Activities of Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO related to 2016/2101(INI)
Plenary speeches (2)
European Semester for economic policy coordination: implementation of 2016 priorities (A8-0309/2016 - Alfred Sant) ES
European Semester for economic policy coordination: implementation of 2016 priorities (debate) ES
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the European Semester for economic policy coordination: implementation of 2016 priorities
Amendments (22)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Recital - A (new)
Recital - A (new)
-A. whereas, according to the European Commission1a , economic growth remains relatively modest and the recovery remains uneven with some countries registering quarterly declines; __________________ 1a Employment and Social developments in Europe, summer 2016, quarterly review (June 2016)
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Recital - A a (new)
Recital - A a (new)
-Aa. whereas, according to the European Commission, unemployment has continued to gradually decrease, but remains above 2008 levels with 21.2 million unemployed people in April 2016 with huge differences among Member States; whereas the increase in the employment rate in many Member states can be explained by a distribution of the working time through the increase of precarious work and the decrease of the labour force;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Recital - A b (new)
Recital - A b (new)
-Ab. whereas, since 2008, there are 4.2 million more Europeans 1a at risk of poverty and social exclusion, being now more than 22 million (22.3%) in the EU; whereas the European Commission has stated that "most of the Member States are still facing the acute social legacy from the crisis"2a hence this scenario leads to the non-compliance of the most important social objective of the EU2020 Strategy; __________________ 1aEurostat 2014. EC European Semester Thematic Fiche: Poverty and Social Exclusion (03.05.2016) 2aCOM (2016) 321 final 2016 European Semester: country specific recommendations 18.05.2016, page 3
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that the country-specific recommendations (CSRs) demonstrate the differences that exist between Member States; argues that the Member States should continue to give priority to reforms that will strengthen their economic recovery, making a commitment to investment, implementing structural reforms and taking an approach based on fiscal and budgetary responsibilitycreate quality employment and boost social cohesion. Therefore, recalls that it is necessary to strongly increase public and private investment, implementing socially responsible structural reforms which reduce economic and social inequalities and taking an approach based on fiscal and budgetary responsibility, making the best use of the existing flexibility margins so as to make it compatible with economic growth and quality employment;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 d (new)
Paragraph 1 d (new)
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 e (new)
Paragraph 1 e (new)
1e. Recalls that, as stated by Parliament, socially responsible reforms must be based on solidarity, integration, social justice and a fair distribution of wealth, a model that ensures equality and social protection, protects vulnerable groups and improves living standards for all citizens;
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Believes that economic growth should guarantee a positive social impact; welcomes the introduction of the three new headline socialemployment indicators in the macroeconomic imbalances procedure; reiterates the call for these but it is aware that those indicators don't have any legal repercussion or change the MIP objective; reiterates the call for the inclusion of new social indicators such as quality employment, inequality or poverty and for all of them to be placed on an equal footing with existing economic indicators, thereby guaranteeing that internal imbalances are better assessed and making structural reforms more effective; calls, in this connection, for a social imbalances procedure to be introduced as well as social impact assessments to be carried out on all economic policies and in the design of the CSRs;
Amendment 62 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Regrets the fact that, as stated by the Commission, investment has so far failed to emerge as a strong driver of the recovery; Calls for a strong commitment to promoting the Juncker Plan (EFSI), especially in Member States with a low level of participation; and considers that, as requested by Parliament, the projects should be focusing on quality and additionally, boosting the creation of quality employment and upward social convergence; reiterates its call on the importance of investments in human capital and other social investments, such as healthcare, childcare or affordable housing and on the need of the effective implementation of the Social Investment Package;
Amendment 79 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Calls on Member States to use their fiscal space to increase public investment in areas conducive to growth, such as infrastructure, education and research;
Amendment 84 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Recognises the significant progresefforts made by the Member States in implementing structural reforms, while nevertheless taking the view that further progress is necessary: with the social costs being suffered by the citizens, however points out that institutions like the IMF or the European Court of Auditors have criticized the accelerated pace of implementation, the unequal treatment between Member States, the lack of quality control and deficiencies in their documentation; takes the view that future reforms should measure their social effects and serve to reach upward social convergence between and within Member States;
Amendment 93 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Takes note of the fact that youth unemployment has decreased but points out that it is still at incredibly high levels with more than 4 million young persons (under 25) unemployed in the EU, of whom 2.885 million were in the euro area; regrets that more than 3 years after the launch of the Youth Employment Initiative, the results of the implementation of the Youth Guarantee are so uneven, and sometimes, inefficient; calls on the Commission to present in October a thorough analysis of its implementation so as to be the basis of the continuation of the programme with more fund allocation, a European framework to guarantee the quality of the job offers as well as the sustainability of the jobs created;
