19 Amendments of Alda SOUSA related to 2011/0177(APP)
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Is fully aware that the negotiations on the MFF 2014-2020 are taking place in a very difficult economicsocial, economic and financial context, in which Member States are engaging in considerable efforts and constraints to make fiscal adjustments to their national budgets, with a view to the stability of the banking sector and the single currency; insists that the Union should cannot be seen as adding an extra fiscal burden on taxpayers; is,recalls however, convinced that the EU budget ishould be a part of the solution to enable Europe to emerge from the current crisis by helping Member States tackle, collectively and in concerted fashion, the present social, economical and financial structural challenges, in particular loss of competitiveness, rising unemployment and poverty;,
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Recalls that the European Council has, on numerous occasions, insisted on the need for a strengthened European economic governance and has endorsed the objectives set out in the EU 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, namely promoting and creating employment, improving the conditions for –and public spending on– innovation, research and development, meeting our climate change and energy objectives, improving education levels and promoting social inclusion, in particular through and the reduction of poverty;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Recalls that all the macroeconomic financial stabilisation measures taken since 2008 have not yet proved sufficproved to be insufficient and absolutely inconvenient to overcome the economic and financial crisis; believes, therefore, that in order to return to growth and generate employment in Europe, a well- targeted and sufficient EU budget is needed to further help coordinate and enhance the national efforts;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Stresses that the EU budget is an investment budget and that 94 % of its total returns are invested in the Member States themselves or for external priorities of the Union; emphasises that, for the regions and Member States, public investment would be minimised or impossible without the contribution of the EU budget; believes that any decrease of the EU budget would inevitably hamper the growth and competitive strength of the entire Union econom, aggravate imbalances and heavily compromise cohesion in the entire Union economy, namely increasing unemployment and poverty;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Recalls that delivering on the Europe 2020 strategy’s seven flagship initiatives willould require a huge amount of future- oriented investment, estimated at no less than EUR 1 800 billion up to 2020 ; stresses that one of the main objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy, namely, to promote and create jobs and high-quality employment for all Europeans, will only be achieved if the necessary investment in education, in favour of a knowledge society, and in research and innovation, SMEs, and green and new technologies is made now and not delayed any longer; favours combining the reduction of public deficits and debt with the promotion of such investments;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Considers that the alarming youth- related problems, includingsituation of the youth in Europe, namely an unprecedentedly high unemployment rate, increasing poverty and educational challenges, existing across the EU require a particular effort to keep the new generations bound to the EU values of social justice, peace, democracy and, human rights, and economic prosperity and social justice, among others, through EU programmes with an increased and adequate budgetary support;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Strongly supports the Commission’s proposal to mainstream measures to combat climate change across the whole EU budget; believerecalls that the EU budget willmust be able to mobilise investment for a sustainable and prosperous low-carbon economy, provide adequate support for achieving the EU 2020Union's targets for climate, energy and biodiversity, and benefit the EU’s citizens by ensuring a more healthy environment;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Stresses that since 1988 national budgets have grown on average more rapidly than the EU budget; notes that even since the start of the crisis in 2008 total government expenditure in the Member States has risen at an annual nominal rate of 2 %; draws the conclusion that this shrinkage of the EU budget with respect to the national budgets is in flagrant contradiction with the extension of competences and tasks conferred on the Union by the Treaty and with major political decisions taken by the European Council itself, notably the development of a strengthened European economic governanceGrowth and Employment Compact within a cohesive European Union;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Considers that the Commission proposal, which represents a freeze of the MFF 2014- 2020 ceilings at the level of the 2013 ceilings, will not be sufficient to finance existing policy priorities linked to the Europe 2020's strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, the new tasks provided for by the Treaty of Lisbon, or unforeseen events, not to mention the political objectives and commitments set by the European Council itself;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Strongly rejects, therefore, any attempt by the CouncilWarns the Council against any attempt to reduce further the level of EU expenditure as proposed by the Commission as it is determined not to grant consent to any proposal fixing the MFF ceilings until 2020 below the 2013 level; firmly opposes, in particular, any plead for linear, across-the-board cuts that would jeopardise the implementation and effectiveness of all EU policies, irrespective of their European added value, political weight or performance; instead, challenges the Council, in case it proposes cuts, to clearly and publicly identify which of its political priorities or projects should be dropped altogether ;
