40 Amendments of Ernest URTASUN related to 2015/2210(INI)
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 12 a (new)
Citation 12 a (new)
- having regard to the Council conclusions on Equal income opportunities for women and men: Closing the gender gap in pensions of 4 June 2015 (9302/15)
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 12 b (new)
Citation 12 b (new)
- having regard to the communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council 'strengthening the social dimension of the economic and monetary union' (COM (2013) 690)
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 12 c (new)
Citation 12 c (new)
- Having regard to its report of 21 February 2014 on 'Employment and social aspects of the role and operations of the Troika (ECB, Commission and IMF) with regard to euro area programme countries' (2014/2007(INI))
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 12 d (new)
Citation 12 d (new)
- having regard to Communications from the European Commission 'Europe 2020, A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth' (COM (2010) 2020) and 'Taking Stock of the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth' of 13/03/2014 (COM(2014) 130 final/2)
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the Commission's spring 2015 economic forecast indicates growth rates ofestimates that growth rates are expected to reach 2.1 % in the EU and of 1.9 % in the euro area for 2016;
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas annual inflation in both the EU and the euro area is expected to rise from 0.1 % in 2015 to 1.5 % inthe latest ECB forecast for the HICP has been revised downwards from 1.5% to 1.1% for 2016;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas unemployment in the EU remains at unacceptably high levels, but is on a declining path set and is expected to fall to 9.2 % in the EU and 10.5 % in the euro area in 2016;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the fiscal outlook in the EU and the euro area continues to improve with a broadly neutral fiscal stance on aggregatepublic deficits are expected to fall in most Member States; whereas the fiscal stance on aggregate is expected to be broadly neutral;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas gender differences in income persist, with the gender pay gap standing at 16 % and the gender pensions gap at 39 %;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)
Recital D b (new)
Db. whereas equality is a founding value of the EU and a necessary condition for achieving the Europe 2020 employment and poverty reduction targets, which can only be attained if Member States implement new policies to promote gender equality;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the fact that economic recovery is slowly gaining ground, with GDP inNotes with concern that the foundations of the ecuro area expected to rise by 2.1% in 2016; notes with concern, however, that its foundationsrent recovery are fragile, mainly owing to the EU's underlying structural weaknesses and resulting low international competitivenessexcessive reliance on external demand;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Notes that major policy initiatives which included policy recommendations were based on economic forecasts that had not anticipated the low growth and inflation experienced as a consequence of frontloaded austerity measures, and largely underestimated the size of the fiscal multiplier in a context characterised by severe financial turmoil as well as by the importance of spill-over effects across countries in a period of synchronised consolidation combined with the deflationary impact of cumulative and fast-tracked structural reforms;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Points out that a revision of the EU economic governance framework should include inter alia a qualified treatment for investments using capital budgeting methods such as the amortised cost method for accounting certain categories of high-quality public investments generating large and measurable societal and environmental benefits over periods during which employment and output are below their potential;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. WelcomesTakes note of 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 are based on sustainability criteria, also in the context of achieving the goals set out in the Europe 2020 strategy;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. WelcomeRegrets 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-specifwhile focusing on a short-term approach rather than on a long-term perspective which and euro area analysis three months earlier than in previous yearllows real structural reforms needed for a sustainable transition of the Member States economies;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Welcomes that the Commission is publishing its country-specific and euro area analysis three months earlier than in previous years but is worried that the country reports are too complex, hindering the democratic participation of civil society organisations in the process
Amendment 74 #
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 recomasks the Commission to publish a document providing a comprehensive assessment of the state of implemendtations of CSRs for every Member State;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Is strongly concerned that the Commission has dropped almost all of the recommendations on environmentally harmful subsidies, environmental tax reform, and the promotion of renewable energies from the CSRs; regrets in particular that the 2015 Country-Specific Recommendations did not address fossil fuel subsidies which account for €70bn within the EU and are a double negative, cutting public budgets and harming the transition to a low-carbon economy; urges the Commission to reverse direction with a view of greening the EU Semester;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Favours an enhanced process regarding the elaboration, follow-up and monitoring of country-specific recommendations; believes that the Commission should identify explicitly recommendations aimed at fulfilling updated and ambitious EU2020 national targets; recalls that the legislation enshrines the principle according to which Member States have to 'comply with or explain' these recommendations; calls in that perspective for Member States to explain how alternative policy measures can help achieve the national EU2020 targets in a measurable way if the recommendations are not followed;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4c. Asks the Commission to make the three-pillar strategy (investment, fiscal rules and structural reforms), presented in the AGS 2015, more concrete under the euro area recommendation and in the CSRs and to strengthen its approach by building a fourth pillar on taxation which would include a yearly monitoring mechanism covering, for example, developments regarding tax fraud and evasion, the state of play of environmental taxation and subsidy reform, and measures put in place at both national and European level to address specific CSRs for improving tax justice;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses that many Member States, in particular in the eurozone, are faced with similar macroeconomic challenges, including most importantly high debts ratios and low investment;
Amendment 102 #
