Activities of Nicola CAPUTO related to 2017/2044(BUD)
Plenary speeches (2)
2018 budgetary procedure (debate) IT
General budget of the European Union for 2018 - all sections (debate) IT
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2018
Amendments (27)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Stresses the importance of the social and economic dimension of fishing for local communities in maritime and coastal regions;recognises the need to maintain sufficient financial provisions for enabling coastal, artisanal and small scale fleet sectors to obtain funding;
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the proposed EUR 59,5 billion in commitments which represent a 1,7 % increase compared to 2017, and a 2,6 % increase in payments amounting to EUR 56,3 billion under the Draft Budget (DB) 2018 for Heading 2; notes, however, that the increase is mainly attributable to the lower amount of assigned revenue estimated to be available to the EAGF in the DB 2018 compared to the 2017 budget, and that commitment appropriations for the EAFRD basically remain at the same level as in the 2017 budgetmongst others as last instalments of significant past clearance decisions are due in 2017;
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1 b. Emphasizes the need to give priority to projects focused on job creation and on diversifying local economies in order to add more value to their fishing activities and on the protection and recovery of fish stocks and marine ecosystems;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1 c. Considers that the Union budget should foresee an appropriate level of payment and commitment appropriations to prevent payment difficulties and financial cuts for fisheries actions;
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Reiterates the importance of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) funding instrument for the completion of the TEN- T network; stresses that the budgetary cuts to the CEF made in the past, due to the funding of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) initiative, should be avoided in the future; believes that CEF is a vital instrument with significant Union- added value to optimise the transport network across the Union, linking and/or modernising new and existing transport infrastructures; stresses the need to further promote the high speed railway projects connecting Western and Eastern parts of Europe; points out that optimised infrastructure is crucial for the development of the 'lagging regions' of the Union, and asks the Commission to develop specific budgetary instruments that support it;
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Notes that European agriculture has increasingly been exposed to crises in recent years;calls therefore on the Commission to reconsider the system of contingency funding and to create a new instrument that allows rapid political intervention in the event of a crisis, without burdening the annual direct payments;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Welcomes that commitment appropriations for the EAFRD basically remain at the same level as in the 2017 budget, while the requested payment appropriations are actually increasing;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1 b. Underscores the importance of developing new markets for maintaining competitiveness and increasing the resistance of European agriculture to market crises such as in the case of Russia embargo;calls therefore for the financial support of market development;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1 b. Notes that the main reason for no significant changes in the DB 2018 compared to Budget 2017 is that the majority of CAP expenditure concerns pre-allocated MS envelopes which show a relatively stable level of execution of the support over the years;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Points out the need to guarantee sufficient financial support to control fisheries activities on board and in the ports in order to ensure and facilitate the proper implementation of the landing obligation;in this regard, calls on Member States to make use of the resources available under the EMFF for control and enforcement measures which are key to achieving the CFP objectives;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1 c. Notes that the 2017 budget includes the financing for the EUR 500 million solidarity package for the dairy and other livestock sectors, while the decrease of this market measure will not have an impact on the 2018 budget;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Disapproves of staff reductions in EEA (-3 posts), ECHA (-2), ECDC (-2), EFSA (-4) and EMA (-5), which could negatively impact their work; highlights that the tasks and duties of those agencies are growing and that they should receive adequate human and financial resources; furthermore, is concerned that in the case of fee-funded agencies, like the EMA, the staff cuts imposed in recent years have meant a reduction in staff working on tasks that are actually funded by applicants' fees and not by the Union budget; this has been done without taking into consideration the extra workload created by increasing numbers of applications, nor the corresponding increase in income from fees paid by applicants for the services provided which could have allowed staff increases without any impact on the Union budget;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Highlights that administrative costs have to be secured for the Common Agricultural Policy, especially to guarantee timely payments and to maintain adequate levels of effective control; insists that further cuts in administrative staff numbers can lead to higher delays and risks of error and should not jeopardise the implementation