Activities of Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO related to 2015/2354(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
The Single Market strategy (A8-0171/2016 - Lara Comi) ES
Amendments (47)
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas Article 3 TEU obliges the Union to work for the sustainable development of Europe based on balanced economic growth and price stability, a highly competitive social market economy, aiming at full employment and social progress, and a high level of protection and improvement of the quality of the environment;
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas Article 9 TFEU obliges the Union to take into account requirements linked to the promotion of a high level of employment, the guarantee of adequate social protection, the fight against social exclusion, and a high level of education, training and protection of human health when defining and implementing its policies and activities;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas policies to lower labour, social, environmental and consumer protection standards are risking a race to the bottom, thereby contributing to a distortion of fair competition in the Single Market;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas good regulation can benefit businesses and workers alike and help promote economic growth and quality job creation in the Single Market;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1c. Regrets that the Single Market Strategy is neglecting the potential of the industrial sector with regard to sustainable growth and quality job creation in Europe; calls on the Commission to revise its strategy in this regard;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas the proper functioning of the Single Market is based on the constant adjustment and provision of an integrated response to the major economic and social challenges of the future, and on finding a balance between an open economy stimulating economic growth and quality job creation and an economic system delivering consumer protection as well as social and environmental safeguards to citizens;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 e(new)
Paragraph 1 e(new)
1e. Stresses that a forward-looking Single Market Strategy must put the interest of workers, consumers as well as small and medium sized enterprises in the focus, as they are the key drivers of the single market; underlines that the Single Market Strategy must put more emphasis on the fight against unemployment and in particular long-term, youth and more than 50 years old unemployment, the promotion of social cohesion as well as the effects of digitalisation on the world of work;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas a strong social market - which turns the focus back to the people, directed towards the fight against unemployment, poverty, inequalities, social exclusion and wage dumping, promoting respect of fundamental social rights, fair mobility and improvement of living and working conditions in Europe - is an important factor to increase solidarity and cooperation among Member States;
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Stresses the importance of fair competition as a fundamental principle of a functioning Single Market; calls on the Commission and the Member States to put an end to cross-border wage, fiscal dumping and social dumping which likewise hamper workers, enterprises and social security systems in the host Member States; considers the principle of equal pay for equal work at the same place as advocated by Commission President Juncker as an important tool to fight market distortions;
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)
Paragraph 2 c (new)
2c. Recalls that competition policy is enforced at the European level; highlights that unfair competition in the Single Market damages law-abiding companies, in particular small and medium enterprises; believes therefore that unfair competition based on wage, fiscal dumping or social dumping should be tackled in the same manner as price fixing and cartel agreements, including sanctions;
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 d (new)
Paragraph 2 d (new)
2d. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to take decisive measures to curb bogus self-employment, wage and social dumping as well as letter box companies which hamper the Single Market;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the EU should pursue a genuine single market and treat it as a common asset of all citizens, workers, economic operators and Member States;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 (new)
Paragraph -1 (new)
-1. Is of the opinion that the mid-term review of the EU’s 2020 Strategy should set ambitious targets to reach a green, knowledge-based social market economy and sustainable growth by 2020; stresses that the single market should be central in achieving the goal of a sustainable and highly competitive social market economy in the context of the EU 2020 Strategy’s long-term vision taking up the challenges of maintaining social justice and economic growth as well as focusing on benefits for citizens, consumer protection, and SMEs;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 a (new)
Paragraph -1 a (new)
-1a. Reiterates that the perception of the single market as being solely tied to the economic aspects has exhausted its own potential and a new broader based strategy must be put into action, establishing a balance between economic rights and fundamental social rights, integrating consumers’ and citizens’ interests into the single market;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Supports the overall objectives of the Commission’s Single Market Strategy for goods and services, and welcomacknowledges its vision for how to unleash the full potential of the single market but recalls on the Commission to improve the social and environmental side of the single market based on the Lisbon Treaty’s obligations;
