31 Amendments of Marco ZANNI related to 2014/2221(INI)
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the economic recovery in the EU slowed down considerably in the course of 2014 but has a prospect of catching up in 2015 and of doing even betterin 2014 there was no sign of an economic recovery and social disparities grew; whereas, furthermore, there are serious doubts about the capacity for growth in 20165;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Considers it vital that the European Parliament and the national parliaments collaborate more closely in the context of the European Semester on economic and budgetary governance; undertakes to deepen its relations with the national parliaments in a spirit of constructive partnership in order to enhance parliamentary oversight of the Commission and the Council on the one hand and national governments and government bodies on the other; hopes to seedoubts, however, that the 2015 European Parliamentary Week and the conference referred to in Article 13 of the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance can in any way contribute to this goal;
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Regrets once again that Member States persist in viewing their contribution to the EU budget as an adjustment variable in their consolidation efforts, which in turn leads to an artificial reduction in the volume of payments available in the EU budget; proposes therefore that when examining nationalrecalls that Member States are obliged to meet existing commitments within the European budgets, the Commission shall enter while keeping in mind the calculations of deficits each country’s share of unpaid invoices in order to draw attention to the true state of affairs concerning liabilities attributable to each Member Staterationalisation efforts required by the EU itself, in line with procedures that are excessively rigid and in need of review;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that growth in 2014 is more broadly based; believes, however, that the recovery is still fragile and should be enhanced if it is to deliver substantially more growth and jobs in the medium termdid not materialise in 2014; believes, however, that if substantially more growth and jobs are to be delivered in the medium term expansionary fiscal policies need to be introduced in the Member States hardest hit by the crisis;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. WelcomNotes the Commission’s Annual Growth Survey 2015, which endeavoursbut does not believe that enough has been done to promote a return to higher growth levels and to strengthen the recovery; supports the three main pillars approach (boosting investment,calls for a clear break with the approach based on accelerating structural reforms and pursuing responsible growth friendly fiscal consolidation) as the right way to achieve these goals; welcomes the Commission’s suggestions for improving the European Semester by simplifying procedures and increasing national ownership as needed, considering that only 10-15 % of the Country Specific Recommendations are fully implemented by the Members States, which has shown itself to be totally bankrupt and counter-productive;
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. WelcomesNotes that the EUR 315 billion investment plan presented by Commission President Mr Juncker to offset on the one handfalls far short of what is required to offset the deficit in public and private investment brought about by fiscal consolidation efforts, and to stimulate economic activity on the othercannot possibly restore confidence, stimulate economic growth or reinvigorate employment and investment in Europe;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Expresses concern that almost all Member States are still losing market shares globally and have a growinglarge negative net international investment position; believes that the EU economy as a whole needs to boost its competitiveness further in the global economy, particularly by increasing competition in the product and services markets in order to enhance innovation-driven efficiency, while keeping labour costs in line with productivityfocus on development and on boosting markets and domestic consumption;
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Confirms its willingness to examine with the utmost vigilance how financial commitments by the EU and the EIB to the European Strategic Investment Fund are entered in the budget and in the 2015 budget in particular, so as to avert any a real risk of further losses to a Union budget already under massive strain;
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on the Member States to top up this fund and welcomes the Commission's intention to exclude national contributions from stability pact calculations; rejects the idea of any attempts to renationalise the fund or argue for a fair return which could ensue from nationalDoes not believe that the Member States have any interest in topping up this fund, notwithstanding the Commission's intention to exclude national contributions from stability pact calculations; considers that European countries are unlikely to invest in a fund in the absence of any guarantees that it will be used in the countributions; wishes to see trans-European and supranational projects chosen so that citizy making the investment; considers it therefore more reasonable not to reckon on such investments may be able to associate the benefits arising from these projects with action byin evaluating the Stability Pact, which is weighing heavily on the economic recovery of the Member States and the European Union. itself;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Believes that the lack of investment is caused by low confidence, high indebtedness, slow deleveraging and subdued expectations of demandthe little progress made within the Council on fiscal union, eurobonds and revising the Treaties to allow the expansionary fiscal policies required to encourage private investment;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes the Investment Plan for Europe, which is an important instrument for increasing private and public investment; notes that the plan is meant to trigger additional investment, develop new projects, attract investors and restore confidenceCriticises the fact that the Investment Plan for Europe presented by the Juncker Commission is by no means an effective instrument for increasing private and public investment and making a significant contribution to growth; the plan falls far short of what is needed to trigger additional investment, develop new projects, attract investors and restore confidence and is too heavily focused on major projects that will not boost employment and alleviate poverty;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. StressesCriticises the fact that a lack of access to finance, particularlyabove all for SMEs, is one of the greatest obstacles to growth in the EU; believes that alternativedeplores the fact that the funds tohe bank financing are needed, especially by improving the business environment for venture capital, but also, more broadly, by improving the efficient allocation of capital through capital marketss have received from the ECB have not been invested in the real economy, which has resulted in lending