Activities of Jana ŽITŇANSKÁ related to 2017/0102(COD)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the legal framework of the European Solidarity Corps and amending Regulations (EU) No 1288/2013, (EU) No 1293/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1305/2013, (EU) No 1306/2013 and Decision No 1313/2013/EU
Amendments (10)
Amendment 48 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) The solidarity activities offered to young people should be of high quality, in the sense that they should respond to unmet societal needs, contribute to strengthening communities, offer young people the opportunity to acquire valuable knowledge and competences, be financially accessible to young people, and be implemented in safe and healthy conditions.
Amendment 55 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6
Recital 6
(6) The European Solidarity Corps would provide a single entry point for solidarity activities throughout the Union. Consistency and complementarity of that framework should be ensured with other relevant Union policies and programmes. The European Solidarity Corps should build on the strengths and synergies of existing programmes, notably the European Voluntary Service. It should also complement the efforts made by Member States to support young people and ease their school-to-work transition under the Youth Guarantee19, and should not jeopardise financing of the already existing relevant programmes in the area of solidarity. It should also complement the efforts made by Member States in the solidarity-related areas by providing them with additional opportunities to, for example, make a start on the labour market in the form of traineeships or jobs in solidarity-related areas within their respective Member State or across borders. Complementarity withbetween existing Union level networks pertinent to the activities under the European Solidarity Corps, such as the European Network of Public Employment Services, EURES and the Eurodesk network, should also be ensured. Furthermore, complementarity between existing related schemes, in particular nationalrelated schemes, in particular national solidarity schemes, civil society organizations active in the area of solidarity schemes and relevandt mobility schemes for young people, and the European Solidarity Corps should be ensured, building on good practices where appropriate. __________________ 19 Council Recommendation of 22 April 2013 on establishing a Youth Guarantee (2013/C 120/01).
Amendment 72 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) Voluntary activities constitute a rich experience in a non-formal and informal learning context which enhances young people's personal, socio-educational and professional development, active citizenship and employability. Voluntary activities, offered by public or private authorities or participating organizations, should not have an adverse effect on potential or existing paid employment, nor should they be seen as a substitute for it. In order to ensure continuity with respect to the volunteering activities that are supported at Union level, the volunteering activities under the European Voluntary Service that fall within the geographical scope of the European Solidarity Corps should be supported by the latter in the form of cross-border volunteering placements. The other volunteering activities under the European Voluntary Service that do not fall under the geographical scope of the European Solidarity Corps should continue to be supported under the Programme established by Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing 'Erasmus+': the Union programme for education, training, youth and sport20 . With respect to the interpretation of related legislation at Union level, both the cross-border volunteering placements under the European Solidarity Corps and the volunteering activities that continue to be supported under Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 should be considered equivalent to those carried out under the European Voluntary Service. __________________ 20 Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 establishing 'Erasmus+': the Union programme for education, training, youth and sport and repealing Decisions No 1719/2006/EC, No 1720/2006/EC and No 1298/2008/EC, OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 50.
Amendment 78 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) Traineeships and jobs in solidarity- related areas can offer additional opportunities for young people to make a startincrease their chances on the labour market while contributing to addressing key societal challenges. This can help foster the employability and productivity of young people while easing their transition from education to employment, which is key to enhancing their chances on the labour market. The traineeship placements offered under the European Solidarity Corps should be remunerated by the participating organisation and follow the quality principles outlined in the Council Recommendation on establishing a Quality Framework for Traineeships of 10 March 201421 . The traineeships and jobs offered should constitute a stepping stone for young people to enter the labour market and shcould therefore be accompanied by adequate post- placement support in relation to their participation in the European Solidarity Corps. The traineeship and job placements should be facilitated by relevant labour market actors, in particular public and private employment services, social partners and Chambers of Commerce. As participating organisations, they should be able to apply for funding via the competent implementing structure of the European Solidarity Corps in view of intermediating between the young participants and employers offering traineeship and job placements in solidarity sectors. __________________ 21 Council Recommendation of 10 March 2014 on a Quality Framework for Traineeships, OJ C 88, 27.3.2014, p. 1.
Amendment 82 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11
Recital 11
(11) Young people’s spirit of initiative is an important asset for society and for the labour market. The European Solidarity Corps should contribute to fostering this aspect by offering young people the opportunity to devise and implement their own projects aimed at addressing specificunmet challenges to the benefit of their local communities. Those projects should be an opportunity to try out ideas and support young people to be themselves drivers of solidarity actions. They could also serve as a springboard for further engagement in solidarity activities and could be a first step towards encouraging European Solidarity Corps participants to engage in self-employment or setting up associations, NGOture self-employment and engagement in various for other bodies active in the solidarity, non-profit and youth sectorms of solidarity activities.
Amendment 93 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13
Recital 13
(13) Particular attention should be paid to ensuring the quality of the placements and other opportunities offered under the European Solidarity Corps, in particular by offering adequate training, language support, insurance, and administrative and post- placement support to participantsupport in relation to their participation in the European Solidarity Corps as well as the validation of the knowledge, skills and competences acquired through their European Solidarity Corps experience.
Amendment 110 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 17
Recital 17
(17) A European Solidarity Corps Portal should continuously be developed in order to ensure easy and accessible entry to the European Solidarity Corps and to provide a one-stop shop for both interested individuals and organisations as regards, inter alia, registration, identification and matching of profiles and opportunities, networking and virtual exchanges, online training, language and post-placement support as well as other usefulin relation to their participation in the European Solidarity Corps as well as other useful, objectively justifiable functionalities, which may arise in the future.
Amendment 147 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 1
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 1
(1) “solidarity activity” means an activity aimed at addressing unmet societal needs to the benefit of a community while also fostering the individual’s personal, educational, social, civic and professional development, which may take the form of placements, projects or networking activities with a European and international dimension, developed in relation to different areas, such as education and training, employment, gender equality, entrepreneurship, in particular social entrepreneurship, citizenship and democratic participation, environment and nature protection, climate action, disaster prevention, preparedness and recovery, agriculture and rural development, provision of food and non-food items, health and wellbeing, creativity and culture, physical education and sport, social assistance and welfare, reception and integration of third-country nationals, territorial cooperation and cohesion;
Amendment 174 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 8
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 8
(8) “traineeship” means a period of work practice from two to twelvesix months, renewable only once, remunerated by the organisation hosting the European Solidarity Corps participant, based on a written traineeship agreement, which includes a learning and training component, and undertaken in order to gain practical and professional experience with a view to improving employability and facilitating transition to regular employment;
Amendment 182 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 9
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 9
(9) "job" means a period of work from two towith a maximum duration of twelve months, remunerated by the participating organisation employing the European Solidarity Corps participant, carried out in a participating country and based on an employment contract in accordance with the national regulatory framework of that participating country;