Activities of Philippe DE BACKER related to 2012/2256(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the European Semester for Economic Policy Coordination: Annual Growth Survey 2013 PDF (231 KB) DOC (146 KB)
Amendments (67)
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas the rigidity of labour market regulation in several Member States lacks the flexibility to effectively absorb shocks such as the current crisis; whereas current labour market legislation disproportionally protects insiders and adversely affects the inclusion of young people into the workforce;
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas it should be recalled that, in 2007, at the start of the crisis, the average public deficit for the euro area stood at only 0.67 % and was on a declining path towards equilibrium;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas it should be recalled that, in 2007, at the start of the crisis, the countries which now experience the severest difficulties, had accumulated excessive current account deficits;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the sharp deterioration of public deficits and debt, which has been seen sincebetween 2007 and 2009 in many Member States, has been triggered by the reaction of governments to the crisis, in the absence of European anticyclical instruments;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas the average public deficit for the euro area peaked in 2009 at 6.3 % and since then the trend has been reversed with average public deficits in 2010 at 6.2 %, in 2011 at 4.1 % and a further decrease in the first two quarters of 2012;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the Commission forecasts for 2012 have been successivelyneeded to be revised downwards from 1.8 % in spring 2011 to - 0.4 % in autumn 2012 for 2012, partly due to a delay in the implementation of growth enhancing structural reforms; whereas in its autumn forecasts the Commission predicts a GDP growth of a mere 0.1 % for 2013; whereas there are serious doubts as to the accuracy of these 2013 forecasts, since they are likely to be based on an underestimated fiscal multiplier, thereby underestimating the negative effect of current fiscal con will depend on the implementation of the adjustment programmes and growth enhancing strauction on economic growthural reforms;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas each Member State is suffering fromexperiencing the consequences of its own fiscal tightening and of the synchronised rapid consolidation conducted by the other Member States which is particularly the case for countries in severe economic difficulties;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas this fiscal tightening strin some Member Stategys forces down demand, wages and prices while driving up unemployment; in the short-term; whereas the excessive levels of public and private debt restrict the scope for new activities and investment;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) studies document that gradual and smooth fiscal consolidation is preferable to a strategy of reducing public finance imbalances too rapidly and abruptly but the state of the economy of some Member States does not leave an alternative to regain market access and see investment return;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M
Recital M
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital N
Recital N
N. whereas austerity measures adopted by several Member States have reached an unprecedented dimension: the fiscal stance for Greece from 2010 to 2012 amounts to 18 points of GDP, for Portugal, Spain and Italy respectively 7.5, 6.5 and 4.8 points of GDP without any significantbut there are signs of improvement of the economic and fiscal situation and with huge social disruption, calling for a new assessment of the policies imposedshowing that countries need to continue the adjustment path;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital O
Recital O
O. whereas current sovereign interest rates show unprecedentedlarge divergences within the euro area and remain at unsustainable levels for certain Member States;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital O a (new)
Recital O a (new)
Oa. whereas the competitiveness gap within the euro area is reflected in the divergences of sovereign interest rates;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital O b (new)
Recital O b (new)
Ob. whereas high sovereign interest rates in certain euro area Member States are due to a perceived lack of credibility of their capacity to conduct structural reforms;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital O c (new)
Recital O c (new)
Oc. whereas the euro area has failed to use the overall reduction of sovereign interest rates in the first ten years of the euro to close the competitiveness gap, which amongst others has been reflected in persistently large current account deficits and rapidly increasing unit labour costs;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital O d (new)
Recital O d (new)
Od. whereas current adjustment in certain countries would be politically, economically and socially less difficult if the positive economic climate in the first ten years of the euro had been used to adjust;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P
Recital P
P. whereas surplus countries should have been asked to share the adjustment burden by stimulating their internal demandadjustment is also taking place in surplus countries, notably by adjusting wages;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital Q
Recital Q
Q. whereas the Commission has been unable to make a convincing case that the policy options imposed will deliver over time and that they will impact on society in a fair and acceptable waypolicy options chosen by the Commission will deliver over time;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital R a (new)
Recital R a (new)
Ra. whereas adjustment has to be perceived as credible if investment flows are to return;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital T
Recital T
T. whereas the 2013 Annual Growth Survey (AGS 2013) seeks to set out the economic and social priorities for 2013;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital U
Recital U
U. whereas the fiscal discipline pillar should be developed hand in hand with the solidaritygrowth and democracy pillars;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital U a (new)
