1087 Amendments of Marek BELKA
Amendment 1 #
2024/0028(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 7
Recital 7
(7) The temporary trade-liberalisation measures established by this Regulation should take the following form: (i) the suspension of the application of the entry price system to fruit and vegetables; (ii) the suspension of tariff-rate quotas and import duties; and (iii) the suspension of the application of Chapter V and Article 24 of Regulation (EU) 2015/478 of the European Parliament and of the Council 11. Through those measures, the Union will, in effect, temporarily provide appropriate economic and financial support to the benefit of Ukraine and the economic operators that are affected.
Amendment 1 #
2024/0028(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 7
Recital 7
(7) The temporary trade-liberalisation measures established by this Regulation should take the following form: (i) the suspension of the application of the entry price system to fruit and vegetables; (ii) the suspension of tariff-rate quotas and import duties; and (iii) the suspension of the application of Chapter V and Article 24 of Regulation (EU) 2015/478 of the European Parliament and of the Council 11. Through those measures, the Union will, in effect, temporarily provide appropriate economic and financial support to the benefit of Ukraine and the economic operators that are affected.
Amendment 9 #
2024/0028(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11
Recital 11
(11) Subject to an assessment by the Commission carried out in the context of the regular monitoring of the impact of this Regulation and launched either following a duly substantiated request from a Member State or on the Commission’s own initiative, it is necessary to provide for the possibility to take any necessary measures for imports of any products falling under the scope of this Regulation which are adversely affecting the Union market or the market of one or several Member States for like or directly competing products. There is a particularly precarious situation in the markets for poultry, eggs, and sugar that may harm Union agricultural producers if imports from Ukraine were to increase. It is appropriate to introduce an automatic safeguard for eggs, poultry, and sugar products that is activated if quantities imported pursuant to this Regulation exceed the arithmetic mean of quantities in 2022 and the period 2021-2023.
Amendment 9 #
2024/0028(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11
Recital 11
(11) Subject to an assessment by the Commission carried out in the context of the regular monitoring of the impact of this Regulation and launched either following a duly substantiated request from a Member State or on the Commission’s own initiative, it is necessary to provide for the possibility to take any necessary measures for imports of any products falling under the scope of this Regulation which are adversely affecting the Union market or the market of one or several Member States for like or directly competing products. There is a particularly precarious situation in the markets for poultry, eggs, and sugar that may harm Union agricultural producers if imports from Ukraine were to increase. It is appropriate to introduce an automatic safeguard for eggs, poultry, and sugar products that is activated if quantities imported pursuant to this Regulation exceed the arithmetic mean of quantities in 2022 and the period 2021-2023.
Amendment 13 #
2024/0028(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 2
Article 1 – paragraph 2
2. The application of Chapter V and Article 24 of Regulation (EU) 2015/478 shall be temporarily suspended with regard to imports originating in Ukraine.
Amendment 13 #
2024/0028(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 2
Article 1 – paragraph 2
2. The application of Chapter V and Article 24 of Regulation (EU) 2015/478 shall be temporarily suspended with regard to imports originating in Ukraine.
Amendment 16 #
2024/0028(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
1. If a product covered by Article 1(1) originating in Ukraine is imported under conditions which adversely affect the Union market or the market of one or several Member States for like or directly competing products, the Commission may impose any measure which is necessary by means of an implementing act. That implementing act shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 5(3).
Amendment 16 #
2024/0028(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
1. If a product covered by Article 1(1) originating in Ukraine is imported under conditions which adversely affect the Union market or the market of one or several Member States for like or directly competing products, the Commission may impose any measure which is necessary by means of an implementing act. That implementing act shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 5(3).
Amendment 20 #
2024/0028(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 5
Article 4 – paragraph 5
5. In critical circumstances where delay would cause damage that would be difficult to repair, the Commission may provisionally impose any measure which is necessary by means of an implementing act. Such measures may only be imposed upon a duly substantiated request from a Member State pursuant to paragraph 3(a) of this Article and shall be adopted within 214 days after the request has been received. The implementing act shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 5(4). The duration of a provisional safeguard measure shall not exceed 1250 days.
Amendment 20 #
2024/0028(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 5
Article 4 – paragraph 5
5. In critical circumstances where delay would cause damage that would be difficult to repair, the Commission may provisionally impose any measure which is necessary by means of an implementing act. Such measures may only be imposed upon a duly substantiated request from a Member State pursuant to paragraph 3(a) of this Article and shall be adopted within 214 days after the request has been received. The implementing act shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 5(4). The duration of a provisional safeguard measure shall not exceed 1250 days.
Amendment 27 #
2024/0028(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 7 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part
Article 4 – paragraph 7 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part
7. If, during the period 6 June to 31 December 2024, cumulative import volumes of either eggs, poultry or sugar since 1 January 2024 reach the respective arithmetic mean of import volumes recorded in 2022 and the period 2021-2023, the Commission shall, within 214 days and after informing the Committee on Safeguards established by Article 3(1) of Regulation (EU) 2015/478:
Amendment 27 #
2024/0028(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 7 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part
Article 4 – paragraph 7 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part
7. If, during the period 6 June to 31 December 2024, cumulative import volumes of either eggs, poultry or sugar since 1 January 2024 reach the respective arithmetic mean of import volumes recorded in 2022 and the period 2021-2023, the Commission shall, within 214 days and after informing the Committee on Safeguards established by Article 3(1) of Regulation (EU) 2015/478:
Amendment 40 #
2024/0028(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 7 – subparagraph 2
Article 4 – paragraph 7 – subparagraph 2
If, during the period 1 January to 5 June 2025, cumulative import volumes of either eggs, poultry or sugar for the period since 1 January 2025 reach five twelfths of the respective arithmetic mean of import volumes recorded 2022 andin the period 2021- 2023,the Commission shall, within 214 days and after informing the Committee on Safeguards, reintroduce for that product the corresponding tariff-rate quota suspended by Article 1(1), point b.
Amendment 40 #
2024/0028(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 7 – subparagraph 2
Article 4 – paragraph 7 – subparagraph 2
If, during the period 1 January to 5 June 2025, cumulative import volumes of either eggs, poultry or sugar for the period since 1 January 2025 reach five twelfths of the respective arithmetic mean of import volumes recorded 2022 andin the period 2021- 2023,the Commission shall, within 214 days and after informing the Committee on Safeguards, reintroduce for that product the corresponding tariff-rate quota suspended by Article 1(1), point b.
Amendment 46 #
2024/0028(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 7 – subparagraph 3
Article 4 – paragraph 7 – subparagraph 3
For the purposes of this paragraph, the terms eggs, poultry and sugar refer to all products covered by the tariff-rate quotas in the Appendix to Annex I-A of the Association Agreement for, respectively, eggs and albumins, poultry meat and poultry meat preparations, and sugars, and the arithmetic mean shall be calculated by dividing the sum of import volumes in 2022 and the period 2021-2023 by twohree.
Amendment 46 #
2024/0028(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 7 – subparagraph 3
Article 4 – paragraph 7 – subparagraph 3
For the purposes of this paragraph, the terms eggs, poultry and sugar refer to all products covered by the tariff-rate quotas in the Appendix to Annex I-A of the Association Agreement for, respectively, eggs and albumins, poultry meat and poultry meat preparations, and sugars, and the arithmetic mean shall be calculated by dividing the sum of import volumes in 2022 and the period 2021-2023 by twohree.
Amendment 24 #
2023/2072(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Calls the European Commission and the Member States to deliver on open strategic autonomy to regain lost ground in all those fields where China's dominant position creates a risk of overdependance to the EU.
Amendment 26 #
2023/2072(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Calls on the European Commission and the Member States to conduct a process to increase the harmonization of the regulations on screening and control of foreign investments, and to fully implement the Foreign Direct Investment screening mechanism . Likewise, the Commission and the Member States must pay attention to investments by third countries, which could carry an indirect control position by China, through ownership or relevant participation in companies from those third countries.
Amendment 30 #
2023/2072(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Is concerned about China’s assertive geopolitical and economic rise that has a considerable impact on the global economic and political developments particularly of the Global South, through its Belt and Road Initiative; calls on the Commission and the Member States to screen with a particular attention China’s acquisitions of critical infrastructures in the Western Balkans and in the EU neighbourhood countries; calls on China to increase transparency on Belt and Road Initiatives (BRI) projects, given that many BRI loans that have underperformed and became not financially viable.
Amendment 43 #
2023/2072(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Urges the Commission and the Member States to secure the main use of EU infrastructures is preserved and protected, to allow the normal development of EU economic activity and trade, notably transport (ports, airports, train, and roads) energy and telecommunication infrastructures. Calls on the Commission to periodically report to the European Parliament on: a) the detection of possible dual use of strategic infrastructures that provide logistical and intelligence support to China; b) the full respect of EU trade legislation, especially due diligence, anti coercion and forced labour of goods entering the EU markets.
Amendment 47 #
2023/2072(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Calls on the European Commission in coordination with the Member States, to design a rapid mechanism of response, in case of detection of dual use, or misuse, of the infrastructures in the EU, which are under property, participation or concession to China, that could lead to the cancellation of the rights of concession, and/or the suspension of the capacity of domain in the cases or property and participation.
Amendment 48 #
2023/2072(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Paragraph 6 c (new)
6c. Calls on the Commission, in cooperation with the Member States, to activate procedures for the suspension and revocation of China's capacity of domain, or concessions in case that, in the context of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, China involves in the conflict on the side of the aggressor, to avoid any possible dual or direct use, jeopardising EU and/or Ukrainian security.
Amendment 50 #
2023/2072(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 e (new)
Paragraph 6 e (new)
6e. Calls on the Commission to fully put in force the recently developed legislation and mechanisms to address the unbalanced trade relationship and mitigate EU vulnerabilities, such as the screening of Foreign Direct Investment, the review of Trade Defence Instruments, the International Procurement Instrument, the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation, the export controls, the anti- coertion instrument the Critical Raw materials proposal, the Net Zero Industries Act, and the European Economic Security Strategy. Calls on China to cooperate to level the playing field limiting the assistance and the intervention in Chinese companies and removing the restrictions of European companies’ access.
Amendment 58 #
2023/2072(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to strengthen the EU strategic autonomy notably by building diversified, secure and resilient supply chains and by increasing its actions in key areas such as research and development, cutting-edged technologies, critical raw materials, reindustrialisation and new infrastructures.
Amendment 61 #
2023/2072(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Calls on the Commission to design actions to reduce the risks for EU own security and to develop internal resilience, strenghthening the security and integrity of its critical infrastructures, the supply chains and the technology base, notably the 5G and 6G networks, all of them essential for our normal economic activity and trade; calls the Commission and the Member States to review their networks security toolbox.
Amendment 63 #
2023/2072(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Paragraph 7 c (new)
7c. Calls on the Commission, the EU institutions and the Member States to terminate any research funding to Chinese companies active in the areas of critical and strategic importance for the EU, such as ICT, and to channel risks related to contracting operators using Chinese equipment.
Amendment 64 #
2023/2072(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 d (new)
Paragraph 7 d (new)
7d. Calls on China to put in place and implement a responsible digital governance, with respect for privacy rights, freedom of expression and the rule of law in its digital governance policies, in the framework of WTO and multilateral standards; calls on the Commission to assess other areas under risk such as the semiconductors, quantum computing, blockchains, space, AI or biotechnologies, and consider legislation or tools for further protection against malicious software and cyber espionage.
Amendment 65 #
2023/2072(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 e (new)
Paragraph 7 e (new)
7e. Requires the Commission to share with the European Parliament, before the end of this parliamentary term, a detailed analysis of the risks for EU trade, regarding the semiconductors, quantum computing, blockchain, space, AI or biotechnologies and the possible need of EU action in these fields.
Amendment 107 #
2023/2064(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Notes that according to the most recent economic forecast, the Euro Area economy is expected to growth much less than what was predicted last spring, while there is a certain inertia in the price level; emphasizes that, as a consequence, the so- called “sacrifice ratio” to bring inflation back to 2% is becoming higher than the it was expected some time ago; recognizes that inflation is a painful and harmful phenomenon, and that ECB is using every tools at its disposal to cope with that; underlines, however, that social tensions, economic crisis and political instability are also equally dangerous for the future of the Union; warns that inflation, social, economic and political tensions might feed each other and could create a dangerous spiral; calls for a proper assessment on how to make the fight against inflation economically, socially and politically sustainable, and therefore possible.
Amendment 192 #
2023/2064(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Underlines that climate change and extreme weather phenomena could lead to greater variability in prices, especially in the agri-food sector; notes that sudden tightening conditions on the supply side might become very frequent, leading to new inflationary episodes in the coming years; emphasizes that this is an issue that evidently poses serious difficulties for the ECB, which have adequate tools to stabilize demand-driven inflation, but can do little when price instability is mainly due to variations in supply conditions; expresses concern that the Union do not have a proper toolkit to deal with such episodes.
Amendment 2 #
2023/2042(INI)
Draft opinion
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas between 2014 and 2021, the EU and Switzerland negotiated an institutional framework agreement (IFA) to restructure EU-Swiss relations, notably by establishing key rules and procedures for the dynamic takeover and homogenous application of internal market law, to ensure a level playing field and the enforcement of State aid rules, and to provide for a proper dispute settlement mechanism; whereas both the EU and Switzerland are among each other's top destinations for foreign investment and key partners in trade in services;
Amendment 7 #
2023/2042(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Underlines that safeguarding strong and sustainable trade relations with Switzerland, the EU’s fourth largest trading partner, remains a high priority; considers that it is in the fundamental interest of both sides to maintain and strengthen good, stable and mutually beneficial relations within a modernised relationship and through an agreement that creates a level playing field, trust, stability, jobs, growth and welfare and is committed to social security and justice;
Amendment 15 #
2023/2042(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Regrets the decision of the Swiss Federal Council to terminate negotiations on the IFA, which was essential for the conclusion of possible future agreements regarding Switzerland’s further participation in the single market and continuation of frictionless trade in several industry sectors;
Amendment 18 #
2023/2042(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes that without any modernisation of the FTA, which was concluded 50 years ago and has not been adjusted to reflect developments in international trade rules since, and of the package of bilateral agreements (I and II), which was concluded almost 20 years ago, EU-Swiss relations will inevitably erode over time; and without proper transposition, implementation and enforcement of the single market legislation, EU-Swiss relations will not bring full benefits to citizens and businesses; notes that outdated bilateral agreements need to be revisited in order to prevent their expiry and to take into account the evolution of relevant EU legislation in order to preserve mutual market access, in particular those on reciprocal market access for industrial goods, customs facilitation, free movement of persons, technical barriers to trade and public procurement; stresses the need to prioritize sustainable development, fair trade practices, and worker protection in any updates to these agreements;
Amendment 31 #
2023/2042(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Welcomes the Swiss Federal Council’s decision to issue a mandate to draw up key parameters for a negotiating mandate with the EU and urges the Commission and the Swiss Federal Council to commence negotiations promptly; underlines that delivering a comprehensive framework agreement is the most efficient way to modernize existing bilateral agreements and respond to evolving priorities in areas such as climate change, digitalization, workers’ rights and social cohesion;
Amendment 36 #
2023/2042(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Stresses that the Swiss Federal Council did not support the EU’s push to remove fossil fuel protections from the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT); Notes with concern that EU-based fossil fuel companies could structure their operations through Switzerland so that they can still be protected under ECT; encourages the Swiss government and the European Commission to engage in order to explore possible coordinated action on the next steps for the Energy Charter Treaty.
Amendment 12 #
2023/0397(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11
Recital 11
(11) The Facility should ensure consistency with, and support to the general objectives of Union external action as laid down in Article 21 of the Treaty on European Union, including the respect for fundamental rights as enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. It will notably ensure the protection and promotion of human rights, andand labour rights, as well as the rule of law.
Amendment 12 #
2023/0397(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11
Recital 11
(11) The Facility should ensure consistency with, and support to the general objectives of Union external action as laid down in Article 21 of the Treaty on European Union, including the respect for fundamental rights as enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. It will notably ensure the protection and promotion of human rights, andand labour rights, as well as the rule of law.
Amendment 14 #
2023/0397(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12
Recital 12
(12) Activities under the Facility should be fully in line with the objectives of the European Green Deal, as well as support progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and. They should not contribute to environmental degradation or cause harm to the environment or climate. Measures funded under the Facility should be in line with the Beneficiaries’ National Energy and Climate Plans, their Nationally Determined Contribution and ambition to reach climate neutrality by 2050. The Facility should contribute to the mitigation action and to the ability to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change, and foster climate resilience.
Amendment 14 #
2023/0397(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12
Recital 12
(12) Activities under the Facility should be fully in line with the objectives of the European Green Deal, as well as support progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and. They should not contribute to environmental degradation or cause harm to the environment or climate. Measures funded under the Facility should be in line with the Beneficiaries’ National Energy and Climate Plans, their Nationally Determined Contribution and ambition to reach climate neutrality by 2050. The Facility should contribute to the mitigation action and to the ability to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change, and foster climate resilience.
Amendment 24 #
2023/0397(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point c a (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point c a (new)
(c a) make sure that investments covered by the Facility allow the Beneficiaries to play an increased role in resilient value chains of the EU, promote increased value creation and development of local industries and their advancement along the value chain;
Amendment 24 #
2023/0397(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point c a (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point c a (new)
(c a) make sure that investments covered by the Facility allow the Beneficiaries to play an increased role in resilient value chains of the EU, promote increased value creation and development of local industries and their advancement along the value chain;
Amendment 29 #
2023/0397(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point i
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point i
(i) further strengthen the fundamentals of the enlargement process, including the rule of law, democracy, the respect of human and labour rights and fundamental freedoms, through promoting an independent judiciary, reinforced security, the fight against fraud, corruption, organised crime and money laundering and terrorism financing, tax evasion and tax fraud; compliance with international law; strengthen freedom of media and academic freedom and an enabling environment for civil society; foster social dialogue; promote gender equality, non- discrimination and tolerance, to ensure and strengthen respect for the rights of persons belonging to minorities;
Amendment 29 #
2023/0397(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point i
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point i
(i) further strengthen the fundamentals of the enlargement process, including the rule of law, democracy, the respect of human and labour rights and fundamental freedoms, through promoting an independent judiciary, reinforced security, the fight against fraud, corruption, organised crime and money laundering and terrorism financing, tax evasion and tax fraud; compliance with international law; strengthen freedom of media and academic freedom and an enabling environment for civil society; foster social dialogue; promote gender equality, non- discrimination and tolerance, to ensure and strengthen respect for the rights of persons belonging to minorities;
Amendment 35 #
2023/0397(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1
Article 5 – paragraph 1
1. Preconditions for the support under the Facility shall be that the Beneficiaries continue to uphold and respect effective democratic mechanisms, including a multi- party parliamentary system, and the rule of law, and guarantee respect for all human rights obligations, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities with respect to the objectives outlined in Article 3. Another pre-condition shall be that Serbia and Kosovo engage constructively in the normalisation of their relations with a view to fully implementing all their respective obligations stemming from the Agreement on the Path to Normalisation and its Implementation Annex as well as all past Dialogue Agreements and engage in negotiations on the Comprehensive Agreement on normalisation of relations.
Amendment 35 #
2023/0397(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1
Article 5 – paragraph 1
1. Preconditions for the support under the Facility shall be that the Beneficiaries continue to uphold and respect effective democratic mechanisms, including a multi- party parliamentary system, and the rule of law, and guarantee respect for all human rights obligations, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities with respect to the objectives outlined in Article 3. Another pre-condition shall be that Serbia and Kosovo engage constructively in the normalisation of their relations with a view to fully implementing all their respective obligations stemming from the Agreement on the Path to Normalisation and its Implementation Annex as well as all past Dialogue Agreements and engage in negotiations on the Comprehensive Agreement on normalisation of relations.
Amendment 40 #
2023/0397(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 6 – point b
Article 8 – paragraph 6 – point b
(b) where the action or specific award procedures affect security or public order, in particular concerning strategic assets and interests of the Union, its Member States, or any of the Beneficiaries, including the security, resilience and protection of integrity of digital infrastructure (including 5G network infrastructure), communication and information systems, and related supply chains, unless the action or award procedure is not in line with the Economic Security Strategy.
Amendment 40 #
2023/0397(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 6 – point b
Article 8 – paragraph 6 – point b
(b) where the action or specific award procedures affect security or public order, in particular concerning strategic assets and interests of the Union, its Member States, or any of the Beneficiaries, including the security, resilience and protection of integrity of digital infrastructure (including 5G network infrastructure), communication and information systems, and related supply chains, unless the action or award procedure is not in line with the Economic Security Strategy.
Amendment 91 #
2023/0210(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) To further improve access to cash, which is a priority of the Commission, merchants should be allowed to offer, in physical shops, cash provision services even in the absence of a purchase by a customer, without having to obtain a payment service provider authorisation or being an agent of a payment institution. Those cash provision services should, however, be subject to the obligation to disclose fees charged to the customer, if any. These services should be provided by retailers on a voluntary basis and should depend on the availability of cash byat the retailer.
Amendment 102 #
2023/0210(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 40
Recital 40
(40) To maintain a high level of consumer protection, consumers should have the right to receive information on services' conditions and prices free of charge before being bound by any payment service contract. To enable consumers to compare the services and conditions offered by payment service providers and, in the case of a dispute, to verify their contractual rights and obligations, consumers should be able to request that information and the framework contract on paper, free of charge and at any time during the contractual relationship.
Amendment 113 #
2023/0210(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 66
Recital 66
(66) The review of Directive (EU) 2015/2366 has revealed that account information and payment initiation service providers are still exposed to many unjustified obstacles, despite the level of harmonisation achieved and of the prohibition on such obstacles imposed by Article 32(3) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/38947 . Those obstacles still significantly hamper the full potential of open banking in the Union. Those obstacles are regularly reported by account information and payment initiation service providers to supervisors, regulators and the Commission. They were analysed by the EBA in its June 2020 Opinion on “Obstacles to the provision of third-party provider services under the Payment Services Directiveentitled “Opinion of the European Banking Authority on obstacles under Article 32(3) of the RTS on SCA and CSC”. Despite clarifications efforts made there is still a lot of uncertainty, in the market and with supervisors, as to what constitutes a ‘prohibited obstacle’ to regulated open banking services. It is therefore indispensable to provide a clear and non- exhaustive list of such prohibited open banking obstacles, relying in particular on the work carried out by the EBA. __________________ 47 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/389 of 27 November 2017 supplementing Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to regulatory technical standards for strong customer authentication and common and secure open standards of communication (OJ L 69, 13.3.2018, p. 23).
Amendment 120 #
2023/0210(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 79
Recital 79
(79) Consumers should be adequately protected in the context of certain fraudulent payment transactions that they have authorised without knowing these transactions were fraudulent. The number of ‘social engineering’ cases where consumers are misled into authorising a payment transaction to a fraudster has significantly increased in recent years. ‘Spoofing’ cases where fraudsters pretend to be employees of a customer's payment service provider and misuse the payment service provider's name, e-mail address or telephone number to gain the customers’ trust and trick them into carrying-out some actions, are unfortunately becoming more widespread in the Union. Those new types of ‘spoofing’ or 'impersonation' fraud are blurring the difference that existed in Directive (EU) 2015/2366 between authorised and unauthorised transactions. Means through which the consentpermission may be assumed to be granted are also becoming more complex to identify, as fraudsters can take control of the whole consentpermission and authentication process including of the strong customer authentication completion. The conditions under which the customer authorised a transaction by giving his or her permission to it should be taken into due consideration, including by courts, to qualify a transaction as being authorised or unauthorised. A transaction may indeed have been authorised in circumstances where such authorisation was granted on manipulated premisesthe basis of manipulation, affecting the integrity of the permission. It is therefore no longer possible, as was the case in Directive (EU) 2015/2366, to limit refunds to unauthorised transactions only. It would however be disproportionate and financially very costly to payment services providers to open every fraudulent transaction, authorised or unauthorised, to a systematic refund right. It might also cause moral hazard and a reduction in the customer’s vigilance.
Amendment 131 #
2023/0210(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 98
Recital 98
(98) As acknowledged in the Communication from the Commission on a Retail Payments Strategy for the EU, the good functioning of EU payments markets is of substantial public interest. Therefore, when it is necessary in the context of this Regulation for the provision of payment services and for the compliance with this Regulation, payment service providers and payment system operators should be able to process special categories of personal data as defined in Article 9(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Article 10(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725. Where special categories of personal data are processed, payment service providers and payment system operators should implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to safeguard the fundamental rights and freedoms of natural persons. Those measures should include technical limitations on the re-use of data and the use of state-of-the-art security and privacy-preserving measures, including pseudonymisation, or encryption to ensure compliance with the principles of purpose limitation, data minimisation and storage limitation, as laid down in Regulation (EU) 2016/679. The payment service providers and payment system operators should also implement specific organisation measures, including training on processing such data, limiting access to special categories of data and recording such access.
Amendment 133 #
2023/0210(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 100
Recital 100
(100) Fraudsters often target the most vulnerable individuals of our society. The timely detection of fraudulent payment transactions is essential, and transaction monitoring plays an important role in that detection. It is therefore appropriate to require payment service providers to have in place transaction monitoring mechanisms, reflecting the crucial contribution of those mechanisms to fraud prevention, going beyond the protection offered by strong customer authentication, in respect of payment transactions, including transactions involving payment initiation services.
Amendment 138 #
2023/0210(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 108
Recital 108
(108) SCA should not be circumvented notably by any unjustified reliance on SCA exemptions. Clear definitions of Merchant Initiated Transactions (MITs) and of Mail Orders or Telephone Orders (MOTOs) should be introduced by the EBA since these notions, which may be relied upon to justify non- application of SCA, are diversely understood and applied and are subject to abusive reliance. Regarding MITs, strong customer authentication should be applied at the set-up of the initial mandate, without the need to apply SCA for subsequent merchant-initiated payment transactions. Regarding MOTOs, only the initiation of payment transactions - not their execution - should be non-digital for a transaction to be considered as a MOTO and, therefore, not be covered by the obligation to apply SCA. However, payment transactions based on paper-based payment orders, mail orders or telephone orders placed by the payer should still entail security requirements and checks by the payment service provider of the payer allowing authentication of the payment transaction. SCA should also not be circumvented by practices including resorting to an acquirer established outside of the Union to escape the SCA requirements.
Amendment 144 #
2023/0210(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 120
Recital 120
(120) Where technical service providers or operators of payment schemes provide services to payees or to the payment service providers of payees or of payers, they should support the application of strong customer authentication within the remit of their role in the initiation or execution of payment transactions. Given the role that they play in ensuring that key security requirements concerning retail payments are properly implemented, including by providing appropriate IT solutions, technical service providers and operators of payment schemes should be held liable for the financial damages caused to payees or to the payment service providers of the payees or of the payers in case they fail to supportenable the application of strong customer authentication.
Amendment 148 #
2023/0210(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 141
Recital 141
(141) The Annex to Regulation (EU) 2017/2394 of the European Parliament and of the Council57 should be amended to include a reference to this Regulation to facilitate cross-border cooperation on the enforcement of this Regulation. __________________ 57 Regulation (EU) 2017/2394 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2017 on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection laws and repealing Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 (OJ L 345, 27.12.2017, p. 1– 26).
Amendment 151 #
2023/0210(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point j – point i
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point j – point i
(i) instruments allowing the holder to acquire goods or services only in the physical or virtual premises of the issuer or within a single limited network of service providers under direct commercial agreement with a professional issuer;
Amendment 176 #
2023/0210(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 11
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 11
(11) ‘payer’ means a natural or legal person who holds a payment account and places a payment order from that payment account, or, where there is no payment account, a natural or legal person who places a payment order;
Amendment 182 #
2023/0210(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 35
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 35
(35) ‘strong customer authentication’ means an authentication which is based on the use of two or more elements categorised as knowledge (something only the user knows), possession (something only the user possesses) and, inherence (something the user is) and behaviour (the way user behaves) that are independent, in that the breach of one does not compromise the reliability of the others, and is designed in such a way as to protect the confidentiality of the authentication data;
Amendment 187 #
2023/0210(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 46
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 46
(46) ‘group’ means a group of undertakings that are linked to each other by a relationship as referred to in Article 22(1), points (2) or (7) of Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council63 or undertakings as referred to in Articles 4, 5, 6 and 7 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 241/201464 , which are linked to each other by a relationship as referred to in Article 10(1) or Article 113(6), first subparagraph, or 113(7), first subparagraph of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013; __________________ 63 Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings, amending Directive 2006/43/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directives 78/660/EEC and 83/349/EEC (OJ L 182, 29.6.2013, p. 19). 64 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 241/2014 of 7 January 2014 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to regulatory technical standards for Own Funds requirements for institutions (OJ L 74, 14.3.2014, p. 8).
Amendment 194 #
2023/0210(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 54
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 54
(54) ‘ATM deployer’ means operators of automated teller machines who do not servicehold payment accounts.
Amendment 321 #
2023/0210(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 43 – paragraph 4 – introductory part
Article 43 – paragraph 4 – introductory part
4. The account servicing payment service provider and the account information service or payment initiation service provider to which permission has been granted shall cooperate to make information available to the payment service user via the dashboard in real-time. For the purposes of paragraph 2 points (a), (b), (c) and (e):
Amendment 326 #
2023/0210(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 44 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 – point a
Article 44 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 – point a
(a) preventing the use by payment initiation services providers or account information services providers of the personalised security credentials issued by account servicing payment service providers to their payment services users;
Amendment 335 #
2023/0210(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 45 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2
Article 45 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2
Amendment 343 #
2023/0210(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 49 – paragraph 7
Article 49 – paragraph 7
7. TAt any time the payment service user may withdraw permission to execute a payment transaction or to access a payment account for the purpose of payment initiation services or account information services may be withdrawn by the payment service user at any time. The payment service user may also withdraw permission to execute a series of payment transactions, in which case any future payment transaction shall be considered to be unauthorised.
