24 Amendments of Alfred SANT related to 2015/2210(INI)
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas youth unemployment has to be addressed as a matter of priority, enhancing the current framework of cooperation between national authorities;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas, despite the overall improvement in aggregate towards a broadly neutral fiscal stance, the crisis regarding the third bailout for Greece in early summer 2015, again highlighted that the problems arising from divergences in economic and social performance achieved in different parts of the Union, are not being well managed, and this with particular reference to the Eurozone, but also to the Union as a whole;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)
Recital D b (new)
Db. whereas there may be a lack of cohesion between the CSRs as separately drafted for different countries of the Union situated in the same regional context, not only with regard to their contingent economic situation but also to the structural reforms they need jointly or separately to undertake so as to overcome intra-regional and intra-national economic divergences;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the factAppreciates that economic recovery is slowly gaining ground, with GDP in the euro area expected to rise by 2.1% in 2016; notes with concern, however, that its foundations are fragile, mainly owing to the EU's underlying structural weaknesses, regional economic divergences and resulting low international competitiveness;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the Commission's focus in the 2015 Country-Specific Recommendations (CSRs) on the four main priorities for economic growth: boosting investment, implementation of structural reforms in product, service and labour markets, fiscal responsibility and improving employment policy; stresses the importance of these growth drivers, also in the context of achieving the goals set out in the Europe 2020 strategy; points out that this has to be done without weakening employment protection or limiting workers' rights and undermining thus the European social model;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Welcomes the Commission's new approach to streamlining the European Semester process, i.e. through placing a stronger focus on a limited number of most important priorities and challenges and publishing its country-specific and euro area analysis three months earlier than in previous years; however recommends that all major structural reforms and changes promoted by the CSRs are accompanied by a social impact assessment regarding their short and long term effects especially on the vulnerable sectors of the European population; calls on Member States to involve local and regional authorities and other relevant stakeholders in a more structured manner along those three months;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes with concern the varying degrees of commitment demonstrated by Member States to implementing last year's CSRs; stresses the importance of the implementation of the CSRs in order to ensure consistent and fair implementation of the economic governance framework across Member States; deplores in this context the non-binding nature of the recommendationhowever recognizes that CSRs cannot automatically be assumed to be invariably or infallibly correct in their policy prescriptions and that reasonable and legitimate grounds may exist for national administrations to differ from their conclusions; recommends therefore that an analysis of the relevance or otherwise be conducted of past CSRs for different member states, to assess on a post hoc basis, whether they were valid or remained so, in terms of their scope, timing, phasing and sequencing, not least in terms of their social impact and contribution or otherwise to reduce economic divergences between regions of the Union and between members states;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Deplores the persistently high unemployment rates across most Member States, in particular the youth and long- term unemployment rates; stresses the need to reform national labour markets in order to increase job creation rates; taking care however to ensure that such reforms do not merely amount in practice, to reductions in labour rights and social protection, or to the promotion of precarious forms of employment;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Welcomes the entry into force of the regulation on the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI), aimed at boosting private and public investment in the EU, and calls on all relevant stakeholders to ensure its swift and effective implementation; calls Member States to closely involve their local and regional authorities in promoting project pipelines and investment platforms;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Welcomes the entry into force of the regulation on the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI), aimed at boosting private investment in the EU, and calls on all relevant stakeholders to ensure its swift and effective implementation;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Notes that further fiscal consolidation is still needed in many Member States in order to comply with the conditions of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP); notes the Commission's interpretative communication on flexibility in the SGP, aimed at clarifying the scope of the investment clause and allowing for a certain degree of temporary flexibility in the preventive arm of the SGP; sk for extension of the scope including on the establishment of a favourable climate for the development of public- sector investment; wishes in particular the neutralisation in calculations of the debt and deficits of public-sector investments made by public-sector operators of the Member States, in particular in view of the impact of the new accounting standards ESA2010 on the investment capacity of some public authorities;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. NotApproves that furthergrowth-friendly fiscal consolidation is still, leading to job creation, sustainable growth and lower debt levels is needed in manysome Member States in order to support them to comply with the conditions of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP); notwelcomes the Commission's interpretative communication on flexibility in the SGP, aimed at clarifying the scope of the investment clause and allowing for a certain degree of temporary flexibility in the preventive arm of the SGPs well as in the corrective arm of the SGP; calls for a "golden rule" for public accounting to keep growth- conducive long-term investments separate from current expenditure;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Is concerned at the persisting macroeconomic imbalances in some Member States, in particular the high public debt levels and, the large current account gaps and surpluses, as well as the excessive risks in the banking systems; is equally concerned at the widening economic divergences within the Union and the eurozone which are threatening the coherence and cohesiveness of European sectoral policies, as witnessed by the growing regional disparities in employment levels, all of which are being aggravated by the worsening migration challenges that the Union is facing;