being choked off, and that the terms which the ECB has imposed on the banks are unnecessarily penalising the traditional banking system;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. WelcomNotes the ambitious structural reforms implemented by those Member States most affected by the crisis; welcomes as well the fact that those Member States that have successfullyefforts made by some Member States to implemented adjustment programmes or financial sector programme, but points out that those efforts have not been ableenough to rgeturn to the capital markets, where they now access capital at low interest rates growth moving; stresses, furthermore, that it is not structural reforms that have brought government bond yields down but the policies pursued by the ECB;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on the Member States to make their labour markets more efficient without lowering wages and making the entire jobs market insecure, to modernise social protection systems, including pensions, and to improve and streamline the legal and administrative environment for business investment; stresses that structural reforms need to be complemented by well-targeted, longer- term investments in education, research and development, innovation, infrastructure, ICT and sustainable energy, which should no longer count towards the EU limits;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Stresses that the EU cannot in any way compete on costs alone in the global market, but needs to increase productivity through sustainable investment in research and development, education and skills, and resource efficiency, at national as well as European level;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Points out that EU financial assistance to certain Member States, provided on terms combining solidarity with conditionality, has proved to be most successful when there was a strong ownership and commitment to reform; reminds the Commission and the Member States that they need to explore ways of bringing the financial assistance under the EU frameworkCriticises the EU’s total failure to show Member States the financial solidarity required in order to put an end to speculation;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls for urgent action to be taken by the Commission to fight tax fraud and tax evasion; calls for a tax system that is simple and transparent; reiterates its call on the Member States to, in particular in the light of the events in Luxembourg; calls for a simple and transparent European tax system; draws the Commission’s attention once again to the need to introduce arrangements for shifting taxes from labour toand consumption to the financial sector, in which a large proportion of wealth has been concentrated to date;
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Believes that the Member States andCriticises the fact that the Commission haves not yet delivered on their commitment to complete the single market, especially the single market for services and the digital economy;
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Reiterates its call on the Commission to improve the governance of the single market; urges the Commission to align the aims of the Single Market with those of the European Semester; believesbelieves it important to review thate analytical tools, composed of indicators measuring the implementation of the single market, can provide useful guidance for country-specific recommendations and the Annual Growth Survey used, which have proved inefficient and inaccurate, with continuous downward revisions;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Underlines the fact that the absence of a well-functioning internalEuropean labour market and of a balanced approach to immigration is hampering growth in the EUis one of the main causes of economic inefficiency in the EU and has severely undermined the European social model; points out that the social situation is further complicated by the lack of a joint approach to immigration; calls accordingly on the Commission to submit at the earliest opportunity a European plan for an integrated approach to immigration;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Reiterates the importance of ensuring labour mobility (both cross-border and cross-sectoral), and enhanced labour productivity (connected with skills trainings to improve employability) and labour market flexibility, while preserving the necessary scope of work security; of putting an end to the current process of internal devaluation and preserving the necessary scope of work security, so as not to undermine consumer confidence and expectations still further;
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. WelcomNotes the strong decrease in the number of countries under the excessive deficit procedure – down to 11 in 2014 from 24 in 2011; notes that due to this fiscal improvement the fiscal stance in the EU is now expected to remain broadly neutral in the coming yeardraws attention to the fact that, in the countries in which public spending is being cut with the sole aim of coming within the limits set by the EU, consumption has fallen off, and this is having an adverse impact on GDP and on growth forecasts; expresses its concern, however, about the still very high indebtedness in relation to GDP of a number of Member States in the euro area, which has been made worse by austerity policies and a deflationary spiral, a circumstance that not only hinders growth but also constitutes a substantial sustainability risk in case of possible future shocks;
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Calls on the Commission to urge Member States to introduce a guaranteed minimum wage in order to meet the Europe 2020 target for fighting poverty and social exclusion;
Amendment 194 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Agrees with the Commission that most Member States need to continue to pursue growth-friendlyTakes the view that Member States need to make growth the priority, ahead of fiscal consolidation; invites Member States with sufficient fiscal space to consider reducing taxes and social security contributions with a view to stimulating private investment and growth;
Amendment 211 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Notes the Commission assessment of the Member States’ draft budgetary plans; stresses that the examination of draft budgetary plans should aim at sustainable finance; without, however, insistsing on the strict application of fiscal rules and on respect for the equal treatment principle, so as to leave room for targeted investment and tax cuts that will boost domestic demand;
Amendment 219 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Is concernedNotes that only five Member States were found to be fully compliant with the provisions of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), which shows how ineffective and difficult to apply these measures are;
Amendment 228 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. WelcomNotes the Alert Mechanism Report; welcomes the gradual reduction ofpoints to the need for internal imbalances in the EU economy to be reduced; draws attention to the external imbalances, including theGermany’s large trade surpluses;
Amendment 237 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23