8 Amendments of Bernd LUCKE related to 2015/2220(INI)
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Stresses the importance of the Central Asia region for the EU in terms of its economic potential, energy diversification as well as for geostrategic and security interests;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Points to the fact that there is also considerable diversity in the region, not least in endowments of natural resources such as fossil fuels and arable land, and – partly as a consequence of this – in the countries’ current levels of human and economic development; stresses the importance of taking into account the cultural differences within the region as well as between it and the EUon one side and an inter-dependency of the countries in the region on the other side;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes that expectations of a transition towards Western models of democracy have been stalled or derailed, and that there is instead strong, and in some instances suffocating, authoritarianism; notes that the civil war in Tajikistan in the 1990s, insufficient commitment to human development and little readiness to engage in regional cooperation have slowed down, and in some cases even reversed, economic and social transformation; notes the problematic dependency of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and to a lesser extent Uzbekistan on remittances from migrant workers in Russia and Kazakhstan; also notes the rapidly growing economic dependence on China and Russia;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Stresses that Central Asian countries face external shocks, namely the economic slowdown in Russia and China, ongoing geopolitical tensions and the conflict in Ukraine; emphasises further that dropping commodity prices impact the oil exporting countries of the region; notes that behind this background the region's growth rate in the years since 2014 is expected to be roughly half of the last decades average;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Underlines that despite rapid economic growth in recent years the region faces high poverty rates, high income inequality and a declining life expectancy especially in rural areas where 80-90% of the population lives; stresses that the process of privatization during the economic transition has to a large extent left the mountainous regions behind; underlines that here women are particularly affected, as many men migrate into cities in search of employment, leaving women with the entire burden of farm and family work;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4c. Emphasises that it is vital for a sustainable economic development in the region to deepen regional integration and increase intraregional trade, focus on transport networks and logistic services, improve business climate and legislative and regulatory framework especially for small and medium-sized enterprises;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Emphasises that climate change is creating major threats and that another major earthquake could well occur in souCentral Asia is a region exposed to a variety of natural hazards; being one of the world's most seismically active zone earthquakes remain the predominant th-reastern Central Asiat while climate change poses an ecological challenge for the region;
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Proposes the launch of an EU initiative to support the pursuit of selected Sustainable Development Goals in the region., with measurable outcomes which represent value for money for European taxpayers;