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Stresses the importance of access to finance for enterprises, in particular for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which constitute the backbone of the EU economy; points out the failure of currently low interest rates to boost investment; and strict fiscal consolidation, which has drastically limited the room for national governments to push for economic expansion and boost investment; Calls on the Commission to carry out studies to establish, whether the enhanced regulatory practices rightly introduced as part of the banking union process, have negatively affected the access of SMEs to banking finance so that if necessary, corrective action may be taken;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Underlines the need to improve the EU's business environment as well as to raise productivity levels; stressReiterates the importance of sound business regulation for the success of the EFSI; calls, therefore, for the removal of administrative barriers, cutting red tape andensuring a quality workforce within the EU and ensuring full respect for the right to health and safety at work; recalls also the urgent need to adapt legislation concerning the posting of workers in order to put an end to the unacceptable practice of social dumping within the Union; calls, therefore, reform of Member States' tax systems;
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Underlines the need to improve the EU's business environment as well as to raise productivity levels; stresses the importance of sound business regulation for the success of the EFSI; calls, therefore, for the removal of administrative barriers, cutting red tape and reform of Member States' tax systemand legal systems; stresses the importance of avoiding one-size-fits-all policies; stresses that the improvement of administrative capacity at all levels of government is a key priority in many Member States;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Agrees with the Commission that many Member States need to be more ambitious in implementing socially sustainable structural reforms in order to make product and services markets more competitive; insists that due regard should be given to the social and employment impact of these reforms; welcomes, in this context, the Commission's communication on the roadmap for completing the Digital Single Market;
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Underlines that, CSRs and Country Reports often address issues linked to territorial differences in terms of both economic performance and administrative capacity, and stresses that policy objectives should systematically take these differences into account, also encouraging regionally-differentiated contributions to the Europe 2020 goals;
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Stresses the need for Member States to adapt their public finances by conducting a counter-cyclical policy when necessary and making full use of the existing flexibility clauses foreseen in the legislation; considers that Member States with high debt levels in particular must continue with growth-friendly fiscal consolidation and urgently implement the recommended structural reforms, while those with more fiscal space should use it to accelerate investment; stresses the need for a better coordination between the EU, national and sub-national budgets;
Amendment 219 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Stresses the role of flexible labour markets in combatting unemployment, in particular the negative impact on job creation rates of rigid rules on dismissal, excessive minimum wage levels and lengthy labour disputes; calls for a shift away from labour taxes to other sources of taxation;importance to preserve the quality workforce; Ask for a real plan to combat unemployment; calls for a better repartition of taxation between labour, consumption and capital.
Amendment 229 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Stresses the role of flexiblecrucial role of robust labour markets in combatting unemployment, in particular the negative impact on job creation rates of rigid rules on dismissal, excessive minimum wage levels and lengthy labour disputes; stresses however that any reform in the labour market must fully respect the European social model, not least by safeguarding labour rights and the ability of trade unions to protect such rights, while ensuring that precarious employment is curtailed and discouraged; calls for a shift away from labour taxes to other sources of taxation;
Amendment 251 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Deplores the fact that the CSRs suffer from lack of ownership at national level and from a democratic accountability mechanism; calls, in this context, for an increased role for national parliaments, as well as for local and regional authorities, in the preparation of the National Reform Programmes (NRPs); stresses that increased ownership is a crucial factor for the successful implementation of the CSRs and, in the longer term, for the success of the Europe 2020 strategy;
Amendment 270 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Underlines the destructive impact of high debt levels and low investment environment on economic growth in the EU; calls on the Commission to explore innovative ways of speeding up and lessening the negative impact of deleveraging in the banking, private and public sectors; and especially safeguarding debt sustainability;
Amendment 278 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19