Amendment 359 #
2023/0210(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 53 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 53 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) ensure that appropriate means, including a free of charge telephone line allowing for personal human support in the language of the host Member State, are available at all times to enable the payment service user to: (i) make a notification pursuant to Article 52 point (b), or to request unblocking of the payment instrument pursuant to Article 51(4); (ii) notify a fraudulent transaction; (iii) receive feedback when the payment service user suspects a fraud; (iv) notify about problematic issues concerning conducted payments, such as errors of the payment machines during the payments.
Amendment 444 #
2023/0210(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 80 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 80 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Payment systems and payment service providers shall be allowed to process special categories of personal data as referred to in Article 9(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Article 10(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 when necessary for the prevention, investigation and detection of payment fraud, subject to appropriate safeguards for the fundamental rights and freedoms of natural persons, on the basis that such prevention, investigation and detection is a substantial public interest as referred to in Article 9(2), point (g), of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and on the basis of Article 6(1), points (c) and (d) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679. Without prejudice to the above, payment service providers shall only access, retain and process personal data necessary for the provision of payment services, and only with the consent of the payment service user. Payment systems and payment service providers shall be allowed to process special categories of personal data as referred to in Article 9(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Article 10(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 to the extent necessary for the provision of payment services and for compliance with obligations under this Regulation, in the public interest of the well-functioning of the internal market for payment services, subject to appropriate safeguards for the fundamental rights and freedoms of natural persons, including the following:
Amendment 500 #
2023/0210(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 85 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 85 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Payers should not experience strong customer authentication more than once in a single customer journey if the trust it creates can be reused by involved parties without being detrimental to security, data protection or consumer rights.
Amendment 505 #
2023/0210(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 85 – paragraph 7
Article 85 – paragraph 7
7. Payment transactions for which payment orders are placed by the payer with modalities other than the use of electronic platforms or devices, such as paper-based payment orders, mail orders or telephone orders, shall not be subject to strong customer authentication, irrespective of whether or not the execution of the transaction is performed electronically, provided that security requirements and checks are carried out by the payment service provider of the payer allowing a form of authentication of the payment transactionnother form than strong customer authentication for authentication of the payment transaction. The possible forms of authentication in such cases shall be described by the national competent authority.
Amendment 515 #
2023/0210(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 85 – paragraph 12
Article 85 – paragraph 12
12. The two or more elements referred to in Article 3, point (35), on which strong customer authentication shall be based do not necessarily need to belong to different categories, as long aexcept when they are based on the inherence category. Always their independence isof the elements shall be fully preserved.
Amendment 520 #
2023/0210(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 86 – paragraph 1
Article 86 – paragraph 1
1. Article 85(8) and (9) shall also apply where payments are initiated through a payment initiation service provider. Article 85(10) shall also apply where payments are initiated through a payment initiation service provider and when the information is requested through an account information service provider.
Amendment 554 #
2023/0210(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 105 – paragraph 1
Article 105 – paragraph 1
The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 106 to amend this Regulation by updating the amounts referred to in Article 5860(1).
Amendment 56 #
2023/0209(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 6
Recital 6
(6) As evidenced in the review conducted by the Commission and given the evolution of the respective markets, businesses and risks attached to the activities, it is necessary to update the prudential regime for payment institutions, including those issuing electronic money and providing electronic money services, by requiring a single licence for providers of payment services and electronic money services not taking deposits. Given that Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 of the European Parliament and of the Council32 lays down in its Article 48(2) that that issuers of electronic money tokens shall be deemed to be electronic money institutions, the licensing regime for payment institutions, as they will replace the electronic money institutions, should also apply to issuers of electronic money tokens. The prudential regime applicable to payment institutions should be based on an authorisation, subject to a set of strict and comprehensive conditions, for legal persons offering payment services when not taking deposits. The prudential regime applicable to payment institutions should ensure that the same conditions apply Union-wide to the activity of providing payment services. __________________ 32 Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 May 2023 on markets in crypto-assets, and amending Regulations (EU) No 1093/2010 and (EU) No 1095/2010 and Directives 2013/36/EU and (EU) 2019/1937 (OJ L 150, 9.06.2023, p. 40).
Amendment 58 #
2023/0209(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) Given the emergence of new types of payment instruments, the technological solutions that can serve as a basis for such instruments, and the uncertainties prevailing in the market as to their legal qualification, the definition of a ‘payment instrument’ should be further specified as to what constitutes or does not constitute a payment instrument, bearing in mind the principle of technology neutrality.
Amendment 59 #
2023/0209(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 12
Recital 12
(12) The definition of ‘payment instrument’ under Directive (EU) 2015/2366 made reference to a ‘personalised device’. Since there are pre- paid cards where the name of the holder of the instrument is not printed on the card, this could leave those cards outside the scope of the definition of a payment instrument. The definition of ‘payment instrument’ should, therefore, be amended to refer to ‘individualised’ devices, instead of ‘personalised’ ones, specifying that pre- paid cards where the name of the holder of the instrument is not printed on the card are payment instruments. A technical account used only to repay a credit line granted exclusively in the connection with a payment transaction should also not fall within the definition of a payment account.
Amendment 60 #
2023/0209(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 13
Recital 13
(13) So-called digital ‘pass-through wallets’, involving the tokenisation of an existing payment instrument, including a payment card, are not to be considered as technical services, and. They should thusnot be excluded from the definition of payment instrument as a token cannot be regarded as being itself a payment instrument but, rather, a payment application within the meaning of Article 2, point (21) of Regulation (EU) 2015/75 of the European Parliament and of the Council33 . Howe. Moreover, some other categories of digital wallets, namely pre-paid electronic wallets such as ‘staged-wallets’ where users can store money for future online transaction, are to be considered a payment instrument and their issuance as a payment service. __________________ 33 Regulation (EU) 2015/751 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2015 on interchange fees for card- based payment transactions (OJ L 123, 19.5.2015, p. 1).
Amendment 61 #
2023/0209(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 13
Recital 13
(13) So-called digital ‘pass-through wallets’, involving the tokenisation of an existing payment instrument, including a payment card, are to be considered as technical services, and should thus be excluded from the definition of payment instrument as a token cannot be regarded as being itself a payment instrument but, rather, a payment application within the meaning of Article 2, point (21) of Regulation (EU) 2015/751 of the European Parliament and of the Council33 . However, some other categories of digital wallets, namely pre-paid electronic wallets such as ‘staged-wallets’ where users can store money for future online transaction, are to be considered a payment instrument and their issuance as a payment service. __________________ 33 Regulation (EU) 2015/751 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2015 on interchange fees for card- based payment transactions (OJ L 123, 19.5.2015, p. 1).
Amendment 66 #
2023/0209(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 37 a (new)
Recital 37 a (new)
(37 a) In order for payment institutions to truly engage in cross-border services, the Commission should provide a certain Internet website or a one-stop shop with all of the information in one place on how to register in particular Member States.
Amendment 70 #
2023/0209(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 62
Recital 62
(62) To further improve access to cash, which is a priority of the Commission, retailers should be allowed to offer, in physical shops, cash provision services even in the absence of a purchase by a customer, without having to obtain a payment service provider authorisation, registration or being an agent of a payment institution. Those cash provision services should, however, be subject to the obligation to disclose fees charged to the customer, if any. These services should be provided by retailers on a voluntary basis and should depend on the availability of cash byat the retailer. To prevent unfair competition between ATM deployers not servicing payment accounts and retailers offering cash withdrawals without a purchase, and to ensure that shops do not rapidly run out of cash, it is appropriate to impose a cap of EUR 50100 or the relevant amount in the currency of the Member State concerned per transaction.
Amendment 71 #
2023/0209(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 68
Recital 68
(68) This Directive does not include licensing requirements for payment systems, payment schemes or payment arrangements, taking into account the need to avoid any duplication with the Eurosystem’s oversight framework over retail payment systems, including over Systemically Important Payment Systems and other systems, as well as the Eurosystem’s new ‘PISA’ Framework, and oversight by national central banks. This Directive also does not cover, in its scope, the provision of technical services including processing or the operation of digital wallets. However, considering the pace of innovation in the payments sector and the possible emergence of new risks, it is necessary that in its future review of this Directive the Commission gives particular consideration to those developments and assesses whether the scope of the Directive should be extended to cover new services and entities.
Amendment 72 #
2023/0209(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 71
Recital 71
(71) Payment institutions are not included in the list of entities which fall under the definition of “institutions” in Article 2, point (b) of Directive 98/26/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council47 . Consequently, payment institutions are effectively prevented from participating in payment systems designated by Member States pursuant to that Directive. That lack of access to certain key payment systems can impede payment institutions in providing a full range of payment services to their clients effectively and competitively. It is therefore justified to include payment institutions under the definition of ‘institutions’ in that Directive, but only for the purpose of payment systems, and not for securities settlement systems. Therefore it is welcomed that this step was already taken through the Instant Payments Regulation. Payment institutions should meet the requirements and respect the rules of payment systems to be allowed to participate in those systems. Regulation XXX [PSR] lays down requirements on operators of payment systems regarding the admission of new applicants for participation, including as regards an assessment of relevant risks. Given the importance of restoring as soon as possible the level playing field between banks and ‘non-banks’ and considering the impact that the current situation causes to competition in payment markets, it is necessary to grant Member States a shorter transposition and application deadline for this new provision in Directive 98/26/EC than for the other provisions of the present Directive. It is therefore appropriate to require Member States to transpose that new provision into their national law within 6 months of the entry into force of this Directive, rather than the 18 months that applies for the other provisions of this Directive. __________________ 47 Directive 98/26/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May 1998 on settlement finality in payment and securities settlement systems (OJ L 166, 11.6.1998, p. 45).
Amendment 73 #
2023/0209(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 77
Recital 77
(77) The European Data Protection Supervisor was consulted in accordance with Article 42(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 and delivered an opinion on [XX XXthe 22nd of August 2023],
Amendment 76 #
2023/0209(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 24
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 24
(24) ‘technical service provider’ means a provider of services which, although not being payment services, are necessary to supports the provision of payment services, without the provider of technical services entering at any time into possession of the funds to be transferred;
Amendment 78 #
2023/0209(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 27
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 27
(27) ‘Information and communications technology (ICT) services’ means ICT Services as defined in Article 3, point 21, of Regulation (EU) 2022/2554;
Amendment 79 #
2023/0209(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 30
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 30
(30) ‘group’ means a group of undertakings that are linked to each other by a relationship as referred to in Article 22(1), points (2) or (7) of Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council51 , or undertakings as referred to in Articles 4, 5, 6 and 7 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 241/201452 , which are linked to each other by a relationship as referred to in Article 10(1) or Article 113(6), first subparagraph, or 113(7), first subparagraph of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013; __________________ 51 Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings, amending Directive 2006/43/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directives 78/660/EEC and 83/349/EEC (OJ L 182, 29.6.2013, p. 19). 52 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 241/2014 of 7 January 2014 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to regulatory technical standards for Own Funds requirements for institutions (OJ L 74, 14.3.2014, p. 8).
Amendment 83 #
2023/0209(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 38
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 38
(38) ‘ATM deployer’ means operators of automated teller machines who do not servicehold payment accounts.
Amendment 97 #
2023/0209(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 17 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point a
Article 17 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point a
(a) payment institutions authorised in accordance with Article 13 and their agents and their agents or distributors, if any;
Amendment 98 #
2023/0209(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. Payment institutions that intend to provide payment and other than e-money services, through agents shall communicate to the competent authorities in their home Member State all of the following information:
Amendment 103 #
2023/0209(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 21 – paragraph 1
Article 21 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall require fromthat a payment institutions that intends to provide payment services in another Member State by establishing a branch, or that intends to provide payment services in a Member State other than theirits home Member State via a branch located in a third Member State, follow the procedures set out in Article 30.
Amendment 104 #
2023/0209(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 30 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
Article 30 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
Member States shall ensure that payment institutions that intend to outsource operational functions of the payment or electronic money services to other entities in the host Member State, inform the competent authorities of their home Member State thereof without undue delay.
Amendment 105 #
2023/0209(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 30 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 30 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. The Commission shall create a dedicated Internet website with all of the information in one place on how payment institutions can register in each Member State.
Amendment 110 #
2023/0209(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 36 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 2
Article 36 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 2
As an alternative to holding a professional indemnity insurance as required in paragraphs 3 and 4, the undertakings as referred to in paragraph 1 shall hold an initial capital of EUR 50 000, which canmight be replaced by a professional indemnity insurance after those undertakings have commenced their activity as a payment institution, without undue delay.
Amendment 111 #
2023/0209(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 37 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 37 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) the amount of cash provided does not exceed EUR 50100 or the relevant amount in the currency of the Member State concerned per withdrawal.
Amendment 117 #
2023/0209(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 38 – paragraph 4 a (new)
Article 38 – paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. The fees and information, as well as when and how they should be provided to the PSUs, that should be displayed by the ATM shall comply with the rules set out in the Regulation XXX (PSR).
Amendment 120 #
2023/0209(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 43 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point a
Article 43 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point a
(a) the appropriateness of the scope of this Directive, in particular regarding the possibility of extending it to certain services, including the operation of payment systems and the provision of technical services including processing or the operating of digital wallets, which are not covered in the scope;
Amendment 136 #
Amendment 311 #
2023/0115(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 13 a (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 13 a (new)
Directive 2014/49/EU
Article 13 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 3
Article 13 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 3
(13a) In Article 13(1), the third subparagraph is replaced by the following: Member States may decide that members of an IPS pay lower contributions to the DGS of which they are a member.
Amendment 53 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) Firstly, in order to effectively ensure the Union's access to a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials, that framework should include measures to decrease the Union's growing supply risks by strengthening Union capacities along all stages of the strategic raw materials value chain, including extraction, processing and recycling, towards benchmarks defined for each strategic raw material. Secondly, as the Union will continue to rely on imports, the framework should include measures to increase the diversification of external supplies of strategic raw materials through the conclusion of preferential trade agreements, sustainable investment facilitation agreements, revision of existing FTAs to include chapters dedicated to critical raw materials and conclusion of Strategic Partnership Agreements with third countries. Thirdly, is necessary to provide measures to reinforce the Union’s ability to monitor and mitigate existing and future supply risks. Fourthly, the framework should contain measures to increase the circularity and sustainability of the critical raw materials consumed in the Union.
Amendment 61 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) The list of critical raw materials should contain all strategic raw materials as well as any other raw materials of high importance for the overall Union economy and for which there is a high risk of supply disruption. To take account of possible technological and economic changes, the Commission should, in continuation of current practice, periodically perform an assessment based on data for production, processing, trade, applications, recycling, available stocks and substitution for a wide range of raw materials to update the lists of critical and strategic raw materials reflecting the evolution in the economic importance and supply risk associated with those raw materials. The list of critical raw materials should include those raw materials which reach or exceed the thresholds for both economic importance and supply risk, without ranking the relevant raw materials in terms of criticality. This assessment should be based on an average of the latest available data over a 5-year-period. The measures set out in this Regulation related to one stop shop for permitting, planning, exploration, monitoring, circularity, and sustainability should apply to all critical raw materials.
Amendment 65 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6
Recital 6
(6) To strengthen Union capacities along the strategic raw materials value chain, benchmarks should be set to guide efforts and track progress. The aim should be to increase capacities for each strategic raw material at each stage of the value chain, while aiming to achieve overall capacity benchmarks for extraction, processing and recycling of strategic raw materials. Firstly, the Union should increase the use of its own geological resources of strategic raw materials and build up capacity to allow it to extract the materials needed to produce at least 10 % of the Union's consumption of each strategic raw materials. Keeping in mind that extraction capacity is highly dependent on the availability of Union geological resources, the achievement of this benchmark is dependent on such availability. Secondly, in order to build a full value chain and prevent any bottlenecks at intermediate stages, the Union should in addition increase its processing capacity along the value chain and be able to produce at least 40 % of its annual consumption of strategic raw materials. Thirdly, it is expected that in the coming decades a growing share of the Union's consumption of strategic raw materials can be covered by secondary raw materials, which would improve both the security and the sustainability of the Union’s raw materials supply. Therefore, Union recycling capacity should be able to produce at least 15 % of the Union’s annual consumption of each strategic raw materials. These benchmarks refer to the 2030 time horizon, in alignment with the Union's climate and energy targets set under Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council29 and the digital targets under the Digital Decade30 , which they underpin. Furthermore, quality jobs, including skills development and job-to-job transitions, will address risks in the sectoral labour market and help ensure the EU’s competitiveness. _________________ 29 Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 June 2021 establishing the framework for achieving climate neutrality and amending Regulations (EC) No 401/2009 and (EU) 2018/1999 (OJ L 243, 9.7.2021, p. 1). 30 Decision (EU) 2022/2481 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 establishing the Digital Decade Policy Programme 2030 (OJL 323, 19.12.2022, p. 4–26 )
Amendment 78 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) In order to diversify the Union's supply of strategic raw materials, the Commission should, with the support of the Board, identify Strategic Projects in third countries that intend to become active in the extraction, processing or recycling of strategic raw materials. To ensure that such Strategic Projects are effectively implemented, they should benefit from improved access to finance. In order to ensure their added value, projects should be assessed against a set of criteria. Like projects in the Union, Strategic Projects in third countries should strengthen the Union's security ofresilience of the Union's supply ofor strategic raw materials, show sufficient technical feasibility and be implemented sustainably. For projects in emerging markets and developing economies, the project should be mutually beneficial for the Union andaligned with the sustainable development plans of the third country involved and add value in that country, taking into account also its consistency with the Union’s common commercial policy. Such value may beshould derived from the project’s contribution to more than one stage of the value chain as well as from creating through the project wider economic and social benefits, including, but not limited to, the creation of quality employment in compliance with international standards. Where tThe Commission should assesses these criteria to be fulfillin consultation with the third country’s government and local communities involved, itn the project and, should publish the decision of recognition asof a Strategic Project in a decisiononce the criteria are fulfilled.
Amendment 82 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11
Recital 11
(11) In order to ensure the sustainability of increased raw material production, new raw materials projects should be implemented sustainably. To that end, the Strategic Projects receiving support under this Regulation should be assessed taking into account international instruments covering all aspects of sustainability highlighted in the EU principles for sustainable raw materials[31 ], including ensuring environmental protection, socially responsible practices, including respect for human rights such as the rights of women, and transparent business and due diligence practices. Projects should also ensure engagement in good faith as well as comprehensive and meaningful consultations with local communities, including with indigenous peoples. To provide project promoters with a clear and efficient way of complying with this criterion, compliance with relevant Union legislation, international standards, guidelines and principles or participation in a certification scheme recognised under this Regulation should be considered sufficient. _________________ 31 European Commission, Directorate- General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, EU principles for sustainable raw materials, Publications Office, 2021, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2873/27875
Amendment 84 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) To prevent misuse of the recognition as Strategic Project, the Commission should be able to repeal its initial decision to recognise a project as strategic if it no longer fulfils the conditions or the recognition was based on an application containing incorrect information. Before it can do so, the Commission should consult the Board and heargive the project promoter the opportunity to address any failings.
Amendment 89 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 28
Recital 28
(28) In order to overcome the limitations of the currently often fragmented public and private investments efforts, facilitate integration and return on investment, the Commission, Member States, national export credit agencies and promotional banks should better coordinate and create synergies between the existing funding programmes at Union and national level as well as ensure better coordination and collaboration with industry and key private sector stakeholders. To that end, a dedicated sub-group of the Board bringing together experts from the Member States and the Commission as well as relevant public financial institutions should be set up. This sub-group should discuss the individual financing needs of Strategic Projects and their existing funding possibilities in order to provide project promoters with a suggestion on how to best access existing financing possibilities. When discussing and making recommendations for the financing of Strategic Projects in third countries, the Board should in particular take into account the Global Gateway strategy42 . _________________ 42 Joint Communication to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the European Investment Bank The Global Gateway (JOIN/2021/30 final)further development and increased financing of the Global Gateway strategy[42] connected to critical raw materials projects.
Amendment 101 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 54
Recital 54
(54) The Union has concluded Strategic Partnerships covering raw materials with third countries in order to implement the 2020 Action Plan on Critical Raw Materials. In order to diversify supply, these efforts should continue. To develop and ensure a coherent framework for the conclusion of future partnerships, these should strive to meet an established set of goals, including achieving the intended aims of this Act, improving cooperation across the whole value chain, contributing to increased local value addition in third countries, and facilitating the joint assessment of Strategic Projects abroad, ensuring the effective participation of affected communities. The Member States and the Commission should, as part of their interaction on the Board, discuss and ensure coordination on, inter alia, whether existing partnerships achieve thesuch intended aims, the prioritisation of third countries for new partnerships, the content of such partnerships and their coherence and potential synergies between Member States' bilateral cooperation with relevant third countries and the availability of sufficient access to finance . The Union should seek mutually beneficial partnerships with emerging market and developing economies, in coherence with its Global Gateway strategy, whichTeam Europe approach, common commercial policy and its development and foreign policy, which should contribute to the diversification of its raw materials supply chain as well as add value into the production in theseeconomic and social framework of partner countries.
Amendment 103 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 55
Recital 55
(55) In order to support the implementation of tasks pertaining to the development of Strategic Projects and their financing, exploration programmes, monitoring capacities or strategic stocks and to advise the Commission appropriately, a European Critical Raw Materials Board should be established. The Board should be composed of Member States, representatives of the European Parliament and of the Commission, while being able to ensure participation of other parties as observers. To develop the necessary expertise for the implementation of certain tasks, the Board should establish standing sub-groups on financing, exploration, monitoring and strategic stocks, that should act as a network by gathering the different relevant national authorities and, when necessary, consult industry, academia, civil society and other relevant stakeholders. The Board’s advice and opinions should be non-binding and the absence of such an advice or opinion should not prevent the Commission from performing its tasks under this Regulation.
Amendment 109 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point a – point i
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point a – point i
(i) Union extraction capacity is able to extract the ores, minerals or concentrates needed to produce at least 10% of the Union's annual consumption of each strategic raw materials, to the extent that the Union’s reserves allow for this;
Amendment 112 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point a – point iii
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point a – point iii
(iii) Union pre-consumer and post- consumer recycling capacity, including for all intermediate recycling steps, is able to produce at least 15% of the Union's annual consumption of each strategic raw materials.;
Amendment 115 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point a – point iii a (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point a – point iii a (new)
(iiia) The Commission shall determine specific benchmarks for each raw material, taking into account its characteristics and prospects as well as applying a volume weighting factor to account for tonnage differences when calculating and aggregating these separate benchmarks towards reaching the total benchmarks;
Amendment 116 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point a a (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point a a (new)
Amendment 118 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point c
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point c
(c) improve the Union's ability to monitor and mitigate the supply risk related to critical raw materials both internally and externally;
Amendment 119 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point d
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point d
(d) ensure the free movement of critical raw materials and products containing critical raw materials placed on the Union market while ensuring a high level of environmental protection, by improving their re-useability, repairability, circularity and sustainability.
Amendment 125 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 3
Article 1 – paragraph 3
3. Where, based on the reportinitial report and the three-year progress reports referred to in Article 42, the Commission concludes that the Union is likely not to achieve the objectives set out in paragraph 2, it shall assess the feasibility and proportionality of proposing measures or exercising its powers at Union level in order to ensure the achievement of those objectives.
Amendment 128 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 4
Article 1 – paragraph 4
4. The Commission shall take into account the objectives and benchmarks laid down in paragraph 2, point a(iii), as related Union priorities when dealing with all linked legislation, including within the meaning of Article 5(4)(a)(i) of Regulation XX/XXXX [OP please insert: the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation], when preparing ecodesign requirements to improve the following product aspects: durability, reusability, reparability, resource use or resource efficiency, possibility of remanufacturing and recycling, recycled content and possibility of recovery of materials.
Amendment 130 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 4 a (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. The Commission shall take into account the objectives and benchmarks laid down in paragraph 2 when carrying out impact assessments in all of its legislative proposals.
Amendment 131 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 1 a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 1 a (new)
(1a) secondary raw material’ means a substance or material recovered from processes residuals or from end of life products, that can be used in manufacturing processes instead of, or in combination with virgin raw material;
Amendment 146 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 3
Article 3 – paragraph 3
3. The Commission shall review and, if necessary, update the list of strategic raw materials by [OP please insert: fourthree years after the date of entry into force of this Regulation], and every 4 four years thereafter. three years thereafter. The Board may request the Commission to review or update the list at any time outside of these scheduled reviews, to which the Commission must respond.
Amendment 149 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 4
Article 4 – paragraph 4
4. The Commission shall review and, if necessary, update the list of critical raw materials by [OP please insert: fourthree years after the date of entry into force of this Regulation], and every 4 four years thereafterthree years thereafter. The Board may request the Commission to review or update the list at any time outside of these scheduled reviews, to which the Commission must respond.
Amendment 153 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) the project would make a meaningful contribution to the security of the Union's supply of strategic raw materials and reaching the benchmarks described in Article 1, Paragraph 2, points a and b;
Amendment 156 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) the project, also when based in a third country, would be implemented sustainably, in particular as regards the monitoring, prevention and minimisation of environmental impacts, the use of socially responsible practices including respect of human and labour and indigenous peoples' rights, quality jobs potential and meaningful engagement with local communities and relevant social partners, and the use of transparent business practices with adequate compliance and due diligence policies to prevent and minimise risks of adverse impacts on the proper functioning of public administration, including corruption and bribery, excluding partnerships with actors convicted for illegal activity including, but not limited to, child labour, forced labour, human trafficking, terrorism, liaisons with criminal organisations, corruption, fraud and money laundering;
Amendment 157 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) the project would be implemented sustainably, in particular as regards the monitoring, prevention and minimisation of environmental impacts, respecting due diligence requirements, the use of socially responsible practices including respect of human and labour, labour and indigenous peoples' rights, quality jobs potential and meaningful engagement with local communities and relevant social partners, and the use of transparent business practices with adequate compliance policies to prevent and minimise risks of adverse impacts on the proper functioning of public administration, including corruption and bribery, excluding partnerships with actors convicted for illegal activity including, but not limited to, child labour, forced labour, human trafficking, terrorism, liaisons with criminal organisations, corruption, fraud and money laundering;
Amendment 167 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point e
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point e
(e) for projects in third countries that are emerging markets or developing economies, the project would be mutually beneficial for the Union and the third country concerned by adding value in that country. contribute to the sustainable development of the third country concerned by supporting relevant national development plans, fostering the establishment of relevant downstream industries and bringing benefits to local communities.
Amendment 170 #
2023/0079(COD)
(ea) for projects in third countries, the Project Promoter must demonstrate that the project contributes to reaching the objectives described in Article 1 Paragraph 2.
Amendment 172 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 3
Article 5 – paragraph 3
3. The recognition of a project as a Strategic Project shall not affect the requirements applicable to the relevant project or project promoter under international, Union or national law from a Member State or third country.
Amendment 174 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point d
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point d
(d) a plan containing measures to facilitatensure public acceptance including, where appropriate, the establishment of recurrent communication channels with the local communities, including indigenous communities, and organisations, including social partners, the implementation of awareness-raising and information campaigns and the establishment of mitigation and compensation mechanisms; . If resettlement is required to successfully roll out the project, right-holders shall be properly informed, and fully involved from a very early stage on and throughout the entire process, to come to agreements on how to value and compensate for their losses of land and possessions;
Amendment 178 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 4
Article 6 – paragraph 4
4. The European Critical Raw Materials Board referred to in Article 34 ('the Board') shall, based on a fair and transparent process, discuss and issue an opinion on the completeness of the application and whether the proposed project fulfils the criteria set out in Article 5(1). The Board shall include input or invite relevant representatives from civil society, industry, workers and trade unions and the local communities in the EU and, where relevant, third countries during the decision making process.
Amendment 181 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 2
Article 6 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 2
For Strategic Projects in third countries, the Commission shall share the application received with the third country whose territory is concerned by the proposed project. The Commission shall not approve the application before receiving the explicit approval of the relevant third country. For Strategic Projects in third countries with which the Union has negotiated a Strategic Partnership Agreement, the Commission shall conduct consultations with the authorities of this country in order to guarantee swift implementation of the project.
Amendment 186 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 2
Article 6 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 2
The Commission's decision shall be reasoned, including, where applicable, where it is different from the Board's opinion. The Commission shall share its reasons with the Board, the competent authorities in the Member State, as well as with the project promoter.
Amendment 188 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 8 a (new)
Article 6 – paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Before the Commission repeals the decision granting a project the status of Strategic Project, the Project Promoter shall be given the opportunity to rectify the identified failings; The Commission shall provide in writing a clear set of requirements that need to be fulfilled, and set a reasonable timeframe in which these must be rectified; The Commission shall then review the project and assess whether the requirements have been fulfilled; In the event that they have not, the Commission may then proceed with repealing the decision granting a project the status of Strategic Project;
Amendment 189 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 9 a (new)
Article 6 – paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. The Commission shall within one year after the date of entry into force of this Regulation establish a list of Union based raw material projects for which Strategic Project Status shall automatically be conferred in the event that a Project Promoter submits an application; these raw materials projects will be identified on the basis of their ability to make a meaningful contribution to reaching the objectives described in Article 1;
Amendment 195 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 4
Article 7 – paragraph 4
4. The Board shall periodically, but no less than every one year, discuss the implementation of the Strategic Projects and, where necessary, measures that could be taken by the project promoter or, the Member State or third state whose territory is concerned by a Strategic Project to further facilitate the implementation of those Strategic Projects.
Amendment 196 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 5 – introductory part
Article 7 – paragraph 5 – introductory part
5. The project promoter shall, every twoone years after the date of recognition as a Strategic Project, submit a report to the Board containing information on at least:
Amendment 199 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 9
Article 7 – paragraph 9
9. The project promoter shall establish and regularly update a dedicated project website with relevant information about the Strategic Project, including information on the environmental, social and economic impacts and benefits associated with the Strategic Project. The website shall be freely accessible to the public and shall be available in a language or languages that can be easily understood by the local population and allow for effective communication with the project promoter.
Amendment 235 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 1
Article 12 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall ensure that national, regional and local authorities responsible for preparing plans, including zoning, spatial plans and land use plans, include in such plans, where appropriate, provisions for the development of critical raw materials projects. Priority shall be given to artificial and built surfaces, industrial sites, brownfield sites, and, where appropriate, greenfield sites not usable for agriculture and forestry abandoned or decommissioned former mining sites.
