Activities of Bronis ROPĖ related to 2022/2032(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on economic, social and territorial cohesion in the EU: the 8th Cohesion Report
Amendments (18)
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Recalls that the ecological transition in food production could be a win-win-win situation for primary producers, the environment, and society as a whole; highlights that, in consequence, the European Green Deal, and in particular the Farm to Fork strategy, can be tools for a more harmonized, cohesive and sustainable development in the EU;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses the importance of increasing the resilience of the EU agri- food system and equipping it with the necessary tools to face new crises, such as the war in Ukraine, by investing in research and innovation, digitalisation, and the transition to more sustainable and territorially connected agriculture; highlights notably the importance of the re-localisation of food and feed production and processing, notably of plant proteins; underlines the opportunities offered by the Cohesion Policy and regional environmental strategies in supporting this re- localisation;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Recalls that the climate crisis impacts underdeveloped regions disproportionally; therefore highlights the need to increase efforts to curb climate change and enhance climate mitigation in those regions; emphasises that Cohesion Policy must support a strong climate mainstreaming in agriculture and food related sectors, and ensure that all EU funding programmes and projects are embedded in strategies that support ambitious climate objectives; highlights the importance that regional environmental strategies be linked with ambitious climate targets that go beyond the overall target of achieving climate neutral EU by 2050, taking into account the potential contribution of the farming, food processing and forestry sectors; notes that these targets have to be in line with the overall EU targets in this regard;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2 b. Calls for a better access to funding to enable investments in the local energy transition, in particular at regional level, including energy efficiency, decentralised distribution of energy and a strong focus on renewable energy and sustainable circular economy; underlines that regional environmental strategies should exclude any kind of support for fossil fuels and gas infrastructure projects and should support renewable energy production, resource efficiency and sustainable development in the farming, food processing and forestry sectors ; Notes that the production of biomass from wood or agricultural products for energy production do not guarantee sustainability; suggests that National and regional authorities prioritize more sustainable options like wind or solar and subject bioenergy projects to strict and strong sustainability criteria;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)
Paragraph 2 c (new)
2 c. Notes that the Cohesion Policy and Regional environmental strategies offer opportunities to support farmers and forest managers’ sustainable investments in climate change adaptation, notably aiming at prevention against flood, drought and fire; suggests that these opportunities be highlighted in the future in order to encourages Member States and regional authorities to make full use of these possibilities;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 d (new)
Paragraph 2 d (new)
2 d. Requires that an additional instrument is to be founded that insures European regions from natural disasters that are based on climate change; at the same time to increase and reform the existing solidarity fund to be less bureaucratic and more easily accessible, suggest that these two funds should work rather as an insurance in which member states pay an annual fee based of the number of their inhabitants and invested in safe assets to be available if crisis occur;
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 e (new)
Paragraph 2 e (new)
2 e. Calls to strengthen the polluter- pays principle and promote decarbonisation both in mobility infrastructure and economy to contribute to the EU Green Deal and Fitfor55 Package;
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Notes that agriculture, and consequently the Common Agriculture Policy, has a central role, both at economic and social level, in many EU member countries; recalls that the European Council decision of 24-25 October 2002, stating that the CAP payments in the “new Member States” should reach the level of direct payments then applicable in the European Union by 2013, has still not been implemented fully; Calls on the Commission and the member states to complete this so-called convergence;
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3 b. Highlights that 20% of the beneficiaries of the CAP are receiving 80% of the CAP budget; underlines the need to effectively support small to medium family farms in order to maintain a living and thriving countryside in member states where this model of farming is still the norm; calls on the member states to implementation effective capping of their CAP funds in order to achieve this goal;
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Emphasises the role that a long- term vision for the EU’s rural areas should play in fostering synergies between different EU policies by establishing a framework for cooperation between authorities and stakeholders and by implementing the initiatives provided for in the Rural Action Plan; Highlights the importance of upholding the Partnership Principle in all programming, implementation and monitoring of EU cohesion policy and to set up a strong cooperation between regional and local authorities NGOs and stakeholders, including farmers’ organisations and environmental NGOs; underlines that regional governments should decide how the Cohesion funds dedicated to regions should be used; stresses that these processes should take into account the gender perspective;
Amendment 46 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Notes that depopulation has a negative impact on the EU's social, economic and territorial cohesion, especially in rural and remote areas; emphasizes that this increases economic as well as the risk of poverty and social exclusion; calls on the Commission and the Member States, therefore, to pay more attention to the financing of rural areas by the Regional Development Fund and cohesion policy;
Amendment 52 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Notes the positive impact that green sustainable local agro-tourism can have on local economies and climate mitigation, and encourages Member States and regional authorities to make use of the possibilities offered by the Cohesion Policy and by Regional environmental strategies to support its development, conditional on respecting environmental and social standards;
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5 b. Notes that improving access to green transport and services in rural and remote areas is crucial to tackling the social and digital exclusion of the population in the regions; calls on the Member States, therefore, to recognize the importance of rural and remote areas, given their diversity, and to develop their potential by stimulating investment in the local economy, promoting entrepreneurship and improving their infrastructure;
Amendment 58 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses the need to continue investing in the digital and green transitions, innovation and rural skills training in order to reduce the gaps between rural and urban areas and improve the attractiveness of rural areas overall. ; stresses that education and training, notably on environmental and climatic issues, would help local authorities, workers and companies to take greater account of the new challenges faced by underdeveloped regions, notably caused by Climate change and the biodiversity crisis, and the role they can play in mitigation and adaptation in their respective sectors; notes that the digital transformation is still uneven across Europe; Stresses the urgent need to strengthen the EU's core digital capabilities;
Amendment 63 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Notes that community and citizens initiatives can strongly support the local economy and social cohesion, the ecological transition, as well as climate change mitigation and adaptation, and that Local Action Groups and the LEADER program can be primary tools to achieve this; calls on the Commission and Member states to reinforce the LEADER program, and notably its budget; highlights that the definition of city can differ widely from member state to member state and that it could be useful to extend LEADER support to smaller cities under a reasonable threshold;
Amendment 65 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6 b. Stresses that equality and inclusion aspects must be strengthened even further in regional development; highlights the particular role of youth in Cohesion Policy;
Amendment 66 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Paragraph 6 c (new)
6 c. Highlights that women are disproportionately impacted by the gaps in development between EU member states and regions; notes the crucial need for providing women entrepreneurs in rural areas with an enabling environment, including legal and political considerations, leading to greater access to information, knowledge and skills, as well as facilitating access to financial resources, leading to the creation of more jobs in rural areas;
Amendment 67 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 d (new)
Paragraph 6 d (new)
6 d. Recalls that Article 174 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which deals with economic, social and territorial cohesion, provides for priority to be given to rural areas; notes, however, that the allocation of cohesion funds underestimates rural areas and their specific needs; calls on the Commission, therefore, to consider developing a clear methodology for assessing the share of cohesion funding reaching rural areas;