Recital U a (new)
Ua. whereas the Single Market is the EU's key engine for growth and jobs through economies of scale and greater competition but Member States show complacency in implementing internal market legislation, particularly the services directive;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the recognition in the AGS 2013 that growth is necessary in order to exit the crisis, but doubts whether the positive signs of recovery seen by the Commission are accurate; warns of the risk of a continued contraction of economic activity over the coming year resulting from the aggregate negative effect of significant and simultaneous procyclical budget cuts across the euro area and supports the Commission in its view that there are positive signs of recovery; warns of the risk of a relapse over the coming year resulting from a lack of implementation of adjustment programmes and structural reforms;
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls on the Commission to study seriously the possibility of spreading fiscal adjustment oveputting forward proposals for a lconger period, thereby providing additional temporary room for manoeuvvergence code for Member States' economies with the objective of increasing competitiveness in the whole of the euro area to re-ignite growth as soon as possible;.hrough binding commitments to structural reforms;
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
Amendment 165 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. WelcomNotes the recognition by the Commission of ‘a possible’ adjustment in the deadline for the correction of the excessive deficits as being justified, in full respect of the spirit and the letter of the Stability and Growth Pact; considers, however, that this recognition is already overdueshould only apply in very exceptional cases;
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
Amendment 173 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the Commission and the Council to balance productive public investment needs with fiscal discipline objectives by accommodating public investment programmestaking into account growth enhancing investment in its assessment of Stability and Convergence Programmes and excessive deficit procedureswhile fully respecting the provisions laid down in EU law;
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls on the Commission to start developing as a matter of urgency a plan which would ensure that elements of fiscal discipline are in parallel followed up with concrete proposals on solidaritygrowth among Member States and democratic legitimacy as part of the Interinstitutional Agreement on the European Semester;
Amendment 197 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on the Commission and the Council to improve substawork on continually improving the quality, the national specificity and the adequacy of the country-specific recommendations, notably through a competent interpretation of the macroeconomic imbalances exercise;
Amendment 210 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls on the Commission and the Council to revise the recommended fiscal adjustment policies whenever economies move into recession,aim at guaranteeing minimum levels of social welfare, safeguarding basic labour rights and avoiding a recessionary spiral; calls on the Commission and the Council to propose Union instruments for social protection and minimum social standards in the recommended adjustment policies whenever economies move into recession;
Amendment 219 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls also on the Commission to come forward with a holistic approach to tackling growth, which should include include completing the internal market, increasing competition and reducing a genuine European industrial policy and the guarantee that Europe will use all its strength and influence in its external trade relations; calls on the Commission to fully exploit to the full the sources of growth stemming from trade with third countries and establish reciprocity as well as fair tradethrough speeding up the conclusion of ongoing free trade agreementswith Canada, Singapore, Malaysia and India, and launching negotiations with the EU major trading partners such as the USA and Japan; calls on the Commission to include strong socialcontinue to include clauses in trade agreements on the basis of International Labour Organisation labour standards;
Amendment 232 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Stresses that determined efforts by Member States to sustain public finances, at an appropriate pace, can only work if excessive macroeconomic imbalances are reduced symmetrically;
Amendment 244 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Calls on the Commission to step up enforcement of the implementation of internal market legislation; urges Member States to fully implement internal market legislation, particularly the Services Directive;
Amendment 257 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Calls on the Commission and the Council to engage urgently in the creation of appropriate mechanisms for the common management debt redemption fund based ofn sovereign debtrict conditionality in order to alleviate the debt burden on several Member States and to create the conditions for a future joint issuance setting a limit to the divergence of sovereign financing costs;
Amendment 260 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. shares the assessment of the Commission in its blueprint and calls on the Commission and the Council to commit to a concrete and timely bound roadmap to achieve the objectives as set out in the blueprint;
Amendment 267 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex - Part 1 – title
Annex - Part 1 – title
RECOMMENDATION 1 CONCERNING AN ALTERNATIVE STRATEGY STRATEGY FOR GROWTH- FRIENDLY FISCAL CONSOLIDATION
Amendment 268 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex - Part 1 – introductory paragraph
Annex - Part 1 – introductory paragraph
Amendment 271 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex - Part 1 – paragraph 1
Annex - Part 1 – paragraph 1
Amendment 276 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex - Part 1 – paragraph 1a (new)
Annex - Part 1 – paragraph 1a (new)
1a. Maintain the pace of fiscal consolidation, particularly with regard to restoring confidence of investors, to reducing debt refinancing costs and to creating fiscal room for pro-active policy implementation.