Amendment 236 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Article 14 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
2. Member States mayshall provide, when requested, administrative support to Strategic Projects to facilitate their rapid and effective implementation, including by providing:
Amendment 237 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 2 – point b a (new)
Article 14 – paragraph 2 – point b a (new)
(ba) predictable, regular, and clear communication to the project promoter as to administrative delays and obstacles in the permitting process, including the reasons for such delays.
Amendment 239 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – point a a (new)
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – point a a (new)
(aa) Strategic Projects in third countries should be prioritised for Global Gateway funding;
Amendment 240 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) existing Member State instruments and programmes, including from export credit agencies, national promotional banks and institutions;
Amendment 241 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 15 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Amendment 245 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 1 b (new)
Article 15 – paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. 3. The standing sub-group referred to in Article 35(6) shall 2 years after entry into force provide a report describing obstacles to access to finance and recommendations to facilitate access to finance for Critical Raw Materials Projects through the European Investment Bank Group and relevant Union funding and financing programmes as well as state aid.
Amendment 251 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 1
Article 18 – paragraph 1
1. Each Member State shall draw up a national programme for general exploration targeted at critical raw materials. Each Member State shall draw up the first such programme by [OP please insert: 1 year after the date of entry into force of this Regulation]. The national programmes shall be reviewed and, if necessary, updated, at least every 5four years.
Amendment 258 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1
Article 18 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1
Member States shall make the information on their mineral occurrences containing critical raw materials gathered through the measures set out in the national programmes referred to in paragraph 1 publicly available on a free access website, while preserving commercially sensitive information. This information shall, where applicable, include the classification of the identified occurrences using the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources.
Amendment 262 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 6 – point c
Article 18 – paragraph 6 – point c
(c) the possibility to createion an integrated database for storing the results of the national programmes referred to in paragraph 1.
Amendment 271 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 19 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. The Commission shall provide additional analysis that takes account of the potential demand that would stem from meeting the manufacturing capacity benchmarks referred to in the Net Zero Industrial Act; This anticipated demand should be reflected in the stress testing.
Amendment 278 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 2 – point c
Article 19 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 2 – point c
(c) factors that might affect supply, including but not limited to the geopolitical situation, economic coercion, logistics, energy supply, workforce or natural disasters;
Amendment 283 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 22 – paragraph 1 – point c a (new)
Article 22 – paragraph 1 – point c a (new)
(ca) the levels of international stocks held by Strategic Partners and third countries.
Amendment 284 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 22 – paragraph 3 – point b a (new)
Article 22 – paragraph 3 – point b a (new)
(ba) to increase cooperation in joint purchasing mechanisms in order to secure a desirable level of strategic stocks.
Amendment 291 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 23 – paragraph 2 – point b a (new)
Article 23 – paragraph 2 – point b a (new)
(ba) the strategy to follow, including existing or planned reaction mechanisms, in case the supply disruptions, as mentioned in point b, would effectively take place.
Amendment 303 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 25 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 25 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) increase the collection and processing of waste with high critical raw materials recovery potential and ensure their introduction into the appropriate recycling system, with a view to maximising the availability and quality of recyclable material as an input to critical raw material recycling facilities;
Amendment 304 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 25 – paragraph 1 – point a a (new)
Article 25 – paragraph 1 – point a a (new)
(aa) enhance the design and application of quality standards as well as technical and practical requirements and best practices for recycling processes of complex and valuable waste streams (such as electronics waste) to ensure maximum, safe and sustainable material recovery;
Amendment 307 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 25 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 25 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) increase the re-use, refurbishing, remanufacturing, and repurposing of products and components with high critical raw materials recovery potential;
Amendment 308 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 25 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 25 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) increase the use of secondary critical raw materials in manufacturing, including, where appropriate, by taking recycled content into account and processing, by taking recycled content and recyclability into account in all processes as well as in award criteria related to public procurement;
Amendment 310 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 25 – paragraph 1 – point e a (new)
Article 25 – paragraph 1 – point e a (new)
(ea) include a criterion related to sustainable critical raw materials in public procurement which would reward the most sustainable critical raw material.
Amendment 319 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 25 – paragraph 7 – subparagraph 2 – point e a (new)
Article 25 – paragraph 7 – subparagraph 2 – point e a (new)
(ea) available data on export of waste containing critical and strategic raw materials.
Amendment 320 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 26 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 26 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. Operators obliged to submit waste management plans in accordance with Article 5 of Directive 2006/21/EC shall provide to the competent authority as defined in Article 3 of Directive 2006/21/EC a preliminary economic and environmental assessment study regarding the potential recovery of critical raw materials from:
Amendment 323 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 29 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Article 29 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Governments, or organisations, multi- stakeholder organisations, industrial companies or individual undertakings that have developed and oversee certification schemes related to the sustainability of critical raw materials ("scheme owners") may apply to have their schemes recognised by the Commission.
Amendment 324 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 29 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Article 29 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Governments or multi-stakeholder- organisations that have developed and oversee certification schemes related to the sustainability of critical raw materials ("scheme owners") may apply to have their schemes recognised by the Commission.
Amendment 325 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 29 – paragraph 2
Article 29 – paragraph 2
2. Where, on the basis of the evidence provided pursuant to the paragraph 1, the Commission determines that a certification scheme meets the criteria laid down in Annex IV, it shall adopt an implementing act granting that scheme a recognition. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 37(3) The timeframe for adopting these implementing acts shall not be longer than 6 months after the submission of the application by the scheme owner.
Amendment 326 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 29 – paragraph 3
Article 29 – paragraph 3
3. The Commission shall periodically verify that recognised schemes continue to fulfil the criteria laid down in Annex IV. and are used in combination with other due diligence tools to ensure Strategic Projects fulfil the highest environmental and social standards.
Amendment 327 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 29 – paragraph 5 – point i (new)
Article 29 – paragraph 5 – point i (new)
(i) The Commission shall take into account assessments made by relevant stakeholders to proposed certification schemes. To this end, the Commission shall develop an easily accessible and publicly available interactive platform;
Amendment 330 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 30 – paragraph 1
Article 30 – paragraph 1
1. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 36 to supplement this Regulation by establishing rules for the calculation and verification of the environmental footprint of different critical raw materials no later than December 2025, in accordance with Annex V and taking into account scientifically sound assessment methods and relevant international standards. The calculation and verification rules shall identify which is the most important impact category for each critical raw materials, including amongst others carbon footprint, biodiversity impact, water consumption and pollution and waste management. The footprint declaration shall be limited to that impact category.
Amendment 331 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 30 – paragraph 3 – point c
Article 30 – paragraph 3 – point c
(c) the effectiveness of strategic partnerships, strategic projects, trade agreements, sustainable investment facilitation agreements and other international instruments and outreach conducted by the Union in achieving the Union’s climate and environmental objectives.
Amendment 340 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 33 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 33 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. The Board shall periodicallywithin 1 year after entry into force of this Regulation and every one year afterwards present a report discussing:
Amendment 342 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 33 – paragraph 1 – point a – introductory part
Article 33 – paragraph 1 – point a – introductory part
(a) the extent to which Strategic Partnerships concluded by the Union contribute towards the objectives defined in article 1, and more specifically to:
Amendment 345 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 33 – paragraph 1 – point a – point i
Article 33 – paragraph 1 – point a – point i
(i) improving the Union's security of supplyresilience of the Union's supply of strategic and critical raw materials;
Amendment 347 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 33 – paragraph 1 – point a – point ii
Article 33 – paragraph 1 – point a – point ii
(ii) the benchmarks set out in Article 1, paragraph 2, point (b);
Amendment 352 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 33 – paragraph 1 – point a – point iii a (new)
Article 33 – paragraph 1 – point a – point iii a (new)
(iiia) an up-to-date list of existing Strategic Partnerships and ongoing negotiations for Strategic Partnerships as well as Strategic Projects in third countries;
Amendment 360 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 33 – paragraph 1 – point a a (new)
Article 33 – paragraph 1 – point a a (new)
(aa) (iv) increased local added value in third countries and better integration in the global value chain by facilitating the manufacturing of finished and semi- finished goods in relevant downstream industries;
Amendment 361 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 33 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 33 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) the coherence and potential synergies between Member States’ bilateral cooperation with relevant third countries and the actions carried out by the Union in the context of Strategic Partnershipspursuit and negotiation of preferential trade agreements with third countries, in the context of functioning and negotiated Strategic Partnerships and functioning and negotiated sustainable investment facilitation agreements with third countries; The Board shall facilitate better dialogue and coordination in the Commission to ensure that these processes complement one another and are appropriately sequenced;
Amendment 365 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 33 – paragraph 1 – point c – point i
Article 33 – paragraph 1 – point c – point i
(i) the potential contribution to security of supplyresilience of the Union’s supply of critical raw materials, taking into account a third country's potential reserves, extraction, processing and recycling capacities related to critical raw materials;
Amendment 368 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 33 – paragraph 1 – point c – point ii
Article 33 – paragraph 1 – point c – point ii
(ii) whether a third country's regulatory framework and its implementation ensures the monitoring, prevention and minimisation of environmental impacts, the use of socially responsible practices including respect of human and labour rights, including policies to combat forced labour and child labour in particular and meaningful engagement with local communities, including indigenous communities, the use of transparent business practices, including anti- corruption measures and the prevention of adverse impacts on the proper functioning of public administration and the rule of law;
Amendment 372 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 33 – paragraph 1 – point c – point ii
Article 33 – paragraph 1 – point c – point ii
(ii) whether a third country's regulatory framework ensures the monitoring, prevention and minimisation of environmental impacts, the use of socially responsible practices including respect of human and labour rights and meaningful engagement with local communities, the use of transparent business and due diligence practices and the prevention of adverse impacts on the proper functioning of public administration and the rule of law;
Amendment 373 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 33 – paragraph 1 – point c – point ii a (new)
Article 33 – paragraph 1 – point c – point ii a (new)
(iia) whether there are existing or potential preferential trade agreements or ongoing negotiations of trade agreements with third countries;
Amendment 379 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 33 – paragraph 1 – point c – point iv a (new)
Article 33 – paragraph 1 – point c – point iv a (new)
(iva) for emerging markets and developing economies, to what extent existing Union finance, funding and de- risking tools in particular under Global Gateway, are used, and to what extent obstacles exist to the use of such tools in the context of Critical Raw Materials Projects;
Amendment 384 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 33 – paragraph 2
Article 33 – paragraph 2
2. The Board shall, in the context of paragraph 1 and in so far as relates to emerging market and developing economies, ensure cooperation with other relevant coordination fora, including those established as part of the Global Gateway strategy, in order to contribute to the integration of those emerging market and developing economies into the global value chain.
Amendment 386 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 33 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 33 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. The Board shall coordinate efforts in supporting the inclusion of Strategic Projects conducted in third countries within the Global Gateway financing pipeline. The Commission shall publish an annual report outlining the benefits brought in the preceding year by each of the Strategic Partnership Agreements; the report shall include: a. An up to date list of all existing Strategic Partnership Agreements; b. An up to date list of all ongoing negotiations for Strategic Partnership Agreements; c. A priority list of potential Strategic Partnership Agreements; d. A list of the relevant projects facilitated by Strategic Partnerships and an analysis of how these projects have contributed to fulfilling the aims of this regulation; e. An up to date list of all projects granted the status of Strategic Project that are located in third countries;
Amendment 388 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 33 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 33 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2bis. The Board shall ensure coherence between the Strategic Partnership Agreements and Global Gateway as investments can be used as a leverage to gradually improve environmental-, labour- and Human Right standards and are essential to create added value in the partner countries and to integrate them in the global value chain.
Amendment 396 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 33 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Article 33 – paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. coordinate the activities of their development banks, export credit agencies and other public institutions under their supervision to support the implementation and financing of Strategic Projects conducted in third countries;
Amendment 402 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 35 – paragraph 1
Article 35 – paragraph 1
1. The Board shall be composed of Member States, the European Parliament and the Commission. It shall be chaired by the Commission.
Amendment 404 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 35 – paragraph 2
Article 35 – paragraph 2
2. Each Member State shall appoint a high-level representative to the Board and the European Parliament shall appoint 5 members to the Board. Where relevant as regards the function and expertise, a Member State may appoint different representatives in relation to different tasks of the Board. Each member of the Board shall have an alternate.
Amendment 407 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 35 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 2 – point a
Article 35 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 2 – point a
(a) a subgroup to discuss and coordinate financing for Strategic Projects pursuant to Article 15; representatives of national promotional banks and institutions, representatives of export credit agencies, the European development financial institutions, the European Investment Bank Group, other international financial institutions including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and, as appropriate, private financial institutions shall be invited as observers;
Amendment 414 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 35 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 2 – point d a (new)
Article 35 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 2 – point d a (new)
(da) A subgroup bringing together the One Stop Shop Observers to meet at regular intervals and cultivate greater convergence in decision making between the Member States;
Amendment 417 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 35 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 2 – point d b (new)
Article 35 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 2 – point d b (new)
(db) A subgroup bringing together scientists, experts and organisations specialized in sustainable mining and production of critical raw materials with the purpose of evaluating the sustainability provisions of the accepted Strategic Projects.
Amendment 418 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 35 – paragraph 7 – subparagraph 1
Article 35 – paragraph 7 – subparagraph 1
Amendment 421 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 35 – paragraph 7 – subparagraph 2
Article 35 – paragraph 7 – subparagraph 2
Where appropriate, the Board mayshall invite experts, other third parties or representatives of third countries to attend meetings of the standing or temporary sub- groups referred to in paragraph 6 as observers or to provide written contributions.
Amendment 423 #
2023/0079(COD)
2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 1(2a), Article 3(2), Article 4(2), Article 5(2), Article 27(12), Article 28(2) and Article 30(1) and (5) shall be conferred on the Commission for a period of eight years from [OP please insert: one month after the date of entry into force of this Regulation]. The Commission shall draw up a report in respect of the delegation of power not later than nine months before the end of the six- year period. The delegation of power shall be tacitly extended for periods of an identical duration, unless the European Parliament or the Council opposes such extension not later than three months before the end of each period.
Amendment 425 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 36 – paragraph 3
Article 36 – paragraph 3
3. The delegation of power referred to in Article 1(2a), Article 3(2), Article 4(2), Article 5(2), Article 27(12), Article 28(2) and Article 30(1) and (5) may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect on the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.
Amendment 427 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 36 – paragraph 6
Article 36 – paragraph 6
6. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 1(2a), Article 3(2), Article 4(2), Article 5(2), Article 27(12), Article 28(2) and Article 30(1) and (5) shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or the Council within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period may be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.
Amendment 429 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 42 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Article 42 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
The Commission shall, taking into account the advice of the Board, monitor progress towards the objectives set out in Article 1(2) and publish: a) an initial report, no later than 1 year after the publication of this regulation, detailing the state of play and projections for reaching the benchmarks set out in Article 1 for each raw material as well as the aggregated benchmarks, and defining the opportunities, bottlenecks and required efforts and investments to reach the objectives. b) a progress report, at least every 3 years, a report detailing the Union’s progress towards achieving those objectives.
Amendment 441 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Annex III – point 2 – point b
Annex III – point 2 – point b
(b) whether the applicable legal framework or other conditions provide assurance that trade and investment related to the project will not be distortednon-discrimination towards companies from the Union and a level playing field is kept, taking into account notably whether the Union has concluded a Strategic Partnership referred to in Article 33 or a trade agreement containing a chapter on raw materials with the relevant third country, and is consistent with the Union’s common commercial policy;
Amendment 444 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Annex III – point 4 – point c
Annex III – point 4 – point c
(c) ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy and the ILO core conventions;
Amendment 446 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Annex III – point 4 – point i b (new)
Annex III – point 4 – point i b (new)
(ib) UN Declaration on the rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)
Amendment 447 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Annex III – point 4 – point i c (new)
Annex III – point 4 – point i c (new)
(ic) EIB Eligibility, Excluded Activities and Excluded sectors list.
Amendment 448 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Annex III – point 4 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Annex III – point 4 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Project promoters may also attest compliance withprovide information regarding the criterion referred to in Article 5(1), point (c) by:
Amendment 450 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Annex III – point 4 – paragraph 1 – point b
Annex III – point 4 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) committing to obtaining certification for the project concerned as part of a recognised scheme referred to in Article 29 and providing sufficient evidence that when implemented the project concerned will be able to meet the criteria for such certification.
Amendment 451 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Annex III – point 6 – point b
Annex III – point 6 – point b
(b) to fostering private investment in the domestic raw materials value chain;
Amendment 452 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Annex III – point 6 – point c
Annex III – point 6 – point c
(c) to the creation of wider economic or social benefits, including the creation of quality employment. in accordance with relevant international conventions
Amendment 453 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Annex III – point 6 – point c a (new)
Annex III – point 6 – point c a (new)
(ca) to achieving the goals and objectives of economic development plans adopted by the country’s national or territorial governments in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Amendment 455 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Annex IV – paragraph 1 – point a – point i (new)
Annex IV – paragraph 1 – point a – point i (new)
i) the scheme is based on a multi- stakeholder governance of the standard with equal voting power across public and private sector participants;
Amendment 456 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Annex IV – paragraph 1 – point a – point ii (new)
Annex IV – paragraph 1 – point a – point ii (new)
ii) the level of detail and depth of coverage of the standard across all relevant environmental and social topics is reflective of best practices.
Amendment 457 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Annex IV – paragraph 1 – point b – point i
Annex IV – paragraph 1 – point b – point i
(i) requirements ensuring environmentally sustainable practices, including requirements ensuring environmental management and impact mitigation, such as the obligation not to damage habitats, wildlife, flora and ecosystems or to practice deep-sea tailing;
Amendment 458 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Annex IV – paragraph 1 – point b – point ii
Annex IV – paragraph 1 – point b – point ii
(ii) requirements for ensuring socially responsible practices, including respect for human rights and labour r, indigenous rights and labour rights with access to a meaningful grievance mechanism to address any concerns that arise related to the standards and assurance system, in line with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights;
Amendment 459 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Annex IV – paragraph 1 – point b – point ii
Annex IV – paragraph 1 – point b – point ii
(ii) requirements for ensuring socially responsible practices, including respect for human rights, indigenous rights and labour rights;
Amendment 460 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Annex IV – paragraph 1 – point b – point iii
Annex IV – paragraph 1 – point b – point iii
(iii) requirements for ensuring business integrity and transparency including requirements to apply sound management of financial, environmental and social matters as well as anti-bribery and anti- corruption policies in line with the OECD Guidelines outlined in Annex III;
Amendment 461 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Annex IV – paragraph 1 – point c
Annex IV – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) verification and monitoring of compliance is objective, based on international, Union or national standards, requirements and procedures and carried out independently from the relevant economic operator;, such as: (i) Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact; (ii) UNEP Guidelines for Social Life Cycle Assessment of Products; (iii) Convention on Biological Diversity, in particular Decision COP VIII/28- Voluntary guidelines on Biodiversity- Inclusive impact assessment; (iv) UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC; (v) International Labour Organisation core Conventions as defined under the international labour organisation Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at work.
Amendment 462 #
2023/0079(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Annex IV – paragraph 1 – point c a (new)
Annex IV – paragraph 1 – point c a (new)
(ca) Including an on-site audit resulting in an audit report and encompassing exchanges with impacted stakeholders such as the local communities, workers and trade unions, and civil society;
Amendment 42 #
2022/2188(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
Amendment 45 #
2022/2188(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. MCalls on the Commission to assess the level of protection of EU geographical indications in the UK and maintains its call for both parties to activate the ‘rendez- vous’ clause on the future protection of geographical indications registered after 2021;
Amendment 46 #
2022/2188(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Reiterates that the TCA is the delicate outcome of long and difficult negotiations and it should therefore be fully implemented in good faith, equally to the Withdrawal Agreement, in particular the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland, and the recent Windsor Framework, for the mutual benefit of both parties; calls on both parties to fully exploit its huge potential to facilitate EU-UK trade to the greatest extent possible, while bearing in mind that the advantages of membership in terms of access to the EU single market and to the Customs Union, as well as of participation in other common and flanking policies, cannot, under any circumstances, be replicated through an FTA;
Amendment 52 #
2022/2188(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Takes note of the further postponement of the implementation of certain UK import procedures and checks on products coming from the EU; calls on the UK Government to clarify the schedule and requirements in order to avoid further uncertainty for businesses and to digitalize and simplify UK customs procedures to the extent possible, in order to avoid further frictions in trade between the EU and the UK; highlights that customs cooperation between the EU and the UK is important in order to support compatibility in customs legislation and procedures, and to promote trade facilitation;
Amendment 53 #
2022/2188(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Recalls that as a consequence of a separate sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) regulatory regime following its withdrawal from the EU, the UK is subject to all EU rules applicable to third countries not dynamically aligning with EU legislation; takes note of the fact that post-Brexit, the EU and UK remain important trading partners for agri-food products and that from January to October 2022, EU exports to the UK reached EUR 39.5 billion, a 15 % increase compared to 2021, while the UK was the third most important partner for the EU in terms of agri-food imports8 ; calls on the UK Government to consider an SPS agreement, as an alignment of this type woulexpedite the transition to a digital system for sanitary and phytosanitary certificates, and to consider an SPS agreement, as an alignment of this type would reduce the administrative and financial burden on both sides, and facilitate EU-UK agri-food trade, including trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland; _________________ 8 ‘Monitoring EU agri-food trade’, European Commission, Directorate- General for Agriculture and Rural Development, Brussels, 2022, https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/system/files /2023-01/monitoring-agri-food-trade- oct2022_en_1.pdf.
Amendment 58 #
2022/2188(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Commends the ongoing work of the Trade Partnership Committee and of the specialised and trade-specialised committees, and urges the parties to fully explore their potential as bilateral bodies established under the TCA, which can discuss subjects of shared strategic importance and address all implementation issues in a direct manner; invites the Commission to continue the good practice of keeping the European Parliament fully and immediately informed of the ongoing work of and developments in these committees;
Amendment 65 #
2022/2188(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Calls on the Commission to keep the European Parliament fully and immediately informed about all complications that may jeopardise the level playing field and fair competition for EU businesses and workers;
Amendment 2 #
2022/2172(INI)
Draft opinion
Recital -A (new)
Recital -A (new)
-A. whereas the legally binding Interinstitutional Agreement of 16 December 2020 foresees the implementation of a roadmap of new own resources, including a second basket of own resources to be proposed by June 2024;
Amendment 4 #
2022/2172(INI)
Draft opinion
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the first basket of new own resources is based on the future EU Emissions Trading System, the future Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and Pillar I ofon a share of revenue collected under Pillar I new set of rules designed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and to be finalized by the Inclusive Framework;
Amendment 8 #
2022/2172(INI)
Draft opinion
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas thea second basket of new own resources is expected by the end of 2023; whereas the Interinstitutional Agreement of 16 December 2020 stipulates that the Commission could include a fFinancial tTransaction tTax and a financial contribution linked to the corporate sector or a new common corporate tax base in this second basket;
Amendment 13 #
2022/2172(INI)
Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
B a. whereas the revenue side of the Union budget must be aligned with central EU objectives and policies addressing the grand societal challenges the EU is facing; whereas the system of own resources in its current form contributes to a rather limited extent only to this objectives;
Amendment 16 #
2022/2172(INI)
Draft opinion
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
B b. whereas the need to repay Next Generation EU (NGEU) and mounting long-term challenges for the EU underline the need to reassess the EU system of own resources, by exploiting the full potential of genuine own resources to assure sustainable financing of the EU budget in the long-term;
Amendment 17 #
2022/2172(INI)
Draft opinion
Recital B c (new)
Recital B c (new)
B c. whereas new own resources will ensure the NGEU repayment plan’s sustainability and strengthen the EU’s credibility on the financial markets, thus securing the best possible borrowing terms for the Union;
Amendment 18 #
2022/2172(INI)
Draft opinion
Recital B d (new)
Recital B d (new)
B d. whereas innovative own resources promote important EU objectives and strategies, such as fair taxation, competitiveness, or stabilising financial markets;
Amendment 19 #
2022/2172(INI)
Draft opinion
Recital B e (new)
Recital B e (new)
Amendment 20 #
2022/2172(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 (new)
Paragraph -1 (new)
-1. Emphasizes that the collection of genuine European new own resources is not an end in itself, but is closely linked to the success of the RRF and the climate- neutral and digital transformation; underlines, therefore, that the amount of additional EU own resources must be sufficient to not only cover the debt service of the EU-bonds, including the incurring interest charges, but also to sustain and facilitate needed European investments beyond 2026 to finance the transformation of the EU economy;
Amendment 21 #
2022/2172(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 a (new)
Paragraph -1 a (new)
-1 a. Underlines that own resources are a key enabler for the Union to implement its policy priorities; stresses that the introduction of new own resources would assure sustainable financing of the EU budget on a long-term basis in order to avoid new EU priorities being financed to the detriment of valuable EU programmes and policies, thus avoiding cuts to Union programmes in the future that would undermine the very purpose of long-term planning;
Amendment 22 #
2022/2172(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. NotWelcomes that, according to the roadmap in the Interinstitutional Agreement of the 16 December 2020, the Commission needs to put forward a proposal for the second basket of new own resources by June 2024;
Amendment 36 #
2022/2172(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. NotWorries that none of the new own resources from the first basket are yet in place;
Amendment 44 #
2022/2172(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Is concerned that the first basket of own resources will not generate the revenues expected for several reasons; worries in particular that the expected resources from the Pillar I reform at global stage remains blocked; observes further that beyond the funding needed for NextGenerationEU, the Union may need additional resources to assist Ukraine financially and, to further mitigate the impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine on the Union and to finance the digital and green transitions;
Amendment 45 #
2022/2172(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Amendment 49 #
2022/2172(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Concludes that the second basket of own resources therefore needs to be ambitious and yield sufficient revenues commensurate with the Union’s needs and based on measures- taxes and levies- that require a European coordinated approach;
Amendment 69 #
2022/2172(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the Commission to come forward with an own resource linked to eitherthe corporate sector and in particular either a share of revenues determined by the upcoming ‘Business in Europe: Framework for Income Taxation’ proposal or a share of revenues generated by to the proposal for a minimum tax directive1 implementing the OECD-led global tax deal, most in particular Pillar II; _________________ 1 Commission proposal for a Council directive on ensuring a global minimum level of taxation for multinational groups in the Union (COM(2021)0823).
