reducing food security and increasing the risk of widespread economic stagflation, which will highlight and increase the perceived disparities in wealth between EU countries and regions, especially in rural areas, which are at particular risk of job losses and poverty;

Amendment 25 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Stresses that the war in Ukraine has highlighted the importance of European agricultural production in the supply of food to third countries; considers that the EU must be able to fulfil this role in order to avoid supply disruptions in third countries;

Amendment 26 #

Emmanouil FRAGKOS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Points out that it is necessary to facilitate the deployment of unused manpower in the countryside by means of a pan-European model involving minimum bureaucracy and taxation;

Amendment 27 #

Emmanouil FRAGKOS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Stresses that there are clear signs of an emerging food crisis both internationally and within the EU, making it urgently necessary to find ways of stepping up production;

Amendment 28 #

Michaela ŠOJDROVÁ, Asim ADEMOV, Daniel BUDA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. CRecalls the positive impact the CAP has had on European regions over the last 60 years and calls on the Commission to enhance complementarity in the implementation of EU funds, particularly for cohesion and agriculture policy, by ensuring coordination, complementarity and coherence when it comes to rural development;

Amendment 29 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

21. Recalls the key role that farmers and the agri-food sector have played during the COVID-19 pandemic in ensuring access to quality and affordable food, especially through short supply chains and trade in locally grown food; stresses also the challenge facing the sector in the face of threats arising from the cost of food and supplies and the various market disruptions resulting from the war in Ukraine; stresses therefore the need for immediate and appropriate responses to urgent needs and future threats, making use of the flexibility that can be offered by both the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and cohesion policy;

Amendment 30 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3). Calls on the Commission to enhance complementarity in the implementation of EU funds, particularly for cohesion and agriculture policy, by ensuring coordination, co~~mplementarity and coherence when it comes to rural development~~herence and a cross-cutting approach to all European policies when it comes to rural development and territorial cohesion; calls on the Commission to work to improve the flexibility of cohesion funds as was done to address the COVID-19 pandemic and to avoid administrative and bureaucratic burdens that may hinder access to these funds;

Amendment 31 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Commission to enhance complementarity in the implementation of EU funds, particularly for cohesion and agriculture policy, by ensuring coordination, complementarity and coherence when it comes to rural development; stresses the need for effective coordination between European and national policies so that regions and territories fully seize the opportunities offered by these financial instruments;

Amendment 32 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Commission to enhance complementarity in the implementation of EU funds, and to place greater emphasis on the need to accelerate the synergy between, and access to, funding, particularly for cohesion and agriculture policy, by ensuring coordination, complementarity and coherence when it comes to rural development and the resilience of the agricultural system;

Amendment 33 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Commission to enhance complementarity in the implementation of EU funds, particularly for cohesion and agriculture policy, as well as for projects implemented through the Recovery and Resilience Facility and implemented in rural areas, by ensuring coordination, complementarity and coherence when it comes to rural development;

Amendment 34 #

Michaela ŠOJDROVÁ, Asim ADEMOV, Daniel BUDA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Notes that agriculture, and consequently the Common Agriculture Policy, has a central role, both at economic and social level, in many EU member countries; recalls that the European Council decision of 24-25 October 2002, stating that the CAP payments in the “new Member States” should reach the level of direct payments then applicable in the European Union by 2013, has still not been implemented fully; Calls on the Commission and the member states to complete this so-called convergence;

Amendment 35 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Calls on the Commission, when adopting new programs, to take into account the need for flexibility and complementarity with already existing programs for agri-food sector and to remove administrative burdens during their implementation;

Amendment 36 #

Zbigniew KUŹMIUK, Krzysztof JURGIEL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3 b. Highlights that 20% of the beneficiaries of the CAP are receiving 80% of the CAP budget; underlines the need to effectively support small to medium family farms in order to maintain a living and thriving countryside in member states where this model of farming is still the norm; calls on the member states to implementation effective capping of their CAP funds in order to achieve this goal;

Amendment 37 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Stresses that while Article 174 TFEU states that in the context of the EU’s cohesion policy particular attention shall be paid to rural areas, the current cohesion policy is only partially implementing this commitment. Only around 8% of funding under the Cohesion Fund goes to rural areas, with urban areas receiving preferential treatment. In addition, investments in rural areas not directly related to agriculture, such as the construction of public roads, investments in sewerage systems, the establishment of non- agricultural economic activities and so on, are largely financed under the second pillar of the CAP, not the Cohesion Fund. Calls, therefore, on the Commission to introduce an appropriate distinction in line with the Treaty between rural funding under the CAP and under cohesion policy, taking into account the objectives of each of these policies as set out in Articles 39 and 174 of the Treaty.

Amendment 38 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Draws attention to the importance of the CAP as a means of stabilising population levels in regions suffering from a demographic decline and calls for coordination with the deployment of cohesion policy funds;

Amendment 39 #

Emmanouil FRAGKOS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Notes the importance of highlighting the challenges of insularity with regard to rural development;

Amendment 4 #

Krzysztof JURGIEL, Zbigniew KUŹMIUK

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Recalls the key role that farmers and the agri-food sector have played during the COVID-19 pandemic ~~in ensuring~~, despite the economic and logistic difficulties, in ensuring continuity of access to quality and affordable food, especially through short supply chains and trade in locally grown food; considers, therefore, that the development of local supply chains must be made permanent as they represent an interesting outlet for producers and give consumers access to quality products;

Amendment 40 #

3b. Firmly believes that the persistent lack of internal and external equalisation of direct payments under the CAP violates the principles of fair competition in the common market and undermines the long-term objectives of cohesion policy;

Amendment 41 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Emphasises the role that a long- term vision for the EU’s rural areas should play in fostering synergies between different EU policies by establishing a framework for cooperation between authorities and stakeholders and by implementing the initiatives provided for in the Rural Action Plan; Highlights the importance of upholding the Partnership Principle in all programming, implementation and monitoring of EU cohesion policy and to set up a strong cooperation between regional and local authorities NGOs and stakeholders, including farmers’ organisations and environmental NGOs; underlines that regional governments should decide how the Cohesion funds dedicated to regions should be used; stresses that these processes should take into account the gender perspective;

Amendment 42 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

54. Emphasises the role that a long- term vision for the EU’s rural areas should play in fostering synergies between different EU policies by establishing a framework for cooperation between authorities and stakeholders and by implementing the initiatives provided for in the Rural Action Plan; stresses the importance of involving local and regional actors in defining strategies to improve rural development and territorial cohesion; stresses the need to set cohesion policy and CAP objectives that are consistent and comparable with each other;

Amendment 43 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. EStresses the importance of rural areas, which account for almost 30% of the EU’s population and more than 80% of its territory; recalls that our rural areas are at the heart of our food production and are part of the richness of our continent; emphasises the role that a long- term vision for the EU’s rural areas should play in fostering synergies between different EU policies by establishing a framework for cooperation between authorities and stakeholders and by implementing the initiatives provided for in the Rural Action Plan;

Amendment 44 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Emphasises the role that a long- term vision for the EU’s rural areas should play in fostering synergies between different EU policies by establishing a framework for cooperation between authorities and stakeholders and by implementing the initiatives provided for in the Rural Action Plan; recalls that EU cohesion policy, which seeks to promote the economic, social and territorial cohesion of the Union, is vitally important to rural areas, acknowledging as it does the important role of agriculture and involving all levels of governance;

Amendment 45 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Emphasises the role that a long- term vision for the EU’s rural areas should play in fostering synergies between different EU policies by establishing a framework for flexible cooperation, based on continuous assistance for farmers, between authorities and stakeholders, and by implementing the initiatives provided for in the Rural Action Plan;

Amendment 46 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Notes that depopulation has a negative impact on the EU's social, economic and territorial cohesion, especially in rural and remote areas; emphasizes that this increases economic as well as the risk of poverty and social exclusion; calls on the Commission and the Member States, therefore, to pay more attention to the financing of rural areas by the Regional Development Fund and cohesion policy;

Amendment 47 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Underlines the importance of the agricultural sector for the creation of employment and for livelihoods in rural areas and the need to combat the abandonment of rural areas, which is particularly prominent in remote and mountainous regions owing to the low income and productivity potential of agricultural activities in theses areas, through policies and the allocation of the necessary funds, by creating and facilitating conditions favourable to job creation and attracting young people to rural areas, by reducing wage gaps between agriculture and other sectors, by increasing business competitiveness and improving quality of life by encouraging investments in infrastructure and services;

Amendment 48 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Underlines the importance of the agricultural sector for the creation of employment and for livelihoods in rural areas and the need to combat the abandonment of rural areas through policies and the allocation of the necessary funds, by creating and facilitating conditions favourable to job creation and attracting young people to rural areas, by reducing wage gaps between agriculture and other sectors, by pinpointing solutions to ensure income compensation for farmers in line with the accelerated rise in prices, by increasing business competitiveness and improving the quality of life by encouraging investments in infrastructure, and especially in health, school and road infrastructure and in services;

Amendment 49 #

5. Underlines the importance of the agricultural sector for the creation of employment and for livelihoods in rural areas and the need to combat the abandonment of rural areas through policies and the allocation of the necessary funds, by creating and facilitating conditions favourable to job creation and attracting young people to rural areas, by reducing wage gaps between agriculture and other sectors, improving digital connectivity through high-capacity networks in rural areas by increasing funding for the modernisation and digitisation of farming and stockbreeding, by increasing business competitiveness and improving quality of life by encouraging investments in infrastructure and services;

Amendment 5 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Recalls the key role that farmers and the agri-food sector have played during the COVID-19 pandemic, and before this, in ensuring access to quality and affordable food, especially through short supply chains and trade in locally grown food; stresses that agriculture remains a key sector, especially in less-developed regions, where it provides employment to almost three times as many people as the EU average for the agriculture sector;

Amendment 50 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Underlines the importance of the agricultural sector for the creation of employment and for livelihoods in rural areas and the need to combat the abandonment of rural areas through policies and the allocation of the necessary funds, by creating and facilitating conditions favourable to quality job creation and attracting new and young people to rural areas, by reducing wage gaps between agriculture and other sectors, by increasing labour productivity and business competitiveness and improving quality of life by encouraging investments in infrastructure and services;

Amendment 51 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Underlines the importance of the agricultural sector for the creation of employment and for livelihoods in rural areas and the need to combat the depopulation and abandonment of rural areas through policies and the allocation of the necessary funds, by creating and facilitating conditions favourable to job creation and attracting young people to rural areas, by reducing wage gaps between agriculture and other sectors, by increasing business competitiveness and improving quality of life by encouraging investments in infrastructure and services;

Amendment 52 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Notes the positive impact that green sustainable local agro-tourism can have on local economies and climate mitigation, and encourages Member States and regional authorities to make use of the possibilities offered by the Cohesion Policy and by Regional environmental strategies to support its development, conditional on respecting environmental and social standards;

Amendment 53 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Highlights the important role played by LEADER in rural areas, in engaging local actors in the design and delivery of strategies, decision-making and resource allocation for the development of their rural areas.

Amendment 54 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5 b. Notes that improving access to green transport and services in rural and remote areas is crucial to tackling the social and digital exclusion of the population in the regions; calls on the Member States, therefore, to recognize the importance of rural and remote areas, given their diversity, and to develop their potential by stimulating investment in the local economy, promoting entrepreneurship and improving their infrastructure;

Amendment 55 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5 b. Notes that less developed regions depend significantly more on agricultural employment and as a result feel a greater negative impact from economic restructuring and agricultural modernisation that requires less labour, therefore new opportunities must be explored to keep people in these areas, such as the development of rural tourism.

Amendment 56 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)

5 c. Notes that land abandonment can have a negative impact on biodiversity, where the practices engaged in by farmers have been maintaining high biodiversity habitats and landscape features.

Amendment 57 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Stresses that population ageing in the coming years is a general problem for the Union as a whole; points out that the working-age population will fall by 10 % over the next decade in one in four regions, which could pose a serious challenge to generational replacement in the European agricultural sector; stresses the importance of measures designed to stabilise population levels in rural areas and promote the employment of young people in the agricultural sector; stresses the need to promote policies conducive to work-life balance, encouraging the creation of public and private family care services;

Amendment 58 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Stresses the need to continue investing in the digital and green transitions, innovation and rural skills training in order to reduce the gaps between rural and urban areas and improve the attractiveness of rural areas overall. ; stresses that education and training, notably on environmental and climatic issues, would help local authorities, workers and companies to take greater account of the new challenges faced by underdeveloped regions, notably caused by Climate change and the biodiversity crisis, and the role they can play in mitigation and adaptation in their respective sectors; notes that the digital transformation is still uneven across Europe; Stresses the urgent need to strengthen the EU's core digital capabilities;

Amendment 59 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

Amendment 6 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Recalls the key role that farmers and the agri-food sector have played during the COVID-19 pandemic inand the unquestionable efforts they have made to ensur~~ing~~e access to quality and affordable food, especially through short supply chains and trade in locally grown food;

Amendment 60 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Stresses the need to continue investing in the digital and green transitions, innovation and rural skills training in order to reduce the gaps between rural and urban areas and improve the attractiveness of rural areas overall; regrets that today only one in six people in rural areas of the Union have access to very high speed networks; stresses that the transition to a digital and modernised agricultural model will not be possible without improving the connectivity of EU rural areas.

Amendment 61 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Stresses the need to continue investing in the digital and green transitions, ~~innovation and~~ensuring broadband internet access, innovation and information as regards rural skills ~~training~~, in order to reduce the gaps between rural and urban areas and improve the attractiveness of rural areas overall.

Amendment 62 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

Amendment 63 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Notes that community and citizens initiatives can strongly support the local economy and social cohesion, the ecological transition, as well as climate change mitigation and adaptation, and that Local Action Groups and the LEADER program can be primary tools to achieve this; calls on the Commission and Member states to reinforce the LEADER program, and notably its budget; highlights that the definition of city can differ widely from member state to member state and that it could be useful to extend LEADER support to smaller cities under a reasonable threshold;

Amendment 64 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Underlines the need to better study and adapt to the impact climate change is having on European regions, particularly the agricultural sector, as this presents a significant threat to the future of these regions.