Amendment 62 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to support job creation in the collaborative economy by developing appropriate safeguards, while at the same time providing a platform that will allow entrepreneurs to grow, innovate and create sustainable quality jobs;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Underlines the urgent need to eliminate the remainingput back at the heart of the single market those who live in it and use it daily, and to eliminate the existing unjustified barriers from the single market in order to achieve effective tangible and quick results in terms of growth, innovation, job creation, consumer choice and new business models;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Welcomes the strategy’s focus on aspects aimed at helping businesses, in particular SMEs, micro- enterprises and start-ups, to scale up their activities, grow and stay in the single market, thus facilitating their innovation and job creation; considers that all initiatives for SMEs and start-ups should be treated as a priority, but reminds that these initiatives should not provide opportunities for dishonest businesses to circumvent existing rules, lower workers’ and consumer standards, increase the risk of corporate fraud, criminal activities and letterbox companies;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Believes that it is necessary to adopt a common definition of ‘innovative’ start- ups and SMEs,, SMEs and social economy enterprises or objective criteria, that can be used as a point of reference for the adoption of related measures; reminds that social economy enterprises have revealed a huge innovative potential, coming up with creative solutions to major economic, social and environmental challenges: calls on the Commission to propose such a definition including social economy enterprises;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Stresses that there is a need to promote social economy enterprises within the internal market policies, having in mind that there are around 2 million social economy enterprises in EU, accounting for approximately 10-12% of all European businesses; stresses, moreover, that the social economy is rapidly growing, it provides quality products and services, and creates high quality jobs;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Calls on the Commission to actively involve all stakeholders, in particular social partners and consumers organisations to assess impacts of draft legislation and better regulation activities in the single market, run the proportionality and subsidiarity check (at ex-ante stage), and monitor implementation (ex-post stage); stresses, furthermore, that any exemptions for SMEs and micro entities must be assessed on a case-by-case basis for each proposal, while ensuring that exemptions do not lead to circumvention of social, labour or environmental legislation;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Welcomes the Commission’s determination to address the difficulties faced by SMEs as a result of the complexity of differing national VAT regulations; extends its full support to the Commission in respect of the VAT reform, but reminds that these initiatives should respect Member States competences; calls on the Commission to assess the feasibility of further coordination and, in particular, to assess the possibility of a single tax in the e-commerce sectorllowing Member States to reduce rates of VAT for the press, digital, publishing, e-books and on line publications in order to avoid discrimination in the single market;
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Draws attention to the difficulties faced by some businesses, and in particular SMEs and start-ups, in securing funding; calls on the Commission, while continuing the valuable support provided to those companies through the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) and programmes such as Horizon 2020 and COSME, to explore ways of further facilitating access to them, and develop new funding models especially for micro- enterprises, for instance by reducingreduce the periods for calls ofor applications to six-month periods and further simplifying the relevant procedures, simplify the relevant administrative procedures, develop pro- active measures for continuous information and trainings on projects; calls upon the Commission to ensure that crowdfunding can be done seamlessly across borders, and encourages the Member States to introduce incentives for crowdfunding;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Draws attention to the difficulties faced by businesses, and in particular SMEs and , start-ups, and social economy enterprises in securing funding; calls on the Commission, while continuing the valuable support provided to those companies through the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) and programmes such as Horizon 2020 and COSME, to explore ways of further facilitating access to them, especially for micro-enterprises, for instance by reducing calls for applications to six-month periods and further simplifying the relevant procedures;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. WelcomAcknowledges the legislative initiative on business insolvency, including early restructuring and second chances, which will ensure thatcould be one method to encourage Member States to provide a regulatory environment that is able to accommodate failure without discouraging entrepreneurs from trying new ideasand non-regulatory environment that accepts that failure sometimes happens and encourages innovation, but reminds that the costs and consequences of failing companies affects not only the company’s owner and shareholders, but also its creditors, employees, citizens and taxpayers; stresses that the legal framework on business insolvency must ensure responsible risk-taking providing certainty and fairness to creditors and employees; calls on the Commission, in this context, to reinforce workers’ protection and the defence of their interest, including through guaranteeing the full respect of their right to information and consultation, and establishing preferential rights for employees in case a business goes bankrupt;
