18 Amendments of Marco ZULLO related to 2014/2209(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Underlines the importance of each European Structural and Investment Fund (ESIF) and of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) in enhancing the competitiveness of SMEs and in supporting the shift towards a low-carbon economy in all sectors; is of the opinion that those fundshopes that those funds, together with the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), will contribute to the achievement of the Europe 2020 objectives for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Encourages the extension of innovative support schemes, such as green innovation vouchers, which can promote the introduction of sustainable technologies and environmentally friendly solutions into the market; urges the Member States to support the activities of firms involved in the decontamination of polluted sites and in research into new decontamination technologies and sustainable methodological approaches;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas the focus is primarily on high- tech SMEs that directly deliver green innovations, but there is a need to support other companies which wish to comply with environmental regulations and to implement green innovation measures; whereas eco-innovation might be an idea for a new company, but also a measure to improve existing businesses within the framework of the green economy;
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Encourages the extension of innovative support schemes, such as green innovation vouchers, which can promote the introduction of sustainable technologies and environmentally friendly solutions into the market; urges the Member States to promote structural reforms proceeding from the now proven fact that economic growth and environmental sustainability are mutually compatible;
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls onAsks the Commission and the Member States to support and promote the creation of thematic and geographic/regional platforms, through which incremental or breakthrough eco- innovative projects would attract private investments, and to encourage stakeholder cooperation in order to enrich the European value chain; calls on local authorities to use available indirect funding to support eco-innovative SME ventures, not least by applying procedures enabling that funding to be pooled with the direct funding (under the Smart Specialisation Strategies, for example) provided in order to seek and establish clusters of excellence and quality districts;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
Ia. whereas inadequate access to risk capital, in particular at the start-up stages, continues to be one of the main obstacles to the creation and development of growth-oriented businesses;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Highlights the fact that our economy will need to provide for an ever growing population – 9 billion people by 2050 – and that our natural resources are limited and therefore should be used in a very efficient way; points out new innovative and green solutions to these challenges such as new products, production processes, business practices and services, and a new supporting legal framework;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Believes that the EU needs to drastically change its entrepreneurial culture in order to contribute to environmentally sustainable economic growth by having more people starting up their own businesses and seeking more businesses opportunities, including in green growth, and by accepting failure and risk-taking; emphasises the importance of putting this issue at the centre of policy making; calls on Member States to cater for a softer landing after business failure, for instance by modifying bankruptcy laws to allow people to start up a new business soon after failure of a previous venture, especially in new and innovative sectors;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Stresses that there is no one-size-fits-all mode of business finance and calls on the Commission to support the development of a broad range of tailored programmes, instruments and initiatives, especially for new business models in the green economy, ranging across equity (such as business angels, crowd funding and multilateral trading facilities), quasi-equity (such as mezzanine finance) and debt instruments (such as small-ticket company bonds, guarantee facilities and platforms), and partnerships between banks and other operators involved in SME financing (accountancy professionals, business or SME associations or chambers of commerce), in order to support businesses in their start-up, growth and transfer phases, taking into account their size, turnover and financing needs; calls on the Member States to provide fiscal incentives for these funding models; stresses the importance of reviewing existing SME supporting instruments to include further green growth opportunities;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Urges local authorities to use the indirect funding available to them to support green innovation measures taken by SMEs, where appropriate introducing arrangements for combining such funding with direct funding (for example through smart specialisation strategies), with a view to identifying or establishing clusters of excellence and quality hubs;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to monitor the results achieved by SMEs that have accessed green innovation funding, in order to gauge the effectiveness of such funding; urges the Commission to lose no time in making the changes required for the funding to be more effective, should the results prove to be unsatisfactory;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Notes the important role of sector federationsUrges sector federations to play a more prominent role in providing appropriate information and advice on green technologies, funding possibilities and the relevant procedures; calls on the Commission and the Member States to fill the gap where this support is lacking;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Highlights the importance of the commercialisation and valorisation by European companies of R&D output; calls on the Commission and the Member States to provide for a stable regulatory framework and adequate financial schemes in order to enable economic initiative and entrepreneurship and to limit the time to market of new products, services and business practices, notably in the green economy that are more environmentally sustainable;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Welcomes the Commission decision for withdrawing obsolete or overly burdensome legislative proposals; calls on the Commission to refrain from legislative proposals that would lead to an unnecessary administrative burden for businesses and SMEs and to continuously review existing legislation with the objective of decreasing the current administrative burden and adapting this to new business models; stresses, nonetheless, the need for ambitious actions to reach the EU’s environmental targets;
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Recalls the importance of technology- neutral and green-innovation-friendly legislation, which allows different new technologies geared to more sustainable resource use to be tested and valued by the market; calls on Member States to use market-based instruments in their public support schemes and to refrain from using market-distorting subsidies in their public support schemes; calls on the Commission to draw up common guidelines for national public support schemes for green investment projects in order to create a more uniform set of measures;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Notes that disruptive industries and technologies often indicate flaws in existing legislation; stresses the need for continuous monitoring of existing legislation and the use of exemption clauses for certain innovative technologiesin order to be able to adjust and update it as soon as this is necessary, to ensure that ithis does not hinder market entry for new green technological developments;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Believes that developing entrepreneurship skills and programmes to learn how the market, the economy and the financial system operate, function and interact, along with environmental awareness, should be included in basic education systems; believes that a well prepared business plan is the first step towards better access to finance and viability; calls on the Commission and the Member States to include financialeconomic education in their education programmes without delay, with a special focus on efficient resource use; supports in this connection the ‘Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs’ programme, designed to promote an entrepreneurial culture and develop the single market and competitiveness;