Amendment 65 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6 b. Stresses that equality and inclusion aspects must be strengthened even further in regional development; highlights the particular role of youth in Cohesion Policy;

Amendment 66 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 c (new)

6 c. Highlights that women are disproportionately impacted by the gaps in development between EU member states and regions; notes the crucial need for providing women entrepreneurs in rural areas with an enabling environment, including legal and political considerations, leading to greater access to information, knowledge and skills, as well as facilitating access to financial resources, leading to the creation of more jobs in rural areas;

Amendment 67 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 d (new)

6 d. Recalls that Article 174 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which deals with economic, social and territorial cohesion, provides for priority to be given to rural areas; notes, however, that the allocation of cohesion funds underestimates rural areas and their specific needs; calls on the Commission, therefore, to consider developing a clear methodology for assessing the share of cohesion funding reaching rural areas;

Amendment 68 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Highlights the need for investment in scientific research on quality criteria for organic products, so that consumers are better informed about the market price-quality ratio of produce;

Amendment 69 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6b. Points out that some Member States have been harder hit by the effects of the war in Ukraine and calls on the Commission to allocate the additional funds needed to implement cohesion policies, with a focus on flexibility of transfers between different funding axes where funds have not been used;

Amendment 7 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Recalls the key role that farmers and the agri-food sector play and have played, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic in ensuring access to quality and affordable food, especially through short supply chains and trade in locally grown food;

Amendment 70 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 c (new)

6c. Calls on the Commission to identify and implement the necessary flexibility measures to ensure the transfer of unspent EU funds, channelling them to the various agricultural sectors, particularly with a view to developing the raw product processing component and to strengthening short supply chains and the trade in locally grown food;

Amendment 71 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 d (new)

6c. stresses the importance of increasing the number of jobs that can be filled by Ukrainian refugees, and calls on the Commission to develop urgently needed policies and measures in this regard;

Amendment 8 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Recalls that the ecological transition in food production could be a win-win-win situation for primary producers, the environment, and society as a whole; highlights that, in consequence, the European Green Deal, and in particular the Farm to Fork strategy, can be tools for a more harmonized, cohesive and sustainable development in the EU;

Amendment 9 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Applauds the role played by migrant workers during the pandemic, who assisted our farmers in the labour intensive sectors of agriculture.

source: 731.762

2022/05/17 REGI 291 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 1

— having regard to Article 3 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) ~~and Articles 4, 162, 174 to 178, and 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)~~,

Amendment 10 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 18 a (new)

— having regard to its resolution of 15 February 2022 on the challenges for urban areas in the post-COVID-19 era1a, _________________ 1a Texts adopted P9_TA(2022)0022

Amendment 100 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. ~~Welcom~~Notes the Commission’s introduction of the JTF to support regions facing challenges in their transition towards carbon neutrality; calls on the Commission to draw lessons from the implementation of the JTF; asks for a JTF II, which should be fully integrated into the CPR, to be established in the post- 2027 programming period, while applying shared management and partnership principles; believes that regions with high CO² per capita, as well as industries in transition, should have access to this fund; ~~calls for this new JTF to differentiate between clim~~regrets, however, thate m~~itigation and adaptation; stress~~any Member States tha~~t a certain proportion of funding should be allocated to the transition, in a socially just way, and to the reduction of the EU’s carbon footprint~~ve not yet launched the fund planning or implementation phases;

Amendment 101 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Considers that national recovery plans, financed by the Recovery and Resilience Facility, should not affect the ability to mobilise the ESI Funds, which meet other objectives set out in the Treaties, and calls on the Commission to swiftly implement the principle of ‘do not harm cohesion’ in order to ensure that it is cross-cutting across EU policies;

Amendment 102 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Reiterates its call on the Commission to submit a proposal for the creation of a Climate Change Adaptation Fund that will help regions to anticipate and mitigate effects of climate change;

Amendment 103 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Welcomes the ‘do no harm to cohesion’ principle highlighted in the 8th Cohesion Report; calls for it to be given effect through inclusion in legislation so as to define its scope and how it is applied; calls, in this regard, for all EU policies to have a commitment to cohesion;

Amendment 104 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Calls on the Commission to allocate the budget resources needed to expedite funding for the renewal of the road, rail and maritime freight transport fleet;

Amendment 105 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Stresses that the European Semester should comply with cohesion objectives; calls for the participation of the regions and a stronger territorial approach to be guaranteed; calls, also, for the European Semester to uphold the principles laid down in Articles 174 and 175 TFEU;

Amendment 106 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 c (new)

4c. Stresses that other EU policies can reduce cohesion; calls on the Commission also to assess, in its analyses, the impact that other policies and the occurrence of crises have had on the effectiveness of cohesion policy;

Amendment 107 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Maintains that an unallocated flexibility reserve of 15 % of the total allocation for cohesion policy instruments should be put in place to strengthen regions’ resilience and responsiveness, enabling them to address new and upcoming challenges and absorb asymmetric shocks;deleted

Amendment 108 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Ondřej KNOTEK, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

Amendment 109 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. ~~Maintains that an unallocated flexibi~~Takes note that, even though cohesion politcy ~~reserve of 15 % of the total allocation for cohesion po~~is not a crisis instrument, a certain degree of agility and flexibilicty ~~instrument~~of its rules should be ~~put in place~~maintained to strengthen regions’ resilience and responsiveness, enabling them to address new and upcoming challenges and absorb asymmetric shocks; recalls that this new added value should contribute to preserving a strong cohesion policy in the post-2027 MFF and not making it vulnerable to budgetary cuts or weakening reforms;

Amendment 11 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Citation 21 a (new)

— having regard to its resolution of 14 September 2021 towards a stronger partnership with the EU outermost regions1a, _________________ 1a Texts adopted, P9_TA(2021)0368.

Amendment 110 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Maintains that an unallocated flexibility reserve ~~of 15 %~~ of the total allocation for cohesion policy instruments should be put in place to strengthen regions’ resilience and responsiveness, enabling them to address new and upcoming challenges and absorb asymmetric shocks;

Amendment 111 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Requires that an additional instrument is to be founded that insures European regions from natural disasters that are caused by climate change; calls at the same time to increase and reform the existing EU Solidarity Fund to be less bureaucratic and more easily accessible; suggests that these two funds should work rather as an insurance in which Member States pay an annual fee based of the number of their inhabitants and invested in safe assets to be available if crisis occur;

Amendment 112 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Stresses that the 8th Cohesion Report proposes the new principle of “do no harm to cohesion”, meaning no action should hamper the convergence process or contribute to regional disparities; believes that this principle should be further developed and integrated in policy making; calls on the Commission and the co-legislators to turn this concept into a reality in legislative terms and ensure that EU policies have a positive effect on cohesion;

Amendment 113 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5b. Calls for conventional macroeconomic indicators and the GDP to be complemented with new indicators in order to address the new European priorities such as the European Green Deal or the European Pillar of Social Rights and to better reflect the ecological and digital transitions and the wellbeing of people; calls for an impact assessment and a territorial dimension to be considered to allocate Cohesion budget in order to take into account the diverse economic, social and territorial situation in the different Member States;

Amendment 114 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Stresses that, in the decades ahead, climate change represents the most serious threat to human societies all over the world; recalls that the rise in the number and intensity of natural disasters and extreme climate events (floods, storms, cyclones, droughts, heatwaves, forest fires, etc.) is already a visible and tangible consequence of climate change; considers that the cost to Europe, for each country and for each region, of not anticipating and not adapting to climate change, and also to rising sea levels, will be extremely high;

Amendment 115 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5b. Calls for the rapid development and implementation of effective and sustainable adaptation strategies throughout the European Union, with priority given to the areas potentially most at risk; agrees with the Commission as regards its estimates of the cost of climate change if nothing is done in terms of adaptation, which could reach more than EUR 50 billion per year for river overflows alone; calls, in this regard, for action to be taken;

Amendment 116 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 c (new)

5c. Reiterates its call for the Commission to submit a proposal for the creation of a Climate Change Adaptation Fund to help regions anticipate and mitigate the effects of climate change;

Amendment 117 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

~~6. Proposes that the European Regional Development Fund and ESF+ resources for the ‘Investment for jobs and growth’ goal should be alloca~~deleted amo~~ng the following two categories of NUTS-2 regions: (a) less developed regions, whose GDP per capita is less than 90 % of that of the EU-27; (b) GDP per capita is more than 90 % of that of the EU-27;~~re developed regions, whose

Amendment 118 #

Isabel GARCÍA MUÑOZ, Marcos ROS SEMPERE, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Proposes that the European Regional Development Fund and ESF+ resources for the ‘Investment for jobs and growth’ goal should be allocated among the following two categories of NUTS-2 regions: (a) per capita is less than 90 % of that of the EU-27; (b) GDP per capita is more than 90 % of that of the EU-27;deleted less developed regions, whose GDP more developed regions, whose

Amendment 119 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

Amendment 12 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 28 a (new)

— having regard to the regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2092 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December2020 on a general regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget that entered into force on the 1st of January 2021,

Amendment 120 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

Amendment 121 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

~~6. Proposes that the European Regional Development Fund and ESF+ resources for the ‘Investment for jobs and growth’ goal should be alloca~~deleted amo~~ng the following two categories of NUTS-2 regions: (a) less developed regions, whose GDP per capita is less than 90% of that of the EU-27; (b) GDP per capita is more than 90% of that of the EU-27;~~re developed regions, whose

Amendment 122 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – introductory part

6. ~~Proposes that the European Regional Development Fund and ESF+ resources for the ‘Investment for jobs and growth’ goal should be allocated among the following two categories of NUTS-2 regions:~~Takes note of the recent changes applied to the different categories of NUTS-2 regions under the 2021-2027 programming period, especially the extension of the category of the transition regions (GDP per head between 75%- 100% of the EU-27 average); invites the Commission to assess the impact of these changes on the allocation of the European Regional Development Fund and ESF+ resources for the ‘Investment for jobs and growth’ goal during the current programming period with the aim of drawing lessons for the design of the future cohesion policy;

Amendment 123 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – introductory part

6. ~~Proposes that~~Believes that changes to the allocation within the European Regional Development Fund and ESF+ resources for the ‘Investment for jobs and growth’ goal shcould be ~~allocated among~~considered in the future taking into account specific circumstances existing at the time in a given Member State and proposes the following two categories of NUTS-2 regions as one of the possible options:

Amendment 124 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – introductory part

6. Proposes that the option be assessed of the European Regional Development Fund and ESF+ resources for the ‘Investment for jobs and growth’ goal ~~should be~~being allocated among the following two categories of NUTS-2 regions:

Amendment 125 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – point a

~~(a) less developed regions, whose GDP per capita is less than 90 % of that of the EU-27;~~deleted

Amendment 126 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – point a

(a) less developed regions, whose GDP per capita is equal or less than 90 % of that of the EU-27;

Amendment 127 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – point b

~~(b) more developed regions, whose GDP per capita is more than 90 % of that of the EU-27;~~deleted

Amendment 128 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – point b

~~(b) more developed regions, whose GDP per capita is more than 90 % of that of the EU-27;~~deleted

Amendment 129 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Stresses that GDP is a measure of production and not of environmental sustainability, resource efficiency, integration and social progress ; recalls that health, education, environmental sustainability, equity and social inclusion are an integral part of the European development model, as well as economic issues; notes, furthermore, that the COVID-19 pandemic revealed how policies that are overly based on GDP and economic gains can be the cause of underinvestment in key public services, such as health and research; stresses therefore, with a view to post-2027 programming, the need to define complementary, clear and measurable indicators to measure the sustainable well-being of European citizens, taking into account environmental sustainability and social progress in the medium and long term;

Amendment 13 #

Andżelika Anna MOŻDŻANOWSKA

Motion for a resolution
Citation 28 a (new)

— having regard to the study “EU lagging regions: state of play and future challenges” of September 2020 (PE 652.215),

Amendment 130 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Proposes a possibility of transfer between the European Social Fund+ and the Cohesion Fund, up to a maximum of 20%;

Amendment 131 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

~~7. Believes that there should only be two types of region; notes that most of the current transitional regions will be covered by the newly established JTF II;~~deleted

Amendment 132 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

~~7. Believes that there should only be two types of region; notes that most of the current transitional regions will be covered by the newly established JTF II;~~deleted

Amendment 133 #

Isabel GARCÍA MUÑOZ, Marcos ROS SEMPERE, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

~~7. Believes that there should only be two types of region; notes that most of the current transitional regions will be covered by the newly established JTF II;~~deleted

Amendment 134 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

~~7. Believes that there should only be two types of region; notes that most of the current transitional regions will be covered by the newly established JTF II;~~deleted

Amendment 135 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

~~7. Believes that there should only be two types of region; notes that most of the current transitional regions will be covered by the newly established JTF II;~~deleted

Amendment 136 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

~~7. Believes that there should only be two types of region; notes that most of the current transitional regions will be covered by the newly established JTF II;~~deleted

Amendment 137 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. ~~Believes that there should only be two types of region; notes that most of the current~~Highlights the importance to draw particular attention to the category of transition regions, especially because they seem stuck in a ‘development trap’ due to the following reasons: growth in GDP per head, between 2001 and 2019, far below the EU average; productivity growth and employment creation lower than in other regions; manufacturing sectors smaller trhan~~sitional~~ those in regions wi~~ll be covered by the newly established JTF II~~th a lower or higher GDP per head; innovation and education systems and institutional quality not strong enough to be competitive at the global level;

Amendment 138 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Believes that there should only be two types of region; notes that ~~most~~some of the current transitional regions will be covered by the newly established JTF II;

Amendment 139 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Recalls that such a measure should only be considered following modelling of the consequences for the different regions and a comprehensive impact assessment;

Amendment 14 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas the implications of climate change can have the biggest impact on all European regions, bringing more drastic changes to the life of people and livelihood of regions especially in less developed regions, mainly located in the southern and eastern parts of Europe; whereas climate change thus is the biggest external threat to Europe’s cohesion in the future;

Amendment 140 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Calls for a strengthening of Article 174 in cohesion policy and in all European policies in order to promote the achievement of the objectives set out therein;

Amendment 141 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Believes, that the co-financing rate for the ‘Investment in jobs and growth’ goal at the level of each priority should not be higher than: (a) 85 % for less developed regions; (b) 70 % for more developed regions;deleted

Amendment 142 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

~~8. Believes, that the co-financing rate for the ‘Investment in jobs and growth’ goal at th~~deleted 85 % for less developed regions; 70 % for more ldevel ~~of each priority should not be higher than: (a) (b)~~oped regions;

Amendment 143 #

Isabel GARCÍA MUÑOZ, Marcos ROS SEMPERE, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

Amendment 144 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

Amendment 145 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Ondřej KNOTEK, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 – introductory part

8. ~~Believes, that~~Takes note of the recent changes applied to the co-financing rate for the ‘Investment in jobs and growth’ goal at the level of each priority ~~should not be higher than:~~under the 2021-2027 programming period; invites the Commission to assess the impact of these changes and insists on the need to increase the co-financing rate, especially for transition and more developed regions;

Amendment 146 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 – introductory part

8. Believes, that the co-financing rate for the ‘Investment in jobs and growth’ goal at the level of each priority should, in non-exceptional circumstances, not be higher than:

Amendment 147 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 – point a

~~(a) 85 % for less developed regions;~~deleted

Amendment 148 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 – point a

(a) 8590 % for less developed regions;

Amendment 149 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 – point a

(a) 85 % for less developed regions and the outermost regions;

Amendment 15 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas during the pandemic, the risk of unemployment and the gender gap were particularly pronounced in less developed EU regions; whereas in less developed regions, the gender employment gap is almost twice than in more developed regions (17 vs 9 percentage points);

Amendment 150 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 – point b

~~(b) 70 % for more developed regions;~~deleted

Amendment 151 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 – point b

(b) 705 % for more developed regions;

Amendment 152 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 – subparagraph 1 (new)

but may be increased in urgency situations, using the new flexibility reserve.