Amendment 98 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Recalls that in many member States unemployment benefits are decreasing year after year, as a result of, among other factors, long term unemployment, therefore increasing the number of people under the poverty and social exclusion threshold; calls for the guaranteeing of adequate unemployment benefits for people to live with dignity or actions for the smooth integration of these people in the labour market;
Amendment 104 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4c. Stresses the fact that the imbalances on pension systems are basically the consequence of unemployment, wage devaluation and labour precarisation; calls therefore for reforms which guarantee adequate financing for a strong first pension Pillar which ensures decent pensions, at the very least over the poverty threshold;
Amendment 106 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 d (new)
Paragraph 4 d (new)
4d. Welcomes the Commission statement that "The European Semester now has a stronger focus on employment and social performance"1a as well as the increase in the country specific recommendations on poverty, from 6 to 11 with regards to the previous cycle; nevertheless regrets the lack of global coherence to reach this goal taking into account the calls for cuts in public spending and the absence of promotion of social investment; calls for urgent action to ensure decent work with living wages, access to adequate minimum income and social protection (which already reduce poverty rate from 26.1% to 17.2%); and quality universal public services to help close the poverty and inequality gap that is also undermining inclusive growth and support for the EU. Such measures will also support the implementation of the new proposal by the European Commission on European Pillar of Social Rights; __________________ 1aCOM (2016) 321 final European Semester 2016: country specific recommendations 18.05.2016, page 5
Amendment 107 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 e (new)
Paragraph 4 e (new)
Amendment 108 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 f (new)
Paragraph 4 f (new)
4f. Notes the rapid increase in extreme poverty, such as homelessness in many EU Member States; calls for CSRs to be addressed to all member states on social inclusion strategies and to be issued in a consistent manner across the Member States; calls for greater emphasis on transnational exchanges of best practices and success stories to combat homelessness through the use of mutual learning, and acknowledge the role of the Employment and Social Innovation (EASI) program in this context;
Amendment 109 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 g (new)
Paragraph 4 g (new)
4g. Is concerned about the increase in income inequalities linked partially to inefficient labour market reforms; calls on the Commission and Member States to implement measures improving job quality in order to reduce labour market segmentation combined with measures raising minimum wages to a decent level and strengthening collective bargaining and workers position in wage-setting systems in order to reduce wage dispersion; warns about the fact that in recent decades, corporate management has been taking a greater share of the economic share while workers' wages have stagnated or have been reduced; considers that this excessive dispersion in wages increases inequalities and damages productivity and competitiveness of companies;
Amendment 110 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 h (new)
Paragraph 4 h (new)
4h. Is concerned about the fact that long-term unemployment is still high, with 10.5 million people in the EU and reminds that their integration in the labour market is crucial to guarantee the sustainability of social protection systems as well as for their self-confidence; therefore regrets the lack of action by the Member States when implementing the Council Recommendation on the integration of the long-term unemployed into the labour market; reiterates its call on the Commission to support efforts to create inclusive lifelong learning opportunities for workers and jobseekers at all ages and to take measures as soon as possible to improve access to EU funding and mobilise additional resources where possible;
Amendment 111 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 i (new)
Paragraph 4 i (new)
4i. Considers that, social protection, including pensions and services such as healthcare, child care and long-term care, remain essential for balanced and inclusive growth, to contribute to a longer working-life, to create employment and to reduce inequalities; therefore calls on the Commission and the Member States to boost policies which guarantee sufficiency, adequacy, efficiency as well as quality of social protection systems throughout all the life cycle of a person, guaranteeing a decent life, fighting inequalities and boosting inclusion with the aim to eradicate poverty, especially for those excluded from the labour market and the most vulnerable groups;
Amendment 120 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Calls on the Member States for the establishment of a specific investment programme, for their subregions whose unemployment rates exceed 30 %; reiterates its call on the Commission to help those Member states in the design and the finance, within the MFF as agreed, of those investment programmes;
Amendment 124 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls for account to be taken of the challenges that have been emerging in the EU since 2015, which have required serious adaptation efforts; calls on the Commission and on the Council not to apply any sanctions to the Member States in 2016; deeply regrets the fact that macroeconomic conditionality implies a possible suspension of the application of the structural funds in the countries under sanction at the moment when they most need them;
Amendment 140 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Regrets that stakeholder engagement in the European Semester at national and EU level is still insufficient, too low quality and inadequately monitored. Calls for the Commission and Council to give strong recommendations particularly on the involvement of civil society organizations in a quality structured dialogue, on a par with social partners, to ensure visibility, ownership and accountability to citizens which is essential for democratic engagement and societal understanding of the role of the Semester process;