Amendment 70 #
2022/2172(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Amendment 72 #
2022/2172(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Stresses that, if the negotiations regarding BEFIT are not concluded in a reasonable timeframe, the Commission should consider other sources of revenue from large corporations that operate in the single market; highlights, in this regard, the possibility of implementing a single market levy;
Amendment 81 #
2022/2172(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Suggests that the Commission and Member States come up with new own resources with similar design features as for to the non-recycled plastic contribution with the aim to fight inequality in the Union, to enhance the circular economy, and help to catalyse the implementation of the Green Deal. , as well as ensure a socially fair and just green and digital transition;
Amendment 9 #
2022/2150(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the EU labour market has proved particularly resilient, with an additional two million people in employment, leading to a record low unemployment rate of 6.2 % in 2022; whereas according to the Commission’s autumn economic forecast the public sector was a key contributor to the increase in employment; whereas despite labour market tightness wage growth has remained moderate and has failed to keep up with inflation, implying real wage losses of, on average, 8% between Q4 2020 and Q2 2022 in the Euro Area according to ECB research13a; whereas the unemployment rate is expected to increase slightly in 2023 (6.5 %), before marginally coming down again in 2024 (6.2 %); _________________ 13a https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/date /2022/html/ecb.blog221125~d34babdf3e.e n.html
Amendment 18 #
2022/2150(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas according to the annual sustainable growth survey, inflation should peak at 10.7 % in 2022 and then gradually decrease to 7.0 % in 2023 and 3 % in 2024; whereas wage growth is expected to only partially mitigate losses in real incomes, without triggering a persistent feedback loop between wages and inflation; whereas the level of inflation will hugely vary amongst member states;
Amendment 19 #
2022/2150(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
C a. whereas inflation has a differentiated impact across income groups, with low-income groups suffering proportionally more especially as inflation is mainly driven by price developments in essential goods that cannot be substituted and make up a relatively larger share of the consumption basket of low-income households; whereas such differentiated impacts cause a veritable cost-of-living crisis for parts of the population that poses challenges to social cohesion;
Amendment 26 #
2022/2150(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
D a. whereas inflation and economic forecasts are operating under the conditions of heightened uncertainty, with key risks, especially to growth, continuing to be pitched to the downside; whereas such uncertainty compels the EU and Member State governments to remain vigilant and to take rapid action if risks materialise;
Amendment 46 #
2022/2150(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Notes that the European Systemic Risk Board has issued a warning on 22 September 2022 calling for heightened awareness with regards to financial stability risks resulting from sharply falling asset prices; is concerned that rising mortgage rates and the deterioration in debt servicing capacity due to a decline in real household income may cause further distress for families and for financial markets;
Amendment 60 #
2022/2150(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses that while the primary objective of the European Central Bank (ECB) is to maintain price stability, the primary objective of the Union as a whole should be to minimise the impact of current turbulences on the real economy, thereby defending the wellbeing of its citizens and preserving its production structure and the international competitiveness of its companies; underlines, in this regard, the importance of adequate and coordinated fiscal, structural and regulatory policies that complement the ECB’s monetary policy actions, which are also capable of supporting household incomes and providing targeted support to companies suffering from supply bottlenecks and high energy costs; notes that further increases of the ECB’s key policy rate or quantitative tightening may further contract economic activity;
Amendment 64 #
2022/2150(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Welcomes the European Commission’s call on Member States to deliver targeted measures to offset the impact of high energy prices on vulnerable households and companies; agrees with the European Commission in stressing that such measures should maintain incentives for energy savings; recalls that Member States find themselves in starkly diverging positions regarding the fiscal space available to them; notes that this situation entails the risk of furthering divergence between Member States as the energy crisis continues;
Amendment 67 #
2022/2150(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2 b. Notes the increased need for fiscal space in most Member States; underlines that in periods of increasing interest rates, Member States should also consider raising more revenues on higher earners or on industries and firms that are highly profitable; notes how a healthy balance between government revenues and expenditures is also necessary to reduce legacy debt and to build up buffers in times of economic recovery;
Amendment 105 #
2022/2150(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Recalls that since 2017, some provisions in Member States’ bodies of national legislation were assessed to determine whether they facilitated aggressive tax planning and that, since 2019, six Member States received Country Specific Recommendations (CSRs) aiming at addressing features of the tax system that may facilitate aggressive tax planning; notes that those Member States made commitments in their NRRPs to reform their tax policies in order to fight aggressive tax planning; welcomes the fact that some jurisdictions already implemented some of those changes; however regrets the delays in implementation in others; regrets that, in the Recommendations of the Commission for 2022, only two Member States still received a CSR on aggressive tax planning while some have not implemented any change yet but still did not receive the Recommendation;
Amendment 114 #
2022/2150(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 – point a
Paragraph 7 – point a
(a) the six-pillar structure, ensuringwhich was developed as part of the ordinary legislative procedure and hence under the full involvement of the European Parliament and that ensures that Member States give adequate consideration in their reform and investment agendas to all the relevant dimensions for making EU economies and societies more prosperous, sustainable, inclusive, competitive and resilient;
Amendment 131 #
2022/2150(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Amendment 132 #
2022/2150(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8 b. Believes that future reforms of the European Semester should draw on the lessons learned as part of Next Generation EU and the RRF, especially as regards more transparent and democratic processes relating to the definition of policy objectives, the conduct of policy coordination as well as in relation to the collaborative approaches to the definition of reforms and investment projects that were pioneered between the European Commission and Member States; considers that such reforms should also incorporate lessons learned from the temporary establishment of the Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency (SURE) instrument;
Amendment 167 #
2022/2150(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Stresses that the revised regulatory framework must ensure that Member States have sufficient leeway to deliver decisive crisis-resolution measures when they are needed; is of the opinion that implementation of such measures should not require the suspension of regulatory provisions by means of escape clauses; notes that, in the future, the activation of escape clauses should remain a measure of last resort;
Amendment 168 #
2022/2150(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11 b. Highlights the need for common criteria that ensure, despite more country- specific flexibility in debt reduction, that all Member States are assessed according to the same standards, are treated equally, and that policy outcomes are predictable; notes that such common criteria should include criteria for the definition of Member States’ debt reduction paths; stresses that debt reduction should be delivered in a growth-friendly way and that underlying regulatory criteria should be defined in relation to Member States’ output and expenditure growth;
Amendment 193 #
2022/2150(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12 a. Notes that the Commission's communication acknowledges the potential inconsistencies between the application of the fiscal rules and the recommendations under the Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure (MIP), and provides for the inclusion of reforms and investments required to correct the imbalances under the MIP in the national plans; regrets that the Communication does not encompass any instrument that allows for the correction of such inconsistencies;
Amendment 207 #
2022/2150(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13 a. Stresses that large parts of the success of the RRF are due to the mobilisation of financial support for reforms and investments undertaken by Member States; notes that the European Commission’s proposals for a revised EU economic governance framework seek to incentivise compliance by way of sanctions that apply automatically in the case of non-compliance;
Amendment 208 #
2022/2150(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13 b. Recalls that the RRF is expected to end in late 2026; recalls that there is a near-undisputed consensus on the need for a degree of fiscal centralisation for currency unions, such as the Economic and Monetary Union, to be viable in the long-run, which was most recently reiterated by the International Monetary Fund13d; _________________ 13d International Monetary Fund, DP/2022/014, Reforming the EU Fiscal Framework - Strengthening the Fiscal Rules and Institutions
Amendment 209 #
2022/2150(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 c (new)
Paragraph 13 c (new)
13 c. Considers that a permanent fiscal capacity at EU level could, if designed appropriately, play a crucial role in maintaining sufficiently high levels of strategic investment, resolving the inconsistencies between the application of the fiscal rules and the MIP, and ensuring an appropriate fiscal stance at the aggregate level; calls for the timely establishment of a permanent instrument of a significant volume to succeed the RRF prior to its expiration at the end of 2026; considers that such an instrument should comprise both an investment and a stabilisation function;
Amendment 214 #
2022/2150(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 d (new)
Paragraph 13 d (new)
13 d. Considers that such an instrument should support national reform and investment initiatives towards common EU priorities, especially in the context of the social-ecological transformation and with regard to MIP-related measures for which Member States lack the fiscal space at national level under the applicable fiscal framework;
Amendment 215 #
2022/2150(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 e (new)
Paragraph 13 e (new)
Amendment 216 #
2022/2150(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Recalls that the better law-making agreement reiterates that the European Parliament and the Council are to exercise their powers as co-legislators on an equal footing and that the Commission therefore needs to treat them equally; stresses that the European Parliament should therefore be fully involved in the reform of the economic governance framework as well as the future conduct of economic governance in the EU, including in the establishment and management of fiscal instruments; stresses the role and responsibility of national parliaments;
Amendment 221 #
2022/2150(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Recognises the need for sufficient public revenue to ensure the sustainability of public finances in times of pressing investment needs and frequent economic shocks; highlights the various observations made by the European Commission as part of the European Semester on the tax mix; considers as necessary a shift from labour and consumption taxation towards the taxation of environmentally harmful practices, speculative behaviours, the windfall and/or excess profits of multinational corporations, and capital; stresses that further action to counter tax avoidance and evasion in the EU and in global fora is a necessary complement to the reform of the EU economic governance framework;
Amendment 3 #
2022/2142(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Highlights that taxation is one of the few areas that remain subject to unanimity voting in Council; stresses that it has become increasingly evident over recent years that stronger coordination in the field of taxation is needed at EU and global levels in the light of economic developments and the new challenges created by digitalisation and globalisation; regrets, incalls thisat regard, Hungary’s misuse of its veto right tocent tax proposals were block theed in Council negotiations on the Commission proposal of 22 December 2021 for a Council directive on ensuring a global minimum level of taxation for multinational groups in the Union (COM(2021)0823)due to vetoes of single Member States for reasons which were unrelated to the content of the proposal; deplores the recourse to national vetoes as a bargaining tool;
Amendment 21 #
2022/2142(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Regrets the fact that the current situation often leads to delays and a lack of progress in the harmonisation and coordination of tax rules across the Union, even though such harmonisation and coordination would benefit everyone; notes that some legislative proposals, such as the debt-equity bias reduction allowance (DEBRA) or the Business in Europe: Framework for Income Taxation (BEFIT), will be key to supporting the competitiveness of European companies;
Amendment 34 #
2022/2142(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Believes the recourse to passerelle clauses could help reduce the negative interference of vetoes used as bargaining tools only;
Amendment 42 #
2022/2142(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Recommends using the two general passerelle clauses for selected Treaty articles concerning the EU’s competences in the area of taxation; recalls that the Commission communication of 15 January 2019 entitled ‘Towards a more efficient and democratic decision making in EU tax policy’ (COM(2019)0008) and the conclusions of the Conference on the Future of Europe both recommended moving from unanimity voting to QMV on tax matters; highlights that using QMV on tax matters would contribute to a more effective framework for tackling tax evasion, avoidance and fraud concerns, but also open the path to a more efficient tax collection, benefitting both sovereigns and companies.
Amendment 49 #
2022/2142(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Amendment 52 #
2022/2142(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4 c. Encourages the transition towards QMV for other initiatives in the tax area which are necessary for the single market, most notably tax policies that have long been awaiting finalisation, such as the creation of a common corporate tax system in the EU.
Amendment 13 #
2022/2080(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
B a. whereas the leaks Panama Papers and Swiss Leaks suggest that the top 0.01 % of the wealth distribution owns about 50 % of the wealth placed in tax havens while the top 0.01 % evades about 25 % of its tax liability by concealing assets and investment income abroad, making tax evasion also a question about inequality1a; _________________ 1a Alstadsæter, A., Johannesen, N., & Zucman, G. (2019). Tax evasion and inequality. American Economic Review, 109(6), 2073-2103.
Amendment 16 #
2022/2080(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
B b. whereas the practices described in the Pandora Papers further entrench social and economic inequalities in our societies, and strongly erode citizens’ trust in the rule of law and in our economic and democratic system; whereas fostering social and economic justice is ever more important in the crisis that the EU currently faces, following the war of aggression against Ukraine and the cost of living crisis that ensued;
Amendment 19 #
2022/2080(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital B c (new)
Recital B c (new)
B c. whereas tax crimes are a predicate offence for money laundering under EU law and international standards; whereas the activities reported in the Pandora Papers are not all inherently illegal, but certainly amount to tax avoidance and abuse of corporate secrecy;
Amendment 31 #
2022/2080(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1 b. Notes that Switzerland revised its Federal Act on Banks and Savings Banks on banking secrecy in the framework of adopting the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) for exchanging information on financial accounts; however regrets that such banking secrecy remains for information not falling under the CRS; worries that banking secrecy rules in Switzerland still apply to jurisdictions that are not part of the CRS and to Swiss nationals, including Swiss journalists, and this explains why Swiss journalists were not initially allowed to report about the Pandora Papers or to be part of the investigative consortium; welcomes any future reform of Article 47 of Switzerland’s Federal Act on Banks and Savings Bank to safeguard proper freedom of the press;
Amendment 33 #
2022/2080(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1 c. Notes that a general lesson learnt from several money laundering and tax leaks in recent years is that whistleblowers play a significant role in allowing these leaks to be known by the public; regrets the extended use of non- disclosure agreements (NDAs) for employees in the corporate sector without accurate legal advice;
Amendment 48 #
2022/2080(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Deplores that a number of EU high-level decision-makers have been featured in the Pandora Papers; regrets that, according to the unanimity vote required to fight tax evasion and avoidance at the EU level, said individuals or the governments they integrated held the power to veto any EU legislation on those matters;
Amendment 49 #
2022/2080(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Calls on the Commission to make full use of the revised methodology for identifying high-risk third countries under Directive (EU) 2015/849 and, after its own thorough assessment, not to hesitate to place on the list of high-risk third countries jurisdictions not being named on the FATF lists;
Amendment 51 #
2022/2080(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3 b. Calls on the Council to move towards the use of qualified majority voting in certain tax matters concerning tax evasion and avoidance, and for the implementation of international tax agreements; stresses that the lack of further tax coordination pressures Member States to engage in a detrimental race to the bottom, while also hampering cross-border economic activity;
Amendment 52 #
2022/2080(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3 c. Welcomes the proposed Anti- Money Laundering legislative package; stresses the importance of increasing the coordination between national legal frameworks to address loopholes, and the improvement to supervision provided by establishing a European Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) with adequate resources and competences;
Amendment 61 #
2022/2080(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Points out that global professional services firms s possess a capacity as ‘career hubs’, where 68 % of transfer pricing professionals in multinational corporations had worked in a global professional services firmGPSF before11 ; is aware of examples of tax authority officials going on to work in such firms or multinational corporationGPSFs or MNCs immediately after; calls on the Member States to regulate the phenomenon ofensure revolving doors regulation, including cooling- off periods, with regard to officials in tax administrations; to officials of tax administrations, and also to uphold these standards on international organisations they are members of, such as the OECD, so as to avoid conflicts of interest and revolving doors; calls on the OECD, in particular, to uphold its own 2010 Recommendation Principles for Transparency and Integrity in Lobbying; _________________ 11 Christensen, R.C., ‘Transnational Infrastructural Power of Professional Service Firms’, SocArXiv, 9 September 2022.
Amendment 87 #
2022/2080(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Amendment 91 #
2022/2080(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Observes, in parallel, a growing trend for countries, and EU Member States in particular, to adopt legal frameworks designed to attract high- net- worth individuals, foreign pensioners and highly skilled workers to invest or live in their territory, notably granting them generous tax benefits and exemptions which do not apply to nationals, in addition to offering golden visas and selling citizenship opportunities; golden visa/sale of citizenship regimes; notes that governments generally use two instruments to compete for taxpayers and mobile tax bases in the area of personal income and wealth taxation: (top) tax rates and preferential tax arrangements targeted to income and wealth-rich foreigners14a; deplores that granting tax advantages to more mobile source of income increases inequality as the non mobile income earners end up paying more taxes than mobile income earners, in proportion; _________________ 14a Harmful Practices and Competition in the Area of Personal Income and Wealth Taxation, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/ etudes/IDAN/2022/703343/IPOL_IDA(20 22)703343_EN.pdf
Amendment 98 #
2022/2080(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Amendment 109 #
2022/2080(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13 a. Calls on the Commission to include in its future proposal on DAC 8 – among other previous recommendations related to DAC3 and outlined in Parliament’s resolution on the implementation of the EU requirements for exchange of tax information – the exchange of tax rulings concerning natural persons, which are often drafted by intermediaries, in order to ensure that the arrangements of high-net-worth individuals with a Member State’s tax authorities are shared with all Member States;
Amendment 122 #
2022/2080(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Deplores that the disparity of capital gains taxation across the EU might generate wealth shifting and tax avoidance behaviour across Member States; Calls on the Commission to assess the feasibility, economic impact of a minimum tax on capital gains at European level;
Amendment 124 #
2022/2080(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)
Paragraph 14 b (new)
14 b. Notes that some jurisdictions, such as the United Kingdom, have in place unexplained wealth control mechanisms aiming to detect the proceeds of criminal activities; stresses that this mechanism consists of a court order requiring a person who is reasonably suspected of being involved in serious crime, or of being connected to a person involved in it, to explain the nature and extent of their interest in particular property, and to explain how that property was obtained, where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the respondent’s known lawfully obtained income would be insufficient to enable the respondent to obtain the property; invites the Commission to assess the effects and feasibility of such a measure at Union level to enable law enforcement to better investigate the origin of ill-gotten assets and recover the proceeds of crime;
Amendment 128 #
2022/2080(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Welcomes the adoption of the first final rule on beneficial ownership reporting under the USnited States (US) Corporate Transparency Act; regrets the lack of political will in the US to share information regarding the financial accounts of non-US citizens; reiterates its call on the US to join the OECD Common Reporting Standard as soon as possibleRS as soon as possible, thereby fully exchanging information with other countries on a reciprocate basis;
Amendment 129 #
2022/2080(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15 a. Notes that despites the implementation of European and national legislation on exchange of information and transparency, the quality of data exchanged as well as the quality of data in different public registers remains low, poor, incomplete or not sufficiently updated; urges Member States to dedicate the appropriate resources, including sufficient staff and technology, to process and make full use of the data; calls on the Commission to issue guidance or provide support to Member State and reporting entities to guarantee the quality of data sent; requests that the Commission provides an overall assessment of the quality of data provided in the context of exchange of information between Member States as well as the quality of data in compulsory public registers;
Amendment 132 #
2022/2080(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15 b. Recalls the importance of transparency of beneficial ownership information (BOI) across the world the EU’s leading role in this domain; regrets, however, the delay in the setting-up of the Beneficial Ownership Registers Interconnection System (BORIS) in the EU due to technical difficulties; highlights that access to adequate, accurate and up-to-date BOI and control of legal persons is a valuable tool in the fight against tax evasion and avoidance;
Amendment 133 #
2022/2080(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 c (new)
Paragraph 15 c (new)
15 c. Stresses that the 5th AMLD requires Member States to set up registers of the beneficial owners of all legal entities established in the EU, including trusts, and grants public access to basic beneficial ownership information about companies; regrets the delays of implementation of these requirements in many Member States;
Amendment 134 #
2022/2080(INI)
15 d. Notes with concern that Member States have adopted BO registers in very divergent ways, with different access conditions, different search functions and different mechanisms for data verification, if any; stresses that, as a result, there has been a delay delay in the setting-up of the Beneficial Ownership Registers Interconnection System (BORIS) due to technical difficulties;
Amendment 135 #
2022/2080(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 e (new)
Paragraph 15 e (new)
15 e. Reminds the Commission and the Member States that it is absolutely essential that beneficial ownership information is accessible for financial intelligence units (FIUs), law enforcement, obliged entities and the general public; deplores the fact that delays in Member States and the overall lack of coordination in the implementation process are undermining the effectiveness of an functioning interconnection system, and calls on all actors to address this delay as a matter of urgency;
Amendment 136 #
2022/2080(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 f (new)
Paragraph 15 f (new)
15 f. Welcomes the revision of the Recommendation 24 by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which requires countries to prevent the misuse of legal persons for money laundering or terrorist financing; highlights that henceforth countries will have to require beneficial ownership information to be held by a public authority or body functioning as beneficial ownership registry or an alternative mechanism as efficient;
Amendment 137 #
2022/2080(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 g (new)
Paragraph 15 g (new)
15 g. Stresses that progress in tackling the use of anonymous companies can only be possible if information about beneficial owners is easily and available in a timely manner in all jurisdictions, and if authorities are able to make use of that information and cross-check data for investigative purposes;
Amendment 138 #
2022/2080(INI)
15 h. Welcomes further that the FATF is conducting a review of Recommendation 25 on the transparency and BOI of legal arrangements; considers, in this regard, that, similarly to what already is prescribed in EU law, the standard should determine that trusts or other similar legal arrangements be registered, that multi-pronged approach to trust ownership transparency should be required, including a trust register as a required component and that access to BO information on trusts be at least as comprehensive as it is currently determined by EU law;
Amendment 139 #
2022/2080(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 i (new)
Paragraph 15 i (new)
15 i. Recalls that the United Arab Emirates feature on the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force, a global money laundering watchdog, since March 2002, since the FATF has concluded that the UAE have strategic deficiencies in their regime to counter money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing; stresses that under the Commission’s methodology, where a third country is listed by the FATF, it should automatically be added to the EU list of high risk third countries without further autonomous assessment, through a Delegated Act; regrets that, in this case, the Commission has yet to propose to add the UAE to the EU list; calls for the United Arab Emirates to be identified as a high-risk third country without further delay;
Amendment 140 #
2022/2080(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 j (new)
Paragraph 15 j (new)
15 j. Reiterates its conclusions regarding the fact that, as exposed by the Pandora Papers, some U.S. states, such as South Dakota, Alaska, Wyoming, Delaware and Nevada, have become hubs of financial and corporate secrecy; regrets the lack of visible progress or political will in these states to enact necessary reforms since the revelations;
Amendment 141 #
2022/2080(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 k (new)
Paragraph 15 k (new)
15 k. Regrets that the US Congress has so far failed to pass the bill the Establishing New Authorities for Businesses Laundering and Enabling Risks to Security Act (ENABLERS), which would require the non-financial/ intermediary sector to carry out due diligence obligations on their customers, as recommended by FATF standards;
Amendment 146 #
2022/2080(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Welcomes the Commission proposal for a Council directive laying down rules to prevent the misuse of shell entities for tax purposes and amending Directive 2011/16/EU14 ; calls on the Council to swiftly adopt the proposal once Parliament has submitted its opinion; adopt the proposal swiftly after the Parliament emits its opinion; insists that such proposal can only deliver if it is accompanied by counter measures such as the denial of tax residence certificates; calls on the Commission and Member States to further promote global regulation on mandatory substance requirements for companies as a tool to prevent tax avoidance; _________________ 14 COM(2021)0565.
Amendment 151 #
2022/2080(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16 a. Calls for the creation of an EU Asset Register to provide public authorities with centralised access to information on the ownership of high value assets and goods throughout the EU and thereby effectively curb efforts to circumvent financial targeted sanctions, and fight money laundering and tax evasion and avoidance;
Amendment 153 #
2022/2080(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)
Paragraph 16 b (new)
Amendment 155 #
2022/2080(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 c (new)
Paragraph 16 c (new)
16 c. Reiterates, in this regard, the conclusions and recommendations of its resolutions of 21 January 2021 on reforming the EU list of tax havens and of 7 October 2021 on reforming the EU policy on harmful tax practices (including the reform of the Code of Conduct Group) and calls on the Council to relaunch discussions on comprehensive reform;
Amendment 156 #
2022/2080(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 d (new)
Paragraph 16 d (new)
16 d. Calls on the Council in particular to include the automatic listing of third jurisdictions with a 0 % corporate tax rate or with no taxes on companies’ profits as a standalone criterion; notes with concern that third countries may repeal non- compliant tax regimes but substitute them with new ones that are potentially harmful to the EU;
Amendment 157 #
2022/2080(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
Amendment 1 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 a (new)
Citation 7 a (new)
— having regard to the Commission proposal of 24 November 2015 for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 806/2014 in order to establish a European Deposit Insurance Scheme (COM(2015)0586),
Amendment 3 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 8 a (new)
Citation 8 a (new)
— having regard to the Commission communication of 16 December 2020 on tackling non-performing loans in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic (COM(2020)0822),
Amendment 5 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 8 b (new)
Citation 8 b (new)
— having regard to The Five Presidents’ Report of 22 June 2015 entitled ‘Completing Europe’s Economic and Monetary Union’,
Amendment 7 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 12 a (new)
Citation 12 a (new)
— having regard to the ECB recommendation of 15 December 2020 on dividend distributions during the COVID- 19 pandemic,
Amendment 14 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 28 a (new)
Citation 28 a (new)
— having regard to the European Supervisory Authorities’(ESAs)' ‘Joint Committee Report on Risks and Vulnerabilities in the EU Financial System’, JC 2022 09 of March 2022,
Amendment 15 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 28 b (new)
Citation 28 b (new)
— having regard to the EU Tax Observatory Working Paper 'Tax Planning by European Banks' of December 2022,
Amendment 16 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 29
Citation 29
— having regard to the declaration signed by the Chair of Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, and the respective coordinators for six political groups (EPP, S&D, RE, Greens, ECR and The Left) of 7 December 2022 on the European deposit insurance scheme,
Amendment 17 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 30 a (new)
Citation 30 a (new)
— having regard to its resolution of 25 March 2021 on strengthening the international role of the euro,
Amendment 18 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 30 b (new)
Citation 30 b (new)
— having regard to the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision standards on the Prudential treatment of crypto-asset exposures, of December 2022,
Amendment 24 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the Banking Union (BU) currently consists of the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) and the Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM); whereas although the Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive4 (DGSD) sets out high minimum standards in the area of deposit protection, the BU remains unfinished because thewhile lacking the establishment of its third pillar – the European deposit insurance scheme (EDIS) – has not yet been establishexposing the financial sector to risks that could be avoided; _________________ 4 Directive 2014/49/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on deposit guarantee schemes (OJ L 173, 12.6.2014, p. 149).
Amendment 28 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
A a. whereas an agreement was reached on the creation of a backstop for the Single Resolution Fund (SRF), but its actual implementation is still missing;
Amendment 34 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the Russian aggression against Ukraine and its economic and social consequences will havehas a direct and indirect impact on the EU banking sector;
Amendment 39 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
D a. whereas, despite the challenges caused by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the aggregate non-performing loans (NPL) ratio fell further to 2.29% in the third quarter of 2022; whereas this was supported by credit moratoria and renegotiation of credit with customers;
Amendment 42 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)
Recital D b (new)
D b. whereas fifteen years after the financial crisis, the ‘too big to fail’ and ‘too interconnected to fail’ problems remain insufficiently addressed;
Amendment 59 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas the finalisation of the anti- money laundering (AML) package should strengthen AML rules, establish a European supervisory authority for AML purposes and ensure a consistent and effective implementation of these rules;
Amendment 68 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
Amendment 69 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital I b (new)
Recital I b (new)
I b. whereas the European banking sector largely remains the main provider of financing of companies, in contrast with other jurisdictions, where capital markets account for a considerable share of financing to companies;
Amendment 70 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital I c (new)
Recital I c (new)
I c. whereas the development of a CMU requires the establishment of common rules and effective tools that reduce the internal market fragmentation, facilitate access to alternative financing means, and prevent capital flight and tax avoidance schemes;
Amendment 77 #
2022/2061(INI)
J. whereas completing the BU will breakstrongly contribute to reduce the sovereign-bank doom loop;
Amendment 83 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)
Recital J a (new)
J a. whereas the Transmission Protection Instrument (TPI) established by the ECB can mitigate risks of fragmentation and financial instability;
Amendment 86 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital J b (new)
Recital J b (new)
J b. whereas a more stable, competitive and convergent Economic and Monetary Union requires the completion of the Banking Union with its third pillar of a fully-fledged European Deposit Insurance Scheme, a deep and fully functional Capital Markets Union, a permanent euro area budgetary instrument, a revised fiscal framework and more effective cooperation and coordination on tax affairs;
Amendment 97 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes that the banking sector, in conjunction with public support measures, haspublic support measures coupled with the ECB's monetary policy decisions and regulatory adjustments - which allowed for loan repayment moratoria and credit renegotiation - acted as a shock absorber for the economic crisis triggered by the COVID- 19 pandemic; acknowledges that strengthening the prudential requirements implemented after 2008 has improved the EU banking sector’s resilience;
Amendment 101 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Recalls that the Banking Union (BU) is an essential complement to the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and the internal market, which aligns responsibility for supervision, resolution and funding at EU level and forces banks across the euro area to abide by the same rule book; welcomes the significant progress made since the financial crisis of 2008 through the establishment of the SSM and the SRM; highlights that Europe’s banks are in a stronger position to withstand financial shocks, and resolution mechanisms are in place to ensure that failing banks can be wound up without the use of taxpayers’ money; calls for the completion of the Banking Union, most notably through the implementation of the European Deposit Insurance Scheme (EDIS);
Amendment 111 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses that the EU should fairly and fully implement the Basel III reform in a timely manner; stresses the need for the EU to transpose the Basel agreement as close as possible to these standards, in order to remain a credible and reliable international partner; welcomes the European Parliament’s political agreement on the CRR and CRD;
Amendment 127 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Reminds that the inflationary environment was largely due to external factors, most notably the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, namely its impact on energy, fertiliser and grain prices, and the disruption of supply chains resulting from the Covid-crisis, and not from low interest rates or excessive liquidity in financial markets;
Amendment 131 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes the climate stress test conducted by the SSM in 2022 and takes note of the targets set for 2024; reiterates its concern with financial exposures stemming from climate risks;
Amendment 143 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes the ongoing work by the ECB on the digital euro; looks forward to the Commission’s legislative proposal and the ECB Governing Council’s decision on the digital euro; points out that the digital euro must prioritise a high level of privacy, data protection, confidentiality of payment data, cyber resilience and security;
Amendment 153 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Highlights the role of the banking system in supporting the transition to a carbon-neutral economy; considers that the new geopolitical environment increases the urgency of this transition, most notably on clean energy production; underlines the utmost importance of making a socially just transition; reminds that the costs of this transition will be lower than the cost of inaction, as acknowledged by the ECB; encourages the ECB to assess the possibility of a differentiated rate for sustainable investments that contribute most to reducing inflationary pressures, such as those in energy efficiency and renewable energy production;
Amendment 159 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Encourages banks to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the digitalisation of the economy, while maintaining a high level of consumer and investor protection, especially for vulnerable groups with low digital or financial literacy levels; calls on the EBA to assess the best options to tackle artificial complexity and the exclusion of vulnerable groups from using basic banking services; stresses the need for further investments and research to develop innovative ways to bolster the cybersecurity of the banking sector;
Amendment 161 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Welcomes the creation of Next Generation EU and emphasises its important role in the economic recovery after the Covid-crisis and how it must serve as an opportunity to enhance public and private investments and support the modernisation of the economy; stresses the importance of maintaining a macroeconomic stabilisation tool for the euro area;
Amendment 166 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8 b. Restates the importance of a European safe asset in the euro area as a way to help stabilise financial markets and allow banks to reduce the exposure of their balance sheets to national sovereign debt; considers that NextGeneration EU provides high-quality, low-risk European assets, allowing for a rebalancing of sovereign bonds on banks’ balance sheets; highlights the importance of preserving the availability of safe assets in a permanent manner;
Amendment 168 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 c (new)
Paragraph 8 c (new)
8 c. Welcomes the recent approval of the directive on improving the gender balance among directors of companies listed on stock exchanges, and related measures, following several years without progress; encourages all EU financial institutions to comply with the objectives of this legislation as soon as possible, thus contributing to gender balance in this sector;
Amendment 169 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 d (new)
Paragraph 8 d (new)
8 d. calls on EU governments, institutions and bodies to achieve gender balance as soon as possible; reiterates the Parliament’s commitment not to take into account shortlists of candidates where gender balance has not been respected;
Amendment 172 #
2022/2061(INI)
9. Notes that since the beginning of 2022, the Common Equity Tier 1 ratio of SSM banks has decreased to 14.9674 % and the liquidity coverage ratio has also decreased to 164.362.03 %5 ; welcomes that the stock of non-performing loans in banks’ balance sheets has continued to decrease; underlines that banks should keep sufficient capital and liquid assets on hand to cope with the economic repercussions of the Russian war; _________________ 5 ECB, ‘Publication of supervisory data’, accessed 15 December 2022.
