22 Amendments of Martin SCHIRDEWAN related to 2019/2211(INI)
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that, in view of the climate change emergency, the EU’s Annual Growth Survey (AGS) has now been renamed the Annual Sustainable Growth Survey (ASGS), and considers that this implies a change in the positioning of the report and the implementation of ecological indicators; stresses that this needs to be more than a semantic aspect in the report, and requires serious and ambitious proposals to tackle climate change and promote environmental sustainability within the EU not downsizing the social dimension.
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes the role of the European Green Deal as the EU’s new strategy defining ecological issues and the wellbeing of citizens as principal goals for the Union; notes, with regard to the scope of the European Semester, the inclusion of the SDGs and of the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR), which will require the adjustment of existing indicators and the creation of new ones to monitor the implementation of EU economic, environmental and social policies, as well as coherence between policy goals and budgetary means; notes the need to implement long-term planning to tackle climate change; notes that the Commission’s Green New Deal proposal is clearly insufficient to address the climate emergency; notes that, according to the scientific community, in order to comply with the targets on the Paris Agreement and limit the temperature rise to 1,5 degrees, it is necessary to cut carbon emissions by 65% until 2030; Notes that the Commission does not strengthen the EU budget, and proposes cuts to cohesion and agricultural funds, a decision which would be inconsistent with the ambitious social and environmental goals that are being set.
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Considers achieving a fair transition to climate neutrality to be a major responsibility for the EU’s citizens and economy and its role in the world; calls for appropriate support and policies, with involvement for and of the public, the various sectors, regions and Member States with a view to benefiting from this transformation and making it a success; calls on the Commission to undertake an annual evaluation of the Union’s ecological debt, carbon budget and imported emissions; Deplores the Just Transition Fund financial proposal (€7,5 billion) for not being nearly sufficient to ensure that carbon-dependent countries achieve a fair transition to a greener economy; Insists that the criteria underlying the distribution of the fund should take into account the need to promote economic and social upward convergence, countries’ vulnerability to climate change consequences and also the level of fiscal effort that some countries have made in the past to promote energy transition.
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes that the euro area is going through a prolonged period of subdued growth (1.1 % in the euro area and 1.4% in the EU as a whole in 2019), with growth in the euro area in 2020 and 2021 forecast at 1.2 % and for the EU in 2020 and 2021 forecast at 1.4 %; also notes that the core inflation rate is forecast to further slow down, to 1.2 % in 2019 and 2020, which signals an enduring failure of ECB’s monetary policy in boosting price levels in the euro area in a context of high uncertainty due to geopolitical tensions and Brexit; is concerned at the high level of private debt and persistent external surpluses; notes that the current period of sluggish growth and stagnant wages shows the limits of expansionary monetary policy and the need for this approach to be complemented by a fiscal expansion, with coordinated efforts to boost public investment, employment and aggregate demand;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Is concerned that post-crisis investment has been on a down ward path in the EU in spite of historically low interest rates, currently standing at 3.4 %, with overall infrastructure investment now at about 75 % of its pre-crisis level; whereas 80 % of the shortfall is the result of cutbacks in the public sector, which have occurred particularly in countries subject to adverse macroeconomic conditions and the more severe fiscal constraints imposed on disadvantaged regions already characterised by poor infrastructure quality and weak socio- economic outcomes, but also, and surprisingly, in countries with a large fiscal space; recalls that former ECB president Mario Draghi have asked member states to make use of fiscal policy and apply fiscal stimulus to avoid a deflationary trap; notes that the current period of ultra-low interest rates provides an opportunity to expand public investment, thus addressing crucial challenges such as the energy transition, the fight against poverty and inequality and the promotion of convergence within EU member states; recalls the fact that, without the creation of a serious eurozone budget, with at least the same level of redistribution as cohesion funds, convergence between member states will not be achieved; stresses that this poses risks to the future of the monetary union and undermines its stability.
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Endorses the conclusion of the European Fiscal Board (EFB) that the fiscal framework has not protected the quality of public expenditure, and welcomes the EFB’s proposal for a ‘golden rule’ to protect public investment; calls, therefore, for the reform of the Stability and Growth Pact and the introduction of a golden rule aimed at implementing sound fiscal policy on an equal footing with investment within the EU’s policy objectives; whereas this should cover the investment foreseen for the realisation of the Green Deal, the Digital Revolution, the SDGs and the EPSR Rights, including expenditure aimed at reducing poverty and inequality related to social protection, health services and long-term care, andchildcare, education and training;
Amendment 210 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Shares the concern expressed in others of the EFB’s conclusions regarding the pro-cyclical elements in the EU fiscal rules, which forced Member States to adjust their economies in a poor or difficult economic situation, failing to improvewith counterproductive effects on the quality of public finance and promote investment; welcomes the EFB’s recommendation of a seven-year cycle mirroring the MFF so as to better coordinate Member States’ public accounts, and especially investment; notes that the current revision of the EU fiscal rules provides an opportunity to do away with its pro-cyclical bias.
Amendment 216 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Notes that the debt levels of all the Member States are above the pre-crisis level and are expected to exceed 60 % in 2021; further notes that in six Member States the ratio will be higher than 90 %; highlights the fact that the fiscal rules have not contributed to bringing down the debt levels of highly indebted countries but have, rather, increased them; recalls the need for a process of public debt restructuring in highly indebted economies (such as Greece, Portugal or Italy) in order to reduce the risk of excessive burden of interest expenditure in these countries, while promoting sustainable economic growth and the sustainability of public finances; recalls the need to discuss debt mutualisation within the EU as a way of promoting financial stability.
