Activities of Philippe DE BACKER related to 2014/2059(INI)
Plenary speeches (2)
European Semester for economic policy coordination: implementation of 2014 priorities (debate) NL
European Semester for economic policy coordination: implementation of 2014 priorities (debate)
Reports (1)
REPORT on the European Semester for economic policy coordination: implementation of 2014 priorities PDF (289 KB) DOC (233 KB)
Amendments (29)
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the labour market is now one of the major causes of inequalityin divergences between Member States and between different sectors, owing to divergences in access to employment, working conditions, or wage levels insufficient to guarantee decent living standard due to lack of reform, working conditions and living standards as well as divergences in access to employment, such as high entrance hurdles;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the Commission has acknowledged that excessive austerity policies have had a negative impact on economic growth because they failed to take iseveral Member States are making progress in reducing their currento account the effects of the fiscal multipliers, and that such austerity policies have resulted in tough cuts to social spending in fundamental areas such as education, health and pensions, resulting in unprecedented levels of inequality and poverty in the EUdeficits and reversing losses in competitiveness, allowing future spending in fundamental areas such as education, health and pensions, however further progress in needed to address high debt and the net international position of the most indebted economies;
Amendment 40 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the fact that the focus of the 2014 country-specific recommendations (CSRs) has shifted from solely boosting fiscal consolidation to strengthening the conditions for sustainable growth and employment; recalls that within the current Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) there are still margins intended to facilitate economic growth inthe Member States have taken a commitment to adhere to the EU,SGP and that differences in the Member States’ economic and social situations need to be taken into account; calls for greater flexibility margins in order to boost job creation; takes the view, however, that some of the structural reforms promoted by the Commission – especially labour reforms, wage devaluation, pension reforms, etc. – may result in the same contractionary effects on the economy or on internal demand as the excessive austerity conducted up to now; calls on the Commission, therefore, to asse full set of economic governance principles; calls on the Commission to continue the growth friendly consolidation strategy in order to facilitate growth and job creation and the Member Statess the economic and social impact of such policies before recommending themo better implement the CSRs;
Amendment 49 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Is deeply concerned that, up to now, the recommendations made as part of the European Semester have taken us furthe the EU is far away from achieving the employment and social targets of the Europe 2020 strategy; calls on the new Commission to ask immediately that the Member States report on national progress on the Europe 2020 strategy and correct this discrepancy in their national reform programmes (NRPs) to be presented as part of the next European Semester, in particular relating to progress made by Member States to modernise their labour markets and to integrate more people into the workforce;
Amendment 57 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. CallAcknowledges the Commission´s fwor a truk on the «"social pillar’ to be implemented within" of economic and monetary union (EMU) as part of the process of improvingntegrating the social dimension in the current structures for economic governance mechanisms, so as to reduce unemployment, poverty and social exclusion, overcome social dumping and prevent competition for the lowest social standards in the EU;
Amendment 66 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes the Commission’'s use of the new employment and social scoreboard for this year’'s CSRs; considers it regrettable, however, that these indicators have not been made binding in view of the current employment and social emergency; calls on the Commission, therefore, to put them on an equal footing with macroeconomic indicators, , in particular the references to unemployment levels, NEET and youth unemployment rates; considers it importandt to include additional indicators – such as child poverty levels, access to healthcare, and homelessness, and a decent work index – in the scoreboard in order to allow more effective analysis of Member States’' employment and social concerns;
Amendment 70 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Welcomes the Commission’'s recognition that the impact of fiscal consolidation measuresyear-long lack of structural reform in Member States, combined with excessive deficits and a large contraction in economic growth has had a negative effect on the EU employment and social situation has been severe and far-reaching; calls for the immediate fulfilment of all the employment and social obligations set out in the Treaties and in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights; calls on the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights to assess thoroughly the impact of these measures on fundamental rights and to issue recommendations in the event of breaches of the Charter;
Amendment 77 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Welcomes the abovementioned mild decline in unemployment rates in the EU; recalls, however, that the Europe 2020 strategy accurately states that the figure to watch is the employment rate, which indicates the availability of human and financial resources to ensure the sustainability of our economic and social model; asks that the slowdown in the unemployment rate not be confused with the recovery of lost jobs, as no account is taken of increased emigration or forced early retirement;