Amendment 176 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Notes the ECB review of its supervisory priorities for the next three years, which are (1) Strengthening resilience to immediate macro-financial and geopolitical shocks, (2) Addressing digitalisation challenges and strengthening management bodies' steering capabilities, and (3) Stepping up efforts in addressing climate change;
Amendment 182 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Notes that the banking sector’s profitability has increased over the past year; highlights the importance of using these profits to build buffers and safeguard the stability of the financial system;
Amendment 184 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10 a. Stresses that banks under the ECB's supervision significantly reduced the payment of dividends following the ECB’s recommendation for suspension and limitation of said payments for 2020 and 2021, respectively; calls on the ECB to issue a similar recommendation taking into account the need for the financial sector to build up buffers and to prevent a deterioration of banks’ balance sheets;
Amendment 193 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. NoteRecalls that banks’ exposuthe main objectives of the BU ares to domestic sovereign debt remain high; recalls that one of the main objectives of the BU is to break the link between bank and sovereign risksguarantee financial stability, protect the tax-payer and allow for a higher degree of European market integration; notes, in this regard, that banks' exposures to domestic sovereign debt remain high;
Amendment 222 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Reiterates that bank-like systemic risks can occur where credit intermediation takes place in an environment where regulatory standards and supervisory oversight are looser than for regular banks;
Amendment 226 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Stresses the risks stemming from banks’ exposures to the shadow-banking sector; underlines the systemic risks resulting from interconnections and complexity, underpinning the ‘too big to fail problem’; calls on the Commission to assess the need to better regulate the shadow-banking sector and to put forward, where appropriate, legislative proposals;
Amendment 236 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Notes that crypto-assets create new challenges for banks; welcomes the forthcoming adoption of the regulation on markets in Crypto-assets in this regardand the provisional agreement on the regulation on information accompanying transfers of funds and certain crypto-assets in this regard; notes the publication in December 2022 of the Basel standards for the prudential treatment of crypto-asset exposures; calls on the Commission to swiftly submit a legislative proposal to the European Parliament and the Council to adopt these standards into EU law, where appropriate;
Amendment 250 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18 a. Is concerned by the lack of a mechanism in the Banking Union to ensure that liquidity can be provided to a bank in the event of a resolution in order to ensure the smooth continuity of services and the stability of financial markets, and calls on the Commission to address this gap without further delay;
Amendment 256 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 b (new)
Paragraph 19 b (new)
19 b. Regrets that Member States continue to act outside the Community framework, undermining Parliament’s role as co-legislator; asks to be kept informed at all times of the ongoing discussions at the level of the Eurogroup and of the High-level Working Group on the EDIS;
Amendment 270 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. CRegrets that the Commission has failed to propose the legislative initiative on crisis management and deposit insurance framework (CMDI) in the timeframe it committed itself to the Commission Work Programme 2021; calls on the Commission to put forward an ambitious and comprehensive review of the crisis management and deposit insurance framework; recalls that protecting taxpayer money is one of the main objectives of the resolution framework;
Amendment 283 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Regrets that the BU is still incomplete owing to the absence of an EDIS; recognises that the EDIS would improve protection for depositors in the EU; recalls that the EDIS is the most tangible element of the BU for EU citizens; considers that the EDIS would provide an additional safeguard to host Member States and cwould therefore contribute to addressing home/host issues and foster deeper integration ;
Amendment 293 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. AHighlights that, despite the implication of the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the non-performing loans (NPL) ratio decreased to 2.29%; acknowledges the significant progress made regarding the reduction of risks in the banking sector; regrets, on the other hand, the limited progress regarding risk sharing; calls for a risk sharing mechanism, while continuing the risk reduction trend; recalls the analysis of the SSM, stating that 'the implementation of EDIS should not be linked to further risk reduction benchmarks';
Amendment 301 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Points out that any EDIS should take into account clear rules for the participation of non-euro-area Member States; encourages the Eurogroup to work in inclusive format to finalise on a consensual basis a time-bound and action driven work plan on the way towards its completion;
Amendment 303 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25 a. Acknowledges the different concepts for a European deposit insurance framework; considers, nonetheless, that any short-term solution should not prevent the establishment of a fully mutualised EDIS as soon as possible;
Amendment 308 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Welcomes the statement by the negotiation team of the Parliament announcing the reopening of discussions on the EDIS at Parliamentnd their call to the Commission that the CMDI should not be considered as a replacement for a EDIS; calls for the co-legislators to reach an agreement on the file before the end of the legislative period;
Amendment 310 #
2022/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Paragraph 26 a (new)
26 a. Supports the joint declaration signed by the Chair of the Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, and the respective coordinators for six political groups (EPP, S&D, RE, Greens, ECR and The Left) of 7 December 2022 on the European Deposit Insurance Scheme; reiterates its call for the Commission not to retract its 2015 EDIS proposal, which should remain on the table as the basis for restarting discussions; reiterates its call urging the Council to end the stalemate that has blocked progress for years and to work constructively with the Parliament to reach an agreement on EDIS;
Amendment 1 #
2022/2051(INL)
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 (new)
Paragraph -1 (new)
-1. Welcomes the final report on the final outcome of the Conference which includes 49 proposals1a and which was presented to the Presidents of the three institutions on 9 May 2022; notes that several proposals are to be considered of an economic nature and highlights that some recommendations could also be followed up in the framework of the current Treaties; notes that some of them would require treaty change to be fully implemented; _________________ 1a Conference on the Future of Europe - Report on the Final Outcome, May 2022
Amendment 2 #
2022/2051(INL)
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 a (new)
Paragraph -1 a (new)
Amendment 15 #
2022/2051(INL)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Supports an economic governance framework that ensures stability, full employment, strategic and sustainable investments, democratic accountability and ownership, and fiscal policies and instruments to counteract shocks; Notes that the Conference on the Future of Europe discussions highlighted the strong demand of a deep review of EU's economic governance and the European Semester, in order to ensure that the green and digital transitions, social justice and social progress go hand in-hand with economic competitiveness; reminds that the Parliament3a agreed to an urgent reform of the Union’s economic governance architecture, including simpler and clearer fiscal rules and a framework more conducive to long-term economic growth; _________________ 3a European Parliament INI report of 8 July 2021 on the review of the macroeconomic legislative framework for a better impact on Europe’s real economy and improved transparency of decision- making and democratic accountability (2020/2075(INI))
Amendment 26 #
2022/2051(INL)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2 b. Calls for an assessment on the Maastricht criteria, including the deficit and public debt targets, benefiting from the experience accumulated over these last two decades of the single currency, namely on economic growth and public investment, and from the lessons learned from previous and current crisis, namely the most disruptive ones, such as the financial and sovereign crisis from early 2010´s, COVID pandemic and the War in Ukraine;
Amendment 34 #
2022/2051(INL)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls for the economic governance to be redesigned taking into account lessons learned from the NGEU and SURE processesPoints out the importance of common tools to respond to economic shocks on an European level as learned from the previous financial crisis, the COVID-19 crisis and as well in the current economic shock due to the Russian aggression in Ukraine; Calls for the economic governance to be redesigned taking into account lessons learned from the NGEU and SURE processes; Calls for a stronger involvement of the European Parliament, on equal footing with the Council in defining the EU common priorities, and to ensure a proper scrutiny of its implementation;
Amendment 42 #
2022/2051(INL)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Highlights the positive impact and record of accomplishment of new EU instruments such as SURE and the design and operating model of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), that made it possible to maintain jobs and business and support the relaunch of the EU economy; calls for an assessment on the creation of a common permanent instrument, focused on investment and convergence, which can also act with a counter cyclical purpose, and based on a contractual basis for reforms; suggests the Treaties changes to be inspired by the SURE model for short term and targeted interventions and the RRF for long-term investment capacity to support structural strategic investments in Europe;
Amendment 50 #
2022/2051(INL)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Urges that the framework of the ECB’s accountability to Parliament be improved; Calls for a more comprehensive definition of the price stability and the ways to achieve it; Highlights the secondary mandate of the ECB to support the general economic policies in the Union; calls for a clarification into Article 127 TFEU so as to ensure the primary objective of the European System of Central Banks to maintain price stability is without prejudice to the achievement of the objectives of the Union as laid down in Article 3 of the TEU;
Amendment 59 #
2022/2051(INL)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Emphasizes the importance of placing the European Parliament on equal footing with the European Commission and the European Council regarding its participation on the European Central Bank’s Governing Council meetings (Article 284 (ex Article 113TEC)) and the General Council meetings;
Amendment 88 #
2022/2051(INL)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Highlights the new challenges for Union’s competition policy (Art101-109 TFUE), which require that the Treaty be amended to align it with the goals of the Green Deal and the pEuropean Pillar of sSocial rRights and support the Union´s strategic autonomy in key sectors, calls for a level playing field in the single market in order to promote a stronger, more sustainable and inclusive EU global competitiveness; stresses the need for the Parliament to play an active role in the political debate on competition policy, via proper involvement in experts groups and working parties and by shaping and assessing the Commission’s enforcement priorities;
Amendment 110 #
2022/2051(INL)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Reiterates that the EU needs to address its lack of political weight at international level due, inter alia, to the lack of coherence of its representation in international organisations, which could be improved by implementing measures to ensure the unified representation of the EU and the euro internationally in all its dimensions and policies;
Amendment 11 #
2022/2040(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
A a. whereas these external shocks cannot serve as justifications for reshoring, isolationism or a rushed-up inward reorientation of the Union policies that would imply higher prices and a loss of jobs and disrupt even more the existing supply chains;
Amendment 15 #
2022/2040(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
A b. whereas the disruption of Union supply chains and the economic and social consequences on European citizens are further exacerbated by the steady deterioration of the rule of law and democracy in some Member States;
Amendment 21 #
2022/2040(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
B a. whereas more transparent, traceable and standardised supply chains within a WTO and Union legislative framework are needed;
Amendment 22 #
2022/2040(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
B b. whereas more Free Trade International Agreements, as well as investments in third countries, are urgently needed together with an effort to mitigate geopolitical tensions, invest in infrastructures and transportation, diversify the supply chains, promote social, economic and environmental sustainability, advance in circular economy and improve warehousing;
Amendment 23 #
2022/2040(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital B c (new)
Recital B c (new)
B c. whereas the Union does not produce enough key raw materials and components needed for the transition to a sustainable and digital economy, and relies heavily on imports both for commodities and for manufactured products;
Amendment 31 #
2022/2040(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
D a. whereas food supply chains are increasingly vulnerable and at risk from the impacts of climate change and natural disasters such as drought, flood, pests and diseases, as well as logistical challenges which were intensified as a result of lockdowns and restrictions during the COVID pandemic, and most recently due to the illegal, unprovoked and unjustifiable Russian invasion of Ukraine;
Amendment 50 #
2022/2040(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
G a. whereas the Union may achieve positive changes only by actively supporting the global development agenda, creating positive economic spill- overs for our partners and reinforcing the socio-ecological and digital transition;
Amendment 51 #
2022/2040(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital G b (new)
Recital G b (new)
G b. whereas the Covid-19 pandemic confirmed that coordination and solidarity within the Union and between the Union and third countries is crucial to tackling major crises and that the Union and its partners should avoid protectionist measures while focusing on preventing supply chain disruptions and allowing the cross-border flow of essential products, in particular food products and medicines;
Amendment 52 #
2022/2040(INI)
G c. whereas the Commission in the Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe has recognised the importance of fostering pharmaceutical production and investment in Europe and cooperating with international partners to work towards enhanced regulatory cooperation;
Amendment 71 #
2022/2040(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Considers the fact that recent supply chain disruptions, notably caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and, most recently, by the illegal, unprovoked and unjustifiable Russian invasion of Ukraine has highlighted the Union reliance on complex import and export chains, in particular for specific sectors;
Amendment 73 #
2022/2040(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3 b. Notes that import dependency for inputs increases vulnerability of food producers to external shocks, as now observed in fuel, fertiliser and feed chains; calls for Union production to be recalibrated towards more domestic production and sustainable practices which reduce the need for inputs, and to focus primarily on Union demand for safe, affordable and high-quality food;
Amendment 75 #
2022/2040(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3 c. Highlights the resilience of the agri-food sector during the COVID-19 pandemic, its ability to maintain the functioning of the food supply chains and ensure food security in what were very difficult circumstances;
Amendment 82 #
2022/2040(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Urges the Commission to develop a coordinated set of solutions aimed at increasing the resilience of Union supply chains by creating long-term, sustainable and inclusive development partnerships and alliances, diversifying suppliers, promoting domestic production and appropriate, targeted and proportionate stock-piling of critical raw materials and products to tackle market crises and price volatility, to secure supply and to prevent speculation;
Amendment 101 #
2022/2040(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5 b. Calls on the Commission to enter into consultations with relevant third countries in order to seek cooperative solutions to address future supply chain disruptions and to involve, where appropriate, coordination in relevant international fora while ensuring robust engagement with the stakeholder community;
Amendment 118 #
2022/2040(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Underlines that coordination and solidarity within Member States and between the Union and third countries is crucial to tackling major crises, as proved by the Covid-19 pandemic; stresses that populist movements and extremist parties established in some Member States are often in contrast with Union interests and principles, including increased coordination and solidarity, and prefer stocking the fire of divisions, in particular in time of uncertainty;
Amendment 120 #
2022/2040(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6 b. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to prevent supply chain disruptions and allow the cross-border flow of medicines by limiting any export restrictions on medicines, active pharmaceutical ingredients and other manufacturing input, adopting targeted regulatory flexibilities, establishing priority lanes for freight and air transport of medicines and ensuring cross-border mobility of workers; stresses the need to ensure medicines and their ingredients are exempted from sanctions to limit any potential adverse effects on patients;
Amendment 121 #
2022/2040(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Paragraph 6 c (new)
6 c. Urges the Commission to support Member States by developing targeted Union rules on medicines procurement, under the current public procurement Directive, aimed at ensuring long-term sustainability, competition, security of supply and stimulating investments in manufacturing; calls on the Commission to propose incentives, such as EU funds and State Aid, to stimulate the production of critical goods such as off-patent medicines, to achieve its open strategic autonomy in view of any crisis, while ensuring long term resilient supply chains;
Amendment 125 #
2022/2040(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Stresses that fair, sustainable and value-based trade and markets which respect international law, as well as working with cooperatives partners, will reinforce the Union’s supply chains and ensure a level playing field and fair competition for workers and businesses to compete globally;
Amendment 149 #
2022/2040(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Underlines the importance to carry out an ambitious EU digital agenda with the aim to build strategic international partnerships, building on the experience of the Trade and Technology Council with the US, and to secure a leading position for the Union in digital trade and in the area of technology, most importantly by promoting innovation;
Amendment 169 #
2022/2040(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15 a. Highlights that the Union is deeply involved in global supply and value chains and that solutions pushing towards isolationism, an increase in non-tariff barriers on Union imports or an excessive inward reorientation of its policies would have very negative effects on Union workers and businesses, increase political and economic degradation and shrink the Union’s global economy share;
Amendment 172 #
2022/2040(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15 b. Underlines that the Union should focus on improving the production of critical goods and services, and that the introduction of effective autonomous strategic policies requires more cohesion among Member States and a much deeper European integration with a stronger and democratic European governance to further strengthen the link between trade, industrial, social, foreign policies, development, security, financial and taxation;
Amendment 173 #
2022/2040(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 c (new)
Paragraph 15 c (new)
15 c. Stresses the importance for the Union to actively seek genuine partnerships and better connections with developing countries and create lasting partnerships based on fair, sustainable value-based trade and development cooperation able to address local problems such as famine, poverty and inequality, epidemics and climate change; highlights that this may be achieved by enhanced cooperation with international development institutions as well as more support to Union’s international projects, which fall under the Global gateway strategy and the NDICI-Global Europe;
Amendment 180 #
2022/2040(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16 a. Calls on the Commission to urgently relaunch the negotiations around the ongoing trade agreements, to finalise those where an agreement is near, and to focus on new ones, including Association and Economic partnerships’ agreements, in line with the review of the TSD chapter;
Amendment 7 #
2022/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 a (new)
Citation 7 a (new)
— having regard to the IMF´s 2022 World Economic Outlook,
Amendment 17 #
2022/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 13 a (new)
Citation 13 a (new)
— having regard the European Parliament resolution of 19 May 2022 on the social and economic consequences for the EU of the Russian war in Ukraine – reinforcing the EU’s capacity to act (2022/2653(RSP)),
Amendment 18 #
2022/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 13 b (new)
Citation 13 b (new)
— having regard the European Pillar of Social Rights,
Amendment 29 #
2022/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas according to the ECB projections of September 2022, headline inflation is expected to fall from 8.1 % in 2022, 5,5% in 2023 to 2.3 % in 2024;
Amendment 56 #
2022/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Is deeply concerned by the unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine and by its repercussions for the European economyserious, long-lasting and unpredictable repercussions for the European economy and society, especially for the most exposed and vulnerable groups, such as lower-income households and SMEs;
Amendment 61 #
2022/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1 b. Calls for ECB to make full use of the current policy tools at its disposal and consider all unconventional monetary policy instruments and flexibility within its mandate to ensure financial and macroeconomic stability and provide enough liquidity to serve the real economy and financial system;
Amendment 65 #
2022/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Highlights that the statutory independence of the ECB, as laid down in the Treaties, is a prerequisite for it to fulfil its mandate; Highlights that central bank independence should be accompanied by a corresponding level of accountability;
Amendment 69 #
2022/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Welcomes the Republic of Croatia as the 20th member country of the euro area; Calls on ECB for an adequate reflection on how to apply the current euro accession criteria during extraordinary, disruptive and uncertain events, such as Ukraine conflict, in order to proceed with Economic and Monetary Union integration. Calls on the ECB to promote the benefits of adopting the euro as an incentive for other non-euro members to join or speed up their efforts for future accession;
Amendment 80 #
2022/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes that fiscal, budgetary and monetary policies have reinforced each other during the pandemic; stresses that maintaining price stability today requires even closer coordination between fiscal, budgetary, monetary and structural policies, as addressing supply- side shocks requires greater supply-chain resilience and a shift away from fossil fuels;with the appropriate level of investment, and a shift away from fossil fuels; Notes that during COVID, all EU institutions and Member States worked together, swiftly, in a coordinated manner and within their mandates to tackle the social, economic and financial impacts of the crisis
Amendment 85 #
2022/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Highlights that unprecedented crises demand unprecedented, innovative and bold decisions on monetary policy coupled with swift and broader coordination with the fiscal policy at EU and national level;
Amendment 86 #
2022/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4 b. Stresses that sustainable growth, resilience and price stability cannot be achieved by monetary policy alone and that supportive and discretionary fiscal policy and socially balanced and productivity-enhancing reforms and investments are also necessary;
Amendment 95 #
2022/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes President Lagarde’s statement that the current geopolitical crisis requires us to progress on EU fiscal integration; recalls that the Economic and Monetary Union cannot function smoothly without a fiscal capacity at European level to respond to externalcapable of providing a counter-cyclical stabilisation function and timely and adequate support in the event of economic shocks;
Amendment 97 #
2022/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Highlights that monetary and fiscal policies should work together to help households and businesses most affected by the pandemic and the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine;
Amendment 98 #
2022/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5 b. Recalls on the lessons learned and success of new EU instruments such as SURE and the design and operating model of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), that are currently on EU´s toolbox. Underlines the role of SURE model for short term and targeted interventions and the RRF as a long-term investment capacity to support structural strategic investments in Europe;
Amendment 99 #
2022/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5 c. Calls for support to develop and complete the unfinished infrastructure for the common currency, namely to deepen and complete the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), the Banking Union and the Capital Markets Union (CMU). Given the uncertain impact of a deeper economic downturn with spillovers to the banking system, is concerned about the risks caused by the serious delay in completing the third pillar of the banking union and repeats its calls for its swift completion; welcomes the ECB’s long- standing support of the establishment of a fully-fledged European Deposit Insurance Scheme (EDIS);
Amendment 100 #
2022/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 d (new)
Paragraph 5 d (new)
5 d. Calls on the ECB to explore ways of strengthening the international role of the euro; notes that making the euro more attractive as a reserve currency will further enhance its international use; stresses that the creation of a well- designed European safe asset could facilitate financial integration and help mitigate the negative feedback loops between sovereigns and the domestic banking sectors; Underlines that strengthening the role of the euro requires the deepening and completion of the European economic and monetary union, including the creation of instruments of the nature of Next Generation EU, which enhance the EU budget;
Amendment 106 #
2022/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Echoes President Lagarde’s call for a swift revision and simplification of the Stability and Growth Pact; Recalls that the upcoming revision of the economic governance framework has to provide the EU with stable, transparent, credible and flexible rules that could be implemented and respected by all Member States. Recalls that fiscal rules are essential for the proper functioning of the EU and should be respected. Recalls that rules should be applied in an intelligent way and within a flexible framework that adapts quickly to changes with the proper democratic accountability. The new framework should promote growth and ensure a better balance between sustainability and stabilisation. Notes that the new Transmission Protection Instrument (TPI) is now linked with the EU fiscal rules and its activation requires sustainable economic policies and compliance with the EU fiscal framework;
Amendment 113 #
2022/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Is alarmed that euro area inflation has continued to rise and has reached undesirably high levels; stresses that headline inflation rose to a record 9.1 % in August 2022; stresses that energy is by far the most significant driver of inflation (38.3 %), followed by food prices (10.6 %); Notes that ECB forecasts an headline inflation of 8% in 2022, 5,5% in 2023 and 2,8% in 2024, with risks on the upside due to disruptions in the supply of energy;
Amendment 154 #
2022/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Recalls that the ECB strategy review reconfirmed the medium-term orientation of inflation targeting; calls on the ECB to faithfully target this medium- term horizon; Calls on the ECB to monitor attentively price developments and its consequences. Highlights the need to inform about where neutral interest rate is setting;
Amendment 175 #
2022/2037(INI)
12. Stresses that an even transmission of monetary policy is vital to the achievement of the ECB’s price stability mandate; notWelcomes the ECB’s decision on 15 June 2022 to apply flexibility in reinvesting redemptions that are due under the pandemic emergency purchase programme; welcomes the launch of the Transmission Protection Instrument to ECB´s toolkit to support the effective transmission of monetary policy across the euro area and normalise the monetary policy; Notes that compliance with the EU fiscal framework is pre-requisite for TPI´s activation; Calls on ECB to take into account that the general escape clause is activated; Calls for a more clear TPI´s framework and rules of procedure when the general escape clause is activated;
Amendment 188 #
2022/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13 a. Calls on the lessons learned from the ongoing and previous crises to prepare for the upcoming assessment of monetary policy strategy in 2025. Calls for an earlier assessment, if possible, given the extraordinary impact of the current crisis on the future of monetary policy making and ECB mandate. Reflects on the commitment to symmetry, if price stability is best maintained by aiming for 2% inflation over the medium term and the challenges of monetary policy when disruptive supply side driven inflation is at stake;
Amendment 201 #
2022/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Recalls that the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union requires the ECB to support the general economic policies of the Union; which include balanced and sustainable economic growth, highly competitive social market economy aiming at full employment and social progress and convergences and a high level of protection and improvement of the quality of the environment, underlines that sustainable development, convergence, full employment and social progress are general objectives of the Union as defined in Article 3 of the TFEU;
Amendment 211 #
2022/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Calls on the ECB to coordinate with the European Parliament to specify theand how to implement the ECB´s secondary objectives; suggests taking advantage of this resolution to specify and prioritise the policy areas where the ECB is expected to deliver on the basis of its secondary objectives; calls on the ECB to elaborate in its Annual Report the impact its monetary policy may have had on the general economic policies of the Union;
Amendment 222 #
2022/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)
Paragraph 16 b (new)
16 b. Recalls for the important role of ECB in supporting the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights;
Amendment 227 #
2022/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Underlines the pivotal role of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the EU’s economy and economic and social convergence and employment and for the implementation of the twin transitions (digital and climate);
Amendment 239 #
2022/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Considers that the ECB should contribute to reducing inequality; calls on the ECB to ensure that the costs of its monetary policy operations are not disproportionately borne by lower income strata; invites the ECB to assess the effects of its monetary policy decisions on employmentCalls for an assessment on the impact of the monetary policy decisions on these most vulnerable groups; invites the ECB to assess the effects of its monetary policy decisions on employment; Notes that the ECB strategy review showed that adverse events lower the consumption of poorer households more than that of richer ones, that takes longer for the employment prospects of poorer households to recover following such events and that keeping monetary policy expansionary for longer can help poorer households’ income to rise to higher levels in a more sustained manner and thereby avoid hysteresis;
Amendment 259 #
2022/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Welcomes the Governing Council’s decision to take further steps to include climate change considerations in the Eurosystem’s monetary policy framework; Welcomes the launch of the scoreboard for green bonds;
Amendment 290 #
2022/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Is concerned about the implications of higher interest rates for greenstrategic and sustainable investments; calls on the ECB to assess the possibility of applying differentiated rates to support green investments and disincentivise brown investmentthat contribute most to reducing inflationary pressures, such as those in energy efficiency and renewables;
Amendment 301 #
2022/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Welcomes the ECB’s economy wide climate risk stress test aimdeveloped ato assessing the climate risk preparedness of the European banking sectorresilience of banks and corporations for climate transition ; is concerned that the results published on 8 July 2022 show that banks do not have robust climate risk stress-testing frameworks and lack the relevant data; calls on the ECB to use all its available tools to ensure that banks take climate risk seriously;
Amendment 305 #
2022/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Stresses the need to further enhance the ECB’s accountability and transparency arrangements; Recognises the steps taken by the ECB; Calls for the relaunch of negotiations on a formal Inter- Institutional agreement, whilst ensuring the ECB’s independence which goes hand in hand with its accountability;
Amendment 324 #
2022/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Welcomes the ECB’s progress on the digital euro project, as well as the dialogue with Parliament in this regard; looks forward to the Governing Council reaching a decision on launching the digital euro; Calls on the ECB to effectively address the expectations and concerns on a digital euro which include concerns for privacy, security, usability, low cost and accessibility. Calls on the ECB to step up its monitoring of the development of crypto-currencies and the related risks in terms of cybersecurity, money laundering, terrorism financing and other criminal activities related with the anonymity provided by crypto-assets;
Amendment 333 #
2022/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 a (new)
Paragraph 31 a (new)
31 a. Calls for Enhancement of the ECB’s internal whistleblowing framework;
Amendment 337 #
2022/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 b (new)
Paragraph 31 b (new)
31 b. Calls for ECB to create an internal evaluation office for ex post assessment of its policy decisions;
Amendment 339 #
2022/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 c (new)
Paragraph 31 c (new)
31 c. Welcomes the new communications policy, with more accessible ways to explains and presents ECB policy decision to general public and stakeholders. Given the current negative impact of tightening of the monetary policy on household budgets and companies investment plans, suggests reinforcement of ECB´s communication on financial advices on how families and business could better manage and prepare for an higher interest rates environment;
Amendment 2 #
2022/2008(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Considers that the EU industrial strategy must be implemented in a coherent and coordinated way; stresses that freeair, sustainable and value-based trade and open markets which respect international law, as well as working with cooperative partners, will reinforce the EU’s industrial base; urges the Commission to deliver an ambitious trade agenda, in line with the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals;
Amendment 25 #
2022/2008(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Considers that for the EU to be competitive in open markets, every sector must receive sufficient support in developing its respective technological base and in promoting the research and innovation efforts carried out by public and private stakeholders; stresses that the Commission and the Member States should cooperate in the design and implementation of the Industrial Strategy, in order to guarantee increased coherence with the Commercial Policy, by diversifying and exploiting synergies, as well as to make different sectors more competitive at international level; calls on the Commission to draw up annual implementation reports for presentation to the European Parliament;
Amendment 42 #
2022/2008(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls for further negotiations to secure future-oriented trade agreements and to continue with the reform of the World Trade Organization; points out that trade and access to third markets are crucial in supporting the EU’s economic recovery and resilience, with the aim of strengthening the EU’s autonomy, diversifying its supply chains and guaranteeing its independence from any single producerReiterates its support for a multilateral agenda and urges WTO members to agree at the next MC12 on a work plan of reform to update the World Trade Organization rule book, and restore a level playing field and fair competition for workers and businesses; points out that trade and access to third markets are crucial in supporting the EU’s economic recovery and resilience;
Amendment 44 #
2022/2008(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Urges the Commission to pursue an open strategic autonomy to reduce dependence in critical sectors, diversify our value chains and guarantee its independence from single producers;
Amendment 51 #
2022/2008(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Calls on the Commission to adopt and enforce a proper toolbox of measures to secure a level playing field for EU’s workers and businesses to compete globally, such as the International Procurement Instrument, due diligence, anti-coercion and foreign subsidies;
Amendment 52 #
2022/2008(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7 b. Welcomes the efforts made by the EU-US Trade and Technology Council to coordinate approaches to key global trade, economic and technologies issues, as well as the ambitious agenda set for its second meeting;
Amendment 53 #
2022/2008(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Paragraph 7 c (new)
7 c. Underlines the importance to carry out an ambitious EU digital agenda with the aim to build strategic international partnerships, and to ensure a leading position for the EU in digital trade and in the area of technology, most importantly by promoting innovation;
Amendment 54 #
2022/2008(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 d (new)
Paragraph 7 d (new)
7 d. Highlights the importance to continue WTO negotiations on e- commerce and to reach a comprehensive and ambitious set of rules to facilitate business operations, especially for SMEs, and to strengthen consumers’ trust in the online environment;
Amendment 55 #
2022/2008(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 e (new)
Paragraph 7 e (new)
7 e. Welcomes the Commission’s initiative for a European Chips Act that represents a decisive and important step in the EU’s ambitious race for digital sovereignty and strategic autonomy in order to achieve Europe’s independence in the supply of this category of semiconductors;
Amendment 56 #
2022/2008(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 f (new)
Paragraph 7 f (new)
7 f. Highlights that the violence of the Russian invasion in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic raised awareness of the risk of disruption on the supply of raw materials, such energy supply and agriculture commodities; stresses that the surge of energy prices is having a strong impact on the prices of agricultural raw materials and inputs, in particular fertilisers, underlining the need for new resilience schemes in order to ensure reliable supplies of safe, affordable and high-quality food for all EU consumers;
Amendment 3 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 14 a (new)
Citation 14 a (new)
— having regard to the Commission Communication of 27 May 2020 entitled ‘Europe’s moment: Repair and Prepare for the Next Generation’ (COM(2020)456),
Amendment 4 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 15 a (new)
Citation 15 a (new)
— having regard to the Commission Communication of 4 March 2021 entitled ‘The European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan’ (COM(2021)102),
Amendment 5 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 15 b (new)
Citation 15 b (new)
— having regard to the Porto Social Commitment of 7 May 2021 of the Council, the Commission, the Parliament and social partners,
Amendment 7 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 17 a (new)
Citation 17 a (new)
— having regard to the Commission Staff Working Document of 27 May 2020 ‘Identifying Europe’s recovery needs’,
Amendment 8 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 19 a (new)
Citation 19 a (new)
— having regard to its resolution of 6 June 2021 entitled ‘European Parliament’s Scrutiny on the ongoing assessment by the Commission and the Council of the national recovery and resilience plans’,
Amendment 10 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the European Semester plays an important role in coordinating economic, employment, social and budgetary policies in the Member States, thereby safeguarding the macroeconomic stability of the Economic and Monetary Union; whereas the Semester has been expanded to include, among other aspects, issues related to the financial sector and taxation, as well as objectives of the UN SDGs;
Amendment 18 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas according to the Commission’s autumn economic forecast, the GDP growth rate for 2022 is expected to be 4.3 % of GDP per capita for both the euro area and the EU-27, but is expected to fall to 2.4 % and 2.5 % respectively in 2023;
Amendment 27 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in social, territorial, economic and gender- based inequalities and unemployment, affecting vulnerable groups in particular;