Amendment 228 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Supports flexibility in the implementation of the SGP as proposed by the Commission in 2015; considers that much more flexibility should be introduced in order to boost investment and ecological transition in the EU; calls, therefore, for the reform of the SGP and the introduction of a euro area fiscal capacity;, as well as the guarantee that cohesion funds will not suffer cuts in the new MFF; stresses that the framework under which the BICC is currently being designed is clearly insufficient to promote sustainable growth and actually harms convergence in the euro area; calls for the BICC to have at least the same level of redistribution as the cohesion funds.
Amendment 245 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Reiterates its call for a European stabilisation function and a European unemployment benefit reinsurance scheme, with a view to protecting citizens and reducing pressure on public finances during external shocks so as to overcome social and economic imbalances; stresses the need for this scheme to be based on budgetary transfers and not on loans granted to the member states.
Amendment 255 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
Amendment 280 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Recalls the importance of the efficient regulation of the banking and financial sectors in order to prevent a new crisis; believes that such regulation must integrate the ecological situation; emphasises the importance of completing the Banking Union and, giving full priority to EDIS and measures to control and revert transnational financial concentration and bank size; Recalls also the need to reform the European Stability Mechanism;
Amendment 307 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Calls for qualified majority voting in Council on tax matters; , with the specific aim of reducing incentives for tax dumping and fighting tax evasion and money laundering;
Amendment 324 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Calls for the systematic inclusion of tax matters in the Country Specific Recommendations (CSRs), with the aim of ensuring economic coherence across EU Member States as well as the fairness of EU tax systems, inline with the resolution on BEPS 2.0 recently adopted by the European Parliament; believes that the CSRs could ensure a fair balance between sources of revenue and should also include innovative elements aiming at promoting the Green Deal taking into account its social dimension; further believes that they should also support Member States in tackling tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning;
Amendment 341 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Notes that the EU-28 employment rate currently stands at 73.1 % - the highest annual average ever recorded - while unemployment stands at 7.6 % in the euro area and 6.3 % in the EU as a whole; however, stresses that unemployment levels are still significantly higher in periphery countries such as Greece (17,3% in 2019) or Spain (13,9% in 2019), while youth unemployment remains at worrying levels in these countries; notes that this trend reflects the dual post-crisis recovery in Europe, thus exacerbating the divergence between surplus and deficit countries within the euro area;
Amendment 350 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Stresses that, according to the EU Labour Force Survey, there are 8.3 million involuntary part-time workers in the EU, two thirds of them women; recalls that the rise of precarious work in the EU, such as the emergence of new types of employment created by online platforms, is a direct consequence of labour market deregulation and poses risks to social cohesion(mainly affecting the youth), while damaging aggregate demand; Request the Commission to undertake measures to protect workers in these new forms of work and requests the Commission to undertake a study to analyse the impact of this development on pension systems and public finances;
Amendment 359 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Takes note of AMR 2020’s finding that wage growth at euro area level remains below what would be expected at the current levels of unemployment on the basis of historical data, and that this affects the inflation rate; highlights that the currently low productivity and inflation together with structural reforms transferring collective bargaining to the enterprise level are detrimental to wage growth and are leading to greater income inequality and an increase in the numbers of working poor, with in-work poverty affecting almost one in ten workers in Europe; accordingly advocates wage growth;that the necessary wage growth can only be achieved by reversing the process of labour market liberalization and promoting job quality and stability; Calls on the Commission to revert its systematic CSR’s demanding labour market deregulation.
Amendment 366 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Agrees that it is a matter of great concern that income inequality is above pre-crisis levels in some countries, affecting new groups of people and being frequently linked to unequal opportunities in access to education, training and social protection; stresses the importance of redistributive, i.e., progressive income taxes to tackle growing inequality within the EU; Points out that corporate tax dumping promotes inequality, both by depriving Member-States of the necessary resources to fund public services and transferring the tax burden toward labour income.
Amendment 372 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Underlines the fact that the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion stands, on 2017 figures, at 113 million, or 22.5 % of the population; underlines the fact that, in 2017, 9,4% of all employed people in the EU were at risk of poverty; recalls that the objectives laid out in 2010 in the Europe 2020 Strategy (namely, to lift 20million people out of poverty and social exclusion by 2020) haven’t been met yet, as the number of people in this situation has increased significantly.
Amendment 390 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24 a. Calls for the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights as a strategy to promote the fight against poverty and social exclusion namely improving working conditions, job security and stability and wage growth.
Amendment 401 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Looks forward to the stronger involvement of the EP and the national parliaments in the European Semester process and to the creation of an institutionalised dialogue with the Commission, the social partners, territories and civil society, at both EU, local, regional and national level, in order to further boost the process’s democratic legitimacy; Points out that ownership, in order not to be a void concept, implies that democratic institutions at the different levels effectively shape the recommendations.
Amendment 412 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Invites the stakeholders in this necessary next step to create enhanced democratic accountability mechanisms at both EU, local, regional and national levels, while formalising the scrutiny role of the EP in the European Semester; calls on the Commission and the Member States to enhance the social and civil dialogue, including over the CSRs, and to engage in dialogue with the social partners;