44 Amendments of Marco ZANNI related to 2016/2306(INI)
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Considers that the EU budget could help relieve the strain on national budgets and bolster fiscal consolidation efforts, while not calling into questioninsofar as it intervenes for initiatives which have real European added value; considers it necessary, moreover, to assess which initiatives can be financed more effectively through national budgets, in full compliance with the principle of shared managementubsidiarity;
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Agrees that stability mechanisms are essential, but recalls that they must guarantee a framework for living together, in particular by preserving public services accessible to all generations and territories; considers that the expenditure incurred by the policies related to food, European defence, international cooperation and territorial cohesion should be removed from the convergence criteria establishConsiders it necessary to review all the convergence criteria established by the Stability and Growth Pact in order to ensure recovery and socio-economic development, which are currently hampered by the Sstability and Growth Pactconstraints imposed by the EU treaties;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Recalls that improving the systems for collecting VAT and custom duties should be the highest priority of all Member States; welcomes the Commission’s proposal for establishing an EU black list of tax havens, which should be enforced by criminal sanctions with the aim of dealing with multinationals that evade taxes; recalls the need tooption of resorting to new owndifferent resources for the EU budget, such as taxation on speculative financial movements and on environmental and social drifts;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Considers that growth is still insufficient toRegrets that the measures hitherto adopted have not helped create the jobs the EU urgently needs, especially for its young people, and that it is necessary to encourage more public and private investment in infrastructure and SMEs; considers it necessary, therefore, to encourage more investment in projects and programmes that are sustainable from an economic and environmental point of view;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the European Union’s apparent economy isic recovering and growing at a moderate pacy remains fragile and modest and is mostly governed by external factors of a temporary nature;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Is convinced that monetary control is an integral part of the problems of economic development; recalls that monetary policy must be at the service of a budget policy focused on stimulating demand; considers the experience of the European single currency, therefore, to be a failure, and calls for a controlled disintegration of the eurozone, to boost the recovery of the economies that are being crushed by the weight of an unsustainable single currency;
Amendment 39 #
C. whereas the employment rate is not growing steadily, although at an inat a sufficient pace, reducing to curb unemployment, which in the euro area to 10.1 % in 2016remains at the alarming level of 10.1 %;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas thise apparent recovery in the labour markets, and growth, is uneven among the Member States, benefitting those that have iwith growth rates which vary between -0.3 % in Greece and +4.1 % in Ireland and unempleoymented structural reform rates between 4.4 % and 23.5 %, which reflect profound divergences and macroeconomic imbalances between countries;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas growth has to an important degree relied upon unconventional and, in the long term, unsustainable monetaryprospects still depend, to an important degree, on temporary external factors, while unconventional monetary policies have turned out to be ineffective in raising inflation and supporting the real economy, as shown by the ECB decision to prolicies; whereas this supports the call for a three-pronged policy approach of growth-friendly investment, a full and consiong quantitative easing until December 2017; whereas this supports the call for a radical change of policy approach that should promote, conversely, strong fiscal expansion, especially in those countries having the greatest difficulty in financing public investment implementationand demand-boosting policies, moving beyond the rules of the Stability and Growth pact, across Member States, and a particular focus on structural reformnd should promote the option for Member States to manage their own macroeconomic policies in accordance with the requirements of their own economies;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas some Member States still carry a very high sovereign debt, which reflects the recessionary and counter- productive effects of austerity policies and the need to focus instead on counter- cyclical policies to directly support domestic demand;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the severe compression of domestic demand and huge investment deficit indicate that the EU requires important public investment effortand policies to support domestic demand with a view to compensating for the income erosion caused by austerity policies;
Amendment 88 #
Ga. whereas the current account surpluses in Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark continue to far exceed economic fundamentals and to exceed the alert threshold of 6% of GDP for current account surpluses; whereas, in particular, the high current account surplus in Germany further expanded in 2015 and 2016 and has now reached almost 9% of GDP, further to a constant increase in the surplus in previous years;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G b (new)
Recital G b (new)
Gb. whereas the high current account surplus of the euro area continues to grow significantly, reflecting the severe compression of domestic demand and lack of investment, in addition to persistent macroeconomic imbalances in the euro area;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
Ha. whereas the single currency prevents normal adjustments in competitiveness between countries through free exchange-rate fluctuations and deprives them of the basic economic policy tools that would enable them to absorb asymmetric shocks, thus hindering economic recovery and exacerbating the divergences and macroeconomic imbalances between core and periphery countries;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H b (new)
Recital H b (new)