Amendment 31 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas a determined, coordinated and solidarity-based European economic policy approach remains essential to foster EU economic integration and to mitigate the negative economic and social consequences of the crisis, the fragmentation of the internal market and the further deepening of macroeconomic divergence and structural polarisation between regions and countries;
Amendment 37 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas according to the Commission’s autumn economic forecast, the average rate of unemployment fell to 7.9 % in the euro area and 7.1 % in the EU- 27 in 2021, with further decreases to 7.5 % and 6.7 % expected in 2022; whereas young people have experienced the sharpest increase in unemployment;
Amendment 38 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas according to the Commission’s autumn economic forecast, general government deficit narrowed slightly in 2021 to 7.1 % of GDP in the euro area and 6.6 % in the EU-27 on the back of the still high and necessary level of support provided to households and firms; whereas it is forecasted to decrease to 3.9% and 3.6% respectively in 2022, thanks to the unwinding of the emergency support measures and the rebound in revenues;
Amendment 39 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas the European recovery is being robust and strong but supply disruptions, labour shortages, pandemic- related closures, rising energy and commodity prices and a scarcity of some key materials risk of holding back growth and adding to cost pressures;
Amendment 41 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
Eb. whereas the EU is estimated to lose between €160 and €190 billion each year due to corporate tax avoidance10a; __________________ 10a https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/ etudes/STUD/2016/558776/EPRS_STU(2 016)558776_EN.pdf
Amendment 47 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas during the Porto Social Summit held on 7 and 8 May 2021, the EU’s leaders recognised the European Pillar of Social Rights as a fundamental element of the recovery; whereas in the Porto declaration they underlined their determination to continue deepening its implementation at EU and national level;
Amendment 48 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas the efforts of a transition to a neutral carbon economy demand significant public and private investment and may bring negative supply shocks, thereby demanding that the Union is equipped with the necessary tools to be able to deal with challenges of the green transition;
Amendment 52 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)
Recital F b (new)
Fb. whereas the EU and its Member States have committed to the Treaty-based fundamental values, the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda, the European Pillar of Social Rights and the Paris Climate Agreement;
Amendment 55 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital F c (new)
Recital F c (new)
Fc. whereas the ECB predicted that a lack of action on climate change and an insufficiently orderly climate transition could result in falls of up to 20% in global GDP by the end of the century10b; __________________ 10b https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/other/ ecb.climateriskfinancialstability202107~8 7822fae81.en.pdf
Amendment 69 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Is concerned about emerging new variants, localised pandemic lockdowns, increased energy prices, inflationary pressures, supply-side disruptions and emerging labour shortages; notes that these risks create a significant level of uncertainty and could hamper economic growth prospects in the coming months and delay the transition to a more sustainable and future-proof economy;
Amendment 76 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Stresses that both public and private sector investment were already clearly insufficient before the crisis, and that the projections reveal the need for additional annual public investment in the three digit billion rang to address the challenges of digital transformation, green and just transition and social recovery; underlines that an increased level of investment must be stabilised and upward convergence in the EU enhanced for many years to come;
Amendment 78 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Points out that restoring the growth potential will be a key element for the structural transformations needed to adapt to current and future challenges and to achieve the EU’s policy objectives;
Amendment 82 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Is alerted by the fact that the speed of the recovery varies across Member States and regions, with significant differences and a disparity of between 2.7 % and 14.6 % betweenin GDP growth among the Member States in 2021, according to the Commission’s autumn economic forecast;
Amendment 98 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Points out that the successful roll- out of the RRF will help to make EU economies and societies more sustainable, inclusive, resilient and better prepared for the just, green and digital transitions; as well as to foster economic, social and territorial cohesion, bring convergence and help the Member States to mitigate the economic and social impact of the crisis;
Amendment 107 #
Amendment 110 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Notes that the general escape clause of the Stability and Growth Pact will continue to be applied in 2022 and is expected to be deactivated as of 2023; expects that it will remain activated as long as the underlying justification of the activation exists in order to support the efforts of the Member States to recover from the pandemic crisis and strengthen their competitiveness, as well as economic and social resilience;
Amendment 120 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Believes that the review of the EU’s economic governance framework is necessary and should be done taking into account the Report on the review of the macroeconomic legislative framework for a better impact on Europe’s real economy and improved transparency of decision- making and democratic accountability; agrees with the European Fiscal Board on the importance of having a clear pathway towards a reviewed fiscal framework, preferably prior to the deactivation of the general escape clause;
Amendment 138 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Is convinced that the coordination of national fiscal policies remains crucial in underpinning the recovery; notes that the overall fiscal stance, taking into account national budgets and the RRFexpected acceleration in spending financed by RRF grants, is projected to remain supportive in 2022 to sustain the recovery and should remain supportive as long as necessary; agrees with the Commission that Member States with low or medium levels of debt should pursue or maintain a supportive fiscal stance, and that Member States with high levels of debt should use the RRF to finance additional investment to support the recovery, while pursuing a prudent fiscalresponsible fiscal and sustainable policyies; agrees with the Commission that all Member States should preserve or broadly preserve their national financed investment and ensure a socially just recovery;
Amendment 144 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Recalls that public funding is key to achieving the 2030 climate objectives and addressing other social and economic challenges; considers that all options to incentivise Member State investments to tackle those challenges should be on the table, notably the revision of the Stability and Growth Pact to promote a future- oriented economy and the extension of lending and borrowing capacities at Union level, building on NGEU;
Amendment 145 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Underlines that sustainable public revenues are essential to guarantee fiscal sustainability; supports governments’ efforts to increase revenues through the closing of loopholes for tax avoidance, addressing harmful tax practices and the increasing of capital-gains, wealth and corporate income taxes;
Amendment 149 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Recalls that the European Semester cycle is a well-established framework for EU Member States to coordinate their budgetary, economic, social and employment policies, and after the COVID-19 crisis, a functioning European Semester will be needed more than ever to coordinate these policies across the European Union; but also notes that the Semester, since the inception, has been expanded to include, among other aspects, issues related to the financial sector and taxation, as well as objectives of the European Pillar of Social Rights and the UN SDGs, giving due consideration to the people of our planet in our economic policy;
Amendment 151 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 c (new)
Paragraph 8 c (new)
8c. Calls on the Commission to improve the European Semester process in order to create a governance framework that enables inclusive and sustainable growth, structural changes for a sustainable economy, integrating the principles of well-being and sustainability, and reflecting actual economic and budgetary realities of Member States;
Amendment 152 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 3
Subheading 3
Growth-enhancing, socially-balanced, inclusive and sustainable structural reforms and investment
Amendment 163 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Considers that it is crucial to coordinate national reform and investment efforts and the exchange of best practices in order to increase the convergence and resilience of our economies, promote sustainable and inclusive growth, and improve institutional frameworks; in order to further strengthen economic and social resilience the EU must deliver on the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights, the Sustainable Development Goals and the European Green Deal;
Amendment 182 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Highlights that the RRF presents an unprecedented and unique opportunity for all Member States to address key structural challenges and investment needs andwhile embracing the just, green and digital transitions; insists that all recovery and resilience plans address all requirements of the RRF Regulation, in particular the six pillars, namely: green transition; digital transformation; smart, sustainable and inclusive growth; social and territorial cohesion; health, economic, social and institutional resilience; and policies for the next generation, children and the youth; highlights the interplay between the European Semester and the RRF; calls on the Member States to make the most of this opportunity and to use it to transform their economies and make them sustainable, more competitive and more resilient to future shocks; highlights the role of the European Parliament in the implementation of the RRF, as enshrined in the RRF Regulation;
Amendment 189 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Invites the Commission and the Member States to draw conclusions from the RRF exercise and improve the mechanisms driving the economic governance framework especially when it comes to establishing a more transparent and democratic coordination process, defining underlying political guidelines, cooperation between the institutions and increased ownership of the Member States, developing the national reform programmes and implementing socially- balanced structural reforms;
Amendment 201 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10b. Is concerned that, without a coordinated effort to invest in the transition to a sustainable economy, European economies will suffer long- lasting damage, undermining any efforts to promote sustainable fiscal policies;
Amendment 213 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Underlines that the recovery must be based on upward social and economic convergence, social dialogue and improved social rights and working conditions for workers, employees and the self-employed;
Amendment 231 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Is concerned that the Commission identified macroeconomic vulnerabilities related to imbalances and excessive imbalances in 12 Member States; is worried that the nature and source of Member States’ imbalances remain largely the same as before the pandemic and that the pandemic could also be exacerbating imbalances and economic divergences; calls on the Member States to take advantage of the unprecedented opportunity provided by the RRF to significantly reduce existing macroeconomic imbalances, in particular by including ambitious reform measures in the national plans of all Member States; stresses that sound execution is essential to make full use of this opportunity;
Amendment 247 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Invites the Commission to revamp the comprehensive economic policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to take the principles of NGEU as a basis for a modernisation of the common European fiscal architecture;
Amendment 248 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)
Paragraph 14 b (new)
14b. Reiterates the European Parliament’s call for strengthening its democratic role in the economic governance framework;
Amendment 249 #
2022/2006(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 c (new)
Paragraph 14 c (new)
14c. Calls for committed coordination with social partners and other relevant stakeholders at both national and European level, with a view to strengthening democratic accountability, transparency and enhancing social dialogue;
Amendment 16 #
2022/0341(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) Regulation (EU) No 260/2012 established technical and business requirements for credit transfers and direct debits in euro. Instant credit transfers in euro are a relatively new category of credit transfers in euro which emerged on the market only after the adoption of that Regulation. It is therefore necessary to provide for specific requirements for instant credit transfers in euro, in addition to the general requirements applicable to all credit transfers. In that context - to make instant payments more accessible - the Directive 2014/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council is also amended through this Regulation to ensure that instant payments are also available as basic features in a payment account.
Amendment 20 #
2022/0341(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) A number of national regulatory solutions have already been adopted or proposed to increase the uptake of instant credit transfers in euro, including by strengthening PSUs’ protection from sending funds to an unintended payee or specifying the process of compliance with obligations flowing from Union sanctions. TGiven the absence of common EU-wide rules, those national regulatory solutions pose a risk of fragmentation of the internal market, thus increasing the compliance costs due to different sets of national regulatory requirements, and making the execution of cross-border instant credit transfers more difficult.
Amendment 21 #
2022/0341(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6
Recital 6
(6) Ensuring that all PSUs in the Union are able to place payment orders for and receive instant credit transfers in euro is a precondition for an increased uptake of such transactions. Currently, at least one third of PSPs in the Union do not offer instant credit transfers in euro. Moreover, the rate at which PSPs have been adding instant credit transfers to their services has been, over the last few years, too slow, which hinders further integration of the Union’s internal payments market, undermining the creation of a strategic autonomy of the EU in the payments sector. Therefore, PSPs should be required to offer the service of sending and receiving instant credit transfers in euro.
Amendment 33 #
2022/0341(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) It would not be proportionate to impose on payment institutions and electronic money institutions an obligation to offer the service of sending and receiving instant credit transfers in euro, because those instn order to allow PSPs such as e- money and payment institutions to be able to access the necessary infrastructure and play their role in facilituations cannot be admitted as participants in a payment system designated in accordance wing the uptake of instant payments in the EU, the Directive 98/26/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council36 . Those institutions may therefore experience difficulties in accessing the infrastructure necessary to execute instant credit transfers. It is therefore appropriate to exclude payment institutions and electronic money institutions from the obligation to offer the service of sending and receiving instant credit transfers in euroshould be amended in the near future in order for them to be included in the scope of this Regulation. __________________ 36 Directive 98/26/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May 1998 on settlement finality in payment and securities settlement systems (OJ L 166, 11.6.1998, p. 45).
Amendment 41 #
2022/0341(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11
Recital 11
(11) Security of instant credit transfers in euro is fundamental for increasing PSUs’ confidence in such services and ensuring their use. Payers intending to send a credit transfer to a given payee may, as a result of fraud or error, provide a payment account identifier which does not correspond to an account held by that payee. Under Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council37 , the only determinant of the correct execution of the transaction with respect to the payee is the unique identifier, and PSPs are not required to verify the name of the payee. In the case of instant credit transfers, there is not enough time for the payer to realise the occurrence of a fraud or error and to try to recover the funds before they are credited to the payee’s account. PSPs should therefore, without charging the PSUs any additional charges or fees, verify whether there is any discrepancy between the unique identifier of the payee and the name of the payee provided by the payer, and notify the payer about any such discrepancies, before placing a payment order for an instant credit transfer in euro about any such discrepancies detected. To avoid undue frictions or delays in the processing of the transaction instantly, the payer’s PSP should provide such notification within no more than a few seconds from the moment the payer provided the payee information. To allow the payer to decide whether to proceed with the intended transaction, the payer’s PSP should provide such notification before the payer authorises the transaction. Some instant credit transfer initiation solutions could be available to payers that allow them to place a payment order without being required to insert the name and the payment account identifier (the international bank account number, or ‘IBAN’) of the payee. In such cases, that identifier is provided on behalf of the payer by the provider of the initiation solution, for example a PISP, a proxy provider or even the PSP. As the risk of fraud or error is significantly reduced, the existing adapted limited verification methods should be sufficient guarantee and should be preserved by this Regulation. __________________ 37 Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on payment services in the internal market, amending Directives 2002/65/EC, 2009/110/EC and 2013/36/EU and Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010, and repealing Directive 2007/64/EC (OJ L 337, 23.12.2015, p. 35).
Amendment 43 #
2022/0341(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11
Recital 11
(11) Security of instant credit transfers in euro is fundamental for increasing PSUs’ confidence in such services and ensuring their use. Payers intending to send a credit transfer to a given payee may, as a result of fraud or error, provide a payment account identifier which does not correspond to an account held by that payee. Under Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council37 , the only determinant of the correct execution of the transaction with respect to the payee is the unique identifier, and PSPs are not required to verify the name of the payee. In the case of instant credit transfers, there is not enough time for the payer to realise the occurrence of a fraud or error and to try to recover the funds before they are credited to the payee’s account. PSPs should therefore, without charging the PSUs any additional charges or fees, verify whether there is any discrepancy between the unique identifier of the payee and the name of the payee provided by the payer, and notify the payer. In case any discrepancies are detected, the payer should be notified before placing a payment order for an instant credit transfer in euro about any such discrepancies detected. To avoid undue frictions or delays in the processing of the transaction instantly, the payer’s PSP should provide such notification within no more than a few seconds from the moment the payer provided the payee information. To allow the payer to decide whether to proceed with the intended transaction, the payer’s PSP should provide such notification before the payer authorises the transaction. However, taking into account the comfort of the PSU and the costs for the PSP, such a check of a match between the unique identifier of the payee and the name of the payee can be avoided if it had been already conducted within the last three months and the payee is saved amongst the trusted beneficiaries of the payer. __________________ 37 Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on payment services in the internal market, amending Directives 2002/65/EC, 2009/110/EC and 2013/36/EU and Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010, and repealing Directive 2007/64/EC (OJ L 337, 23.12.2015, p. 35).
Amendment 55 #
2022/0341(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12
Recital 12
(12) Some attributes of the name of the payee to whose account the payer wishes to make an instant credit transfer may increase the likelihood of a discrepancy being detected by the PSP, including the presence of diacritics or different possible transliterations of names in different alphabets, differences between habitually used names and names indicated on formal identification documents in case of natural persons, or differences between commercial and legal names in case of legal persons. To avoid undue frictions in the processing of instant credit transfers in euro and facilitate the payer’s decision on whether to proceed with the intended transaction, PSPs should indicate the degree of such discrepancy, including by indicating in the notification that there is ‘no match’ or ‘close match’. Both - the commercial name and the legal name of a trader - should be identified as a match.
Amendment 62 #
2022/0341(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13
Recital 13
(13) Authorising a payment transaction where the PSP has detected a discrepancy and has notified that discrepancy to the PSU can result in the funds being transferred to an unintended payee. In such cases, PSPs should not be held liable for the execution of the transaction to an unintended payee, as laid down in Article 88 of Directive (EU) 2015/2366. PSPs should inform PSUs about the implications for PSP liability and PSU refunds rights of their choice to ignore the notified discrepancy. PSUs should be able to opt out from using that service at any time during their contractual relationship with the PSP. After opting out, PSUs should be able to opt in to again avail of the service. PSPs should inform PSUs about the possibility to opt out from the service and about the implications for PSP liability and PSU refunds rights of their choice to ignore the notified discrepancy.
Amendment 73 #
2022/0341(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) To prevent the initiation of instant credit transfers from payment accounts belonging to listed persons or entities and to immediately freeze funds sent to such accounts, PSPs should carry out verifications of their PSUs as soon as possible following the entry into forcepublication in the Official Journal of the European Union of a new restrictive measure adopted in accordance with Article 215 TFEU providing for asset freeze or prohibition of making funds or economic resources available, thus ensuring that PSPs comply with their obligations stemming from Union sanctions in an effective manner.
Amendment 84 #
2022/0341(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 19
Recital 19
(19) Under Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1230 of the European Parliament and of the Council38 , charges applied by a PSP located in a Member State whose currency is not the euro in respect of cross-border credit transfers in euro are to be the same as charges applied by that PSP in respect of national credit transfers in the national currency of that Member State. In situations where such a PSP applies higher charges for national instant credit transfers in the national currency than for national non-instant credit transfers in the national currency, and therefore also higher charges than for cross-border non-instant credit transfers in euro, the level of charges that such a PSP would be required to apply under Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1230 in respect of cross-border instant credit transfers in euro would be higher than charges for cross-border non- instant credit transfers in euro. In such situations, to avoid conflicting requirements and taking into account the key objective of steering PSUs towards instant credit transfers in euro, it is appropriate to require that charges applied to payers and payees for cross-border instant credit transfers in euro do not exceed the charges applied for cross-border non-instant credit transfers in euro. Member States, whose currency is not euro, should be able to apply this Regulation internally in their own, non- euro currency, accordingly. __________________ 38 Regulation (EU) 2021/1230 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 July 2021 on cross-border payments in the Union (OJ L 274, 30.7.2021, p. 20).
Amendment 181 #
2022/0341(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Regulation (EU) No 260/2012
Article 5c – title
Article 5c – title
Amendment 186 #
2022/0341(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Regulation (EU) No 260/2012
Article 5c – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Article 5c – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
With regard to instant credit transfers, a payer’s PSP shall verify whetherwhen the payer is required to provide the payment account identifier and the name of the payee provided by the payer, the payer’s PSP shall verify, free of charge to PSUs, whether these data match. Where they do not match, that PSP shall notify the payer of any discrepancies detected and the degree of any such discrepancy. in the following manner: a) 'Match' - no discrepancy between the IBAN number and the name of the payee is detected; b) 'Close match' - the name of the payee is a 'close match' to the IBAN; The payer is notified that some minor discrepancies are found and asked to correct them if the transfer is to be conducted; c) 'No match' - the name of the payee and the IBAN do not match; The PSU is informed that the transfer can be sent to an incorrect beneficiary; d) 'Unavailable' - the IBAN cannot be verified or does not exist; the PSU is informed about this. EBA shall develop guidelines to set up the criteria to determine the 'close match' indication.
Amendment 187 #
2022/0341(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Regulation (EU) No 260/2012
Article 5c – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Article 5c – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
With regard to instant credit transfers, a payer’s PSP shall verify, free of charge to PSUs, whether the payment account identifier and the name of the payee provided by the payer match. Where they do not match, that PSP shall notify the payer of any discrepancies detected and the degree of such discrepancy such discrepancy. in the following matter: a) 'Match' - no discrepancy between the IBAN number and the name of the payee is detected; b) 'Close match' - the name of the payee is a 'close match' to the IBAN; The payer is notified that some minor discrepancies are found and asked to correct them if the transfer is to be conducted; c) 'No match' - the name of the payee and the IBAN do not match; The PSU is informed that the transfer can be sent to an incorrect beneficiary; d) 'Unavailable' - the IBAN cannot be verified or does not exist; The PSU is informed about this. EBA shall develop guidelines to set up the criteria to determine the 'close match' indication.
Amendment 195 #
2022/0341(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Regulation (EU) No 260/2012
Article 5c – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1a (new)
Article 5c – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1a (new)
When the identifier is provided, on behalf of the payer, by the PSP or any third party, the verification process may be adapted to the PSU interface used by the payer in order to enable an effective use of the IP. In this case, the payer shall be able to validate the identity of the payee before authorising the instant credit transfer.
Amendment 222 #
2022/0341(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Regulation (EU) No 260/2012
Article 5c – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1a (new)
Article 5c – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1a (new)
This check of a match between the unique identifier of the payee and the name of the payee can be avoided if it had been already conducted within the last three months and the payee is saved amongst the trusted beneficiaries of the payer.
Amendment 224 #
2022/0341(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
5. The services referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be provided to the payer regardless of the PSU interface used by the payer to place a payment order for an instant credit transfer.
Amendment 246 #
2022/0341(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Regulation (EU) No 260/2012
Article 5c – paragraph 6a (new)
Article 5c – paragraph 6a (new)
Amendment 248 #
2022/0341(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Directive (EU) No 260/2012
Article 5d – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Article 5d – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
PSPs executoffering instant credit transfers shall verify whether any of their PSUs are listed persons or entities.
Amendment 252 #
2022/0341(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Regulation (EU) No 260/2012
Article 5d – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
Article 5d – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
PSPs shall carry out such verifications immediately afteras soon as possible after the publication in the Official Journal of the European Union, before the entry into force of any new or amended restrictive measures adopted in accordance with Article 215 TFEU providing for asset freeze or prohibition of making funds or economic resources available , and at least once every calendar day.
Amendment 276 #
2022/0341(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 3 a (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 3 a (new)
Amendment 285 #
2022/0341(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 a (new)
Article 2 a (new)
Directive 2014/92/EU
Article 2
Article 2
Amendment 77 #
2022/0164(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13
Recital 13
(13) The application of the ‘do no significant harm’ principle is essential to ensure that the investments and reforms undertaken as part of the recovery from the pandemic are implemented in a sustainable manner and advance the green transition of the European Union. It should continue to apply to the reforms and investments supported by the Facility, with one targeted and time-limited exemption to safeguard the EU’ immediate energy security concerns. Considering the objective of diversifying energy supplies away from Russian suppliers, the reforms and investments in LNG terminals and infrastructure set out in those REPowerEU chapters which aim to improve energy infrastructure and facilities as well as ensuring their hydrogen-readiness to meet immediate security of supply needs for oilgas and gasto be in operation by 31 June 2024 should not be required to comply with the principle of ‘do no significant harm’ and should therefore be exempted from such assessment. To ensure that such an exemption does not jeopardise the integrity of the European Union’s 2030 and 2050 climate targets, the Commission should also include an assessment of the climate and environmental impacts of this time-limited derogation and measures how to compensate them in its annual reports.
Amendment 222 #
2022/0164(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 6
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 6
Regulation (EU) 2021/241
Article 21c – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 21c – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) improving energy infrastructure and facilities to meet immediate security of supply needs for oil and gasgas, especially LNG, notably to enable diversification of supply in the interest of the Union as a whole,
Amendment 248 #
2022/0164(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 6
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 6
Regulation (EU) 2021/241
Article 21c – paragraph 2 – point c
Article 21c – paragraph 2 – point c
(c) an explanation on how the combination of the measures referred to in paragraph 1 and points (a) and (b) of this paragraph is coherent, effective and expected to contribute to the REPowerEU objectives, and are in line with the National Energy and Climate Plans of that Member State and with the EU climate targets set out in Regulation (EU) 2021/1119, including a quantification of the energy savings.
Amendment 15 #
2022/0115(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 7
Recital 7
(7) Making geographically linked products is often based on local know- how and materials and follows local production methods that are rooted in the cultural and social heritage of the home region of such products. Efficient intellectual property protection has the potential to contribute to increased profitability and attractiveness of the traditional craft professions. Specific geographical indication protection is acknowledged so as to safeguard and develop cultural heritage both in the agricultural and the craft and industrial areas. Efficient procedures should be established for the registration of Union geographical indications, within the internal market and in the international intellectual property registries, protecting the names of craft and industrial products, which take into account regional and local specificities. The geographical indication system for craft and industrial products should ensure that the production and marketing traditions are maintained and enhanced.
Amendment 20 #
2022/0115(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 8
Recital 8
(8) It is therefore necessary to firstly, ensure fair competition for producers of craft and industrial products in the internal market and in foreign markets; secondly, guarantee the availability to consumers of reliable information pertaining to such products; thirdly, safeguard and develop cultural and artistic heritage and traditional know-how; fourthly ensure an efficient registration of geographical indications for craft and industrial products both for the Union and at international level; fifthly provide for an effective enforcement of intellectual property rights throughout the Union and in electronic commerce within the internal market and by the means of trade agreements negotiated by the EU with third countries, and lastly, ensure the link with the international registration and protection system based on the Geneva Act.
Amendment 24 #
2022/0115(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) To provide for a full coverage of craft and industrial products eligible for GI protection (i.e. those having processing methods characteristics, attributes or reputation linked to their place of production or manufacturing), the scope of this Regulation needs to be determined in line with the relevant international framework, namely, the World Trade Organization, in particular the Agreement on the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). Hence, the use of the Combined Nomenclature should be established through direct reference to Annex I to Council Regulation No 2658/8710 . This approach ensures coherence with the scope of the revised GI Regulation for agricultural products, foodstuff, wine and spirits. _________________ 10 Council Regulation (EEC) No 2685/87 of 23 July 1987 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff Regulation (OJ L 256, 7.9.1987 p.1).
Amendment 38 #
2022/0115(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 23
Recital 23
(23) The Union negotiates international agreements, including those concerning the protection geographical indications, with its trade partners. Protection of geographical indications for craft and industrial products throughout the Union can also stem from those agreements, irrespective of the international registrations provided under the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications or the application and registration system set out in this Regulation. In its negotiating capacity the Commission should make every effort to extend protection of geographical indications pertaining to craft and industrial products with trade partners which are not party to the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement by agreements with third countries. In order to facilitate the provision to the public of information about the geographical indications protected in the Union either by virtue of the international registrations provided under the Geneva Act or by virtue of the international agreements with the Union trade partners, and in particular to ensure protection and control of the use to which those geographical indications are put, those geographical indications should be entered in the Union register of geographical indications for craft and industrial products.
Amendment 47 #
2022/0115(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 32
Recital 32
(32) Producer groups play an essential role in the application process for the registration of geographical indications, as well as in the amendment of specifications and cancellation requests. They should be equipped with the necessary means to better identify and market the specific characteristics of their products. The role of the producer group should therefore be clarified. This clarification should include the right to: participate in consultative bodies, exchanging information with public authorities on geographical indication policy-related topics, making recommendations to improve the development of geographical indication policies in particular with regard to sustainability, the fight against fraud and counterfeiting and the right to participate in consultations with the Commission in the run-up to trade negotiations concerning geographical indications of craft and industrial products with third countries.
Amendment 53 #
2022/0115(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 38
Recital 38
(38) The use of Union symbols and indications on the packaging of craft and industrial products designated by a geographical indication ishould be recommended in order to make this category of products, and the guarantees attached to them, better known to consumers and to permit easier identification of these products on the market, thereby facilitating checks. The use of such symbols or indications should remain voluntary for third-country geographical indications.
Amendment 117 #
2022/0115(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 26 – paragraph 4
Article 26 – paragraph 4
4. Geographical indications concerning products from third countries that are protected in the Union under an international agreement to which the Union is a contracting party shall be entered in the Union register of geographical indications for craft and industrial products ,which should be regularly updated. Geographical indications other than those protected in the Union pursuant to Article 7 Regulation EU 2019/5713 shall be registered by means of implementing acts adopted by the Commission in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 65(2).
Amendment 139 #
2022/0115(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 40 – paragraph 2 – point e
Article 40 – paragraph 2 – point e
(e) combat counterfeiting and suspected fraudulent uses on the internal and external market of a geographical indication that is not in compliance with the product specification by monitoring the use of the geographical indication across the internal market and on third countries’ markets where the geographical indications are protected, including on the internet, and, as necessary, informing enforcement authorities using confidential systems available.
Amendment 140 #
2022/0115(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 40 – paragraph 2 – point e a (new)
Article 40 – paragraph 2 – point e a (new)
Amendment 150 #
2022/0115(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 44 – paragraph 7
Article 44 – paragraph 7
Amendment 9 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) Ensuring uniform recognition and protection throughout the Union for the intellectual property rights related to names protected in the Union is a priority that can be effectively achieved only at Union level. Geographical indications protecting the names of wines, spirit drinks and agricultural products having characteristics, attributes or reputation linked to their place of production are an exclusive Union’s competence. A unitary and exclusive system of geographical indications therefore needs to be provided. Geographical indications are a collective right held by all eligible producers in a designated area willing to adhere to a product specification. Producers acting collectively have more powers than individual producers and take collective responsibilities to manage their geographical indications, including responding to societal demands for products resulting from sustainable production. Operating geographical indications reward producers fairly for their efforts to produce a diverse range of quality products. At the same time, this can benefit the rural economy, which is particularly the case in areas with natural or other specific constraints, such as mountain areas and the most remote regions, where the farming sector accounts for a significant part of the economy and production costs are high. In this way, quality schemes are able to contribute to and complement rural development policy as well as market and income support policies of the CAP. In particular, they may contribute to the developments in the farming sector and, especially, disadvantaged areas. A Union framework that protects geographical indications by providing for their inclusion in a register at Union level facilitates the development of the agricultural sector, since the resulting, more uniform approach ensures fair competition between the producers of products bearing such indications and enhances the credibility of the products in the consumers’ eyes. The system of geographical indications aims at enabling consumers to make more informed purchasing choices and, through labelling and advertising, helping them to correctly identify their products on the marketse types of products on the market. The establishment of effective rules which guarantee proper verification and controls over product specifications and adherence to production rules and guidelines for geographical indications originating in the internal market and in third markets is essential to secure consumer protection, trust and growth of trade of these products. Geographical indications, being a type of intellectual property right, help operators and companies valorise their intangible assets. To avoid creating unfair conditions of competition and to sustain the internal market, any producer, including a third country producer, should be able to use a registered name and market products designated as geographical indications throughout the Union and in electronic commerce, provided that the product concerned complies with the requirements of the relevant specification and that the producer is covered by a system of controls. In light of the experience gained from the implementation of Regulations (EU) No 1308/2013, (EU) 2019/787 and (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council27 , there is a need to address certain legal issues, to clarify and simplify some rules and to streamline the procedures. _________________ 27 Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 November 2012 on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs (OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 1).
