Activities of Luigi MORGANO related to 2018/2034(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on employment and social policies of the euro area
Amendments (12)
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Is deeply concerned that, in the EU2819, the average rate of general government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP fell year-on-year from 2009 to 20161 ; regrets that the education and training sector has been severely hit by austerity policies and stresses that well- resourced public education systems are vital for equality and social inclusion; calls, therefore, for a shift in the euro area’s macroeconomic policy mixpriorities towards increased public spending on education and training; _________________ 1calls on the Commission to introduce in the Social Scoreboard an indicator on spending (especially public) on education as a share of GDP (or per student), in order to monitor the performance of the Member States; _________________ 1 Eurostat data. Eurostat data.
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses that social disadvantage is frequently a predictor of poor educational outcomes and vice versa; stresses, furthermore, that, in the constantly changing knowledge economies, employability, even among students with otherwise similar hard skills, is often dependent to a non-negligible extent on ‘softer’ skills (communication, critical thinking, cooperation, creative innovation, confidence and ‘learning to learn’) beyond reading and mathematical and scientific literacy; insists that a properly funded, quality education and lifelong learning system can help break this vicious circle and promote social inclusion and equal opportunities;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Recalls that, according to the Education and Training 2020 benchmarks(ET 2020), by the year 2020, at least95% of children (from 4 to compulsory school age) should participate in early childhood education; stresses that the area of “early childhood care” in the Social Scoreboard includes only one indicator, for children aged under 3 in formal care; highlights that it lacks information on the coverage of older children below compulsory age, as well as information about the extent of childcare provision as measured by the number of hours provided;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4c. Considers child poverty to be a major issue on which Europe should ‘act big’; calls for the swift implementation of a Child Guarantee in all Member States, so that every child now living at risk of poverty can have access to free healthcare, free education, free childcare, decent housing and proper nutrition; underlines the importance of pre-natal care and early childhood development; calls for inclusive education systems at all levels, including afterschool care; underlines that implementation of the Child Guarantee will require adequate financing at national and European level; calls, therefore, for an increase in its financing, possibly via the European Social Fund and a new convergence instrument for the Eurozone; requests that national public investments in the Child Guarantee be considered within a 'silver rule on social investment' under the Stability and Growth Pact;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 d (new)
Paragraph 4 d (new)
4d. Stresses that one of the objectives of the Youth Guarantee is to ensure that all young people under the age of 25 years receive a good-quality offer of employment, continued education, apprenticeship or traineeship within a period of four months of becoming unemployed or leaving formal education; calls, therefore, for full implementation of the Youth Guarantee, with emphasis on quality offers and effective outreach to all NEETs 1a; highlights that this requires adequate financing in the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF post 2020) including an increase of the European Social Fund and an extension of the Youth Employment Initiative to at least € 21 billion; requests that national public investments for the Youth Guarantee and integration of the long- term unemployed be counted within a ‘silver rule on social investment' under the Stability and Growth Pact; _________________ 1aNEETs: Young people not in employment, education or training
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 e (new)
Paragraph 4 e (new)
4e. Supports a Skills Guarantee as a new right for everyone to acquire fundamental skills for the 21st century, including digital literacy; considers that the Skills Guarantee should involve individualised assessment of learning needs, a quality learning offer as well as systematic validation of skills and competences acquired, enabling their easy recognition on the labour market; underlines that the Skills Guarantee is an important social investment, requiring adequate financing at national and European level; calls, therefore, for an increase in the financing of the Skills Guarantee, possibly via an increased European Social Fund and a new convergence instrument for the Eurozone; requests that national public investments in the Skills Guarantee be considered within a 'silver rule on social investment' under the Stability and Growth Pact;
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 f (new)
Paragraph 4 f (new)
4f. Reiterates the European Parliament’s call for the Erasmus+ envelope to be at least tripled in the next MFF with the aim of reaching many more young people, youth organisations and secondary school pupils and apprentices across Europe; calls for particular attention to be paid to people coming from a disadvantaged socio-economic background so as to enable them to participate in the programme, as well as to people with disabilities, in line with the EU’s and the Member States’ obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD);
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 g (new)
Paragraph 4 g (new)
4g. Calls for a ‘silver rule’ on social investment to be applied when implementing the Stability and Growth Pact, namely to consider certain public social investments having a clear positive impact on economic growth (e.g. the Child Guarantee, the Youth Guarantee and the Skills Guarantee) as being eligible for favourable treatment when assessing government deficits and compliance with the 1/20 debt rule; highlights that fiscal consolidation should not undermine national co-financing of European funding for social investment;
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 h (new)
Paragraph 4 h (new)
4h. Calls for adequate financing under the next MFF in order to cope with increased needs; calls, in particular, for: (a) the strengthening of the Youth Employment Initiative, with at least €3 billion per year in funding, available in a dedicated budget line; (b) a substantial increase of the financing envelope of the European Social Fund; (c) establishing a new instrument, which will support the implementation of the Child Guarantee and which would be financed from the EU revenue arising, for instance, from the enforcement of EU competition law;
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 i (new)
Paragraph 4 i (new)
4i. Recalls the strategic potential of the cultural and creative sector (CCS) as a generator of jobs and wealth in the EU; stresses that cultural and creative industries (CCIs) constitute 11.2 % of all private enterprises and 7.5% of all persons employed in the total EU economy and generate 5.3 % of the total European gross value added (GVA); underlines the CCIs’ role in preserving and promoting European cultural and linguistic diversity and their contribution to economic growth, innovation and employment, especially youth employment;
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 j (new)
Paragraph 4 j (new)
4j. Calls on the Commission to fully exploit potential synergies existing between EU policies, so as to effectively use the funding available under EU programmes – such as Horizon 2020, the Connecting Europe Facility, Erasmus +, Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI), Creative Europe and COSME – and the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIFs) to support more projects in the field of CCIs; notes that, particularly in the case of Creative Europe, Horizon 2020 and the Structural Funds (ERDF and ESF), the role and impact of CCIs on growth, employment and territorial cohesion should be specifically evaluated and further promoted; stresses that this process should provide a solid and coherent basis for the revision of the MFF and the future EU programme architecture post- 2020;