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; highlights that this needs a specific approach for some population groups, such as younger people, low-skilled unemployed, older unemployed and women coming back to the labour market; is concerned that discrimination against women, older workers and workers with migrant backgrounds are still impeding their chances to access employment; highlights that shifting taxation from labour to environment is a cost-efficient way to create jobs;
Amendment 135 #
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; stresses that the proposed measures need to contribute to the transition to a low- carbon and competitive economy;
Amendment 141 #
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 large current account gapimbalances, as well as the excessive risks in the banking systems; asks for the inclusion of additional social and environmental indicators which should be on at least an equal footing with the rest of the MIP indicators; is of the opinion that such indicators must also be able to trigger corrective action and not merely to 'monitor' the overall socioeconomic situation; insists that excessive unemployment, inequality and poverty are also threatening imbalances for the Eurozone; recalls its repeated requests to adopt indicators regarding resource efficiency, indicators on unit capital costs and other indicators relevant for monitoring progress towards updated EU2020 objectives, including non-cost competitiveness-related indicators in fields such as R&D, education and training;
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Underlines that a resource-efficiency indicator to be integrated in the MIP scoreboard should in particular facilitate monitoring progress made towards the decoupling of economic development from the use of natural resources;[CA1]
Amendment 167 #
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 systems; stresses the business opportunities of a Circular Economy;
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Agrees with the Commission that many Member States need to be more ambitious in implementing structural reforms in order to makeimprove competitiveness and efficiency in their product and services markets more competitive; welcomes, in this context, the Commission's communication on the roadmap for completing the Digital Single Market;
Amendment 192 #
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, i.e. a tax shift or subsidy reform, and urgently implement socially fair and environmentally sustainable structural reforms, while those with more fiscal space should use it to accelerate investment;
Amendment 207 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Welcomes the fall in the number of Member States subject to the Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP), from 11 in 2014 to 9 in 2015; notes, however, that the number is still relatively high, and reiterates its call for the Country Specific Recommendations (CSRs) to be, where relevant, better coordinated with the EDP recommendations so as to ensure consistency between surveillance of the fiscal position and economic policy coordination;
Amendment 223 #
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 taxationbetter regulated, more socially inclusive and efficient labour markets in combatting unemployment by a structural shift towards a green and resource-efficient economy calls for a shift away from labour taxes to other sources of taxation and in particular to activities generating large negative externalities;
Amendment 235 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Shows its concerns about the strong negative impact of current process of lowering wages will have in a mid and long term period in the sustainability of pension schemes;
Amendment 236 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15b. Underlines that the flagship initiative for a resource-efficient Europe calls for environmentally harmful subsidies to be phased out; recalls the Commission assessment according to which there is a large policy space for shifting taxes from labour to environmental taxes;
Amendment 237 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 c (new)
Paragraph 15 c (new)
15c. Underlines the fact that, according to the Commission, the subsidies and externalities of fossil fuel and nuclear- based power and heat represent a cost of EUR 262 billion per year;
Amendment 238 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 d (new)
Paragraph 15 d (new)
15d. Emphasises that, according to the Commission, labour taxes account for around 53% of total tax revenue in the euro area as against 5.7% for environmental taxation; points out that there is wide scope for such environmentally friendly fiscal reform;
Amendment 239 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 e (new)
Paragraph 15 e (new)
15e. Urges, therefore, that an updated EU2020 strategy, as well as the CSRs, should include specific targets and benchmarks both for monitoring the phasing-out of market-distorting environmentally harmful subsidies by 2020 at the latest and for increasing the share of environmental taxes in proportion to overall tax revenue by at least 5% by 2020;
Amendment 240 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 f (new)
Paragraph 15 f (new)
15f. Reiterates its call on the Member States to incorporate the gender dimension into their stability and convergence programmes and national reform programmes through the setting of qualitative targets and measures that address persisting gender gaps and to systematically apply the principles of gender budgeting;
Amendment 246 #
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 more democratically accountability mechanism for their elaboration and implementation; calls, in this context, for an increased role for national parliaments, social partners and National and European civil society organizations 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 254 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Deplores in particular the Eurogroup decisions taken behind closed doors without transparency and proper accountability; calls for the minutes of the Eurogroup meetings to be published; recalls the conclusion of its report on the troika's activities deploring the absence of EU-level democratic legitimacy and accountability of the Eurogroup when it assumes EU-level executive powers;
Amendment 260 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Calls on the Commission to further streamline the European Semester and its current timetable in order to harmonise the mutual impact of national documents (NPRs and Convergence/Stability Programmes) and documents prepared by the Commission (CSRs and Country Reports) so as to strengthen synergy and facilitate coordination of national policies while ensuring a structural transition to a sustainable economy;
Amendment 284 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Reiterates its call for the strengthening of the position of the Commission's Chief Economic Analyst (CEA), whose mandate is to verify independently the implementation of the EU governance rules within the European Semester; calls, in particular, for the CEA's analysis to be made public and for the establishment of a regular dialogue between the competent committee of Parliament and the CEA; notes also in this context that the Five Presidents' Report on completing EMU proposes the setting-up of a European Fiscal Board (EFB);