Amendment 153 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Takes the view that the Cohesion Fund should support those Member States whose GNI per capita, measured in purchasing power standards (PPS) and calculated on the basis of Union figures for the period 2025-2027, is less than 90 % of the average GNI per capita of the EU for the same reference period;deleted

Amendment 154 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Takes the view that the Cohesion Fund should support those Member States whose GNI per capita, measured in purchasing power standards (PPS) and calculated on the basis of Union figures for the period 2025-2027, is equal or less than 90 % of the average GNI per capita of the EU for the same reference period;

Amendment 155 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Recalls, however, that GDP as the sole indicator of development fails to take into account important aspects of people's lives, including their health, education, safety, environmental quality, personal rights and freedoms; urges therefore that the "beyond GDP" agenda should be revived and alternatives to the GDP indicator, such as the Social Progress Index, should be used more to better reflect societal development, for setting strategic cohesion policy objectives, for monitoring implementation and for benchmarking;

Amendment 156 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Recalls that due to delayed implementation in 2021 the Member States have not committed EUR 46.4bn under Sub-heading 2a of the EU budget; calls, therefore, for the establishment of "ConstructEU" to mobilise EUR 11.6bn of the 2022 cohesion appropriations, transferred from 2021, to cover retroactively inflation costs for EU- financed infrastructure projects (transport, energy, digital etc.); underlines the voluntary nature of such flexibility as well as the fact that the amounts per Member State respect the country envelopes;

Amendment 157 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Invites to pursue reflection on the importance of indicators complementary to GDP in order to give a more precise picture of the socio-economic situation of the regions; supports, in this regard, the use of social, environmental and demographic criteria, in order to better identify the challenges and needs, including at sub-regional level;

Amendment 158 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)

9b. Suggests opening a reflection on the contribution of cohesion policy to the achievement of the long-term EU strategic objectives, especially in light of the new challenges ahead; believes that the green and digital transition remains major challenges on which we should focus our investments in order to avoid new disparities; invites the Commission, the Member States and the managing authorities to strengthen the dialogue and join forces in the identification of the strategic objectives on which the future cohesion is expected to contribute;

Amendment 159 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)

9b. Regrets, moreover, that the UN Sustainable Development Goals seem to have progressively lost ground in the EU narrative, particularly over crises mitigation efforts, which is jeopardising their chances of implementation by 2030; encourages a continued strong commitment of EU cohesion policy to help implementing the SDGs at the regional and local level and calls for explicit visibility of the SDGs in the future cohesion policy objectives;

Amendment 16 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas during the pandemic, the risk of unemployment, increased poverty and the gender gap were particularly pronounced in less developed EU regions;

Amendment 160 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Notes that many drivers of growth remain concentrated in more developed regions and urban areas; notes in particular that skills are unevenly distributed, being concentrated in more developed regions, particularly around capitals, and that less developed regions are continuing to lag far behind those that are in transition or are more developed; calls on the Commission to present a new specific development plan for areas at risk of falling into ‘development traps’;

Amendment 161 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Ondřej KNOTEK, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Notes that ‘rust belts’ still exist in most Member States; believes that, to address the potentially negative impact of the transition of old industries such as steel and aluminium and to support the development of the regions affected, JTF II resources should be directed towards modernising these industries, creating smart specialisation strategies tailored to each of the regions in industrial transition, fostering innovation-led growth and ensuring the spread of growth benefits;

Amendment 162 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Notes that ‘rust belts’ still exist in most Member States; ~~believes that, to address the potentially negative impact of the transition of old industries such as steel and aluminium and to support the development of the regions affected,~~urges to support the industrial transition of these territories and address its potentially negative impact making use of the cohesion fund and the JTF II resources ~~should be directed towards~~and by creating smart specialisation strategies tailored to each of the regions in industrial transition, fostering innovation-led growth and ensuring the spread of growth benefits;

Amendment 163 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Notes that ‘rust belts’ still exist in most Member States; believes that, to address the potentially negative impact of the transition of old industries such as steel and aluminium and to support the development of the regions affected, ~~JTF II~~ resources should be directed towards creating smart specialisation strategies tailored to each of the regions in industrial transition, fostering innovation-led growth and ensuring the spread of growth benefits;

Amendment 164 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 – subparagraph 1 (new)

Welcomes the idea of the “do no harm cohesion” principle, raised in the 8th cohesion report; believes that the European Committee of the Regions should be involved in the design of this principle and that it should be set into legislation so that scope and modalities of its application are clearly defined;

Amendment 165 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Believes that while some regions in industrial transition face specific challenges like deindustrialisation, due to outsourcing of industrial production to emerging economies, low levels of productivity and no real strategy for future-oriented occupations; other regions, have a comparatively strong potential, like tradition in manufacturing and sophisticated innovation activities in local niche-industries; furthermore, within specific regions, industrial transition or the lack of it, may have left pockets of disadvantages in close proximity with areas of relative prosperity;

Amendment 166 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Calls for a specific EU initiative to support the Union’s low growth and poorer regions that are diverging both internally and externally from the EU average, building on the lessons learned from the Catching Up initiative; reiterates the need for a place-based policymaking via an appropriate analysis of low-growth patterns and the necessary tools to address them;

Amendment 167 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Notes that more industrialised regions are more resilient to the various recent economic and social shocks, and calls, therefore, on the EU to develop and support an ambitious reindustrialisation policy for Europe’s regions;

Amendment 168 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)

10b. Notes that in 2019 more than a quarter of the EU population was living in a region where real GDP had still not returned to its pre-financial crisis level in 2007, in particular in Greece, Cyprus, Italy and Spain; stresses that these same countries have again been more significantly affected by the economic and social crisis caused by Covid;

Amendment 169 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Stresses the importance of supporting rural areas by valuing their diversity and potential, improving transport connectivity ~~and~~, high-speed broadband, the provision of services, economic diversification and job creation, and helping them meet challenges such as rural desertification, depopulation, ageing and rural abandonment, the decline of city- centre communities and insufficient healthcare; asks, therefore, that at least 5 % of the ERDF resources at national level under the Investment for jobs and growth goal, other than for technical assistance, are allocated to integrated territorial development in disadvantaged non-urban areas, suffering from natural, geographical or demographic handicaps;

Amendment 17 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas it is of utmost importance to formulate any future Cohesion Policy with a strategic impetus that is being followed during the whole funding period, which should however be reassessed and adjusted in the midterm of the funding period;

Amendment 170 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Stresses the importance of supporting rural areas by valuing their diversity and potential, improving transport connectivity and high-speed broadband, and helping them meet challenges such as rural desertification, the decline of city- centre communities and insufficient healthcare; highlights as well the importance of urban-rural links within the context of functional urban areas;

Amendment 171 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Stresses the importance of supporting rural areas by valuing their diversity and potential, improving transport connectivity and high-speed broadband, and helping them meet challenges such as rural desertification, the decline of city- centre communities and insufficient healthcare; recalls the importance of strong rural-urban linkages as well as a particular support of women in rural areas;

Amendment 172 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Stresses the importance of supporting rural areas by valuing their diversity and potential, improving transport connectivity and high-speed broadband, and helping them meet challenges such as rural desertification, the decline of city- centre communities ~~and~~, insufficient healthcare and education opportunities;

Amendment 173 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Stresses the importance of supporting rural areas by valuing their diversity and potential, stimulating job creation, improving transport connectivity and high-speed broadband, and helping them meet challenges such as ~~rural desertification, the decline of~~depopulation, ageing, rural abandonment and desertification, the decline of communities in general, including city- centre ~~communities and insufficient healthcare;~~ s and insufficient healthcare and other services; welcomes the presentation of the Commission communication entitled ‘A long-term vision for the EU’s rural areas’, which it hopes to see implemented in practice within a multi- level governance framework for the promotion of specific and integrated territorial approaches;

Amendment 174 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Stresses the importance of supporting rural areas by valuing their diversity and potential, improving transport connectivity and high-speed broadband, and helping them meet challenges such as rural desertification, ensuring food security, the decline of city- centre communities and insufficient healthcare;

Amendment 175 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Stresses the importance of supporting rural areas and regions that suffer from severe and permanent natural handicaps, such as islands, the outermost regions, sparsely populated northern areas and mountain areas, by valuing their diversity and potential, improving transport connectivity and high-speed broadband, and helping them meet challenges such as rural desertification, the decline of city- centre communities and insufficient healthcare;

Amendment 176 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Stresses the importance of supporting rural areas by valuing their diversity and potential, improving transport connectivity and high-speed broadband, and helping them meet challenges such as rural desertification, the decline of city- centre communities ~~and~~, insufficient healthcare and the distance from public services;

Amendment 177 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Believes that EU ad-hoc initiatives and pilot projects in the coming years should aim at ensuring a fair representation of EU territories, duly taking into account geographic balance, economic development and the urban- rural divide; reiterates that failing to do so may risk jeopardising the very principles of territorial cohesion;

Amendment 178 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)

11b. Highlights notably the importance of the re-localisation of food and feed production and processing, where the opportunities offered by the Cohesion Policy and regional environmental strategies can support this re-localisation; stresses the importance of local and regional production and consumption and the need to support education and skills in this regard;

Amendment 179 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 c (new)

11c. Calls for a better access to funding to enable investments in the local energy transition, including energy efficiency, decentralised distribution of energy and a strong focus on renewable energy and sustainable circular economy;

Amendment 18 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas cohesion policy helps to respond effectively to asymmetric shocks such as the current refugee crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine; recalls that the northern sparsely populated regions should continue to benefit from specific measures and from additional funding to offset the severe and permanent natural and demographic handicaps of these regions and to relieve the additional burden of EU's external border regions caused by the breakdown of Russia-West relations;

Amendment 180 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 d (new)

11d. Highlights the enormous potential of empty and old buildings when sustainably renovated; highlights the less use of resources when doing so and the need of Cohesion Policy to support energy efficient renovation in order to save resources and ensure housing for all; emphasizes in this context the preservation and transformation of historically and socio-economically relevant buildings also to strengthen the cohesion particularly amongst the villages and their residents;

Amendment 181 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 e (new)

11e. Stresses the importance of more sustainable mobility solutions throughout the EU, including the TEN-T policy; calls on the Commission to promote smart and green mobility; is of the position that only smart and sustainable mobility solutions should be eligible of EU funding;

Amendment 182 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 f (new)

11f. Calls to strengthen the polluter- pays principle and promote decarbonisation both in mobility infrastructure and economy to contribute to the EU Green Deal and Fitfor55 Package;

Amendment 183 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Calls, in connection with the necessary development of small islands, for every effort to be made to enable their electricity interconnection and to encourage photovoltaic solutions;

Amendment 184 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)

11b. Alerts the Commission to the need to take greater account of the health disasters occurring in the French outermost regions of Martinique, Guadeloupe, Réunion, Mayotte, French Guiana and Saint Martin; calls, with a view to addressing this critical issue for the inhabitants of these departments, regions and collectivities, for all financial resources to be deployed very quickly in order to tackle the consequences of pollution of the soil and subsoil, watercourses and shorelines of Guadeloupe and Martinique by chlordecone, a highly carcinogenic substance; calls for the very swift deployment of all financial resources to combat the scourge of Sargassum seaweed, which is causing huge damage, in particular to the ecosystem of Guadeloupe; calls for the very swift deployment of all financial resources to ensure that everyone in Guadeloupe, Martinique and Mayotte has constant access to drinking water;

Amendment 185 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. NStresses the multidimensional nature of rural development, which goes beyond agriculture, and insists on the need to implement a rural proofing mechanism to assess the impact of EU legislative initiatives on rural areas; notes that only 11.5 % of people living in rural areas work in agriculture, forestry and fisheries21 ; calls, therefore, for the reintegration of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) under the strategic framework of the CPR; emphasises that being part of the cohesion policy funds strengthens possibilities for investments in rural areas beyond agriculture; _________________ 21 European Commission, JRC Technical Reports, Territorial Facts and Trends in the EU Rural Areas within 2015-2030, 2018.

Amendment 186 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Notes that only 11.5 % of people living in rural areas work in agriculture, forestry and fisheries21 ; calls, therefore, for the reintegration of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) under the strategic framework of the CPR and the financial increase of that pillar; emphasises that being part of the cohesion policy funds strengthens possibilities for investments in rural areas beyond agriculture and regional development in a more integrated approach; _________________ 21 European Commission, JRC Technical Reports, Territorial Facts and Trends in the EU Rural Areas within 2015-2030, 2018.

Amendment 187 #

Stéphane BIJOUX

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Notes that only 11.5 % of people living in rural areas work in agriculture, forestry and fisheries21 ; ~~calls, therefore, for the reintegrat~~invites the Commission to assess the consequences of the exclusion of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) ~~under~~from the strategic framework of the CPR; emphasises that ~~being part of the cohesion policy funds~~the multi-fund approach strengthens possibilities for investments in rural areas beyond agriculture; _________________ 21 European Commission, JRC Technical Reports, Territorial Facts and Trends in the EU Rural Areas within 2015-2030, 2018.