Amendment 277 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex - Part 1 – paragraph 1b (new)
Annex - Part 1 – paragraph 1b (new)
1b. Prioritise investments in education, research and innovation.
Amendment 278 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex - Part 1 – paragraph 1 c (new)
Annex - Part 1 – paragraph 1 c (new)
1c. Modernise social protection systems, particularly with regard to pensions and the alignment of the retirement age with life expectancy.
Amendment 279 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex - Part 1 – paragraph 1 d (new)
Annex - Part 1 – paragraph 1 d (new)
1d. Pursue active labour market policies, particularly by introducing flexicurity schemes.
Amendment 280 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex - Part 1 – paragraph 1 e (new)
Annex - Part 1 – paragraph 1 e (new)
1e. Shift taxes from labour to consumption.
Amendment 281 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex - Part 1 – paragraph 2
Annex - Part 1 – paragraph 2
2. The speculation on the sovereign debt of Member states must be stopped. TIntegrate the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) must be brought as soon as possible into the community management structure with the ECB as a backstop;
Amendment 285 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex - Part 1 – paragraph 3
Annex - Part 1 – paragraph 3
Amendment 289 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex - Part 1 – paragraph 4
Annex - Part 1 – paragraph 4
4. Lending by the European Investment Bank must be significantly increased as well as other measures (notably the use of structural funds and project bonds), so as to genuinely advance the European Union growth agenda. The Compact for Growth and Jobs has to be urgently transformed into concrete investmentsIncrease the lending capacity of the European Investment Bank.
Amendment 293 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex - Part 1 – paragraph 5
Annex - Part 1 – paragraph 5
5. Legal initiatives and policy instruments have to be implemented so that credit flow to the real economy is re-established. Companies, especially SMEs, need to have access to financing and the conditions for such financing should be similar inside the Internal Market, more so inside the eurozoneImprove credit flow to the real economy especially for SMEs.
Amendment 296 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex - Part 1 – paragraph 6
Annex - Part 1 – paragraph 6
6. A close coordination of economic policies must aim at reducingReduce excessive internal imbalances in the EU and in the Eurozone in particular. The adjustment must not only rely on deficit countries. Surplus countries must also take measures to boost their internal demand and receive recommendations from the Commission accordingly.
Amendment 301 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex - Part 2 – paragraph 1
Annex - Part 2 – paragraph 1
Amendment 304 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex - Part 3 – paragraph 1
Annex - Part 3 – paragraph 1
Amendment 307 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex - Part 3 – paragraph 2
Annex - Part 3 – paragraph 2
Amendment 309 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex - Part 3 – paragraph 3
Annex - Part 3 – paragraph 3
Amendment 311 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex - Part 3 – paragraph 3 – point 1
Annex - Part 3 – paragraph 3 – point 1
1. Reforming the accounting rules and corporate accounting disclosure
Amendment 312 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex - Part 3 – paragraph 3 – point 1 a (new)
Annex - Part 3 – paragraph 3 – point 1 a (new)
1a. Implement the Commission action plan on tax fraud, tax evasion and tax havens
Amendment 313 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex - Part 3 – paragraph 3 – point 2
Annex - Part 3 – paragraph 3 – point 2
2. Upgradinge and extend the scope of the European Union Savings Directive
Amendment 314 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex - Part 3 – paragraph 3 – point 3
Annex - Part 3 – paragraph 3 – point 3
3. EnsuringIntroduce a compulsory Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base
Amendment 315 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex - Part 3 – paragraph 3 – point 4
Annex - Part 3 – paragraph 3 – point 4
4. Introducinge country-by-country reporting for cross-border companies.
Amendment 316 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex - Part 3 – paragraph 3 – point 5
Annex - Part 3 – paragraph 3 – point 5
5. Strengthening regulation of company registries and registers of trust.
Amendment 318 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex - Part 3 – paragraph 4
Annex - Part 3 – paragraph 4
Amendment 320 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex - Part 3 – paragraph 5
Annex - Part 3 – paragraph 5