Hb. whereas the austerity policies promoted by the Commission as part of its growth strategy have had a major depressing and destabilising effect on the economy, causing a collapse in domestic demand, an increase in unemployment levels and poverty and an explosion of social and economic inequalities;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. WelcomesIs concerned about the Commission’'s Annual Growth Survey 2017 reaffirming the strategy ofpackage which stresses continuation of the same disastrous old strategy based on a virtucious triangle of investmentausterity, structural reforms and responsible public finances; agrees that faster progresprivate investment; stresses that instruments onf the adoption of reforms, in line with the country-specific recommendations, is needed to deliver on growth and jobsis kind are not capable of tackling the real causes of the crisis, those linked to the slump in domestic demand and the destructive impact of the single currency on countries on the outskirts of the euro area;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes that growth in 2016 is continuing at a positive moderate pace, surpassing the pre-crisis level; believes, however, that there iremains fragile and uneven across Member States, moving at a slow pace that is insufficient to support recovery; stresses that strategy needs nto time for complacency, and that this moderate recovery requires relentless efforts if it is to achieve greater resiliencebe changed radically to enable individual States to use all the macro-economic policy instruments necessary to respond effectively to the crisis and turn around their own economies;
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Finds that whileunemployment, and in particular youth and long-term unemployment, is, on average, gradually decreasing, and that activity rates are growing, structural deficiencies persist in some Member State still at an unacceptable level considering the modest but insufficient improvements in the employment rate which reflect, more than anything, the sharp upsurge in insecure and part-time jobs;
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. ADisagrees with the Commission that access to finance is crucial for businesses to grow; stresses on the contrary that SMEs' main concern, given the prolonged crisis in demand, is the difficulties they have finding customers, while access to finance, as revealed by a recent ECB survey, is the least of their concerns;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Notes that tha healthy and sustainable financial system and its institutions are crucial for investment and growth in the European economy; stresses that the current financial system is characterised by increased safety and stabilitycontinues instead to be characterised by instability and high systemic risks because the real causes of the crisis have not yet been tackled;
Amendment 188 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses that a fully functioning Capital Markets Union can, in a longer perspective, provideIs concerned about the plan for a Capital Markets Union which the Commission is pursuing with the aim of further developing the capital markets as channels for alternative financing tofor SMEs, complementing that of the banking sectorgiven that in advanced economies further financial expansion curbs economic growth while at the same time it increases instability in the financial sector, as demonstrated empirically;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Stresses that a step-by-step completion of the Banking Union shall aim at increasing resilience in the banking sector and contributing to financial stabilitythe planned Banking Union is not capable of strengthening resilience in the banking sector and contributing to financial stability, as it is based on a supervision and resolution system which totally disregards exposure to the systemic risks associated with trading in financial derivatives, penalising instead the more sustainable banking model that is focused on supporting credit; stresses that the banking sector needs to undergo structural reform based on a clear separation of trading activities from the credit function, and that the unfinished reform of the financial sector needs to be completed, in order to channel investments to the real economy and SMEs and prevent an outbreak of new financial crises in the future;
Amendment 222 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Emphasises that reliable investment requires a regulatory environment that allows for a return on investment; considers that predictable rules, a level playing field and reduced compliance costs are crucial factors for attracting investmentlevel playing field and healthy competition between market operators;
Amendment 237 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
Amendment 246 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
Amendment 260 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. AgreesVoices its concern at the fact that structural reforms in product, services and labour markets remainhave been confirmed as a priority in the Member States; stresses that recent empirical studies have shown that there is no statistically significant correlation between structural reforms and productivity and that the greatest positive impact on total-factor productivity has come from public investment in R&D and innovation;
Amendment 285 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Considers that well-functioning, flexiblliberalisation of the labour market has haved a proven to be quicker to recover from the economic downturnfoundly impact impact on growth and employment and resulted in a sharp upsurge in the number of insecure and part-time jobs;
Amendment 296 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Is deeply concerned about the effects of demographic developments on public finances, conditioned by, inter alia, low birth rates, ageing societies and the influx of refugees; points in particular to the impact of ageing populations onfact that current fiscal policy and the pursuit of absurd, unrealistic budget targets are compromising the quality and fitness for purpose of Member State pension and healthcare systems inand the EU; notes that, owing to different demographic structures, the effects of these developments will vary across Member States, but warns that the already foreseeable funding costs will have a significant impact on public deficits; highlreby undermining the enjoyment of the fundamental rights the fact that current consolidation paths will not be sufficient to ensure compliance with EU fiscal rules if pension systems are not reformed or current reforms are reversed or not implementedo health protection and a decent pension that is enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union;
Amendment 318 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Welcomes the fact that, on average, youth unemployment is declining; notes, however, that there remain stark differencesIs alarmed at the still unacceptably high levels of youth and long-term unemployment; notes, furthermore, that there remain stark differences inside the euro area and that those differences are a reflection of the asymmetrical and distortionary impact that the single currency is having across the Member States thatand call for continued reforms to facilitate the entry ofpolicies to stimulate demand and thereby help young people into the labour marketfind high-quality jobs;