Amendment 188 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)

12a. Regrets that this 8th report does not pay particular attention to the progress made in achieving economic, social and territorial cohesion in regions which suffer from severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps, such as the northernmost regions with very low population density and island, cross- border and mountain regions, as provided for in Article 174;

Amendment 189 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)

12b. Stresses with concern that the outermost region of Mayotte has the lowest GDP per capita in the EU, almost four times lower than France’s average GDP per capita, even though France is one of the richest countries in the European Union; calls on France and the Commission to take steps to improve this situation;

Amendment 19 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas cCohesion pPolicy can helps in an emergency manner to respond effectively to asymmetric shocks such as the current refugee crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine; or the negative economic and social impacts of the Covid19 pandemic; this emergency help should however not undermine or threaten the strategic approach of the whole funding period;

Amendment 190 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 c (new)

12c. Notes, furthermore, that all the outermost regions are still among the least developed regions; calls, therefore, on the EU to increase its support for these regions, including by making use of all the possibilities provided for in Article 349 TFEU;

Amendment 191 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Is convinced that the role of small cities, towns and villages should be bolstered in order to support local economies and address demographic challenges; reaffirms the importance of urban-rural linkages and of the development of strategies based on functional areas with particular attention to small and medium-sized towns with the aim of preventing rural areas from shrinking; underlines the importance of implementing tailor-made territorial approaches and investing especially on the smart villages initiative with the aim of revitalising rural services through digital and social innovation; backs, therefore, the reinforcement of the second pillar of the common agricultural policy, the EAFRD;

Amendment 192 #

Marcos ROS SEMPERE, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Cristina MAESTRE, Isabel GARCÍA MUÑOZ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Is convinced that the role of small cities, towns and villages should be bolstered in order to support local economies and address demographic challenges; backs, therefore, the reinforcement of the second pillar of the common agricultural policy, the EAFRD and that in this respect the contributions of the New European Bauhaus should also be taken into account;

Amendment 193 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Is convinced that the role of small cities, towns and villages should be bolstered in order to support local economies and address demographic and climate challenges; ~~back~~urges, therefore, t~~he reinforcement of the second pillar~~o extract the EAFRD out of the cCommon aAgricultural pPolicy~~, the EAFRD;~~ and integrate it into the CPR as an individual, yet strategically integrated, fund;

Amendment 194 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Is convinced that the role of small cities, towns and villages should be bolstered in order to support local economies and address demographic challenges; backs, therefore, the reinforcement of the second pillar of the common agricultural policy, the EAFRD; considers it essential to streamline future initiatives, focusing territory-based policies;

Amendment 195 #

Marcos ROS SEMPERE, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Cristina MAESTRE, Isabel GARCÍA MUÑOZ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Is convinced that the role of small cities, towns and villages should be bolstered in order to support local economies and address demographic challenges; backs, therefore, the reinforcement of the second pillar of the common agricultural policy, the EAFRD; recalls, in this connection, the need to prioritise short supply chains in the economic options promoted by the EU, not only from an environmental perspective but also from the point of view of preserving local know-how and a rooted economy;

Amendment 196 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a. Notes the increasing emergence of less developed, disadvantaged and impoverished areas that are embedded in developed areas; it therefore calls on the European Commission to enhance micro- cohesion in these less developed areas through specific funds for this new type of vulnerable areas;

Amendment 197 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a. Notes that European territorial cooperation is a key objective of cohesion policy and that it offers high added value;

Amendment 198 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

14. Notes that funding should be even more tailor-made and holistic; demands that local and regional authorities as well as citizens and NGOs shall be more included in the decision making and funding process to ensure the needs are addressed properly; notes the potential that exists at local level could be better mobilised and investments in regional development could be more efficient by strengthening and facilitating citizens participation and community- led local development (CLLD) and similar bottom- up tools; takes the view that CLLD sh~~ould~~all be mandatory for Member States to integrate in their programmes;

Amendment 199 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. NHighlights the importance to strengthen the bottom-up approach to rural and local development, which is a vehicle for social innovation and capacity building, empowering rural citizens to take ownership of their area's development through the design and implementation of strategies and projects; notes that the potential that exists at local level could be better mobilised by strengthening and facilitating community- led local development (CLLD); takes the view that CLLD should be mandatory for Member States;

Amendment 2 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Ondřej KNOTEK, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 a (new)

— having regard to the final document of the Conference on the Future of Europe and the recommendations within, brought forward by the three institutions, members of all national parliaments and 800 European citizens and its resolution of 2nd May 2022 on the follow-up to the conclusions of the Conference on the Future of Europe (B9-0228/2022),

Amendment 20 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas cohesion policy, even though it is not a crisis instrument, helps to respond effectively to asymmetric shocks such as the current refugee crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine; whereas cohesion policy, in its nature and identity, is a long-term investment policy;

Amendment 200 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Notes that the potential that exists at local level could be better mobilised by strengthening and facilitating community- led local development (CLLD); ~~takes the view that CLLD should be mandatory for Member States;~~

Amendment 201 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

Amendment 202 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

Amendment 203 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

Amendment 204 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14a. Stresses the importance of synergies between different funding tools, such as EARDF, ERDF, ESF+ and EMFAF, to channel an adequate level of funding towards rural areas through a multi-fund approach; regrets that, during the 2014-2020 programming period, only a quarter of local development projects carried out by local actors integrated more than a funding tool; calls on the Commission to considerably reduce the administrative complexity which the managing authorities have encountered in implementing the multi-fund approach;

Amendment 205 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14a. Societies and economies have to unlock their creative potential, regions facing challenges with the transition towards carbon neutrality such as old industrial regions should use creative industry as a multidiscipline catalyst for transition processes, integrating ideas of the cultural and creative industries into administrative processes and managing authorities can help these regions, therefore stresses the need to support multidisciplinary cooperation;

Amendment 206 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)

14b. Highlights the valuable contribution to rural development delivered by actions under the Leader programme, co-financed by the EARDF, which aims to engage local actors in the design and delivery of strategies, decision- making and resource allocation for the development of their rural areas; calls on the Commission and the Member States to reinforce the Leader programme by guaranteeing a high level of autonomy of the Local Action Groups regarding their constitution (no top-down design of areas and villages to be regrouped in a LAG but complete autonomy to the villages to gather and join forces in a LAG) and their decision making, reducing the administrative burden on local authorities and simplifying the access, promoting the local ownership of community-led development projects, and encouraging participation in local action groups;

Amendment 207 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Notes with concern the demographic challenges faced by the EU, such as an ageing population, the depopulation of rural and remote areas, and migratory flows and the arrival of refugees; stresses that local and regional authorities, professional associations and NGOs are essential to identifying and assessing specific investment needs in rural and urban areas for mobility, territorial accessibility and basic services, and, therefore, to unlocking the potential of the areas concerned, including economic, social and demographic trends; believes, therefore, that they should play a decisive role as active participants in developing territorial strategies stemming from local communities; highlights the importance of including, when possible, a specific budgetary response for reversing demographic trends in relevant EU programmes and of conducting impact assessments of public policies on demography; believes that rural areas, particularly these mostly prone to demographic challenges, should benefit from a defined level of minimum funds allocation; notes furthermore that demographic challenges in rural areas should be addressed concurrently by both tackling their depopulation, as well as retaining population and attracting young people;

Amendment 208 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Notes with concern the demographic challenges faced by the EU, such as an ageing population, the depopulation of rural and remote areas, and migratory flows and the arrival of refugees; highlights the potential of rural areas as spaces to foster inclusion and integration of the most vulnerable groups with specific needs, such as persons with disabilities, migrants, including seasonal migrants, refugees and minorities; encourages Member States to design and implement specific measures to promote their training and employment and safeguard their fundamental rights; insists especially on the necessity to prepare an immediate response to the arrival of Ukrainian refugees in order to ensure their quick and easy integration;

Amendment 209 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Notes with concern the demographic challenges faced by the EU, and certain regions in particular, such as an ageing population, the depopulation of rural and remote areas, and migratory flows and the arrival of refugees;

Amendment 21 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas cohesion policy h~~elp~~as repeatedly and efficiently helped regions to respond effectively to asymmetric shocks such as the Covid-19 crisis, Brexit and the current refugee crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine;

Amendment 210 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Notes with concern the demographic challenges faced by the EU, such as an ageing population, the depopulation of rural and remote areas, ~~and migratory flows and the arrival of refuge~~demographic pressure on other areas, such as coastal and urban areas, and migratory flows and the arrival of refugees, resulting in specific needs in terms of infrastructure and access to basic services;

Amendment 211 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 – point 1 (new)

(1) Stresses, that the Commission should be more active in protecting the Funds from threats arising by the pressure on democracy and its values in certain member states;

Amendment 212 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 – subparagraph 1 (new)

Underlines that state aid rules should be aligned for EU policies, so that cohesion policy programmes, which need to follow all state aid rules, are not put at a disadvantaged position in comparison to other EU policies, which are exempt from it;

Amendment 213 #

Stéphane BIJOUX, Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 – point 2 (new)

(2) Calls on the Commission to work on a solution that public spending under cohesion policy by Member States and local and regional authorities as part of Structural and Investment Funds should not be considered as national or equivalent structural expenditure as defined within the Stability and Growth Pact;

Amendment 214 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15a. Welcomes the integration of datas on ORs into the statistic studies of the 8th Cohesion Report implementing an « Outermost Regions reflex » as requested by the European Parliament in its resolution of 14 September 2021; stresses that the ORs are among the poorest regions in Europe, that six of the thirty EU regions with the lowest GDP per capita are outermost regions; recalls that these regions have particularly high level of NEETs and suffer from youth unemployment, that is above 50% in the Canary Islands and Mayotte, and around 40% in Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion; welcomes the new initiative launched by the Commission for ORs youth and calls for more EU actions dedicated to youth training, inclusion, employment and mobility following the new communication from the Commission on the EU’s outermost regions;

Amendment 215 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15a. Underlines that while living and working in cities has many advantages, a high concentration of population and above-average population growth in certain urban areas may also have repercussions on housing affordability, pollution levels and quality of life, may increase the risk of discrimination, inequality, violence and unequal access to services such as childcare, healthcare and education, and therefore of social exclusion and poverty; highlights the importance of EU funding for implementing social inclusion locally and believes that urban authorities should have direct access to EU funding in the future;

Amendment 216 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15a. Emphasises the fundamental principles of Article 174(3) TFEU and calls for greater attention to de drawn on specific territorial characteristics, such as those of regions suffering from severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps, such as northernmost regions with very low population density, islands, cross-border and mountain regions; underlines the importance of designing tailor-made programmes and actions for these regions and welcomes the recent adoption of agendas and strategies covering some of them;

Amendment 217 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)

15b. Reaffirms the importance of Article 349 TFEU, which should be used to support the development of the outermost regions, maintaining and enhancing all the derogations intended to compensate for their structural disadvantages and meeting their specific needs with tailor-made solutions; welcomes the adoption of the Commission communication entitled ‘Putting people first, securing sustainable and inclusive growth, unlocking the potential of the EU’s outermost regions’ aimed at promoting the unique assets of the outermost regions; underlines their great potential to further develop key sectors such as the blue economy, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, space activities, research or eco-tourism;

Amendment 218 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15a. Notes with concern that the effect of the economic crisis caused by COVID- 19 is still apparent in many regions and in the economy, together with which there is now rising inflation and an energy crisis created by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, all of which must be taken into account in the implementation of the current funding;

Amendment 219 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15a. Calls on the Commission to take greater account of the specific climatic characteristics of the outermost regions, including Martinique, Guadeloupe, Mayotte, French Guiana and Saint Martin;

Amendment 22 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas cohesion policy helps to respond effectively to asymmetric shocks such as the current refugee crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, including by supporting Member States on the front line when it comes to taking in refugees from Ukraine;

Amendment 220 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Observes that some middle-income regions are facing a ‘middle-income trap’, often suffering from low growth, weak innovation, ~~struggling manufacturing industries and vulnerability to shocks caused by globalisation~~weak competitiveness, low productivity struggling manufacturing industries, low institutional and government quality and vulnerability to shocks caused by globalisation; draws attention on the worrying aggravation of this trend and urges the Commission and the Member States to seriously address this challenge setting regions in the development trap as a core priority of their action and investment under cohesion policy;

Amendment 221 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Observes that some middle-income regions are facing a ‘middle-income trap’, often suffering from low growth, shrinking and ageing population, weak innovation, struggling manufacturing industries, low progress towards a just transition and vulnerability to shocks caused by globalisation; urges that solutions must be found for such regions in order for them in order not to be left behind in the long term, but instead help them to develop their specific advantages and strengths;

Amendment 222 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16a. Observes that border regions were particularly affected by the pandemic and that their recovery tends to be slower than in metropolitan regions, while existing strong cross-border cooperation ties among border regions proved advantageous during crises; suggests that border regions should be viewed and developed as a functional areas so that common challenges can be addressed jointly and multidimensionally;

Amendment 223 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16a. Notes with concern the severe drop in recent years of adequate level of national funding of Member States towards their poorer regions; recalls the importance of respecting the EU rule on additionality; calls on the Commission to ensure that national authorities duly take into account internal cohesion while drafting and implementing Structural and Investment Funds’ projects;

Amendment 224 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16a. Is convinced that a major challenge for future cohesion policy will be to provide appropriate support to these regions,, and that cohesion policy must both reduce disparities and prevent vulnerable regions from falling behind, by taking account of the different trends and dynamics;

Amendment 225 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)

16b. Calls for an in depth assessment of the use of back-up projects especially in less developed regions across the EU and their risk in hampering the added value and the strategic vision of cohesion policy objectives;

Amendment 226 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Emphasises that these ‘middle- income trap’ regions ~~need more investments in education; urges the Commission to define these regions and to~~have differing characteristics and need tailor-made solutions to boost investments in education, human capital, research and development, innovation, upskilling of work force and public sector reforms; urges the Commission to further investigate the concept of regions in a development trap, better understand the structural factors that lead to the development trap and define these regions; calls on the Commission to provide flexibility to the Member States at programme level with the aim of urgently adopting specific and targeted measures, programmes and strategies to support these regions through a differentiated and territorial approach; asks to design and implement targeted smart specialisation strategies for the regions in a development trap and allocate higher amounts to them under the ESF+ in the next programming period;

Amendment 227 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Emphasises that these ‘middle- income trap’ regions ~~need more investments in education~~and most deprived urban areas need, among other, more investments in high quality education for all from an early age and social services; urges the Commission to define these regions and to allocate higher amounts to them under the ESF+ in the next programming period;

Amendment 228 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Emphasises that thes regions in or endangered by falling into the ‘middle- income trap’ ~~regions~~ need more investments in education as well as mitigation strategies; urges the Commission to define these regions and to allocate higher amounts to them under the ESF+ in the next programming period;

Amendment 229 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Emphasises that these ‘middle- income trap’ regions need more investments in education and training; urges the Commission to define these regions and to allocate higher amounts to them under the ESF+ in the next programming period;

Amendment 23 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas cohesion policy helps to respond ~~effectively~~ to asymmetric shocks such as the current refugee crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine;

Amendment 230 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

Amendment 231 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)

17a. Takes note of the communication COM (2022)198 from the European Commission with a view to renewing the partnership with the Outermost Regions; recalls the vital role played by cohesion policy in the ORs and stresses the need to maintain all the measures specifically dedicated to them in the next programming period, in accordance with Article 349 TFEU; recalls, furthermore, the importance of a dynamic regional cooperation in order to unleash the potential of the ORs, and calls on the Commission to study all possible measures for future cohesion policy to stimulate the implementation of joint projects, in particular on sustainable tourism, preparedness for natural disasters, the development of the blue economy and renewable energies;

Amendment 232 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)

17a. Believes that cities and urban authorities must have direct access to EU funding; reiterates the importance of safeguards that would avoid an unfair penalization of the regional and local authorities situated in countries that may be subject to the activation of the Rule of Law mechanism; calls in the same time for a regional budget with direct access for regions;

Amendment 233 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)

17a. Takes the view that maintaining a proper suitable funding allocation from the Cohesion Fund is particularly necessary for Member States with a major deficit in transport and environmental infrastructure, with there being shared management of the Fund;

Amendment 234 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)

17a. Expresses concern at the continuing disparity between south- eastern and north-western regions regarding quality of government; stresses that low standards frequently go hand-in- hand with a structural inability to make proper use of public resources and hence major difficulties in triggering virtuous development processes; calls on the Commission to step up direct support for the regions, providing not only funding but also training for administrators with a view to improving the take-up of funding;

Amendment 235 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Believes that nation-wide structural policies should go hand in hand with a place-based approach in order to contribute to territorial cohesion, address different levels of governance including allowing multi-level governance, ensure cooperation and coordination, and unleash the unique potential of regions, while recognising the need for tailor-made solutions; furthermore, believes that Cohesion Policy should be more geared towards investment in people, as regions’ economies can be boosted by an effective mix of investments in innovation, human capital, good governance and institutional capacity;