Amendment 20 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) To ensure transparency and uniformity across Member States, it is necessary to establish and maintain an electronic Union register of geographical indications, registered as protected designations of origin or protected geographical indications. The periodically updated register should provide uniform information to consumers and to those involved in trade on all types of geographical indications entered into the register pursuant to their registration in the member state, by third country application, as a result of a concluded international trade agreement or upon international registration derived from the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Treaty system. The register should be an electronic database stored within an information system, and should be accessible to the public.
Amendment 24 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16
Recital 16
(16) The Union negotiates international agreements, including those concerning the protection of designations of origin and geographical indications, with its trade partners. In order to facilitate the provision to the public of information about the names protected by those international agreements, and in particular to ensure protection and control of the use to which those names are put, those names mayshould be entered in the Union register of geographical indications. Unless specifically identified as designations of origin in such international agreements, the names should be entered in the register as protected geographical indications.
Amendment 32 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 23
Recital 23
(23) Producer groups play an essential role in the application process for the registration of geographical indications, as well as in the amendment of specifications and cancellation requests. They should be equipped with the means to better identify and market the specific characteristics of their products. The role of the producer group should hence be clarified to include the right to: participation in consultative bodies, exchanging information with public authorities on geographical indication policy-related topics and the right to participate in consultations with the Commission in the run-up to trade negotiations concerning geographical indications with third countries.
Amendment 34 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 27
Recital 27
(27) In order to avoid creating unfair conditions of competition, any producer, including a third-country producer, should be able to use a registered geographical indication, provided that the product concerned complies with the requirements of the relevant product specification or single document or an equivalent to the latter, i.e. a complete summary of the product specification. The system set up by the Member States should also guarantee that producers complying with the rules are entitled to be covered by the verification of compliance of the product specification. Third country producers should be subject to EU-comparable verification procedures set up by their respective oversight authorities.
Amendment 38 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 31
Recital 31
(31) The added value of the geographical indications is based on consumer trust. The system of geographical indications significantly relies on self-control, due diligence and individual responsibility of producers, while it is the role of the competent authorities of the Member States to take the necessary steps to prevent or stop the use of names of products, which are in breach of the rules governing geographical indications. The role of the Commission is to intervene in case of a systemic failure to apply Union law. Geographical indications should be subject to the system of official controls, in line with the principles set out in Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council30 , which should include a system of controls at all stages of production, processing and distribution. Each operator should be subject to a control system that verifies compliance with the product specification. Consumers should be able to receive information on conformity with the product specification upon demand from institutions and authorities responsible for controls and checks. This should apply to all geographical indications registered in the internal market. Taking into account that wine is subject to specific controls defined in the sectoral legislation, this Regulation should lay down controls for spirit drinks and agricultural products only. _________________ 30 OJ L 95, 7.4.2017, p. 1.
Amendment 47 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 37
Recital 37
(37) Taking into account that a product designated by the geographical indication produced in one Member State might be sold in another Member State, administrative assistance between Member States and with third countries should be ensured to allow effective controls and its practicalities should be laid down.
Amendment 49 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 39
Recital 39
(39) The procedures for registration, amendment and cancellation of geographical indications, including the scrutiny and the opposition procedure, should be carried out in the most efficient way. TWhis can be achieved by using the assistance for the scrutiny of the applications provided byle a partial outsourcing to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). While a partial outsourcing to EUIPO has been considered, the Commission would remain responsible for registration, amendment and cancellation, due to a strong relation with the Common Agricultural Policy and to the expertise needed to ensure that specificities of wine, spirit drinks and agricultural products are adequately assessed.
Amendment 58 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) traditional specialities guaranteed and optional quality terms for agricultural products.
Amendment 59 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
(ba) c) optional quality terms for agricultural products.
Amendment 63 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) that producers acting collectively have the necessary powers and responsibilities to manage their geographical indication, including to create value and to respond to societal demands for products resulting from sustainable production in its three dimensions of economic, environmental and social value, and to operate in the market;
Amendment 64 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point a a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point a a (new)
(aa) a fair return for producers for the qualities of their products;
Amendment 65 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point a b (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point a b (new)
Amendment 66 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
(ba) that the added value associated with geographical indications is fairly shared across the supply chain;
Amendment 67 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) that consumers receive reliable information and a guarantee of authenticity of such products originating in the internal market and imported from third markets and can readily identify them in the marketplace, including in the domain name system and in electronic commerce;
Amendment 68 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point d
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point d
(d) efficient registration of geographical indications taking into account the uniform, appropriate and effective protection of intellectual property rights; and within the internal market, including the Union digital market, and in third markets;
Amendment 69 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point e
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point e
(e) effective enforcement and marketing throughout the Union and in the domain name system and in electronic commerce ensuring the integrity of the internal market.
Amendment 70 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point e a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point e a (new)
(ea) f) effective protection of intellectual property rights of producers of such products in third markets in compliance with international agreements, standards, best practices and agreements with third countries.
Amendment 75 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1
Article 6 – paragraph 1
1. Products designated by geographical indications shall be classified according to the combined nomenclature at two, four or six digit level, six or eight digit level. Additional codes established pursuant to Articles 3 and 5 of Regulation (EEC) 2658/1987 may be added to the combined nomenclature by the Commission, upon the request of a Member State. Where a geographical indication covers products of more than one category, each entrysubheading shall be specified. Product classification shall only be used for registration, statistical and record keeping purposes. The said classification shall not be used to determine comparable products for the purposes of protection against direct and indirect commercial use referred to in Article 27(1), point (a).
Amendment 77 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point g a (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point g a (new)
(ga) 'association of producer groups' means an organisation that promotes the interests of producers of products designated by different geographical indications.
Amendment 79 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 2
Article 8 – paragraph 2
2. An authority designated by a Member State or by a third country may be deemed to be an applicant producer group for the purposes of this Title, with respect to geographical indications of a spirit drink, if it is not feasible for the producers concerned to form a group by reason of their number, geographical location or organisational characteristics. In such case, the application referred to in Article 9(2) shall state those reasons.
Amendment 89 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 1
Article 12 – paragraph 1
1. A producer group may agree on sustainability undertakings to be adhered to in the production of the product designated by a geographical indication. Such undertakings shall aim to apply a sustainability standard higher than mandated by Union or national law and go beyond good practice in significant respects in terms of social, environmental or, economic or animal health and welfare undertakings. Such undertakings shall be specific, shall take account of existing sustainable practices employed for products designated by geographical indications, and may refer to existing sustainability schemes.
Amendment 98 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 1
Article 17 – paragraph 1
1. The Commission shall scrutinise any application for registration that it receives pursuant to Article 16(1 (paragraphs 1 and 2). Such scrutiny shall consist of a check that there are no manifest errors, that the information provided in accordance with Article 15 is complete and that the single document referred to in Article 13 is precise and technical in nature. It shall take into account the outcome of the national procedure carried out by the Member State concerned. It shall focus in particular on the single document referred to in Article 13.
Amendment 100 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 5
Article 17 – paragraph 5
Amendment 107 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 10
Article 19 – paragraph 10
10. The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts, in accordance with Article 84 supplementing this Regulation by detailed procedures and deadlines for the opposition procedure, for the official submission of comments by national authorities and persons with a legitimate interest, which will not trigger the opposition procedure and by rules on entrusting its tasks set out in this Article to EUIPO.
Amendment 120 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 27 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 27 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) any misuse, imitation or evocation, even if the true origin of the products or services is indicated or if the protected name is translated, transcribed, transliterated or accompanied by an expression such as ‘style’, ‘type’, ‘method’, ‘as produced in’, ‘imitation’, ‘flavour’, ‘like’ or similar., including where those products are used as ingredients;
Amendment 123 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 27 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 27 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) any other false or misleading indication as to the provenance, origin, nature or essential qualities of the product that is used on the inner or outer packaging, advertising material, documents or information provided on websites or on domain names relating to the product concerned, and the packing of the product in a container liable to convey a false impression as to its origin;
Amendment 125 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 27 – paragraph 4 – point a
Article 27 – paragraph 4 – point a
(a) goods entering the customs territory of the Union without being released for free circulation within that territory; and
Amendment 128 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 27 – paragraph 4 a (new)
Article 27 – paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. goods produced in the Union and destined to be exported and marketed in third countries; and
Amendment 130 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 27 – paragraph 7 a (new)
Article 27 – paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. 7 a. Each Member State shall take appropriate administrative and judicial steps to prevent or stop the unlawful use of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications, as provided for in paragraph 1, that are produced or marketed in that Member State or imported from third countries. To that end, Member States shall designate the authorities that are responsible for taking those steps in accordance with procedures determined by each individual Member State. Those authorities shall provide adequate guarantees of objectivity and impartiality, and shall have at their disposal the qualified staff and resources necessary to carry out their functions.
Amendment 137 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 32 – paragraph 2 – point b
Article 32 – paragraph 2 – point b
(b) take legal action to ensure protection of the geographical indication and of the intellectual property rights that are directly connected with it, and claim damages;
Amendment 139 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 32 – paragraph 2 – point e
Article 32 – paragraph 2 – point e
(e) combat counterfeiting and suspected fraudulent uses on the internal market, including the Union digital market, and in third markets of a geographical indication designating products that are not in compliance with the product specification, by monitoring the use of the geographical indication across the internal market and on third countries markets where the geographical indications are protected, including on the internet, and, as necessary, inform enforcement authorities using confidential systems available.
Amendment 140 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 33 – paragraph 1
Article 33 – paragraph 1
1. Upon a request of a producer groups fulfilling the conditions of paragraph 3, Member Stat, Member States or, in accordance with an international agreement to which the Union is a contracting party, third countries shall designate, in accordance with their national law, one producer group as recognised producer group for eacha specific geographical indication or for two or more geographical indications originating in their territory, that isare registered or isare subject to an application for registration or for product names that are a potential subject for application for registration.
Amendment 142 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 33 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 33 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. 2a. Member States or, in accordance with an international agreement to which the Union is a contracting party, third countries may decide on the basis of objective and non- discriminatory criteria that producer groups already recognised at national level before … [the date of entry into force of this Regulation] are to be considered as recognised producer groups.
Amendment 143 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 33 – paragraph 3 – point c a (new)
Article 33 – paragraph 3 – point c a (new)
(ca) (ca) to liaise with the Commission in the context of negotiations on international agreements as regards the protection of the geographical indications;
Amendment 147 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 33 – paragraph 5
Article 33 – paragraph 5
5. Member States or, in accordance with an international agreement to which the Union is a contracting party, third countries shall carry out checks in order to ensure that the conditions laid down in paragraph 2for the recognition of the producer group are complied with. Where the competent national authorities find that such conditions have not been complied with, Member States shall annul the decision on the recognition of the producer group.
Amendment 149 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 33 – paragraph 5 a (new)
Article 33 – paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Member States or, in accordance with an international agreement to which the Union is a contracting party, third countries shall inform the Commission by 31 March of each year, of every decision to grant, refuse or annul recognition taken during the previous calendar year.
Amendment 151 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 34 – paragraph 1
Article 34 – paragraph 1
1. Country-code tTop-level domain name registries establishedoperating in the Union may,shall, ex-officio or upon the request of a natural or legal person having a legitimate interest or rights, revoke or transfer a domain name registered under such country-code top- level domain to the recognised producer group of the products with the geographical indication concerned, following an appropriate alternative dispute resolution procedure or judicial procedure, if such domain name has been registered by its holder without rights or legitimate interest in the geographical indication or if it has been registered or is being used in bad faith and its use contravenes Article 27.
Amendment 152 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 34 – paragraph 2
Article 34 – paragraph 2
2. Country-code tTop-level domain name registries establishedoperating in the Union shall ensure that any alternative dispute resolution procedure established to solve disputes relating to the registration of domain names referred to in paragraph (1), shall recognise geographical indications as rights that may prevent a domain name from being registered or used in bad faith.
Amendment 156 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 37 – paragraph 2
Article 37 – paragraph 2
2. In the case of products originating in the Union that are marketed under a geographical indication, the Union symbol associated with it shall appear on the labelling and advertising material. The geographical indication and an indication of the name of the producer or vendor shall appear in the same field of vision as the Union symbol. The country of origin of a primary ingredient which is not the same as the given country of origin of the geographical indication shall be indicated with reference to Member States or third countries. The labelling requirements laid down in Article 13(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 for the presentation of mandatory particulars shall apply to the geographical indication.
Amendment 159 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 37 – paragraph 9
Article 37 – paragraph 9
Amendment 165 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 42 – paragraph 3
Article 42 – paragraph 3
3. Member States shall take appropriate administrative and judicial steps to prevent or stop the use of names of products or services, including domain names, that are produced, operated or marketed in their territory and that contravenes the protection of geographical indications provided for in Article 27 and Article 28.
Amendment 168 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 46 – paragraph 1
Article 46 – paragraph 1
Amendment 177 #
2022/0089(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 47 – paragraph 2
Article 47 – paragraph 2
2. No later than 52 years after the first delegation of any tasks to EUIPO, the Commission shall prepare and submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the results and experience of the exercise of these tasks by EUIPO.
Amendment 29 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) The behaviour of companies across all sectors of the economy is key to success in the Union’s sustainability objectives as many Union companies, especially large ones, rely on global value chains. It is also in the interest of companies to protect human rights and the environment, and uphold good governance, in particular given the rising concern of consumers and investors regarding these topics. Several initiatives fostering enterprises which support value- oriented transformation already exist on Union77 , as well as national78 level. _________________ 77 ‘Enterprise Models and the EU agenda’, CEPS Policy Insights, No PI2021-02/ January 2021. 78 E.g. https://www.economie.gouv.fr/entreprises/ societe-mission
Amendment 30 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) Existing international standards on responsible business conduct specify that companies have a responsibility to respect and should protect human rights and set out how they should address the protection of the environment across their operations and value chains. The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights79 recognise the responsibility of companies to exercise human rights due diligence by identifying, preventing and mitigating the adverse impacts of their operations, products and services on human rights and by accounting for how they address those impacts. Those Guiding Principles state that businesses should avoid infringing human rights and should address adverse human rights impacts that they have caused, contributed to or are linked with in their own operations, subsidiaries and through their direct and indirect business relationships. The UN Guiding Principles state that businesses should have in place processes to enable the remediation of any adverse human right impacts they cause or to which they contribute. _________________ 79 United Nations’ “Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations ‘Protect, Respect and Remedy’ Framework”, 2011, available at https://www.ohchr.org/documents/publicati ons/guidingprinciplesbusinesshr_en.pdf.
Amendment 33 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 5 a (new)
Recital 5 a (new)
(5 a) The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights further recognise, as part of their duty to protect against business-related human rights abuses, that States should take appropriate steps to ensure, through judicial, administrative and legislative means, that those affected have access to an effective remedy.
Amendment 35 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 6 a (new)
Recital 6 a (new)
(6 a) All companies have the responsibility to respect human rights, as enshrined in the international conventions listed in the Annex, Part I, Section 2, regardless of their size, sector, operational context, ownership and structure, and therefore under this Directive they should be required to conduct due diligence and should take appropriate measures to identify and address adverse human rights impacts along their value chain. The extent and nature of due diligence can vary according to the size, sector, operating context, and risk profile of the company.
Amendment 37 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 13
Recital 13
(13) The European Parliament, in its resolution of 10 March 2021 calls upon the Commission to propose Union rules for a comprehensive corporate due diligence obligations, applicable to all large companies and SMEs listed in stock exchanges or operating in high-risk sectors, with consequences up to and including civil liability for those companies that cause or contribute to harm by failing to carry out due diligence100 . The Council Conclusions on Human Rights and Decent Work in Global Supply Chains of 1 December 2020 called upon the Commission to table a proposal for a Union legal framework on sustainable corporate governance, including cross- sector corporate due diligence obligations along global supply chains.101. The European Parliament also calls for clarifying directors` duties in its own initiative report adopted on 2 December 2020 on sustainable corporate governance. In their Joint Declaration on EU Legislative Priorities for 2022102 , the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the Commission have committed, to deliver on an economy that works for people, and to improve the regulatory framework on sustainable corporate governance. _________________ 100 European Parliament resolution of 10 March 2021 with recommendations to the Commission on corporate due diligence and corporate accountability (2020/2129(INL)), P9_TA(2021)0073, available at https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/p opups/ficheprocedure.do?lang=en&referen ce=2020/2129(INL). 101 Council Conclusions on Human Rights and Decent Work in Global Supply Chains, 1 December 2020 (13512/20). 102 Joint declaration of the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission on EU Legislative Priorities for 2022, available at https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/j oint_declaration_2022.pdf.
Amendment 38 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) This Directive aims to ensure that companies active in the internal market respect human rights and contribute to sustainable development and the sustainability transition of economies and societies through the identification, prevention and mitigation, bringing to an end and minimisation of potential or of potential and actual adverse human rights, environmental and good governance impacts and through bringing to an end and providing for remediation of actual adverse impacts on human rights and, the environmental impacts and good governance connected with companies’ own operations, subsidiaries and value chains.
Amendment 41 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) Companies should take appropriate steps to set up and carry out due diligence measures, with respect to their own operations, products and services, those of their subsidiaries, as well as their established direct and indirect business relationships throughout their value chains in accordance with the provisions of this Directive. This Directive should not require companies to guarantee, in all circumstances, that adverse impacts will never occur or that they will be stopped. For example with respect to business relationships where the adverse impact results from State intervention, the company might not be in a position to arrive at such results. In such a situation, the company should be required to terminate the harmful business relationship and to modify the structure of its value chain in order to ensure that the value chain no longer contributes to or can be a cause of the adverse impact. Therefore, the main obligations in this Directive should be ‘obligations of means’. The company should take the appropriate measures which can reasonably be expected to result in prevention or minimisation of the adverse impact under the circumstances of the specific case. Account should be taken of the specificities of the company’s value chain, sector or geographical area in which its value chain partners operate, the company’s power to influence its direct and indirect business relationships, and whether the company could increase its power of influence.
Amendment 44 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 16
Recital 16
(16) The due diligence process set out in this Directive should cover the six steps defined by the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct, which include due diligence measures for companies to identify and address adverse human rights and environmental impacts. This encompasses the following steps: (1) integrating due diligence into policies and management systems, (2) identifying and assessing adverse human rights and environmental impacts, (3) preventing, ceasing or minimising actual and potential adverse human rights, and environmental impacts, (4)and good governance impacts, (4) verifying, monitoring and assessing the effectiveness of measures, (5) communicating, (6) providing remediation.
Amendment 45 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 17
Recital 17
(17) Adverse human rights and, environmental and good governance impacts occur in companies’ own operations, subsidiaries, products, services, and in their value chains, in particular at the level of raw material sourcing, manufacturing, or at the level of product or waste disposal. In order for the due diligence to have a meaningful impact, it should cover human rights and ,environmental and good governance adverse impacts generated throughout the life-cycle of production and use and disposal of product or provision of services, at the level of own operations, subsidiaries and in value chains.
Amendment 49 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 18
Recital 18
(18) The value chain should cover activities related to the production of a good or provision of services by a company, including the development of the product or the service and the use and disposal of the product as well as the related activities of established business relationships of the company. It should encompass upstream established direct and indirect business relationships that design, extract, manufacture, transport, store and supply raw material, products, parts of products, or provide services to the company that are necessary to carry out the company’s activities, and also downstream relationships, including established direct and indirect business relationships, that use or receive products, parts of products or services from the company up to the end of life of the product, including inter alia the distribution of the product to retailers, the transport and storage of the product, dismantling of the product, its recycling, composting or landfilling.
Amendment 50 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 19
Recital 19
(19) As regards regulated financial undertakings providing loan, credit, or other financial services, “value chain” with respect to the provision of such services should be limited to the activities of the clients receiving such services, and the subsidiaries thereof whose activities are linked to the contract in question. Cclients that are households and natural persons not acting in a professional or business capacity, as well as small and medium sized undertakings, should not be considered to be part of the value chain. The activities of the companies or other legal entities that are included in the value chain of that client should not be covered.
Amendment 52 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 20
Recital 20
Amendment 56 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 21
Recital 21
(21) Under this Directive, EU companies with more than 2500 employees on average and a worldwide net turnover exceeding EUR 1540 million in the financial year preceding the last financial year should be required to comply with due diligence. As regards companies which do not fulfil those criteria, but which had more than 250 employees on average and more than EUR 40 million700 000 worldwide net turnover in the financial year preceding the last financial year and which operate in one or more high-impact sectors, due diligence should apply 2 years after the end of the transposition period of this directive, in order to provide for a longer adaptation period. In order to ensure a proportionate burden, companies operating in such high- impact sectors should be required to comply with more targeted due diligence focusing on severe adverse impacts. Temporary agency workers, including those posted under Article 1(3), point (c), of Directive 96/71/EC, as amended by Directive 2018/957/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council103 , should be included in the calculation of the number of employees in the user company. Posted workers under Article 1(3), points (a) and (b), of Directive 96/71/EC, as amended by Directive 2018/957/EU, should only be included in the calculation of the number of employees of the sending company. _________________ 103 Directive (EU) 2018/957 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 June 2018 amending Directive 96/71/EC concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services (OJ L 173, 9.7.2018, p. 16).
Amendment 58 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 22
Recital 22
(22) In order to reflect the priority areas of international action aimed at tackling human rights and, environmental and good governance issues, the selection of high- impact sectors for the purposes of this Directive should be based on existing sectoral OECD due diligence guidance. The following sectors should be regarded as high-impact for the purposes of this Directive: the manufacture of textiles, wearing apparel, fur, leather and related products (including footwear), and the wholesale trade and retail of textiles, clothing and footwear; agriculture, forestry, fisheries (including aquaculture), the manufacture of food products, and the wholesale trade of agricultural raw materials, live animals, animal products, wood, food, and beverages; energy, the extraction, transport and handling of mineral resources regardless of where they are extracted from (including crude petroleum, natural gas, coal, lignite, metals and metal ores, as well as all other, non- metallic minerals and quarry products), the manufacture of basic metal products, other non-metallic mineral products and fabricated metal products (except machinery and equipment), and the wholesale trade of mineral resources, basic and intermediate mineral products (including metals and metal ores, construction materials, fuels, chemicals and other intermediate products). As regards the financial sector, due to its specificities, in particular as regards the value cha construction and related activities and the provision of fin and thecial services offered, even if it is covered by sector-specific OECD guidance, it should not form part of the high-impact sectors covered by this Directive. At the same time, in this sector, the broader coverage of actual and potential adverse impacts should be ensured by also including very large compani, such as loans, credits, financing, pensions, market funding, risk management, payment services, securitisation, insurance or reinsurance services, in the scope that are regulated financial undertakings, even if they do not have a legal form with limited liabilityvestment services and activities, and other financial services.
Amendment 60 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 23
Recital 23
(23) In order to achieve fully the objectives of this Directive addressing human rights and adverse environmental, environmental and good governance adverse impacts with respect to companies’ operations, products and services, and those of its subsidiaries and value chains, third-country companies with significant operations in the EU should also be covered. More specifically, the Directive should apply to third-country companies which generated a net turnover of at least EUR 1540 million in the Union in the financial year preceding the last financial year or a net turnover of more than EUR 40 million700 000 but less than EUR 1540 million in the financial year preceding the last financial year in one or more of the high- impact sectors, as of 2 years after the end of the transposition period of this Directive.
Amendment 62 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 25
Recital 25
(25) In order to achieve a meaningful contribution to the sustainability transition, due diligence under this Directive should be carried out with respect to adverse human rights impact on protected persons resulting from the violation of one of the rights andany action which removes or reduces the ability of an individual or group to enjoy the rights or to be protected by the prohibitions as enshrined in the international conventions and instruments listed in the Annex to this Directive, which include trade union, workers’ and social rights. In order to ensure a comprehensive coverage of human rights, a violation of a prohibition ornegative impact on the enjoyment of a right not specifically listed in that Annex which directly impairs a legal interest protected in those conventions and instruments should also form part of the adverse human rights impact covered by this Directive, provided that the company concerned could have reasonably established the risk of such impairment and any appropriate measures to be taken in order to comply with the due diligence obligations under this Directive, taking into account all relevant circumstances of their operations, such as the sector and operational context. Due diligence should further encompass adverse environmental impacts on air, water, soil, biodiversity, animal welfare, climate mitigation and adaptation, the transition to a circular economy and impacts resulting from the violation of one of the prohibitions and obligations pursuant to the international environmental conventions listed in the Annex to this Directive. Due diligence should also be carried out in relation to adverse good governance impacts, such as on the proper functioning of public administration and services, the rule of law, and democratic electoral systems, and impacts resulting from the violation of one of the prohibitions and obligations pursuant to the international good governance conventions listed in the Annex to this Directive
Amendment 63 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 27
Recital 27
(27) In order to conduct appropriate human rights, and environmental and good governance due diligence with respect to their operations, their subsidiaries, and their value chains, companies covered by this Directive should integrate due diligence into corporate policies, identify, prevent and, mitigate, remediate as well as bring to an end and minimistigate the extent of potential and actual adverse human rights and, environmental and good governance impacts, establish and maintaor participate in a complaints procedure, monitor and verify the effectiveness of the taken measures taken in accordance with the requirements that are set up in this Directive and, communicate publicly on their due diligence and consult with affected stakeholders throughout this entire process. In order to ensure clarity for companies, in particular the steps of preventing and mitigating potential adverse impacts and of bringing to an end, or when this is not possible, minimising actual adverse impacts should be clearly distinguished in this Directive.
Amendment 65 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 28
Recital 28
(28) In order to ensure that due diligence forms part of companies’ corporate policies, and in line with the relevant international framework, companies should integrate due diligence into all their corporate policies and have in place a due diligence policy. The due diligence policy should contain a description of the company’s approach, including in the long term, to due diligence, a code of conduct describing the rules and principles to be followed by the company’s employees and subsidiaries; a description of the processes put in place to implement due diligence, including the measures taken to verify compliance with the code of conduct and to extend its application to established business relationships. The code of conduct should apply in all relevant corporate functions and operations, including procurement and purchasing decisions. Companies should also update and publish their due diligence policy annually.
Amendment 66 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 29
Recital 29
(29) To comply with due diligence obligations, companies need to take appropriate measures with respect to identification, prevention and bringing to an end adverse impacts. An ‘appropriate measure’ should mean a measure that is capable of achieving the objectives of due diligence, commensurate with the degree of severity and the likelihood of the adverse impact, and reasonably available to the company, taking into account the circumstances of the specific case, including characteristics of the economic sector and of the specific business relationship and the company’s influence thereof, and the need to ensure prioritisation of action. In this context, in line with international frameworks, the company’s influence over a business relationship should include, on the one hand its ability to persuade the business relationship to take action to bring to an end or prevent adverse impacts (for example through ownership or factual control, market power, pre-qualification requirements, linking business incentives to human rights and, environmental and good governance performance, etc.) and, on the other hand, the degree of influence or leverage that the company could reasonably exercise, for example through cooperation with the business partner in question or engagement with another company which is the direct business partner of the business relationship associated with adverse impact.
Amendment 67 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 30
Recital 30
(30) Under the due diligence obligations set out by this Directive, a company should identify actual or potential adverse human rights and environmental impacts. In order to allow for a comprehensive identification of adverse impacts, such identification should be based on meaningful stakeholder engagement and quantitative and qualitative information. For instance, as regards adverse environmental impacts, the company should obtain information about baseline conditions at higher risk sites or facilities in value chains. Identification of adverse impacts should include assessing the human rights, and environmental context in a dynamic way and in regular intervals: prior to a new activity or relationship, prior to major decisions or changes in the operation; in response to or anticipation of changes in the operating environment; and periodically, at least every 12 months, throughout the life of an activity or relationship. Regulated financial undertakings providing loan, credit, or other financial services should identify the adverse impacts only at the inception of the contract. When identifying adverse impacts, companies should also identify and assess the impact of a business relationship’s business model and strategies, including trading, procurement and pricing practices. Where the company cannot prevent, bring to an end or minimize all its adverse impacts at the same time, it should be able to prioritize its action, provided it takes the measures reasonably available to the company, taking into account the specific circumstances.
Amendment 69 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 31
Recital 31
Amendment 72 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 33
Recital 33
(33) Under the due diligence obligations set out by this Directive, if a company identifies potential adverse human rights or, environmental or good governance impacts, it should take appropriate measures to prevent and adequately mitigate them. To provide companies with legal clarity and certainty, this Directive should set out the actions companies should be expected to take for prevention and mitigation of potential adverse impacts where relevant depending on the circumstances.
Amendment 73 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 34
Recital 34
(34) So as to comply with the prevention and mitigation obligation under this Directive, companies should be required to take the following actions, where relevant. Where necessary due to the complexity of prevention measures, c. Companies should develop and implement a prevention action plan. Companies should seek to obtain contractual assurances from a directengage and support business partners with whom they have an established business relationship that it willroughout their ensutire compliance with the code of conduct or the prevention action plan, including by seeking corresponding contractual assurances from its partners to the extent that their activities are part of the companies’ value chain. Thvalue chains in order to obtain assurance, contractual or otherwise, of implementation of the prevention action plan of the company concerned. Possible contractual assurances should be accompanied by appropriate measures to verify compliance. To ensure comprehensive prevention of actual and potential adverse impacts, companies should also adapt their business models and strategies, including trading, procurement, purchasing and pricing practices, and make investments which aim to prevent adverse impacts, provide targeted and proportionate support for an SME with which they have an established business relationshippartners, suppliers, including SMEs such as financing, for example, through direct financing, low- interest loans, guarantees of continued sourcing, and assistance in securing financing, to help implement the code of conduct or prevention action plan, or technical guidance such as in the form of training, management systems upgrading, and collaborate with other companies.