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Regrets that the Commission did not emphasise enough the specific role of traditional manufacturing by Crafts and SMEs as an important contribution to both competitiveness and economic stability in Europe; encourages the Commission to exploit the full potential of digitalisation and innovation of the manufacturing industry in particular for micro and small manufacturers and start- ups, as well as for less industrialised regions to help reduce regional disparities and revitalise local economies; believes that stronger SMEs Crafts policy has to be put forward as one of the top priorities of all European Institutions and Member States over the next years;
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11b. Notes that companies, especially SMEs, are either not aware of the rules applicable in other Member States or have difficulties in finding and understanding the information on the rules and procedures applicable for their business; calls on the Commission to interlink all different portals, access points and information websites in a single gateway that will provide SMEs and start-ups with user-friendly information so that they can make well-informed decisions, save time and costs;
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Calls on the Member States to ensure that employment rights, high quality working conditions, effective social welfare coverage and a real level playing field in the single market are guaranteed in the growth of the sharing economy, taking into account its potential for more flexible forms of employment, identifying new forms of employment, enhancing the rights and protection of genuine self- employed workers;
Amendment 207 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Calls on the Commission, being responsible for competition in the EU internal market, in cooperation with national surveillance authorities, to ensure a level playing field among competitors serving the market;
Amendment 228 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Calls on the Commission to put forward without delay a targeted legislative proposal which would enable European companies to manufacture generic and biosimilar medicines in the EU during the supplementary protection certificate (SPC) period, following the expiry of patent protection, in order to export to countries where no SPC is in place or to prepare for immediate launch following expiration of the SPC; believes that such SPC manufacturing waiver would contribute to avoid the outsourcing of production outside the EU and to create a level playing field between European companies and their competitors from third countries;
Amendment 233 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls on the Commission to present awithout delay a legislative proposal for the protection of geographical indications for non-agricultural products in the EU with the aim of establishing a single European system putting thus an end to a inadequate and highly fragmented situation in Europe, and offering many and varied positive effects for citizens, consumers, producers and the whole European economic and social fabric;
Amendment 243 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 d (new)
Paragraph 19 d (new)
19d. Notes that consistent uniform application and proper enforcement of EU rules combined with regular monitoring and evaluation on the basis of qualitative and quantitative indicators, benchmarking and sharing of best practices is urgently needed to achieve more homogeneous implementation of existing single market legislation; recalls, therefore, the need to fully and thoroughly transpose and implement European rules concerning the functioning of the single market in all Member States;
Amendment 245 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Points out that many measures have already been adopted but are not yet appliedproperly enforced thus undermining the level playing field in the single market; points out, furthermore, that according to data provided by the Commission in mid- 2015, around 1 090 infringement proceedings were pending in the area of the single market; calls on the Commission, therefore, to ensure thatwith a view to improve transposition, application and enforcement of single market legislation, to ensure that administrative coordination, cooperation and enforcement isare prioritised at all levels (EU, between Member States and national, local and regional authorities);
Amendment 259 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Notes that Member States play a crucial role in the good governance and proper functioning of the single market, therefore, they need to jointly exercise a pro-active ownership and management of the single market, generating a new political impetus through consolidated state-of-health reports on the single market, regular and thematic discussions at Competitiveness Council meetings, dedicated annual European Council meetings and the inclusion of the single market as a pillar of governance in the European Semester;
Amendment 260 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 b (new)
Paragraph 21 b (new)
21b. Reiterates that the EU could create its own set of scientifically-based, independent indicators on the degree of integration of the single market, to be published as part of the Annual Growth Strategy and calls for the adoption of a strategic paper of ‘the presidents’ of EU bodies a ‘Five Presidents Report’ to map the road to a Genuine Single Market;
Amendment 261 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 c (new)
