16 Amendments of Nils TORVALDS related to 2018/2119(INI)
Amendment 61 #
E. whereas according to the Commission forecast, ten Member States are expected to have debt-to-GDP ratios of more than 60 % in 2019; whereas the government debt can be affected both by contingent and implicit liabilities;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas the long-term sustainability of public finances of EU Member States is a matter of concern for intergenerational fairness
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that the Commission’s 2018 Ageing Report shows that fiscal costs linked to pensions, healthcare and long- term care are expected to rise over the coming decades, as Europe’s population continues to age significantly; underlines the need to reform the pension systems in the Member States to ensure long term sustainability;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Urges Member States to take responsibility for future generations, and to ensure the sustainability of our social security systems, intergenerational fairness and, in so doing, the future of our welfare states;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Regrets that the Commission puts too little emphasis on the growth potential of the EU Single Market in the Annual Growth Survey 2019; calls on the Commission to put the completion of the Single Market on top of its agenda again;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Notes that a higher proportion of elderly people entails higher healthcare, old-age care and pension spending; notes, moreover, that in an ageing society the proportion of working-age people is falling in relation to the proportion of elderly people, meaning that there are fewer working-age contributors per elderly person; highlights that this places a massive burden on public finances, threatening their sustainability; calls on the Commission to broaden its debt sustainability analysis of Member States by including contingent, implicit and other off-budget obligations, and make them public
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Welcomes the Commission’s efforts to encourage Member States with current account deficits or high external debt to contain the growth of unit labour costs and improve their competitiveness, and to encourage Member States with large current account surpluses to promote demand by increasing wage growth in line with productivity growth and to foster productivity growth by promoting investment; believes that reducing the tax burden for low and middle incomes will increase demand and boost growth;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Regrets that Italy has not submitted a revised draft budgetary plan for 2019 to the Commission; supports the Commission’s consideration of a debt- based excessive deficit procedure against Italy, given the country’s failure to comply with the debt criterion; is concerned that some Member States’ governments’ lack of commitment to EU fiscal rules may undermine the trust of financial markets leading to higher refinancing costs and thereby increasing the financial burden for their citizens;
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Urges Member States to build fiscal buffers for future generations; calls for improvements to thethe full enforcement of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), with a focus on debt reduction; recalls the importance of credible fiscal rules for regaining trust of financial markets, which is fundamental to attract investment;
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Welcomes the European Fiscal Board’s proposal for a radical simplification of the budgetary rules to overcome the weaknesses offurther improve the current EU fiscal framework; stresses that flexibility, as built into the SGP rules, shouldallows Member States to strike a good balance between the objective of ensuring prudent and responsible fiscal policy and allowing for productive investments;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Stresses the importanceurgent need of reviewforming national public pension schemes, largely financed on a pay-as-you- go basis, in order to reduce their budgetary burden and making them long term sustainable;
Amendment 189 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Calls for a tax shift away from the high tax burden on labour to consumption in Europe;
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Underlines that digitalisation, globalisation and technological change are radically transforming our labour markets, leading to great growth potential as well as to significant restructuring challenges;
Amendment 228 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Recalls the importance of a resilient banking sector that safeguards financial stability; welcomes calls for further risk reduction in the banking sector followed by the step-by- step completion of the banking union, with a credible European deposit insurance scheme and a package to reduce non- performing loans;
Amendment 296 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Highlights the urgent need for a fully-fledged capital markets union, as in order to facilitate cross-border investments and access to financing for EU companies, as well as ensuring that financial markets could provide for further private risk-sharing and risk-reduction mechanisms;
Amendment 305 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Recalls that the degree of implementation of the country-specific recommendations is too low; believes that the focus of the European Semester should be on national ownership; urges national and regional parliaments to debate country reports and country-specific recommendations; believes that national parliaments should invite the responsible Commissioner for a hearing in their national parliament on the CSRs; stresses that CSRs should be legally binding as they are formally adopted by elected governments;