Amendment 86 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls on the new Commission to make the employment recovery a true priority by establishing an ambitious and holistic strategy for quality job creation, which should involve all the new Commissioners; takes the view that, to this end, each Commissioner should draw up a quality employment plan for their specific policy area, including concrete measures, a budget allocation and a calendar for its implementation; asks therefore that economic recovery, growth and job creation be made a horizontal priority of the new European Commission involving all the new Commissioners;
Amendment 91 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Is concerned that the Commission’s strategy of restoring EU competitivenessNotes that part of the recovery strategy went through an excessive adjustment of unit labour costs via salary reductions has sharply eroded the purchasing power of many EU workers, lowered household incomes and depressed internal demand, further fuelling unemployment and social exclusion, particularly in those countries hit hardest by the crisisand entitlement reductions bringing unit labour costs back in line with productivity; points out that a cross- sectoral policy for restoring competitiveness must also contemplate strategies focusing on other production costs, price developments and profit margins, and on boosting innovation and excellence;
Amendment 101 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Welcomes the Commission’'s call, in its umbrella communication on the CSR in the EU as a whole, to invest more in R&D, innovation, education, skills and active labour market policies, together with energy, transport and the digital economy; considers, however, that in the context of the current process of fiscal consolidation these goals can be achieved only through greater flexibility within the SGPalls on Member States to make use of the given flexibility within the economic governance rules;
Amendment 107 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls on the Commission, as a matter of urgency, to give tangible form to the promised EUR 300 billion investment plan, and calls for an assessment as to whether this figure is sufficient to restore the EU’'s full potential for competitiveness, growth and quality job creation;
Amendment 111 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
Amendment 129 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Is concerned that, in many Member States and sectors, job losses are coupled with a decline in job quality, an increase in precarious forms ofhurdles to employment and a deterioration in basic labour standards; stresses that the Commission and the Member States need to make dedicated efforts to address the increase inmatching skills with labour market needs as well as involuntary part-time employment and temporary contracts, payless internships and apprenticeships, and bogus self- employment, together with the activities of the black economy;
Amendment 135 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Observes that, in its 2013 annual report on the EU employment and social situation, the Commission highlighted the importance of social protection expenditure as a safeguard against social risks; notes, however, that social policies and social standards have been widely used as adjustment factors by those EMU members experiencing negative economic shocks; considers it regrettable that the CSRs do not refer to European automatic stabilisers; recalls the importance of such stabilisers in dealing with asymmetrical shocks, in avoiding excessive depletion of national welfare states and thus in strengthening the sustainability of EMU as a whole; reiterates its call on the Commission to produce a Green Paper on automatic stabilisers in the eurozone;
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Recalls, however, that Member States’ track record of implementing the CSRs is very low; believes that there is an inconsistency between European commitment and national implementation of the CSRs by Member States; stresses the importance of ‘national ownership’ by the relevant governments of EU-level commitments, especially of the largest and most important economies that are a benchmark to other Member States;
Amendment 159 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Highlights the rising number of workers, particularly young people, departing their countries of origin for other Member States in search of employment opportunities, and is deeply concerned about the persistent divergences between those Member States creating employment and those supplying a low-cost labour force; urges the Commission to develop a better legal framework for cross-border movement of workers in order to ensure freedom of movement while consecrating the principle of equal treatment and safeguarding wages and social standards; calls for the establishment in each Member State, either by law or through collective bargaining, of a minimum wage equivalent to at least 60 % of the respective national average wage;
Amendment 172 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Welcomes the mild decline in youth unemployment, but points out that it is still at alarming levels: 22 % in the EU-28 and 23.1 % in the eurozone; highlights the worrying differences between Member States (7.8 % in Germany and 53.5 % in Spain); considers it regrettable that evennotes that when young people do find a job, manysome of them – 43 % on average, compared with 13 % of adult workers – find themselves working under precarious conditions or on part-time contracts, making it difficult for them to live independently from their families and resulting in a loss of art-time contracts, which can be a stepping stone for full-time employment, enabling different sectors to be more innovationve and expert resourcesflexible, which affects production and growth;
Amendment 185 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Calls on the Commission to propose a binding European framework for the implementation of the Youth Guarantees so as to prevent the funds being misused in such a way as to aggravate national internal wage devaluation processesand the Member States to make the Youth Guarantees a priority and to use efficiently the available budget; takes the view that this legale framework should introduce binding minimum standards for the implementation of the Youth Guarantees, including the quality of apprenticeships, decent wages for young people and access to employment services, and should cover young people aged between 25 and 30; calls on the Commission and the Member States to make the Youth Guarantees a priority and to increase the available budget, at the latest in the promised mid-term review of the multiannual financial framework, up to at least the sum of EUR 21 billion estimated by the International Labour Organisation to be necessary to resolve the problem in the eurozonefacilitate the school-to-work transition and focus equipping young people with the right skills that correspond to the labour market needs, including giving them a chance to start their own businesses;