Amendment 344 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Agrees that high taxation of work and consumption is a hindrance to growth, investments and jobs; calls for reforms in taxation with a view to tacklstresses the importance of building a fairer taxation system by shifting the high tax burden on labour in Europeaway from labour and towards effective arrangements for taxing multinationals' profits, environmental pollution and financial transactions;
Amendment 363 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Underlines the fact that all Member States are obliged to comply with the Stability and Growth Pact; points, in this regard, also to the importance of the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance (TSCG), and urges the Commission to submit a report on the implementation of the TSCG in the Member States, for some time now, the widespread difficulties experienced by the Member States in meeting their obligations under the Stability and Growth Pact have been fuelling doubts about the credibility and sustainability of the current budgetary rules, pointing to the need for radical change; calls, furthermore, for the suspension or repeal of the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance (TSCG), given that the drive to balance budgets has, as predicted, proved the principal obstacle to public investment, undermining States' ability to tackle the recession;
Amendment 371 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Notes that six Member States continue to be under the Excessive Deficit ProcedureDeplores the fact that the burden of the adjustment process was placed squarely on the shoulders of the deficit countries and notes that six Member States continue to be under the Excessive Deficit Procedure while the countries with excessive current account surpluses have been free to continue to accentuate the existing imbalances to the detriment of the euro area as a whole, making any rebalancing impossible; stresses that high and persistent current account surpluses in a monetary union are primarily a reflection of the competitive advantages of an undervalued currency and deflationary policies designed to damage partners countries; calls accordingly on the Commission not to hesitate to take action under the macroeconomic imbalance procedure against countries that fail to take proper steps to rein in excessive surpluses;
Amendment 376 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
Amendment 387 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
Amendment 404 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
Amendment 414 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
Amendment 429 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Takes note with concern of the Commission’s communication on a fiscal stance; questions the usefulness of an aggregate target, given the lack of significant spill- over effects of domestic demand between Member States; recalls that the Member States must comply with the Stability and Growth Pact, regardless of aggregate recommendations which entrusts surplus countries with the necessary fiscal expansion while continuing to prevent countries with no fiscal space from implementing counter- cyclical policies, making the possibility for euro area recovery contingent upon the non-existent political will of surplus countries to increase their spending and public investment for the benefit of partner countries; recalls that an expansionary fiscal policy would, conversely, have the greatest positive impact precisely in those countries without any fiscal space, in which multipliers are higher;
Amendment 452 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Takes the view that improving the structure of public budgets is a key lever to ensure compliance with EU fiscal rules and to allow forthe EU fiscal rules prevent the financing of indispensable expenditure, the building of buffers for unforeseen needs and, lastly, the financo fund policies in support of demand and public investments, which are vital ing of non-essential spendingrder to boost the real economy;
Amendment 466 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. WelcomesIs concerned about the ongoing review of public spending, and encourages the Member States critically to assessto guarantee the quality of their budgets; points out that such a review cannot replace urgent fiscal consolidation needs by financing appropriate universal, quality public and social services, especially in the areas of education, pensions and health;
Amendment 475 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Highlights the importance ofStresses that debates, by national parliaments debat, concerning country reports and country-specific recommendations, cannot under any circumstances make up for the lack of democratic legitimacy inherent in the European Semester coordination mechanism;
Amendment 481 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Paragraph 26 a (new)
26a. Points out that the current macroeconomic coordination mechanisms unnecessarily prevent Member States from making fundamental economic policy choices, in a democratic manner, based on the specific requirements of their economies and in the interests of their own citizens; calls for a radical change in the EU model of economic governance, which should centre on full respect for national economic sovereignty; stresses the urgent need to draw up a plan for an orderly and coordinated dissolution of the euro area and, in the meantime, provide for an opt- out procedure for any Member State that wishes to leave the monetary union;
Amendment 483 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 b (new)
Paragraph 26 b (new)
26b. Stresses that the only way to guarantee democratic legitimacy and accountability in the European Union is to give full economic sovereignty back to the Member States to enable them to pursue independent fiscal and monetary policies;
Amendment 484 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Believes that bettethe poor implementation of country-specific recommendations requires clearly articulated priorities at European level and genuine public debate at national level, leading to greater ownershipflects the inadequacy of the solutions proposed by the Commission in respect of the real economic and social requirements of each country; takes the view, moreover, that the greater ownership and legitimacy of the country-specific recommendations called for cannot stem merely from public debate at national level, but that it must necessarily be linked to full control of macroeconomic policy instruments by the Member States;