Paragraph 21 c (new)
21c. Stresses that the European Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee must strengthen its ties with national parliaments in order to coordinate and address issues in relation to transposition and implementation of single market rules;
Amendment 262 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 d (new)
Paragraph 21 d (new)
21d. Calls on the Commission to also strengthen the role of the institutional consultation of the social partners through the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions;
Amendment 274 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Takes note of the Commission proposal, as part of strengthening the single market for goods, to improve mutual recognition through action to increase awareness of the mutual recognition principle and through the revision of the Mutual Recognition Regulation; is sceptical with the Commission’s proposal for a traders’ self-declaration to legally bring a product into the market, as this might increase non-compliant products, threaten consumers’ health and safety and damage competition in the single market; calls instead on the Commission to ensure better market surveillance system by developing a European market surveillance framework and wider access to information about dangerous products which should help reduce non-compliant products in the single market; furthermore calls on European and national market surveillance authorities to investigate all claims of fraud vigorously;
Amendment 347 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 d (new)
Paragraph 27 d (new)
27d. Welcomes the fact that the strategy refers to the high level of unemployment across the EU, but regrets that it does not present specific steps and measures that can help people find employment, such as improving education and training standards, meeting lifelong learning targets, and tackling skills mismatches and qualifications of workers and professionals; considers that it is self- evident that the single market is changing rapidly due to digitalisation of the different industries and the new jobs will require a different set of skills and qualifications;
Amendment 348 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 e (new)
Paragraph 27 e (new)
27e. Disapproves that the Commission did not adopt any specific measures in the Single Market Strategy to address the needs of people and consumers with disability, elderly people and people living in rural and remote areas;
Amendment 349 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 f (new)
Paragraph 27 f (new)
27f. Supports the Commission’s initiative to review the regulated profession, but reminds that any exercise should maintain high quality standards for employment and services, sound qualifications and consumers’ safety;
Amendment 350 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 g (new)
Paragraph 27 g (new)
27g. Regrets that the Commission’s Communication does not announce any proposal in relation to the social economy although it plays a key role in the EU’s social and economic development; urges the Commission to explore the potential of this emerging sector and without undue delay to improve its visibility and a regulatory environment for social enterprises;
Amendment 351 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 h (new)
Paragraph 27 h (new)
27h. Is of the opinion that a legal framework encompassing the different forms of social economy in Europe, i.e. cooperatives, foundations, mutual societies and associations will enable social economy enterprises, which do not benefit from the same measures applicable to SMEs, to operate on a legally sound basis and thus enjoy the advantages of the internal market and free movement; furthermore calls for the development of the Social Business Initiative (SBI), mainstreaming social entrepreneurship and social economy enterprises into the Small Business Act, and adopting the Statute for Mutuals;
Amendment 362 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 b (new)
Paragraph 28 b (new)
28b. Calls on the Commission to analyse the current legal uncertainties affecting consumers and if necessary to resolve them through clarification and supplements to the legal framework of consumers rights; reiterates its commitment to the principle of flexible harmonisation for any proposed EU legislation concerning consumers and that full harmonisation is only applied when it sets a very high level of consumer protection and provides clear benefits for consumers;
Amendment 363 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 c (new)
Paragraph 28 c (new)
28c. Stresses that consumers must be able to exercise their rights easily; welcomes the implementation of the ADR Directive and Commission’s new online dispute resolution (ODR) platform; notes that redress mechanisms applicable across the Union have yielded limited results and therefore urges the Commission to bring forward a legislative proposal to ensure implementation of an affordable, expedient and accessible Europe-wide collective redress system;
Amendment 375 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)
Paragraph 29 a (new)
29a. Emphasises that social economy enterprises represent a diversity of business models, that is key for a highly competitive and fairer single market; calls on the Commission to mainstream the social economy within its single market policies and to develop a European Action Plan for social economy enterprises in order to unlock the full potential for a sustainable and inclusive growth.
Amendment 377 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 b (new)
Paragraph 29 b (new)
29b. Reiterates that the Commission’s Social Business Initiative (SBI) stressed that the single market needs an inclusive growth, focused on employment for all; calls, therefore, on the Commission to launch a second phase of the SBI by developing an Action Plan for the social economy enterprises in Europe;