Amendment 236 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Believes that EU and nation~~-wide~~al structural policies should go hand in hand with a place-based approach in order to contribute to territorial cohesion, address different levels of governance, ensure cooperation and coordination, and unleash the unique potential of regions, while recognising the need for tailor-made solutions;

Amendment 237 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18a. Highlights the added value of territorial cooperation in general and cross-border cooperation in particular, especially in emergency situation such as the COVID-19 pandemic; asks for cooperation between regions in the framework of macro-regional strategies or sea-basin strategies to be extended and embedded in the cohesion policy; stresses the importance to remove obstacles to cross-border cooperation and emphasises that the European Cross Border Mechanism proposed by the Commission would have contributed to remove more than 50 % of the barriers; deeply regrets the fact that the legislative procedure relating to the ECBM has been blocked by the Council;

Amendment 238 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18a. Highlights the potential of synergies between the funds under the EU Cohesion Policy and emphasizes in this regard the promotion and support of Multifund- solutions and Multifund- programmes to allow and ensure an even more efficient and sustainable funding of projects, accelerating cohesion within and among European regions; calls in this regard on the Commission to minimize the administrative burdens for regions to introduce Multifund- approaches; calls on the Commission to promote Multifunding as a future standard method throughout Member States;

Amendment 239 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18a. Calls for the strengthening of European territorial cooperation and invites the Commission to take all necessary initiatives, including relaunching the cross-border cooperation mechanism, to make this cooperation more dynamic and effective for the benefit of the people;

Amendment 24 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas while developed eastern EU regions have been catching up with the rest of the EU, several middle-income and less developed regions are in economic stagnation or decline, suggesting that they are in a development trap; whereas these regions have experienced growth in GDP per head far below the EU average, productivity growth and employment creation lower than in other regions; whereas regions in a development trap have smaller manufacturing sectors than those in regions with a lower or higher GDP per head and their innovation and education systems and institutional quality are not strong enough to be competitive at the global level;

Amendment 240 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18a. Stresses that the regulation on a general regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget provides the respect of the rule of law as a condition for cohesion policy funding;

Amendment 241 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)

18b. Recalls that the impact of Brexit has contributed to the disruption of the economy, interregional cooperation, research ecosystems and training systems for a certain number of EU regions; regrets that the impact of Brexit has not been sufficiently taken into account in the 8th Cohesion Report; invites to continue supporting regional and local authorities suffering from the withdrawal of United Kingdom and explore new forms of cooperation between local authorities and grassroots associations across the UK with EU counterparts in this post-Brexit era; notes that the participation of the UK in INTERREG programmes – which already have strong third-country participation,– may be possible if the UK government agrees to fund participation;

Amendment 242 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)

18b. Recalls the need for minimizing administrative burden for local and regional authorities but for beneficiaries in particular; calls especially for easier funding application and process in order to ensure projects needed in the regions are being realized and supported adequately, also in a financial manner; calls on the Commission to allow the funding of regional guides to support citizen in applying for EU Cohesion Funds; stresses that the Commission shall evaluate and, if needed, oblige Member States to simplify their respective application and funding process;

Amendment 243 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 c (new)

18c. Recalls, in that regard, the principle of subsidiarity of EU funding;

Amendment 244 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 d (new)

18d. Stresses the crucial role that investments in high quality public services have on building social resilience and coping with economic, health and social crises;

Amendment 245 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18a. Recalls that the Recovery and Resilience Facility is based on Article 175 TFEU, which states that Member States shall conduct their economic policies and shall coordinate them in such a way as, in addition, to attain the objectives set out in Article 174, and that the formulation and implementation of the Union’s policies and actions shall take into account the objectives set out in Article 174 and shall contribute to their achievement; calls, therefore, on the Commission to strictly monitor this and to analyse in its future report on economic, social and territorial cohesion the precise contribution of the Recovery and Resilience Facility to these objectives;

Amendment 246 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18a. Stresses, in this connection, the unique nature of the outermost regions, and encourages the countries concerned to adopt policies to develop the blue economy and local job-creating sectors in these areas, based on medium- to long- term development programmes offering visibility to investors and local stakeholders;

Amendment 247 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)

18b. Regrets that the deployment of the Recovery and Resilience Facility undertaken by the governments of the Member States has been highly centralised and has lacked consultation with the regions and municipalities;

Amendment 248 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Notes that cohesion policy reform for the financial period 2021-2027 has contributed to greener spending under these funds which is geared towards sustainable investment and more items of harmful spending are excluded from support from the outset compared to previous periods, such as landfills, waste incinerators, etc.; furthermore, simplified and flexible use of funding for beneficiaries and management authorities is enhanced; calls on the Commission to promote further ~~simplification, flexibi~~climate-related spending, wider exclusion list to strengthen the do no harm principle and fully phasing out of fossil fuels, gender dimension in Cohesion Politcy and citizen participation EU wide;

Amendment 249 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Notes that cohesion policy reform for the financial period 2021-2027 has contributed to simplified and flexible use of funding for beneficiaries and management authorities; welcomes the flexibility proposed by the Cohesion’s Action for Refugees in Europe and the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiatives proposals, which have proven that cohesion policy is an excellent tool in the crisis situations; recalls however that the cohesion policy is a long-term investment policy and therefore a dedicated crisis response mechanism should be created within the next MFF; calls on the Commission to promote further simplification, flexibility and citizen participation;

Amendment 25 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas while developed eastern EU regions have been catching up with the rest of the EU, several middle-income and less developed regions are in economic stagnation or decline, suggesting that they are in a development trap; the distribution of funds must take into account not only the development of disparities between Member States but also the development of disparities between regions within countries; cohesion funding must be allocated to the least developed regions;

Amendment 250 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Notes that cohesion policy reform for the financial period 2021-2027 has contributed to simplified and flexible use of funding for beneficiaries and management authorities; calls on the Commission to promote further simplification, flexibility and citizen participation; asks the Member States to provide support and training for potential beneficiaries, especially new beneficiaries of small scale projects, and bring cohesion policy close to all EU citizens, in particular through its new Policy Objective 5;

Amendment 251 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Notes that cohesion policy reform for the financial period 2021-2027 has contributed to simplified and flexible use of funding for beneficiaries and management authorities; calls on the Commission to survey the practical effects of the simplification measures and promote further simplification, digital solutions, flexibility and citizen participation;

Amendment 252 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Notes that cohesion policy reform for the financial period 2021-2027 has contributed to simplified and flexible use of funding for beneficiaries and management authorities; calls on the Commission to promote further simplification, flexibility and citizen participation; Calls for support for private initiatives as generators of jobs and R&D&i, and points out that, in a majority of cases, difficulties at a bureaucratic, European, national or regional level only serve to discourage their participation in the various funds;

Amendment 253 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Notes that cohesion policy reform for the financial period 2021-2027 has contributed to simplified and flexible use of funding for beneficiaries and management authorities; calls on the Commission to promote further ~~simplification, flexibility and citizen participation~~flexibility, citizen participation and simplification and to prioritise this in the next reforms of the structural funds and regional policies;

Amendment 254 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19a. Underlines that Cohesion Policy must not contribute to misuse of EU funds or further deterioration of the Rule of Law and democracy in Member States; expects therefore that the Commission takes fully into consideration the aspects of the Rule of Law throughout the ongoing negotiations regarding the Partnership Agreements and Cohesion Policy programmes; requires that the Commission analyses whether the draft documents already submitted or expected to be sent in the future are in full compliance with the enabling conditions on the effective application and implementation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights as outlined in the Annex III of the Common Provisions Regulation, and not to approve any Partnership Agreement or programme before these in depth analysis on this specific aspects lead to a high level of assurance of no risks;

Amendment 255 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19a. Reiterates its position on the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation, underlines however, that these measures cannot be punitive against the citizens; calls on the Commission to use all the tools at its disposal to establish ways to ensure that citizens of Member States towards which Article 7(1) TEU was triggered are not deprived of the benefits of EU funds due to the actions of their governments, and to establish avenues for these funds to be administered directly by the Commission to their final beneficiaries;

Amendment 256 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19a. Invites the Member States to avoid over-regulation, make operational programmes strategic, concise and flexible documents, and make funding agreements between the managing authority and the beneficiary a tool of simplification; asks the managing authorities to include in funding agreements the information and details strictly necessary to ensure legal stability for the beneficiary, ensure they are discussed and signed in due time and before the start of the project and reduce risks related to interpretation;

Amendment 257 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 b (new)

19b. Emphasises the fast and full support from Cohesion Policy towards Ukrainian refugees as well towards regions affected hardly by the pandemic; however, underlines that extended flexibility provided by the Commission previously with the CRII and CRII+ regulations and currently through the CARE and CARE+ proposals on the ESI funds 2014-2020, together with the RRF funds, undermines the strategic approach of Cohesion Policy that aims to tackle regional disparities across the EU in a long-run, with dedicated budget for climate and thematic concentration for specific policy objectives; underlines that other EU Funds than Cohesion Policy should be mobilised to respond to unprecedented crisis in an emergency manner, that Cohesion Policy should not face budgetary cuts in order to respond to crisis and that Cohesion Policy should be invested to avoid unpreparedness of regions for any challenges that may occur and that way build up resilient and future- proof regions overall the EU;

Amendment 258 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 b (new)

19b. Encourages to reduce the number of intermediate bodies involved in the management and control of cohesion funds by strengthening the coordination and competences of intermediate bodies having a critical size and identifying, where possible, one-stop-shops for beneficiaries;

Amendment 259 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 c (new)

19c. Calls on the Commission to encourage the use of Simplified Cost Options (SCOs), including by raising the thresholds below which the use of SCOs should be compulsory; invites to speed up the implementation of the e-cohesion, stresses the potential of digitalisation as regards monitoring and reporting activities, and encourages the exchange of good practices by establishing knowledge- sharing platforms;

Amendment 26 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas convergence has been driven by strong growth in less developed regions, but the benefits they derive from lower costs and the returns on their investments are likely to diminish over time; whereas less developed regions will need to boost education and training, increase investments in research and innovation, and improve the quality of their institutions to avoid falling into a development trap;

Amendment 260 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 c (new)

19c. Calls on the Commission to exclude the national co-financing of the investments funded by the ERDF, JTF, ESF+, INTERREG, that do not deviate from the respect of the Paris Agreement’s objectives, from the assessment of the Member States’ fiscal position in the context of the Stability and Growth Pact;

Amendment 261 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 d (new)

19d. Emphasises the importance of small-scale and cross-border projects in bringing people together and in that way opening new potentials for sustainable local development and cross-border cooperation; stresses the importance of cross-border investments to enhance innovations, technology transfer, common solutions and synergies and that way increase territorial cohesion beyond administrative borders and strengthen European solidarity; therefore urges the Commission to develop funding possibilities that bring actors from different regions closer together in bigger projects (INTERREG +);

Amendment 262 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 d (new)

19d. Considers it necessary to streamline public procurement procedures, reducing the burden on the compliance controls which have to be implemented by the managing authorities at project level; urges to improve the articulation of the cohesion policy with the State aid rules, introducing where possible presumption of compliance with the State aid regime, in order to place on an equal footing all EU investment policies and avoid competition between them;

Amendment 263 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 e (new)

19e. Stresses the need to provide a framework which guarantees legal stability through simple, clear and predictable rules, particularly as regards management and auditing; asks for any retrospective application and interpretation of rules to be avoided as much as possible; suggests opening a reflection on the threshold of the total error rate for each year under which the programme's management and control system is considered to be functioning effectively and the capacity of managing authority to comply with this provision of the regulation without penalising beneficiaries; is of the view that this threshold should be raised to 5 %;

Amendment 264 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 e (new)

19e. Calls for a specific budget for a minimum of two border regions (NUTS3), other than INTERREG, that can only be spent when all regions addressed within this specific budget allocation participate as well as co-financing is guaranteed by all participating regions, in order to boost cross-border projects and solutions and that way enhance territorial cohesion;

Amendment 265 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 f (new)

19f. Observes that the control mechanism used by the Commission for funds under direct management seems much simpler; invites the Commission to improve transparency of its audit rules, strengthen the dialogue between auditors and policy makers, reduce statistical sample for audits of operations and implement the single audit principle to avoid duplication of audits and management verifications of the same expenditure; asks to make the control mechanism less burdensome, especially for small-scale projects;

Amendment 266 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 g (new)

19g. Believes that the relationship between the Commission and the managing authorities should evolve towards a ‘contract of confidence’ built on the development and definition of objective criteria; considers it necessary to introduce a label to reward managing authorities which have demonstrated their ability to comply with the rules and reduce their rate of error; calls, in relation to monitoring and control, for greater reliance on national and regional authorities where their effectiveness has been verified;

Amendment 267 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 h (new)

19h. Is of the view that simplification should be one of the key driver of the future cohesion policy and the reform of these provisions of the CPR should be designed and agreed in cooperation with managing authorities, involving the territories at an early stage of the reflection;

Amendment 268 #

Marcos ROS SEMPERE, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Cristina MAESTRE, Isabel GARCÍA MUÑOZ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Calls on Member States to launch bold strategies to unlock public and private investment in green, digital and demographic transitions in order to restructure their social market economy model in a positive way for society; stresses as well that all EU regions have to play a decisive role in tackling climate change challenges, in coordinated actions with their surrounding regions;

Amendment 269 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20a. Supports the increase in the budget allocated for the period 2021-2027 for the new cohesion policy which, in line with the strong focus on smart, green and social actions, will provide sufficient confidence for new innovative projects; calls for strong coordination between these funds and NEB programs and actions;

Amendment 27 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas less developed regions will need a new strategic framework at EU level to boost education and training, increase investments in research and innovation, and improve the quality of their institutions ~~to avoid falling into a development trap~~in order to overcome the development trap that is affecting their recovery;

Amendment 270 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20a. Calls on the European Commission to take decisions without delay, both by high authorities at political level and by officials at technical level, in order to avoid any potential delay in mobilizing and implementing cohesion policy funds;

Amendment 271 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20a. Calls for a revision of the fiscal rules of the stability and growth pact with the aim to foster long term sustainable public investment, including the creation of a Green Rule to stimulate investments in green transition;

Amendment 272 #

Marcos ROS SEMPERE, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Cristina MAESTRE, Isabel GARCÍA MUÑOZ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20a. Highlights the importance of the European Green Deal and notes that investments on regional and local level are essential for its success;

Amendment 273 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 b (new)

20b. Asks the Commission to present as soon as possible a proposal for the NEB to become an EU program for the next MFF, with a specific and stable budget based on new resources, through which to measure the evolution of our territories and cities, providing solutions for the development of sustainable and innovative urban areas, such as: sustainable mobility solutions, inclusive public spaces and nature-based solutions;

Amendment 274 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 b (new)

20b. Stresses the importance of investments on regional and local level for the strive towards a circular economy;