of the CAP;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Asks the Commission to ensure uniform application of the criteria of the active farmers clause with a view to the simplified but more reliable identification of these farmers;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Notes that Brexit has no direct impact in particular that the EMA will be facing an increased workload and further budgetary needs in 2018 as a consequence of the decision of the UK to withdraw from the Union; calls on the Commission to make available additional staff and budget resources in 2018 to ensure that this agency can both continue to carry out its tasks effectively and launch all required activities in preparation for its relocation in 2019; proposes therefore that the EMA, in the spirit of sound financial management, be authorised to maintain a budgetary reserve to respond to unforeseen costs and unfavourable exchange rate fluctuations the 2018 DBat may be incurred in 2018 or beyond;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Highlights the importance of the rural development commitments and spending and their potential for the creation of jobs in areas of higher unemployment, especially for the younger generations; insists that the initiatives targeting young farmers, which support innovation and generation renewal, should be maintained;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to monitor, in a timely manner, the price volatility of agricultural products, which has adverse effects on farmers' incomes, and to react promptly and effectively when needed;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4 b. Welcomes that the reserve for crises in the agricultural sector is part of the DB 2018;calls on the Commission to reconsider the existing crisis reserve system, and to create a new instrument that enables rapid political intervention in the event of a crisis and does not rely on an annual financial discipline mechanism for its funding;
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Highlights the importance of pilot projects to the agricultural and rural development sectors in recent years; therefore asks for continued support for ongoing and new pilot projects; calls on the Commission to carry out an ex-post evaluation of the efficiency and benefits of pilot projects and preparatory actions;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls on the Commission to take into consideration the modifications put forward in the Omnibus proposal for modernising and simplifying the CAP and to secure finance for them in the 2018 budget;
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Stresses that it is essential that funds earmarked for research in the agri- food sector, in particular from the Horizon 2020 budget, remain fully available as such in order to stimulate innovation and smart solutions in the agricultural and rural development sectors; highlights the fact that these 'smart' solutions should maintain coherence with environment, climate and biodiversity policy objectives, ensure close cooperation with relevant stakeholders from all Member States, and incentivise and support initiatives tailored to the needs of smallholdings without economies of scale so that they may benefit from new technologies; notes that integrated 'smart' solutions – such as smart villages, precision farming, digitalisation, the shared and circular economy, and social initiatives – can contribute to agriculture and overall well- being in rural areas; urges the Commission to plan funding for 'smart' approaches in the light of the CAP reform and the Cork 2.0 Declaration;
Amendment 49 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Insists on the need to provide funds to compensate for the economic losses suffered by farmers due to market crises and sanitary or phytosanitary crises such as Xylella fastidiosa, and reiterates the need to use the available margins under Heading 2 in cooperation with Heading 3 to this effect;insists that compensation for eradication should also cover rehabilitation of agroecosystems including the soil, as well as establishing robust biological diversity, especially ensuring genetic diversity of the planting stock that ideally includes resistance to or tolerance of the disease or pest;indeed, considers that one of the aims of any aid granted should be to ensure balanced, biologically diverse agro-ecosystems and landscapes that are less susceptible to future attacks;
Amendment 50 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Notes that Brexit has no direct impact on the 2018 Draft Budget; regrets however that the Reflection paper on the future of EU finances1a is drawing up some critical scenarios for agriculture and rural development partly due to the departure of the UK; therefore calls on the Commission and the Member States to show responsibility towards the CAP budget during the ongoing discussions. _________________ 1a https://ec.europa.eu/commission/publicati ons/reflection-paper-future-eu- finances_en
Amendment 53 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9 b. Calls for additional funding to be earmarked for the olive-growing and olive oil sector to offset losses to farmers caused by the Xylella fastidiosa outbreak, to step up prevention measures in Europe and to restructure the sector and consolidate scientific research into the pathogen and its carrier;
Amendment 56 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Encourages the Commission to further prioritise the financing of the transport safety of passengers in different means of transport; invites the Commission to take notice of the considerable gap in the quality of infrastructure between the 'lagging regions' and the rest of Europe, and asks it to intensify the investments on the former;