11 Amendments of Romana TOMC related to 2023/0000(BUD)
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Calls for a strong budgetary response by the Union in 2024 to the social and economic difficulties faced by Europeans as a consequence of inflation and the cost of living crisis, in the context of the war in Ukraine and post-pandemic challenges; is concerned in particular that high energy and food prices, and continued pressure on essential services and supplied chains are exacerbating already existing social and economic inequalities, eroding the middle class, and worsening the living and working conditions and mental health of many workers and their families; stresses the importance of ensuring streamlined administrative processes to facilitate access to Union funds to the benefit of European citizens and businesses;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses that the budget should support policies and measures to facilitate the labour market transitions, to strengthen the competitiveness of our economies, create quality employment, further develop resilient national social systems, reduce poverty and increase upward social convergence across the Union so that no one is left behind; notes in particular that investment in lifelong learning, reskilling and upskilling is essential to address the green and digital transition; welcomes in this context the 2023 Porto Social Forum conclusions highlighting – in the framework of the European Year of Skills – how robust policies on skills, education and training can create better employment, swifter integration in the labour market and foster social inclusion, and consequently boost the resilience and competitiveness of the EU´s economy and society; calls for financial support to the creation of local strategies for skills and skills development hubs in cooperation with employment agencies of cities; insists on the importance of investing in social inclusion and measures for children and young people; recalls that the integration into the labour market of the most vulnerable groups, such as people in poverty, people with disabilities, young and elderly people, the unemployed, and people displaced as a result of the war in Ukraine, is paramount;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Underlines that a skilled workforce that keeps up with the demands of a modern labour market is essential to stimulate economic growth, competitiveness and social prosperity;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4 b. Highlights the regulatory burden on EU employers and its possible negative impact on competitiveness, growth and quality job creation; continues to support the ‘one in, one out’ principle and calls on the Commission to develop a more ambitious Better Regulation agenda, which should lead to a reduced regulatory burden for EU employers;
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4 c. Welcomes the Commission communication entitled ‘Long-term competitiveness of the EU: looking beyond 2030’ aiming to rationalise and simplify reporting requirements by 25 % for each of the green, digital and economic thematic areas, and the Commission’s presentation of a proposal for achieving this by autumn 2023; calls on the Commission to demonstrate this commitment swiftly, thereby improving the competitiveness of all undertakings in the EU, including small and medium- sized enterprises (SMEs), and enhancing the basic conditions for social justice and prosperity; recalls that SMEs are the backbone of our social cohesion;
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Regrets the further decrease in the allocation for the Budget line 07 20 04 06 (Specific competences in the area of social policy, including social dialogue); highlights that strong social dialogue is a key feature of the European social model; recalls the commitment of the Union to promote the role of social partners and to facilitate social dialogue, in line with Article 152 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union; stresses the need to ensure adequate support for social dialogue and to develop and improve the capacity of social partners and to increase the allocation for this budget line, as well as to guarantee adequate support for information and training measures for workers’ organisations, taking also into account the continued impact of inflation on staff expenditure in the budgets of the trade union institutes;
Amendment 49 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Recalls that the agencies Eurofound, EU-OSHA, Cedefop, ETF and ELA play an important role in providing Union institutions and countries with specialised knowledge notably on employment and social issues and that they must receive the necessary resources to fulfil their evolving tasks; notes that the 2024 estimates for agencies are in line with the budget programming and that an additional amount ( EUR 650,000 in 2024) is planned for Eurofound for the second year in a row to help it cope with the sharp increase in the coefficient corrector in Ireland; supports ELA’s call for transforming 15 seconded national experts posts into temporary agent posts and for two additional contractual agent posts - without budget impact - with a view to be able to attract and retain the necessary staff resources to fulfil its tasks;
Amendment 53 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Welcomes the proposed Mid-Term revision of the MFF 2021-2027 and underlines the need for a solid, sustainable plan to cover increased interest costs on debt repayments under the Union’s COVID-29 recovery fund; fully endorses further financial aid to Ukraine and welcomes the newly proposed Ukraine Facility;
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13b. Highlights the demographic situation in the Union with an ageing population as a demographic phenomenon which involves a decrease both in fertility and mortality rates and a higher life expectancy; insists on the need to invest in social infrastructures to address the demographic challenge; stresses the lack of European and national policy responses to the impact of demographic change;
Amendment 59 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Calls on the Commission to develop a proper strategy for the mainstreaming of social objectives in Union spending; considers that a social mainstreaming methodology in the Union budget would be necessary in order to ensure that all Union-funded policies are compliant with the social standards defined in the European Pillar of Social Rights, and that all Union spending contributes to European social objectives or at least does not work contrary to those objectives.
Amendment 62 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Highlights the role of the Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency (SURE) instrument as a crucial element to protect citizens and mitigate the economic and social consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic; underlines that this instrument provided EU macroeconomic stabilisation through support for national counter- cyclical fiscal policies; calls on the Commission to encourage all Member States to strengthen their national unemployment benefit schemes; calls on the Commission to build on the loan- based SURE experience for crisis situations in which national schemes temporarily lack sufficient resources, thereby limiting potential macroeconomic stabilisation; asks the Commission to take into account the observations made by the European Court of Auditors as regards the implementation and the transparency of the SURE instrument.