Amendment 275 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20a. Calls for the creation, by those countries with a maritime area, of a European Agency of the Sea – along the lines of the European Space Agency – which should rightfully be based in overseas France; considers that this intergovernmental agency, which countries outside the European Union, such as the United Kingdom, could join, would have as strategic development priorities the exploration of energy and mineral resources (hydrocarbons, polymetallic nodules and sulphurised mixtures), research into renewable marine energy sources, research into biological, animal and plant resources, and research into maritime transport and surveillance; considers that this cooperation should not call into question national sovereignty over the maritime areas concerned or the role of national navies in their surveillance; considers that this agency could eventually be a forum for in-depth diplomatic cooperation on maritime issues, as well as a starting point for commercial projects on a European scale;

Amendment 276 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20a. Considers that the socio-economic situation of the EU, aggravated by the consequences of the Covid crisis and the war in Ukraine, calls for the continued suspension of the Stability Pact and for its revision;

Amendment 277 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Stresses that investment in people is crucial to helping them activate their skills, encouraging their creativity and stimulating innovation; believes that well- paid quality employment, along with support for retraining, should be maintained or created in order to strengthen social cohesion and ensure that no one is left behind;

Amendment 278 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Stresses that investment in people is crucial to helping them activate their skills, encouraging their creativity and stimulating innovation, and by that, volunteering is a key aspect in all areas; believes that quality employment should be maintained or created in order to strengthen social cohesion and ensure that no one is left behind;

Amendment 279 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Stresses that investment in people is crucial to helping them activate their skills, encouraging their creativity and stimulating innovation; believes that quality employment should be maintained or created in order to combat poverty, encourage the integration of migrants and refugees, strengthen social cohesion and ensure that no one is left behind;

Amendment 28 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas less developed regions will need to boost education and training, increase investments in research and innovation, ~~and~~ improve the quality of their institutions ~~to avoid falling into a development trap~~in order to maintain steady growth and avoid falling into a development trap, and continue to invest in basic infrastructure where needed and ensure access to quality services and decent living conditions;

Amendment 280 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)

21a. Considers it necessary to reinforce the respect for the rule of law and fundamental rights in the implementation of cohesion policy, without creating new administrative burden for managing authorities and final beneficiaries; calls on the Commission to apply to cohesion policy the general regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget and, at the same time, ensure the protection of final beneficiaries; asks, in case of generalised breaches of the rule of law by a Member States, to implement a “smart conditionality” mechanism allowing the Commission to temporarily manage the funds and directly finance beneficiaries and coordinate the implementation of projects; stresses that this temporary framework is intended to protect final beneficiaries and should not be used as a pretext to recentralise the management of ESI funds;

Amendment 281 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)

21a. Recalls the importance of a stronger gender mainstreaming in Cohesion Policy and highlights the specific role of women, in particular in remote areas, as they play a major role in civil society and sustainable economic growth and at the same time face difficulties in accessing the labour market, as well as equal pay, public services such as health and childcare; emphasizes the role of young women in particular in rural areas and the tendency of their precarious role in rural societies;

Amendment 282 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)

21a. Considers that the reflection on the future of cohesion policy post-2027 requires continuing to take into account the lasting economic and social consequences that Brexit has in EU regions;

Amendment 283 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 b (new)

21b. Underlines the need to improve the articulation between cohesion policy and the European economic governance avoiding punitive and vertical approaches; stresses that the European Semester and its country specific recommendations should take into account a bottom-up approach to regional development, involving the managing authorities at all stages of the procedure; invites to start a process of in-depth revision of the concept of macro- economic conditionality and to eventually explore the possibility to replace this concept with new forms of social and environmental conditionality to better reflect the new challenges ahead; suggests opening a reflection on the possibility to exclude investments co-financed by cohesion policy from Stability and Growth Pact calculations;

Amendment 284 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 b (new)

21b. Stresses that equality and inclusion aspects must be strengthened even further in regional development; highlights the particular role of youth in Cohesion Policy;

Amendment 285 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 c (new)

21c. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to continue making efforts in communication and visibility by improving information on operations of strategic importance and upcoming calls for proposals; welcomes the launch of the new database Kohesio and asks to make the website available in all the EU official languages as soon as possible; stresses that Kohesio should provide data on all cohesion and territorial projects, including those related to rural development, co-financed by the EARDF and under the Leader programme, and allow users to search for projects in relation to their thematic areas with the aim of providing a platform that shares good practices and promotes projects of excellence;

Amendment 286 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 c (new)

21c. Highlights the importance of Cohesion Policy to include culture as an important indicator of regional development, in particular in rural areas, to ensure lively regions and increase their attractiveness, to increase cultural exchange and promote diversity and solidarity;

Amendment 287 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 d (new)

21d. Highlights the importance of upholding the Partnership Principle in all programming, implementation and monitoring of EU cohesion policy and to set up a strong cooperation between regional and local authorities, NGOs and stakeholders, including environmental NGOs; stresses that this process should take into account the gender perspective as well;

Amendment 288 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)

21a. Recalls that Article 175 TFEU provides that the Commission report every three years on the progress made towards achieving economic, social and territorial cohesion; expects, in this connection, the Commission to publish the 9th report on economic, social and territorial cohesion by May 2025 at the latest;

Amendment 289 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 b (new)

21b. Considers that the combined impact of the Covid crisis and the war in Ukraine will need to be assessed in detail in the 9th report;

Amendment 29 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)

Fa. whereas the EU’s outermost regions are in more precarious situations than metropolitan areas, and whereas their above-average unemployment and poverty rates call for strong and specific responses;

Amendment 290 #

Pascal ARIMONT, Younous OMARJEE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council ~~and the Commission.~~, the Commission, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the national and regional parliaments of the Member States;

Amendment 291 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)

22a. Calls for a standalone European fund for supporting Member States in connection with projects and programmes for climate change adaptation and for boosting resilience, or for a significant increase in the EUSF budget, and calls at the same time for the scope of the EUSF to be broadened so that it is also allowed to support more climate-resilient restoration or new-build of public and private infrastructure;

Amendment 3 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 a (new)

— having regard to Articles 4, 162, 174 to 178 and 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU),

Amendment 30 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Ondřej KNOTEK, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas infrastructure quality differs vastly between urban and rural regions as well from the East to West or from South to North of the EU;

Amendment 31 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas infrastructure quality, provision of services, access to healthcare and transports and mobility solutions differs vastly between urban and rural regions;

Amendment 32 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas infrastructure and public service quality differs vastly between urban and rural regions;

Amendment 33 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas infrastructure quality differs vastly between urban and rural regions, and between continental regions and island or outermost regions;

Amendment 34 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)

Ga. whereas cities and functional urban-rural linkages are important drivers of regional development, cohesion and sustainable just transition;

Amendment 35 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)

Ga. whereas the rising costs of raw and construction materials has a direct negative impact on many EU-funded infrastructure projects and puts their implementation at risk;

Amendment 36 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)

Ga. whereas the territories listed in the second paragraph of Article 174 TFEU face additional challenges, in particular in connection with the energy transition and climate change mitigation and adaptation, and therefore require specific support;

Amendment 37 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)

Ga. whereas a factor exacerbating poverty and the decline in purchasing power is the very significant increase since 2020 in the cost of transporting goods by sea, which severely penalises the island regions of the EU;

Amendment 38 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H

H. whereas demographic decline is more pronounced in rural regions, and 50 % of the EU population will be living in a region with a shrinking and ageing population by 2050; whereas these developments are likely to affect growth potential, skills development and access to services in rural areas; whereas Eurobarometers show that people in rural areas are more likely to feel that their voice does not count and distrust the EU;

Amendment 39 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H

H. whereas demographic decline is more pronounced in rural regions, and 50 % of the EU population will be living in a region with a shrinking and ageing population by 2050; whereas considering the aging population is crucial in order to ensure justice amongst the generations and, by that, strengthen participation especially for young people;

Amendment 4 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 a (new)

— having regard to the UN IPCC report on Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change,

Amendment 40 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)

Ha. whereas brain drain disproportionately affects less developed regions and if left unaddressed, the phenomenon will have long-term and permanent effects on the future of the European Union;

Amendment 41 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I

I. whereas cohesion policy is of paramount importance in government capital investment, providing more than half of total public investment funding in some Member States; whereas the support provided by ESI funds should be additional to, and not replace, public expenditure by Member States;

Amendment 42 #

Marcos ROS SEMPERE, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Cristina MAESTRE, Isabel GARCÍA MUÑOZ

Motion for a resolution
Recital I

I. whereas cohesion policy is of paramount importance in government capital investment, providing more than half of total public investment funding in some Member States, and it should have as its objective the development of a more competitive economy;

Amendment 43 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)

Ia. considering that cohesion policy is the main instrument to reduce the differences between the different territories of the EU; considering that one of the main axes of the New European Bauhaus is inclusiveness and reaching those who need it the most through the transformation of the built environment;

Amendment 44 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J

J. whereas the goal of a carbon- neutral Europe by 2040 at the latest should be coupled with the goal of a fair and just transition; whereas air and water pollution as well as energy poverty generally remain too high in many less developed regions;

Amendment 45 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Ondřej KNOTEK, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Ja. having regard to the often disastrous situation in many overseas regions concerning access to drinking water and the need to step up efforts to achieve significant progress in this area in the short term;

Amendment 46 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital K

K. whereas the regional innovation divide has grown and education and skills gaps between more and less developed regions are often wide; whereas skills endowments are concentrated especially in capital regions and a large urban-rural divide has emerged;

Amendment 47 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital K

K. whereas the regional innovation divide has grown and education, training and skills gaps between more and less developed regions are often wide;

Amendment 48 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Ondřej KNOTEK, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Recital K a (new)

Ka. whereas there is still a connectivity gap between certain regions, especially in the case of eastern European regions, and this does not allow them to reap the full benefits of the internal market;

Amendment 49 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital L

L. whereas disparities remain in the speed of the digital transition across Europe; whereas very high-speed connections are only accessible to two out of three city residents and one out of six rural residents;

Amendment 5 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 b (new)

— having regard to the agreement adopted at the 21st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21) in Paris on 12 December 2015 (the Paris Agreement),

Amendment 50 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital L

L. whereas disparities remain in the speed of the digital transition a~~cross Europe~~nd connectivity across Europe especially in rural and remote areas;

Amendment 51 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital L a (new)

La. whereas housing and energy prices are rising, realizing the need for cheaper, state owned housing and accelerated deep renovation to fight energy poverty;

Amendment 52 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Ondřej KNOTEK, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX

Motion for a resolution
Recital L a (new)

La. whereas the European Quality of Government Index has shown overall continuity, with many regions scoring consistently over the last decade, although a number of substantial changes have been registered, with a significant decline in certain regions;

Amendment 53 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital M

M. whereas significant progress has been made in improving employment and social inclusion, but regional disparities remain larger than before the 2008 financial crisis; whereas cohesion policy should provide efficient responses for tackling poverty and social exclusion, creating employment and growth, promoting investment in education, health, research and innovation, fighting climate change and tackling demographic challenges; whereas cohesion policy can only fulfil all these tasks if it is embedded in solid funding;

Amendment 54 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital M

M. whereas cohesion policy should provide efficient responses for tackling poverty and social exclusion, creating employment and growth, promoting investment in education, health, research and innovation, fighting climate change and tackling demographic challenges; whereas cohesion policy can only fulfil all these tasks if it is embedded in solid funding and is freed from macro- economic conditionality;

Amendment 55 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital M

M. whereas cohesion policy should provide efficient responses for tackling poverty and social exclusion, creating employment and growth, promoting investment in education, including in digital education, health, research and innovation, fighting climate change and tackling demographic challenges; ~~whereas cohesion policy can only fulfil all these tasks if it is embedded in solid funding;~~

Amendment 56 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital M

M. whereas cohesion policy should provide efficient responses for tackling poverty and social exclusion, creating employment and growth and economic competitiveness, promoting investment in education, health, research and innovation, fighting climate change and tackling demographic challenges; whereas cohesion policy can only fulfil all these tasks if it is embedded in solid funding;

Amendment 57 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital M

M. whereas cohesion policy should provide efficient responses for tackling poverty and social exclusion, creating employment and growth, promoting investment in education, health, research and innovation, fighting climate change and tackling demographic challenges, while maintaining respect for national and regional identities; whereas cohesion policy can only fulfil all these tasks if it is embedded in solid funding;

Amendment 58 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital M a (new)

Ma. underlines that Cohesion policy must be implemented in line with the principles of good governance and in full respect of the Common European values as set out in TEU article 2; considers that Cohesion policy should contribute to the strengthening of democracy and the rule of law in the Union;

Amendment 59 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital M a (new)

Ma. whereas the democratic understanding is that elections can change the course of the ongoing policy; whereas this democratic understanding means that every newly elected European Parliament must have the possibility to confirm or change the ongoing or new Cohesion Policy;

Amendment 6 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 c (new)

— having regard to its resolution of 13 June 2018 on Cohesion Policy and the Circular Economy (2017/2211(INI)),

Amendment 60 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital M a (new)

Ma. whereas governance in the EU is improving overall, but disparities remain between and within Member States, and the role and the capacities of sub-national governments remain unequal; whereas the rule of law has deteriorated over time in several Member States;

Amendment 61 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital M b (new)

Mb. whereas Cohesion Policy funding should comply with the Charter of Fundamental rights, the principles of Rule of Law, and the European code of conduct on partnership;

Amendment 62 #

Pascal ARIMONT, Younous OMARJEE

Motion for a resolution
Recital M c (new)

Mc. whereas the pandemic and the current geopolitical tensions have confirmed the need to work towards a renewed Economic Governance Framework, including the Stability and Growth Pact, and to introduce a golden rule for Cohesion Policy investments that do not deviate from the respect of the Paris Agreement’s objectives, including the co-funding of the Structural and Investment Funds;

Amendment 63 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital M a (new)

Ma. whereas the budget of the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) is nowhere near enough to mount an adequate response to major natural disasters and to give expression to European solidarity with disaster-hit regions, and whereas this mismatch will grow because of the expected increase in natural disasters stemming from climate change;

Amendment 64 #

Pascal ARIMONT, Younous OMARJEE

Motion for a resolution
Recital M b (new)

Mb. whereas contributions from European funds only cover restoration of the status quo ante with regard to infrastructure and equipment destroyed by natural disasters, while the additional costs of rebuilding more climate-resilient structures are not factored in and must be financed by Member States from their own resources;

Amendment 65 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital M a (new)

Ma. whereas cohesion policies must not amount to a levelling of identities and economic situations by applying a single development model, but must work to combat disparities incompatible with the single market while respecting the specific characteristics and choices of local populations;

Amendment 66 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Ondřej KNOTEK, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

1. Is convinced that cohesion policy can only continue to play its present role as a vector for investment and job creation and a solidarity mechanism for all EU regions if it has solid funding~~; stresses that this implies providing for the same level of funding as in the 2021-2027 financial period, topped up with the Just Transition Fund (JTF) II budgetary resource~~ and guided with the strategic approach; underlines that current Cohesion Policy is just enough to halt the further economic separation of European regions, but not able to reverse the trend; stresses that this implies that the future Cohesion Policy must be provided with an increase of funding in regard to the 2021-2027 financial period, also in light of the expected upcoming recession, topped up with the Just Transition Fund (JTF) II budgetary resources, in order to effectively tackle the impacts of climate change on the regions;

Amendment 67 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Is convinced that cohesion policy can only continue to play its present role as a vector for investment and job creation, an instrument to reduce regional and intraregional disparities and a solidarity mechanism for all EU regions if it has solid and adequate funding; stresses that this implies providing at least for the same level of funding as in the 2021-2027 financial period~~, topped up with the Just Transition Fund (JTF) II budgetary resources;~~ ; recalls that new challenges need fresh money and asks, when relevant, to top up cohesion policy with new budgetary resources to allow Member States and regional authorities to address the different challenges and crises affecting the European Union;

Amendment 68 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Is convinced that cohesion policy can only continue to play its present role as a vector for investment and job creation and a solidarity mechanism for all EU regions if it has solid funding and is no longer subject to any macro-economic conditionality; stresses that this implies providing for at least the same level of funding as in the 2021-2027 financial period, topped up with the Just Transition Fund (JTF) II budgetary resources;

Amendment 69 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

Amendment 7 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 a (new)

— having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/1755 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 October 2021 establishing the Brexit Adjustment Reserve1a, _________________ 1a OJ L 357, 8.10.2021, p. 1.