Amendment 195 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. UrgWelcomes the Member States to go above and beyondadoption of the March 2014 Council recommendation for a Quality Framework for Traineeships in order to prevent discrimination and exploitation of young workers; calls for the adoption of a directive on decent conditions and minimum standards for internships and traineeships, giving interns and trainees clearly defined rights that include access to social protection, binding written contracts and fair remuneration and introducing limits on the use of trainees and interns in companies so as to prevent abuses;
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Believes that with regard to the forthcoming European Semester, the policy of growth-friendly fiscal consolidation should be pursued to improve fiscal sustainability; stresses, however, the fact that special emphasis should be placed on growth-enhancing reforms and policies, especially by those Member States that have fiscal space to invest in order to promote growth and facilitate rebalancing in the Euro area;
Amendment 201 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Observes with concern that female unemployment rates are higher than the total rates (11.7 % in the EU-18 and 10.4 % in the EU-28, compared with 11.5 % and 10.2 % respectively); calls, therefore, for specific decent-job creation plans with targeted measures for women; calls for the establishment of specific recommendations with a view to reducing the gender pay gap, which is not only a drag on the economy and on competitiveness but also a sign of social injusticecalls for specific attention to the integration of women in the labour market;
Amendment 211 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Is deeply concerned that long-term unemployed people and senior workers are experiencing higher unemployment rates and additional difficulties in re-entering the labour market; calls on the Commission and the Member States to make full use of the European Social Fund to help these workers; urges the adoption of a directive on decent working conditions, defining core labour rights for all workers and introducing common minimum standards so as to prevent this kind of labour discriminationcalls for increasing the flexibility of labour markets in order to adapt to specific competences and allow specific remuneration schemes bringing labour cost in line with productivity and stepping away from pay based on seniority;
Amendment 217 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Points out that the recent decision of the ECB on cutting interest rates and implementing additional unconventional measures, such as quantative easing, increases the risk of moral hazard and reform fatigue;
Amendment 231 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Regrets the fact that the Commission recommendations on pensions were made without taking into account Parliament’'s position on the Green and White Papers on pensions; is concerned that reforms to guarantee the sustainability of pensions have focused solely on population ageing, without taking into account the importance of the employment ratecontributions from the employed population, especially in pay- as-you-go systems and of possibilities of second and third pillar pensions systems for optimising pension pay outcome; recalls that guaranteeing decent pensions above a minimum level is an effective way to fight poverty and social exclusion;
Amendment 236 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Considers it regrettable that very few CSRs tackle the issue of in-work poverty; points out that new forms of poverty affecting the middle and working classes are emerging in some cases, with difficulties in paying mortgages and high energy prices creating energy poverty and giving rise to an increasing number of evictions and foreclosures; is concerned by evidence that levels of homelessness and housing exclusion are increasing; recalls that this represents a violation of fundamental rights; recommends that the Member States and their local authorities introduhave in place neutral housing policies favouring social and affordable housing, tackle the issue of housing vacancy and implement effective prevention policies aimed at reducing the number of evictions;
Amendment 241 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Calls on the Commission to support the effective use of EU funds to reduce poverty through partnership approaches involving civil society; calls on the Member States, especially those with the highest rates of unemployment and poverty, to use 25 % of their cohesion funding for programmes related to the European Social Fund; also requeinsists, in view of the high poverty rates, an evaluation as to whetherthat Member States make efficient use of the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived is sufficiently well-fundwhere it is implemented;
Amendment 245 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Notes the Commission recommendation to reform healthcare systems so that they deliver on their objectives of providing universal access to high-quality care in a cost-effective manner, and to secure their financial sustainability; calls for the goals of meeting social needs, providing a social safety netinclusion, access and quality provisions and achieving financial sustainability to be put on an equal footing, and for sufficient resources to be allocated for social protection and health systems;
Amendment 250 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Reiterates its call for increased and structured involvement of civil society and trade union stakeholders so as to safeguard the legitimacy and improve the effectiveness of the European Semester process; looks forward, in this connection, to the Commission’'s planned involvement of the social partners in the context of the Social Dialogue Committee prior to the adoption of the 2015 Annual Growth Survey;