Amendment 69 #
19. Reaffirms, in this context, its position in favour of a significant increase - notably through the Connecting Europe Facility - in the funding available for the Union programmes in the fields of competiveness, SMEs and infrastructures, which arethat in view of the long lifetime of major infrastructure projects - notably through the Connecting Europe Facility and financial instruments such as Project Bonds - that it is a priority to ensure that these make a measurable contribution, by 2050, to the achievement of the goals of the Europe 2020 strategy, the "20-20-20" energy and climate targets, as well ats the heart of the Europe 2020 strategCommission's road map for moving to a low-carbon economy; strongly believereaffirms that further cuts with respect to the Commission proposal will seriously jeopardise the EU’s credibility and its political commitment in favour of growth and jobs;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Considers that EU cohesion policy is a strategic tool for smart investment, growth and competitivenesssustainable growth and to boost the creation of employment, with an undisputed EU added value; insists that, in order to effectively reduce macroeconomic imbalances within the EU and contribute to social, economic, social and territorial cohesion, it should be able to rely on a stable, solid and sustainable financial framework; reaffirms its position that cohesion policy funding should be maintained at least at the level of the 2007-2013 period;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23.Recognis Underlines the serious challengedifficulties and in some cases, even dramatic constraints that young people in the EU face with the economic crisis; considers that employment, education, non-formal education, training, mobility and the social inclusion of young Europeans are issues of strategic importance for the development of the EU and European society; insists on mainstreaming and prioritising these issues in all relevant policies financed from the EU budget, alongside with the due increase financing of the concrete youth- related instruments proposed by the Commission;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Recalls that the EU’s education, non- formal education, youth, media and culture programmes are close to the citizens, enjoy extraordinary high implementation rates, produce noticeable leverage and spillover effects including significant economic results, and generate clear and proven European added value by pooling resources, encouraging mobility and enhancing cooperation among different sectors and stakeholders;
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 50
Paragraph 50
50. AgreUnderlines withs strong support to the Commission proposal that the Emergency Aid Reserve, the European Union Solidarity Fund, the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund and the reserve for crises in the agriculture sector, given their non-programmablespecific nature, should be entered in the budget over and above the ceilings for the relevant headings;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 53
Paragraph 53
53. Strongly requestUrges the Member States to make a firm commitment to the incorporation of the European Development Fund into the EU budget as of 20214;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 56
Paragraph 56
56. Firmly believes that the financing of the Union budget should return to a genuine system of own resources, as provided for in the Treaty of Rome and all successive EU treaties; deeply regrets the fact that the current system, whereby the vast majority of the financing comes from national contributions, is non-transparent and unfair, excludes any due contribution from the financial sector, which led to the current crisis, and is not subject to parliamentary control at either European or national level; stresses that such a system violates, in essence, the letter and spirit of the Treaty;;
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 58
Paragraph 58
58. Points out that the restructuring of the system of own resources as such does not concern the size of the EU budget, but is aimed at finding a more effective and fair mix of resources to fund agreed EU policies and objectives; stresses that the introduction of a new system wouldmust not increase the overall tax burden for citizens, butand would, instead, reduce the burden on national treasuries;
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 59 – point 3
Paragraph 59 – point 3
3) urges those Member States willing to introduce a financial transaction tax musto now proceed now with a formal request to the Commission for a proposal on enhanced cooperation in this field; the Commission will then have tomust react immediately with the publication of such a proposal together with a set of revised proposals on the own resources package, in order to ensure that revenues from this tax are wholly or partly allocated to the EU Budget as an own resource, thus reducing the national contributions of those Member States introducing this tax;