Amendment 70 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

Amendment 71 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Is convinced that cohesion policy can only continue to play its present role as a vector for investment and job creation and a solidarity mechanism for all EU regions if it has solid funding based on the principle of partnership, specific approaches tailored to individual regions and multi-level governance; stresses that this implies providing for the same level of funding as in the 2021-2027 financial period, topped up with the Just Transition Fund (JTF) II budgetary resources;

Amendment 72 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

Amendment 73 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Recalls that the climate change effects underdeveloped regions disproportionally; therefore highlights the need to increase efforts to fight climate change and enhance climate mitigation particularly in those regions; emphasises that cohesion policy must support a strong climate mainstreaming in all sectors and ensure that all EU funding programmes and projects are embedded in strategies that support ambitious climate objectives; highlights the importance that regional environmental strategies are linked with ambitious climate targets that go beyond the overall target of achieving a climate neutral EU by 2050;

Amendment 74 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Points out that according to the 8th Cohesion Report one of the most positive conclusions is the fact of notable progress of the convergence process between the eastern and western parts of the EU; brings attention, however, that from the perspective of a Member State, disparities in socio-economic development between individual regions and within the regions themselves continue to deepen; in this context, believes that cohesion policy is one of the key tools to counter the further widening of these differences;

Amendment 75 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Underlines that the cohesion policy has shown to be a modern and flexible tool, which can be quickly deployed in emergency situation; recalls, however, the nature and the traditional role of the cohesion policy as a long-term investment policy supporting structural interventions; stresses that the role of cohesion policy in emergency management should not erode the very identity of this policy nor harm its structural and long-term objectives;

Amendment 76 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Reiterates the role of cohesion policy in harmonising and improving living conditions for all and everywhere in the Union as expressed by the treaty obligation to promote social, economic and territorial cohesion; welcomes the New European Bauhaus initiative, which is suitable to support these goals by mainstreaming the ideas of beautiful, sustainable and inclusive solutions throughout all policy areas;

Amendment 77 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Reaffirms its strong commitment to cohesion policy, which is an acquis communautaire inseparable from the European project, based on the principle of solidarity between Member States and regions;

Amendment 78 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Highlights the importance of increased funding for Interreg to support the cooperation of regions across borders which is essential for the Union's integration and development;

Amendment 79 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Welcomes the temporary flexibility introduced through the Cohesion’s Action for Refugees in Europe (CARE and CARE+) proposals to help Member States deal with the impact of the war in Ukraine, following the model of the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiatives, CRII and CRII+; underlines, however, that cohesion policy funding must continue to primarily serve its long- term policy objectives and not become a source of financing to make up for shortcomings in budgetary flexibility or crisis response mechanisms within the MFF or policy failures and incoherences in other policy areas;

Amendment 8 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 a (new)

— having regard to the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 May 2018 on a mechanism to resolve legal and administrative obstacles in a cross-border context (COM(2018)0373),

Amendment 80 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Welcomes the cohesion policy’s role as a short-term reaction tool in addressing recent crises; underlines that the original aim of cohesion policy to promote and support the 'overall harmonious development' of its Member States and regions should remain the key role of cohesion policy programmes;

Amendment 81 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Believes it essential to ensure that real added value is obtained from cohesion policy; stresses the importance of making sure that funding initiatives do not replace but supplement investment by Member States, thereby guaranteeing full compliance with the principle of additionality;

Amendment 82 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses that delays in the multiannual financial framework (MFF) negotiations together with the programming of the RRF funds on which Member States focused more, lead to considerable delays in the programming period 2021-2027; calls on the Commission, therefore, to consider creating two distinct parts within the Common Provisions Regulation (CPR), namely the content-related part (political) and the MFF-related part (financial resources), for the programming period post-2027; believes that the content-related part should be negotiated and concluded before the MFF-related part, to allow for the management authorities to start preparing the partnership agreements and programmes in a timely manner; furthermore, calls for the content related part to be active for a 10 year period, being revised after 5 years in order to balance different priorities that could emerge during the programming period, allow more flexibility in programming to adapt to challenges that might occur, and give every newly elected European Parliament the possibility to revisit the Cohesion Policy if needed or majorities change, in order to stay true to fundamental democratic understandings;

Amendment 83 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses that delays in the multiannual financial framework (MFF) negotiations lead to considerable delays in the programming period; calls on the Commission, therefore, to explore legal solutions to speed up the negotiation process and eventually consider creating two distinct parts within the Common Provisions Regulation (CPR), namely the content-related part (political) and the MFF-related part (financial resources), for the programming period post-2027; believes that the content-related part should be negotiated and concluded before the MFF-related part, to allow for the management authorities to start preparing the partnership agreements and programmes in a timely manner; insists, however, on the importance for Member States and regional authorities to have a clear vision on their financial envelope in order to make political choices and identify investment priorities, and for Council committees responsible for cohesion funds and budgetary resources to ensure a smooth cooperation under the comitology procedure;

Amendment 84 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses that delays in the multiannual financial framework (MFF) negotiations lead to considerable delays in the programming period; urges the Commission and the Member States to speed up the adoption of partnership agreements and operational programmes as the prolonged under-implementation of cohesion funds could lead to an abnormal backlog in payments in the second part of the current multiannual financial framework (MFF), putting additional pressure on payments during the negotiations on the post-2027 MFF; calls on the Commission, therefore, to consider creating two distinct parts within the Common Provisions Regulation (CPR), namely the content-related part (political) and the MFF-related part (financial resources), for the programming period post-2027; believes that the content-related part should be negotiated and concluded before the MFF-related part, to allow for the management authorities to start preparing the partnership agreements and programmes in a timely manner;

Amendment 85 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. ~~Stresse~~Regrets that delays in the multiannual financial framework (MFF) negotiations lead to considerable delays in the programming period; calls on the Commission, therefore, to consider creating two distinct parts within the Common Provisions Regulation (CPR), namely the content-related part (political) and the MFF-related part (financial resources), for the programming period post-2027; believes that the content-related part should be negotiated and concluded before the MFF-related part, to allow for the management authorities to start preparing the partnership agreements and programmes in a timely manner;

Amendment 86 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses that delays in the multiannual financial framework (MFF) negotiations lead to considerable delays in the programming period as they are impacting on beneficiaries; calls on the Commission, therefore, to ~~consider~~assess the impact of creating two distinct parts within the Common Provisions Regulation (CPR), namely the content-related part (political) and the MFF-related part (financial resources), for the programming period post-2027~~; believe~~, once the implementing process for the current programming period has been established (in the mid-term review); one of the issues that could be considered is that the content-related part should be negotiated and concluded before the MFF- related part, to allow for the management authorities to start preparing the partnership agreements and programmes in a timely manner;

Amendment 87 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Emphasises the current complex macro-economic circumstances and is of the opinion that programming many instruments simultaneously is necessary and will be a particular challenge for Member States and its competent authorities, along with regional and local actors - amongst others, REACT-EU instrument relating to the 2014-2020 programming period, the National Recovery Plan and programming documents for the 2021-2027 perspective; in this context, effective and timely implementation of all of them is extremely important, taking into account the administrative burden, as well as finding appropriate demarcation mechanisms and complementarity between the intervention provided for in these instruments;

Amendment 88 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Welcomes the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) as an important tool to mitigate the economic and social impact of the coronavirus pandemic and make European economies and societies more sustainable, resilient and better prepared for the challenges and opportunities of the green and digital transitions; underlines the importance of ensuring it’s complementarities and synergies with the cohesion policy; urges the Member States that have not fulfil all the requirements needed to the approval of their national plans under the Recovery and Resilience Facility to urgently take all the actions needed for the approval, so that their citizens could benefit from this extraordinary instrument;

Amendment 89 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Regrets the delays in the implementation of cohesion policy that were partly due to Member States prioritising their drafting and submission of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) national recovery plans; regrets the lack of a territorial dimension within the RRF and reiterates the importance of the partnership principle within territorial policies of the EU;

Amendment 9 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 11 a (new)

— having regard to the Commission communication of 3 May 2022 entitled ‘Putting people first, securing sustainable and inclusive growth, unlocking the potential of the EU’s outermost regions’ (COM(2022)198),

Amendment 90 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Stresses the need to simplify access to funding from an administrative point of view, for example by seeking a one-stop- shop solution, in order to address underspending and delays in the allocation of funds;

Amendment 91 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Considers it appropriate to establish an EU commitment certificate system to address the difficulties encountered by project owners in obtaining bank lending between the decision to award a grant and the actual release of funds, which is often a considerable time;

Amendment 92 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Emphasises that the European Court of Auditors has criticised the lack of differentiation between climate mitigation and climate adaptation; stresses that future cohesion policy should include such a differentiation in the monitoring of spending and in thematic concentration; furthermore calls on the Commission to propose the specific Climate Adaptation Fund to be introduced in Cohesion Policy to ensure sustainable regional development for resilient regions and to make a revision of the EU Solidarity Fund;

Amendment 93 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Emphasises that the European Court of Auditors has criticised the lack of differentiation between climate mitigation and climate adaptation; stresses that future cohesion policy should include such a differentiation in the monitoring of spending and in thematic concentration, provided that this will not put additional administrative burden on Member States and managing authorities;

Amendment 94 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Welcomes the Commission’s view that horizontal policies should incorporate regional proofing, to ensure they respect the principle of ‘do not harm to cohesion’. Calls on the Commission to issue specific guidelines on how to implement and enforce this principle across EU policies;

Amendment 95 #

Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

Amendment 96 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Welcomes the Commission’s introduction of the JTF to support regions facing challenges in their transition towards carbon neutrality; calls on the Commission to draw lessons from the implementation of the JTF; asks ~~for a JTF II, which should be fully integrated into the CPR, to be establishe~~to continue supporting territories to achieve the green transition in a socially equal manner and fin the post- 2027 programming period, while applying shared management and partnership principles; believes that regions with high CO² per capita, as well as industries in transition, should have access to this fund; calls for this new JTF to differentiate between climate mitigation and adaptation; stresses that a certain proportion of funding should be allocated to the transition, in a socially just way, and to the reduction of the EU’s carbon footprint; ancing their efforts to address climate change and strengthen resilience to climate risks, advance the energy transition and provide for a sustainable economy; underlines the importance to draw lessons from the programming period 2021-2027 to explore different solutions to design a cohesion policy which makes a greater contribution to green transition, such as a revision of the thematic concentration, the continuation of JTF fully integrated into the CPR, or the creation of a new fund for the adaptation of regions to climate change; emphasizes, however, the need to design a simple architecture of the future cohesion policy post 2027 and avoid the tendency to multiply the funds;

Amendment 97 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

Amendment 98 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

Amendment 99 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

source: 732.581

2022/05/25 BUDG 40 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Stresses the key role of cohesion policy in fostering economic, social and territorial convergence across the EU; expresses concern, however, about persistent inequalities, socio-economic disparities and uneven demographic decline, with many less developed regions falling behind and getting caught in a ‘development trap’ in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic; underlines that several middle-income and less developed regions, especially in the southern EU, have suffered from economic stagnation or decline, suggesting that they are in a development trap, also given that many were hit by the economic and financial crisis in 2008 and have struggled to recover since;

Amendment 10 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

Amendment 11 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Recalls that climate change affects underdeveloped regions disproportionally, mainly those located in the southern and eastern parts of Europe, and that climate change is thus the biggest external threat to Europe’s cohesion in the future; therefore highlights the need to increase efforts to fight climate change and enhance climate mitigation, particularly in those regions, to enhance cohesion and mitigate climate risks; emphasises that cohesion policy must support a strong climate mainstreaming in all sectors and ensure that all EU funding programmes and projects are embedded in strategies that support the Union's climate, energy and environmental objectives and actively contribute to reaching the relevant targets, while ensuring that the "do no significant harm" principle is fully respected; highlights the importance of linking regional environmental strategies with ambitious energy, climate and environmental policies and in particular the implementation of the Paris Agreement to keep 1.5 degree within reach, the FitFor55 package and the EU 2030 biodiversity strategy, aiming at achieving a climate neutral EU as soon as possible and by 2050 at the latest; recalls the importance of programmes to be based on the energy efficiency first principle and on prioritising local production and consumption, both for energy, but also for food and feed products; is of the opinion that in the coming years we will need more resources in order to mitigate the social and economic consequences for European regions from natural disasters that are caused by climate change and that this will mean adjustments to the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF), both in terms of procedure and resources;

Amendment 12 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2 b. Stresses that the goal of a carbon- neutral Europe by 2050 at the latest should be coupled with the goal of a fair and just transition; stresses that particular attention should be paid to reduce air and water pollution, as they are preconditions to good living conditions, as well as to energy poverty which remain too high in many less developed regions; stresses that housing and energy prices are rising, and reiterates that cohesion funding should be dedicated to social housing and to improving the quality of the housing stock, in particular its energy efficiency,

Amendment 13 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)

2 c. Is of the opinion that less developed regions will need a new strategic framework at EU level to boost education and training, increase investments in research and innovation, and improve the quality of their institutions in order to overcome the development trap that is affecting their recovery; stresses that infrastructure quality differs vastly between urban and rural regions as well as from the East to West or from South to North of the EU and that brain drain disproportionately affects less developed regions and, if left unaddressed, the phenomenon will have long-term effects on the future of the European Union;

Amendment 14 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 d (new)

2 d. Recalls the importance of a stronger gender mainstreaming in cohesion policy in light of the Interinstitutional Agreement (IIA) and highlights the specific role of women, in particular in remote areas, as they play a major role in civil society and sustainable economic growth as well as the care economy and at the same time face difficulties in accessing the labour market, as well as gender pay gap and access to public services such as health and childcare; emphasizes the role of young women in particular in rural areas and their precarious role in rural societies;

Amendment 15 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 e (new)

2 e. Welcomes the Commission’s view that horizontal policies in cohesion policy should incorporate regional proofing, to ensure they respect the principle of "do no harm to cohesion"; is looking forward to the upcoming publication of specific guidelines on how to implement and enforce this principle across EU policies;

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Is concerned by the significant delay in cohesion policy implementation for the 2021-2027 period; ~~urges the Commission and the Member States to speed up the adoption of partnership agreements and operational programmes~~calls on the Commission to ensure that national authorities duly take into account internal cohesion while drafting and implementing Structural and Investment Funds’ projects; urges the Commission and the Member States to speed up the adoption of partnership agreements and operational programmes without jeopardizing compliance with the Charter of Fundamental rights, rule of law, and the European code of conduct on partnership; stresses that the European Commission should diligently implement the guidance on "do no significant harm" in the negotiation of the programmes as well as through the entire implementation process and should monitor carefully all projects in this respect; stresses that the prolonged under- implementation of cohesion funds could lead to an abnormal backlog in payments and in the "Reste à liquider" (RAL) in the second part of the current multiannual financial framework (MFF), putting additional pressure on payments during the negotiations on the post-2027 MFF;

Amendment 17 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Is concerned by the significant delay in cohesion policy implementation for the 2021-2027 period; urges the Commission and the Member States to speed up the adoption of partnership agreements and operational programmes; stresses that the prolonged under- implementation of cohesion funds could lead to an abnormal backlog in payments in the second part of the current multiannual financial framework (MFF), putting additional pressure on payments during the negotiations on the post-2027 MFF; calls upon the Commission to support and assist Member States in the neighbouring regions of Ukraine in order to adopt the partnership agreements and operational programmes as fast as possible;

Amendment 18 #

Nils UŠAKOVS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Is concerned by the significant delay in cohesion policy implementation for the 2021-2027 period; urges the Commission and the Member States to speed up the adoption of partnership agreements and operational programmes and that it should be followed by an accelerated implementation to catch-up the delays; stresses that the prolonged under- implementation of cohesion funds could lead to an abnormal backlog in payments in the second part of the current multiannual financial framework (MFF), putting additional pressure on payments during the negotiations on the post-2027 MFF;

Amendment 19 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Calls for an in-depth assessment of the use of retrospective projects, that is projects or operations which have incurred expenditure or are completed before EU co-financing has been formally applied for or awarded, i.e. which are financed retrospectively in less developed regions across the EU, and their risk in hampering the added value and the strategic vision of cohesion policy objectives; recalls that retrospective projects are another means that have been used by Member States, especially in the context of 2007-2013 cohesion policy programming, of absorbing funding by creating additional new expenditure or by substituting eligible expenditure;

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Stresses the key role of cohesion policy in fostering economic, social and territorial convergence across the EU; expresses concern, however, about persistent inequalities, socio-economic disparities and uneven demographic decline, with many less developed regions falling behind and getting caught in a ‘development trap’ in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic; is concerned by the impact of the war in Ukraine on the implementation of cohesion policy, the social and economic situation of Member States and the development perspectives of local and regional actors;

Amendment 20 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Recalls that due to delayed implementation in 2021 the Member States have not committed EUR 46.4 billion under Sub-heading 2a of the EU budget; calls, therefore, for the establishment of "ConstructEU" to mobilise EUR 11.6 billion of the 2022 cohesion appropriations, transferred from 2021, to cover retroactively inflation costs for EU-financed infrastructure projects (transport, energy, digital etc.); underlines the voluntary nature of such flexibility as well as the fact that the amounts per Member State respect the country envelopes;

Amendment 21 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3 b. Stresses that the Rule of Law Conditionality Mechanism should be applied to both the Union budget and to NextGenerationEU; stresses further that approval of the national plans under the Recovery and Resilience Facility should be made conditional on the fulfilment of all 11 criteria set out in Article 19 and in Annex V to the regulation on the Recovery and Resilience Facility; expects the Commission to exclude all risks of programmes under cohesion policy contributing to the misuse of EU funds or to breaches of the rule of law before approving the partnership agreements and cohesion policy programmes; calls on the Commission to apply the Common Provisions Regulation and the Financial Regulation more stringently in order to tackle the discriminatory use of EU funds, in particular any use of a politically motivated nature; requires that the Commission analyses whether the draft documents already submitted or expected to be sent in the future are in full compliance with the enabling conditions on the effective application and implementation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights as outlined in Annex III of the Common Provisions Regulation, and not to approve any partnership agreement or programme before these in- depth analysis on these specific aspects lead to a high level of assurance of no risks;

Amendment 22 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3 b. Welcomes the Commission's REPowerEU proposal; regrets, however, the proposed transfer from cohesion policy allocations to the Recovery and Resilience facility; underlines that over EUR 100 billion of cohesion policy resources will be invested in energy transition, decarbonisation and renewables by 2030; calls, therefore, for an accelerated implementation of cohesion policy;

Amendment 23 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)

3 c. Is concerned about the lack of genuine implementation of the Partnership Principle and is of the opinion that local and regional authorities, other stakeholders, including civil society organisations as well as citizens, should be more included in the decision-making and funding process to ensure the needs are addressed properly and have the possibility to monitor implementation; stresses that this process should take into account the gender perspective; emphasizes that one of the lessons learned from the preparation of the Recovery and Resilience Plans (RRPs) is that the potential that exists at local level could be better mobilised and investments in regional development could be made more efficient by strengthening and facilitating citizens participation and community-led local development (CLLD) and similar bottom- up tools;

Amendment 24 #

Vlad GHEORGHE, Olivier CHASTEL, Martin HOJSÍK, Fabienne KELLER

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 d (new)

3 d. Calls for a specific focus on the Union’s low growth and poorer regions that are diverging both internally and externally from the EU average with the current framework of Cohesion Policy, building on the lessons learned from the Catching Up initiative;

Amendment 25 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Regrets that the time-limited nature of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) has prompted Member States to prioritise the implementation of the national recovery and resilience plans; highlights the need to ensure complementarities and synergies between cohesion policy, the RRF and other policy instruments, to ensure maximum impact; underlines that technical assistance remains crucial for the implementation of cohesion funds; calls therefore on the Commission to increase its presence on the ground and prioritise technical assistance in cases where the project implementation is delayed;

Amendment 26 #

Hélène LAPORTE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Regrets that the time-limited nature of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) has prompted Member States to prioritise the implementation of the national recovery and resilience plans; highlights the need to ensure complementarities and synergies between cohesion policy, the RRF and other policy instruments, to ensure maximum impact; a thought process must be embarked upon on how better to combine cohesion policy with the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).

Amendment 27 #

Nils UŠAKOVS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. ~~Regrets~~Takes note that the time-limited nature of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) has prompted Member States to prioritise the implementation of the national recovery and resilience plans and is concerned that it could affect the speed of implementation cohesion policy; highlights the need to ensure complementarities and synergies between cohesion policy, the RRF and other policy instruments, to ensure maximum impact;

Amendment 28 #

Vlad GHEORGHE, Olivier CHASTEL, Martin HOJSÍK, Fabienne KELLER

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Welcomes the principle of “do no harm to cohesion”, meaning no action should hamper the convergence process or contribute to regional disparities, highlighted in the 8th Cohesion Report; supports its further development and its integration in policy making; stresses that territorial impact assessments and rural proofing should be strengthened in order for the needs and specificities of different EU territories to be better taken into account;

Amendment 29 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Highlights that cohesion policy spending is still subject to irregular activities, linked to corruption and fraud; calls on the Commission to reinforce financial and personnel resources of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), in order to complete the investigations and the recovery of misused funds;

Amendment 3 #

Vlad GHEORGHE, Olivier CHASTEL, Martin HOJSÍK, Fabienne KELLER

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Stresses the key role of cohesion policy in fostering economic, social and territorial convergence across the EU; expresses concern, however, about persistent inequalities, socio-economic disparities and uneven demographic decline, with many less developed regions falling behind and getting caught in a ‘development trap’ in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic; highlights that the current influx of Ukrainian refugees disproportionately affects the bordering Member States, leading to the risk of further deepening the divide in socio- economic disparities among Member States;

Amendment 30 #

Vlad GHEORGHE, Olivier CHASTEL, Martin HOJSÍK, Fabienne KELLER

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4 b. Calls for a fair distribution of cohesion funding to support entrepreneurship, employment, education, training and innovation and for an end to its over-concentration in the more developed regions, especially in capital regions, in order to avoid any development trap, especially in the less developed regions;

Amendment 31 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Welcomes the flexibility introduced through the Cohesion’s Action for Refugees in Europe (CARE) proposals to help Member States deal with the impact of the war in Ukraine, following the model of the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiatives, CRII and CRII+; underlines, however, that cohesion policy funding must primarily serve its long-term policy objectives and not become a source of financing to make up for shortcomings in budgetary flexibility or crisis response mechanisms within the MFF.; calls therefore on the Commission to establish, as a matter of urgency, a dedicated new fund for the financial assistance to the responsible authorities and NGOs dealing with Ukrainian refugees in the EU Member States, with a specific focus on the Member States absorbing the biggest part of the refugees flow, such as Poland, Romania, Slovakia; highlights that a co- financing rate of 100% should be maintained for the support to the hosting entities and families, so as to alleviate the burden for the households hosting the refugees;

Amendment 32 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Welcomes the flexibility introduced through the Cohesion’s Action for Refugees in Europe (CARE) proposals to help Member States deal with the impact of the war in Ukraine, and especially the countries on the border with Ukraine, following the model of the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiatives, CRII and CRII+; calls for further simplification and flexibility on the use of EU funds for the period 2014-2020 and underlines the need for an extension of the period for the implementation of the projects impacted by the war and the pandemic and the need to facilitate the transfer of projects from that MFF to the new financial programming; underlines, however, that cohesion policy funding must primarily serve its long-term policy objectives and not become a source of financing to make up for shortcomings in budgetary flexibility or crisis response mechanisms within the MFF.

Amendment 33 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Welcomes the flexibility introduced through the Cohesion’s Action for Refugees in Europe (CARE) proposals to help Member States deal with the impact of the war in Ukraine, following the model of the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiatives, CRII and CRII+; highlights that this flexibility underlmines~~, however, that cohesion policy funding must primarily serve its long-term policy objectives and~~ the strategic approach of cohesion policy that aims to tackle regional disparities across the EU in the long-run, with a dedicated budget for climate and a thematic concentration for specific policy objectives and, in particular, strengthening resilience, and that cohesion policy must not become a source of financing to make up for shortcomings in budgetary flexibility or crisis response mechanisms within the MFF.

Amendment 34 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Notes that, following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the EU’s growth outlook has been revised downwards and the forecast for inflation upwards, as depicted in the Spring 2022 Economic Forecast; underlines that the invasion of Ukraine has posed new challenges and has increased uncertainty; stresses, in this context, the need to maintain a supportive fiscal stance and expects the general escape clause to remain activated as long as necessary; considers that returning to the existing fiscal rules in the current circumstances is not a viable solution and calls, therefore, for their thorough revision before the deactivation of the general escape clause;

Amendment 35 #

Hélène LAPORTE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Is concerned about the misuse of new budget lines created to deal with immediate crises, whereas cohesion policy should be part of long-term policies, and therefore wonders whether the objectives of cohesion policy should be redefined;

Amendment 36 #

Karlo RESSLER

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Stresses that, while financial instruments could play a greater role in unlocking investments from the private sector, they should be complementary to and by no means replace direct grants and aid;

Amendment 37 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Believes that direct access to cohesion funds should be granted to regional and local authorities;

Amendment 38 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5 b. Is of the opinion that the role of small cities, towns and villages should be bolstered in order to support local economies and address demographic and climate challenges and to limit urbanization; urges, therefore, to extract the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) from the Common Agricultural Policy and integrate it into the Common Provisions Regulation (CPR) to ensure a maximum of synergies and complementarities between the different funding programmes;

Amendment 39 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)

5 c. Highlights that the pandemic and the current geopolitical tensions have confirmed the need to work towards a renewed Economic Governance Framework, including the revision of the Stability and Growth Pact and stresses the need to introduce a golden rule for green investments in cohesion policy;

Amendment 4 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Stresses the key role of cohesion policy in fostering economic, social and territorial convergence across the EU; expresses concern, however, about persistent inequalities, socio-economic disparities and uneven demographic decline, with many less developed regions falling behind and getting caught in a ‘development trap’ in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic; notes with concern the severe drop in recent years of an adequate level of national funding of Member States' towards their poorer regions; recalls the importance of respecting the EU rule on additionality;

Amendment 40 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 d (new)

5 d. Emphasizes the importance of cross-border projects in bringing people together and in that way opening new potentials for sustainable local development and cross-border cooperation; stresses the importance of cross-border investments to enhance innovations, technology transfer, common solutions and synergies and in that way increase territorial cohesion beyond borders and strengthen European solidarity; therefore urges the Commission to develop funding possibilities that bring actors from different regions closer together in bigger projects (INTERREG +) and to promote best practices in the area;

Amendment 41 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 e (new)

5 e. Recalls the need for minimizing administrative burden for local and regional authorities to the extent possible under applicable legislation, in particular for small beneficiaries; calls especially for easier funding applications and processes in order to ensure projects needed in the regions are being realized and supported adequately, also in a financial manner; calls on the Commission to draw up regional guides to support citizens in applying for EU cohesion funds; stresses that the Commission should evaluate and, if needed, oblige Member States to simplify their respective application and funding process while ensuring the full protection of the financial interest of the EU;

Amendment 5 #

Hélène LAPORTE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Stresses the key role of cohesion policy in fostering economic, social and territorial convergence across the EU; expresses concern, however, about persistent inequalities, socio-economic disparities and uneven demographic decline, with many less developed regions falling behind and getting caught in a ‘development trap’ in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic; cohesion policy must nevertheless address all the regions of Europe given that it must remain a European investment policy;

Amendment 6 #

Nils UŠAKOVS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Recalls that in accordance with the horizontal principles of cohesion policy, the Member States and the Commission should ensure respect for fundamental rights and compliance with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union; that gender equality and the integration of a gender perspective are taken into account and promoted; and that they take appropriate steps to prevent any discrimination based on gender, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation throughout the lifecycle of programmes;

Amendment 8 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Recalls that cohesion policy, with a budget of EUR 392 billion between 2021 and 2027, remains the EU’s primary investment tool and notes that its share of public investment in Member States increased considerably over the 2014-2020 period; is convinced that cohesion policy can only continue to play its present role as a vector for investment and job creation and a solidarity mechanism for all EU regions if it has solid funding and is guided by a strategic approach; underlines that the current cohesion policy is just enough to halt the further economic separation of European regions, but that it is not able to reverse the trend;

Amendment 9 #