Amendment 78 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 36
Recital 36
(36) In order to ensure that prevention and mitigation of potential adverse impacts is effective, companies should prioritize engagement with business relationships in the value chain, instead of terminating the business relationship, as a last resort action after attempting at preventing and mitigating adverse potential impacts without success. However, the Directive should also, fFor cases where potential adverse impacts could not be addressed by the described prevention or mitigation measures, refer tocompanies should have the obligation for companies to refrain from entering into new or extending existing relations with the partner in question and, where the law governing their relations so entitles them to, to. In such a situation, companies should take one of the following actions: either temporarily suspend commercial relationships with the partner in question, while pursuing prevention and minimisation efforts, if there is reasonable expectation that these efforts are to succeed in the short-termtigation efforts; or to terminate the business relationship with respect to the activities concerned if the potential adverse impactmitigation and ceasing of the impact is made impossible, in particular due to its seveystemic or state-imposed nature. In order to allow companies to fulfil that obligation, Member States should provide for the availability of an option to suspend or terminate the business relationship in contracts governed by their laws. The suspension or termination of harmful business relationships should be without prejudice to the civil liability of the company for previous damage arising from its failure to comply with the due diligence obligations under this Directive. It is possible that prevention of adverse impacts at the level of indirect business relationships requires collaboration with another company, for example a company which has a direct contractual relationship with the supplier. In some instances, such collaboration could be the only realistic way of preventing adverse impacts, in particular, where the indirect business relationship is not ready to enter into a contract with the company. In these instances, the company should collaborate with the entity which can most effectively prevent or mitigate adverse impacts at the level of the indirect business relationship while respecting competition law.
Amendment 81 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 38
Recital 38
(38) Under the due diligence obligations set out by this Directive, if a company identifies actual human rights or, environmental or good governance adverse impacts, it should take appropriate measures to bring those to an end. It can be expected that a company is able to bring to an end actual adverse impacts in their own operations and in subsidiaries. However, it should be clarified that, as regards established business relationships, where adverse impacts cannot be brought to an end, companies should minimistigate the extent of such impacts, whilst pursuing efforts to bring the adverse impact to an end, and implementing a corrective action plan, developed in consultation with affected stakeholders. Minimisation of the extent of adverse impacts should require an outcome that is the closest possible to bringing the adverse impact to an end. To provide companies with legal clarity and certainty, this Directive should define which actions companies should be required to take for bringing actual human rights and environmental adverse impacts to an end and minimisation of their extent, where relevant depending on the circumstances.
Amendment 82 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 39
Recital 39
(39) So as to comply with the obligation of bringing to an end and minimising the extent of actual adverse impacts under this Directive, companies should be required to take the following actions, where relevant. They should neutralise the adverse impact or minimise its extent, with an action proportionate to the significance and scale of the adverse impact and to the contribution of the company’s conduct to the adverse impact. Where necessary due to the fact that the adverse impact cannot be immediately brought to an end, cCompanies should develop and implement a corrective action plan with reasonable and clearly defined timelines for action and qualitative and quantitative indicators for measuring improvement. Companies should also seek to obtain contractual assurances from a direcengage and support business partners with whom they have an established business relationship that they willroughout their ensutire compliance with the company’s code of conduct and, as necessary, a prevention action plan, including by seeking corresponding contractual assurances from its partners, to the extent that their activities are part of the company’s value chain. Thvalue chains in order to obtain assurance, contractual or otherwise, of implementation of the company’s corrective action plan. Possible contractual assurances should be accompanied by the appropriate measures to verify compliance. Finally, companies should also make investments aiming at ceasing or minimistigating the extent of adverse impact, provide targeted and proportionate support for anpartners and suppliers, including SMEs with which they have an established business relationship and collaborate with other entities, including, where relevant, to increase the company’s ability to bring the adverse impact to an end.
Amendment 86 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 41
Recital 41
(41) In order to ensure that bringing actual adverse impacts to an end or minimising them is effective, companies should prioritize engagement with business relationships in the value chain, instead of terminating the business relationship, as a last resort action after attempting at bringing actual adverse impacts to an end or minimising them without success. However, this Directive should also, fFor cases where actual adverse impacts could not be brought to an end or adequately mitigated by the described measures, refer tocompanies should have the obligation for companies to refrain from entering into new or extending existing relations with the partner in question and, where the law governing their relations so entitles them to, to. In such situations, companies should take one of the following actions: either temporarily suspend commercial relationships with the partner in question, while pursuing efforts to bring to an end or minimise the extent oftigate the adverse impact, or terminate the business relationship with respect to the activities concerned, if the adverse impact is considered sevemitigation and ceasing of the impact is made impossible, in particular due to its systemic or state-imposed nature. In order to allow companies to fulfil that obligation, Member States should provide for the availability of an option to suspend or terminate the business relationship in contracts governed by their laws. The suspension or termination of a harmful business relationship should be without prejudice to the civil liability of the company for previous damage arising from its failure to comply with the due diligence obligations under this Directive.
Amendment 88 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 42
Recital 42
(42) Companies should provide the possibility forestablish or participate in effective mechanisms that can be used by persons and organisations to easily submit complaints directly to them in case of legitimate concerns regarding actual or potential human rights and, environmental and good governance adverse impacts. Organisations who could submit such complaints should include trade unions and other workers’ representatives representing individuals working in the value chain concerned and civil society organisations active in the areas related to the value chain concerned where they have knowledge about a potential or actual adverse impact, and legal and natural persons defending human rights and the environment. Companies should establish a procedure for dealing with those complaints and inform workers, trade unions and other workers’ representatives, where relevant, about such processes. Companies should provide the possibility of submitting complaints through collaborative agreements with other companies or organisations, by participating in multi- stakeholder grievance mechanisms or joining a global framework agreement. Recourse to the complaints and remediation mechanism should not prevent the complainant from having recourse to judicial remedies, nor should the former be a prerequisite before seeking judicial remedies. In accordance with international standards, complainants should be entitled to requestceive from the company appropriate follow-up on the complaint and to meet with the company’s representatives at an appropriate level to discuss potential or actual severe adverse impacts that are the subject matter of the complaint. This access should not lead to unreasonable solicitations of companies. Companies should also be responsible for ensuring that any complainants are protected from potential retaliation and retribution, for instance by ensuring anonymity or confidentiality in the complaints process. The complaints procedure should be legitimate, accessible, predictable, safe, equitable, transparent, rights-compatible and adaptable asset out in the effectiveness criteria for non-judicial grievance mechanisms in Principle 31 of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child General Comment No 16.
Amendment 92 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 43
Recital 43
(43) Companies should monitor the implementation and effectiveness of their due diligence measures. They should carry out periodongoing and dynamic assessments of their own operations, those of their subsidiaries and, where related to the value chains of the company, those of their established business relationships, to monitor the effectiveness of the identification, prevention, minimisation, bringing to an end and mitig, mitigation and remediation of human rights and environmental adverse impacts. Such assessments should verify that potential or actual adverse impacts are properly identified, due diligence measures are implemented and adverse impacts have actually been prevented or brought to an end. In order to ensure that such assessments are up-to- date, they should be carried out at least every 12 months and be revised in-between if there are reasonable grounds to believe that significant new risks of adverse impact could have arisen.
Amendment 94 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 46
Recital 46
(46) In order to provide support and practical tools to companies or to Member State authorities on how companies should fulfil their due diligence obligations, the Commission, using relevant international guidelines and standards as a reference, and in consultation with Member States and stakeholders, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, the European Environment Agency, and where appropriate with international bodies having expertise in due diligence, should have the possibility to issue guidelines, including for specific sectors or specific adverse impacthe following aspects: specific adverse impacts, including adverse impacts on good governance; full mapping of companies’ value chains and efficient processes to monitor partners’ behaviours throughout the entire value chain; responsible and sustainable trading, purchasing and pricing policies; facilitation of access to justice for victims, including regarding collective redress, representative actions, non-discriminatory costs of proceedings and appropriate limitation periods; prevention and mitigation of retaliation risks faced by stakeholders, including human rights and environmental rights defenders, as a result of their participation; implementation of heightened due diligence in conflict-affected areas, occupation situations, and non-self- governing territories; responsible disengagement from harmful business relationships; methodology and criteria to be used by supervisory authorities to make decisions related to administrative sanctions and nature and harmonisation of effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions; assessing the integrity and fitness of industry schemes and multi- stakeholder initiatives, in particular the inclusion of the perspectives of civil society and stakeholders in audits.
Amendment 96 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 47
Recital 47
(47) Although SMEs are not included in the scope of this Directive, they could be impacted by its provisions as contractors or subcontractors to the companies which are in the scope. The aim is nevertheless to mitigate financial or administrative burden on SMEs, many of which are already struggling in the context of the global economic and sanitary crisis. In order to support SMEs, Member States should set up and operate, either individually or jointly, dedicated websites, portals or platforms, and Member States could also financially support SMEs and help them build capacity. Such support should also be made accessible, and where necessary adapted and extended to upstream economic operators in third countries. Companies whose business partner is an SME, are also encouraged to support them to comply with due diligence measures, in case such requirements would jeopardize the viability of the SME and use fair, reasonable, non-discriminatory and proportionate requirements vis-a-vis the SMEs.
Amendment 99 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 49
Recital 49
(49) The Commission and Member States should continue to work in partnership with third countries to support upstream economic operators build the capacity to effectively prevent and mitigate adverse human rights and, environmental and good governance impacts of their operations and business relationships, paying specific attention to the challenges faced by smallholders. They should use their neighbourhood, development and international cooperation instruments to support third country governments and upstream economic operators in third countries addressing adverse human rights and, environmental and good governance impacts of their operations and upstream business relationships. This could include working with partner country governments, the local private sector and stakeholders on addressing the root causes of adverse human rights and, environmental and good governance impacts.
Amendment 104 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 57
Recital 57
(57) As regards damages occurring at the level of established indirect business relationships, the liability of the company should be subject to specific conditions. The company should not be liable if it carried out specific due diligence measures. However, it should not be exonerated from liability through implementing such measures in case it was unreasonable to expect that the action actually taken, including as regards verifying compliance, would be adequate to prevent, mitigate, bring to an end or minimise the adverse impact. In addition, in the assessment of the existence and extent of liability, due account is to be taken of the company’s efforts, insofar as they relate directly to the damage in question, to comply with any remedial action required of them by a supervisory authority, any investments made and any targeted support provided as well as any collaboration with other entities to address adverse impacts in its value chains.
Amendment 107 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 61
Recital 61
(61) In order to ensure that victims of human rights and, environmental and good governance harms can bring an action for damages and claim compensation for damages arising due to a company’s failure to comply with the due diligence obligations stemming from this Directive, even where the law applicable to such claims is not the law of a Member State, as could be for instance be the case in accordance with international private law rules when the damage occurs in a third country, this Directive should require Member States to ensure that the liability provided for in provisions of national law transposing this Article is of overriding mandatory application in cases where the law applicable to claims to that effect is not the law of a Member State.
Amendment 110 #
2022/0051(COD)
(71) The objective of this Directive, namely, to promote the respect for and protection of human rights, the environment and good governance worldwide, in line with the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and making sure that products and services placed in the market have not involved violations of human right, environmental rights and good governance and better exploiting the potential of the single market to contribute to the transition to a sustainable economy and contributing to sustainable development through the prevention and mitigation of potential or actual human rights and, environmental and good governance adverse impacts in companies’ value chains, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States acting individually or in an uncoordinated manner, but can rather, by reason of the scale and effects of the actions, be better achieved at Union level. In particular, addressed problems and their causes are of a transnational dimension, as many companies are operating Union wide or globally and value chains expand to other Member States and to third countries. Moreover, individual Member States’ measures risk being ineffective and lead to fragmentation of the internal market. Therefore, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 TEU. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Directive does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective.
Amendment 118 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point a
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point a
(a) on obligations for companies regarding actual and potential human rights adverse impacts and environmental adverse impactson human rights, the environment and good governance, with respect to their own operations, the operationsproducts and services and those of their subsidiaries, and the value chain operations carried out by entities with whom the company has an established business relationship and
Amendment 119 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point a a (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point a a (new)
(a a) The rules provided for under this Directive are aimed at ensuring that companies fulfill their duty to respect human rights, the environment and good governance and that those affected by a failure to respect this duty have access to justice.
Amendment 123 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
Amendment 131 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 3
Article 1 – paragraph 3
3. This Directive shall be without prejudice to obligations in the areas of human rights, good governance, protection of the environment and climate change under other Union legislative acts. If the provisions of this Directive conflict with a provision of another Union legislative act pursuing the same objectives and providing for more extensive or more specific obligations, the provisions of the other Union legislative act shall prevail to the extent of the conflict and shall apply to those specific obligations.
Amendment 139 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) the company had more than 2500 employees on average and had a net worldwide turnover of more than EUR 1540 million in the last financial year for which annual financial statements have been prepared;
Amendment 147 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b – introductory part
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b – introductory part
(b) the company did not reach the thresholds under point (a), but had more than 250 employees on average and had a net worldwide turnover of more than EUR 40 million700 000 in the last financial year for which annual financial statements have been prepared, provided that at least 50% of this net turnover was generated in one or more of the following sectors:
Amendment 152 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b – point i
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b – point i
(i) the manufacture of textiles, wearing apparel, fur, leather and related products (including footwear), and the wholesale trade and retail of textiles, clothing and footwear;
Amendment 156 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b – point ii
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b – point ii
(ii) agriculture, forestry, fisheries (including aquaculture), the manufacture of food products, and the wholesale trade of agricultural raw materials, live animals, animal products, wood, food, and beverages;
Amendment 161 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b – point iii
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b – point iii
(iii) energy, the extraction, transport and handling of mineral resources regardless from where they are extracted (including crude petroleum, natural gas, coal, lignite, metals and metal ores, as well as all other, non-metallic minerals and quarry products), the manufacture of basic metal products, other non-metallic mineral products and fabricated metal products (except machinery and equipment), and the wholesale trade of mineral resources, basic and intermediate mineral products (including metals and metal ores, construction materials, fuels, chemicals and other intermediate products).
Amendment 164 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b – point iii a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b – point iii a (new)
(iii a) construction and related activities;
Amendment 166 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b – point iii b (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b – point iii b (new)
(iii b) the provision of financial services, such as loans, credits, financing, pensions, market funding, risk management, payment services, securitisation, insurance or reinsurance, investment services and activities and other financial services;
Amendment 190 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point a
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point a
(a) generated a net turnover of more than EUR 1540 million in the Union in the financial year preceding the last financial year;
Amendment 194 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point b
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point b
(b) generated a net turnover of more than EUR 40 million700 000 but not more than EUR 1540 million in the Union in the financial year preceding the last financial year, provided that at least 50% of its net worldwide turnover was generated in one or more of the sectors listed in paragraph 1, point (b).
Amendment 215 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point g
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point g
(g) ‘value chain’ means activities related toll upstream and downstream activities, operations, including marketing and advertising, related to, and entities involved in, the production and supply of goods or the provision of services by a company, including the development of the product or the service and the use and disposal of the product as well as the related activities of upstream and downstream established business relationships of the company. As regards companies within the meaning of point (a)(iv), ‘value chain’ with respect to the provision of these specific services shall only include the activities of the clients receiving such loan, credit, and other financial services and of other companies belonging to the same group whose activities are linked to the contract in question. The value chain of such regulated financial undertakings does not cover SMEs receiving loan, credit, financing, insurance or reinsurance of such entities;
Amendment 221 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point j
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point j
Amendment 226 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point n
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point n
(n) ‘stakeholders’ means the company’s employees, the employees of its subsidiaries, workers and their representatives, trade unions, local communities, indigenous people, human rights and environmental rights defenders, civil society organisations, company’s shareholders and other individuals, groups, communities or entities whose rights or interests are or could be affected by the potential or actual adverse impacts on human rights, the environment and good governance caused by the products, services and operations of that company, its subsidiaries and its business relationships; across the entire value chain;
Amendment 233 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point q
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point q
(q) ‘appropriate measure’ means a measure that is capable of achieving the objectives of due diligence, commensurate with in a manner proportionate to the degree of severity and the likelihood of the adverse impact, and reasonably available to the company, taking into account the circumstances of the specific case, including the nature of the adverse impact, characteristics of the economic sector and of the specific business relationship and the company’s influence thereof, and the need to ensure prioritisation of action, the nature of the company’s specific activities, products and services, and the specific business relationship.
Amendment 274 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part
Article 8 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part
As regards actual adverse impacts within the meaning of paragraph 1 that could not be brought to an end or the extent of which could not be minimistigated by the measures provided for in paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 or any other means and where there is no reasonable prospect of change, the company shall refrain from entering into new or extending existing relations with the partner in connection to or in the value chain of which the impact has arisen and shall, where the law governing their relations so entitles them to, take one of the following actions:
Amendment 279 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 1 – point a
Article 8 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 1 – point a
(a) temporarily suspend commercial relationships with the partner in question, while pursuing efforts to bring to an end or minimistigate the extent of the adverse impact, or
Amendment 280 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 1 – point a a (new)
Article 8 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 1 – point a a (new)
(a a) engage in a timely manner, efficiently and meaningfully with stakeholders impacted by the decision to suspend or terminate the relationship before reaching such decision;
Amendment 283 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 1 – point b
Article 8 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 1 – point b
(b) terminate the business relationship with respect to the activities concerned, if the adverse impact is considered sevewhere mitigation and ceasing of the impact is made impossible, in particular by its systemic or state-imposed nature.
Amendment 285 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 1 – point b a (new)
Article 8 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 1 – point b a (new)
(b a) provide for remediation of past adverse impacts pursuant to paragraph 3, point (a)
Amendment 286 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 1 – point b b (new)
Article 8 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 1 – point b b (new)
(b b) identify, prevent and mitigate the potential or actual adverse impacts related to the suspension or termination of the relationship and cooperate to remediate the impact arising from disengagement.
Amendment 290 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 2
Article 8 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 2
Member States shall provide for the availability of an option to suspend or terminate the business relationship in contracts governed by their laws.
Amendment 293 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 1
Article 9 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall ensure that companies provide the possibility forestablish or participate in effective mechanisms that can be used by persons and organisations listed in paragraph 2 to submit complaints to them where they have legitimate concerns regarding actual or potential adverse human rights impacts and adverse environmental, environmental impacts or good governance impacts with respect to their own operations, the operations of their subsidiaries and their value chains. Member States shall ensure that companies are able to provide such a possibility to submit complaints through collaborative arrangements with other companies or organisations, by participating in multi-stakeholder grievance mechanisms or joining a Global Framework Agreement. The complaint procedure shall be safe, legitimate, accessible and equitable, and shall provide for the possibility to raise complaints anonymously and confidentially. Recourse to such procedures shall not preclude claimants from having access to judicial mechanisms.
Amendment 312 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 2 – point a
Article 9 – paragraph 2 – point a
(a) persons who are affected or have reasonable grounds to believe that they might be affected by an adverse impactindividuals, groups, communities or entities whose rights or interests are or could be affected by the products, services and operations of that company, its subsidiaries and its business relationships throughout the entire value chain,
Amendment 317 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 2 – point b
Article 9 – paragraph 2 – point b
(b) the company’s employees, the employees of its subsidiaries, workers; trade unions and other workers’ representatives, including those representing individuals working in the value chain concerned,
Amendment 326 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 2 – point c
Article 9 – paragraph 2 – point c
(c) civil society organisations active in the areas related to the value chain concerned., and
Amendment 327 #
2022/0051(COD)
(c a) legal or natural persons defending human rights, good governance and the environment.
Amendment 331 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 3
Article 9 – paragraph 3
3. Member States shall ensure that the companies establish a safe procedure for dealing with complaints referred to in paragraph 1, including a procedure when the company considers the complaint to be unfounded, by ensuring that complaints are anonymous and confidential; and inform the relevant workers and trade unions of those procedures. Member States shall ensure that where the complaint is well-founded, the adverse impact that is the subject matter of the complaint is deemed to be identified within the meaning of Article 6.
Amendment 333 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 4 – point a
Article 9 – paragraph 4 – point a
(a) to requestceive timely and appropriate follow-up on the complaint from the company with which they have filed a complaint pursuant to paragraph 1, providing substantiated reasoning as to whether a claim has been considered founded or unfounded, and
Amendment 334 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 4 – point a a (new)
Article 9 – paragraph 4 – point a a (new)
(a a) Member States shall ensure that supervisory authorities are empowered to issue guidance to companies and other actors responsible for developing and administering complaints mechanisms, including in relation to their compliance with the criteria set out in this Article, in line with relevant international standards.
Amendment 343 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 13 – paragraph 1
Article 13 – paragraph 1
In order to provide support to companies or to Member State authorities on how companies should fulfil their due diligence obligations, the Commission, in consultation with Member States, representative SME organisations, business organisations and stakeholders, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, the European Environment Agency, the European Labour Authority and where appropriate with international bodies having expertise in due diligence, mayshall issue guidelines, including for specific sectors or specific adverse impacts or contexts, such as situations of conflict or occupation. The Commission may also issue guidelines on responsible and sustainable trading, purchasing and pricing practices, as well as responsible disengagement from harmful business relationships, assessing the integrity and fitness of industry schemes and multi-stakeholder initiatives and implementation of heightened due diligence in conflict-affected areas, occupation situations, and non-self- governing territories.
Amendment 357 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 14 – paragraph 3
Article 14 – paragraph 3
3. The Commission mayshall complement Member States’ support measures building on existing Union action to support due diligence in the Union and in third countries and mayshall devise new measures, including facilitation of joint stakeholder initiatives to help companies fulfil their obligations and enable stakeholders to exercise their rights. The Commission and Member States shall develop and strengthen cooperation and partnership mechanisms with third countries to address the root causes of adverse impacts on human rights, the environment and good governance, and build the capacity of upstream economic actors to comply with the requirements under this Directive.
Amendment 360 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 14 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Article 14 – paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. The Commission and European Union delegations in third countries shall complement Member States’ support measures in order to help stakeholders exercise their rights, including the submission of substantiated concerns pursuant to Article 19 and of civil claims pursuant to Article 22. Union Delegations shall be mandated to and provided with adequate resources to fulfil that facilitation and support role.
Amendment 366 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 14 – paragraph 4
Article 14 – paragraph 4
4. Companies may rely onuse credible industry schemes and multi-stakeholder initiatives to support the implementation of their obligations referred to in Articles 5 to 11 of this Directive to the extent that such schemes and initiatives are appropriate to support the fulfilment of those obligations. The Commission and the Member States may facilitate the dissemination of information on the precise scope, alignment with this Directive, and credibility of such schemes or initiatives and their outcome. The Commission, in collaboration with Member States, mayshall issue guidance for assessing the fitness of industry schemes and multi-stakeholder initiatives. The company shall be responsible for assessing the reliability and quality of any industry initiative that they use.
Amendment 374 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 22 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 22 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) they or a company under their control failed to comply with the obligations laid down in Articles 7 and 8this Directive and;
Amendment 377 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 22 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 22 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) as a result of this failure the company or a company under their control caused or contributed to an adverse impact that should have been identified, prevented, mitigated, brought to an end, remedied or its extent minimised through the appropriate measures laid down in Articles 7 and 8 occurredthis Directive and led to damage.
Amendment 411 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 29 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 29 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
No later than … [OP please insert the date = 75 years after the date of entry into force of this Directive], the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the implementation of this Directive. The report shall evaluate the effectiveness of this Directive in reaching its objectives and assess the following issues:
Amendment 416 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 29 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 29 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) whether the thresholds regarding the number of employeeworkers and net turnover laid down in Article 2(1) need to be lowered;
Amendment 425 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 29 – paragraph 1 – point d
Article 29 – paragraph 1 – point d
(d) whether Articles 4 to 14 should be extended to adverse climatditional adverse environmental, climate, biodiversity, human rights or animal welfare impacts.
Amendment 427 #
2022/0051(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 29 – paragraph 1 – point d a (new)
Article 29 – paragraph 1 – point d a (new)
(d a) the achievement of the objectives of this Directive, including the convergences in the implementation of measures between the Member States.
Amendment 1 #
2021/2074(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 3 a (new)
Citation 3 a (new)
— having regards to the Communication From The Commission To The European Parliament And The Council, 'An Action Plan For Fair And Simple Taxation Supporting The Recovery Strategy' COM(2020) 312 final,
Amendment 3 #
2021/2074(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 3 b (new)
Citation 3 b (new)
Amendment 8 #
2021/2074(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 3 c (new)
Citation 3 c (new)
— having regards to country-specific recommendations and Commission’s assessments of the substance of the recovery and resilience plans in the framework of the European Semester and the Recovery and Resilience Facility,
Amendment 9 #
2021/2074(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 3 d (new)
Citation 3 d (new)
— having regards to the conclusions of the ECOFIN Council Meeting on 1 December 1997 concerning taxation policy - Resolution of the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council of 1 December 1997 on a code of conduct for business taxation - Taxation of saving,
Amendment 11 #
2021/2074(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 3 e (new)
Citation 3 e (new)
— having regards to the Code of Conduct Group's (Business Taxation) Overview of EU Member States' preferential tax regimes examined since the creation of the COCG in March 1998 (8602/1/20 REV 1),
Amendment 14 #
2021/2074(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 3 f (new)
Citation 3 f (new)
— having regards to its resolution of 7 October 2021 on reforming the EU policy on harmful tax practices (including the reform of the Code of Conduct Group),
Amendment 15 #
2021/2074(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 a (new)
Citation 5 a (new)
— having regard to the resolution of the European Parliament on the implementation of the EU requirements for exchange of tax information: progress, lessons learnt and obstacles to overcome (2020/2046(INI)),
Amendment 24 #
2021/2074(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the issue of harmful tax practices iwas debated in the report of its Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of 21 July 2021Parliament's resolution on reforming the EU policy on harmful tax practices (including the reform of the Code of Conduct Group);
Amendment 30 #
2021/2074(INI)
B. whereas although tax policy largely remains a Member State responsibility, the single market requires a minimum degree of coordination in setting tax policy1 whereas national measures impact tax collection of other Member States and can have a distortive effect on both fair competition and investments; _________________ 1 As laid down in Articles 110-118 TFEU.
Amendment 35 #
2021/2074(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas tax policy fragmentation creates various obstacles for companies and citizens in the single market, including legal uncertainty, red tape, the risk of double taxation and difficulties claiming tax refunds; whereas these obstacles discourage cross-border economic activity in the single market; whereas policy fragmentation also creates risks for tax authorities such as double non-taxation and arbitrage possibilities (such as aggressive tax planning); whereas some tax loopholes between Member States legislations, or between Member States and third countries, have been exploited as tax avoidance schemes;
Amendment 43 #
2021/2074(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas within the EU’s social market economy, adequate tax levels and simple and clear tax laws should not distort economic actors’ decision-making; whereas sound tax policies should support the creation of jobs and economic growthfulfilment of policy objectives stated in Art. 3 of the TEU, including full employment, sustainable growth, social progress and improve the competitiveness of the EU and its Member States;
Amendment 49 #
2021/2074(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
D a. whereas the weighted average statutory corporate income tax rate in OECD countries has declined from 46.52 % in 1980 to 25.85 % in 2020, representing a 44 % reduction in the past 40 years;
Amendment 54 #
2021/2074(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the overall level of taxation (understood as taxes and compulsory actual social contributions) differs considerably between Member States, as demonstrated by the fact that the tax-to-GDP ratio varied between 22.1 % in Ireland and 46.1 % in Denmark in 20192 ; whereas on aggregate, the tax burden in the EU (40.1 %) is high even wheer than csompared toe other advanced economies (the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average was 34.3 % in 2018); _________________ 2Commission Annual Report on Taxation 2021, p. 24.
Amendment 56 #
2021/2074(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
E a. whereas some MNEs have market values above Member States’ GDP and are thus as economically resourceful as some Member States;
Amendment 57 #
2021/2074(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
E b. whereas many business models do not require physical infrastructure in order to carry out transactions with customers and make profits, allowing some multinational digital companies to pay taxes of close to zero on their revenue made in the EU; whereas these companies have a massive impact on EU consumers and the internal market but contribute close to nothing to Member States' public revenue;
Amendment 73 #
2021/2074(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recalls that Member States are free to decide on their own economic policies and in particular their own tax policies; recalls, however, that Member States must exercise this competence consistently with Union law; Reminds about the existence of the Art. 116 TFEU;
Amendment 85 #
2021/2074(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Highlights that differences in national tax regimes present obstacles to SMEs trying to operate across borders; stresses that compared to multinational enterprises, SMEs have fewer resources to spend on tax compliance and tax optimisationwhile MNEs can engage into aggressive tax planning; points out that the share of expenditure used for tax compliance purposes is higher for SMEs than for multinational enterprises; recalls that some Member States has developed schemes that would tax profits made in an international context at a lower rate than the national nominal rate, thus putting SMEs at a competitive disadvantage3a; _________________ 3a https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscor ner/detail/en/IP_19_5578
Amendment 104 #
2021/2074(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Notes that MNEs are the economic entities benefiting the most from the economic advantages of the Single Market; considers it essential to restore fair competition between SMEs and MNEs and therefore requests the Commission to assess the feasibility of a Single Market Levy;
Amendment 118 #
2021/2074(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6 b. Considers the CSR on tax a powerful tool; understands that in the Framework of the Resilience and Recovery plan, the Commission is also assessing how Member States intend to tackle aggressive tax planning; however regrets the disappearance of the assessment of Member States' tax features that can facilitate aggressive tax planning;
Amendment 120 #
2021/2074(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Highlights that the ideal level for tax policy coordination is on the international stage through the G20/OECD; notes that EU tax proposals based on international agreements have historically been more likely to be adopted by the Council; urges the Commission and Member States to work together and ensure the transposition into EU law of the Inclusive Framework agreement on the two Pillars as announced by the President of the Commission in its State of the Union Letter of Intent 2021; recognises that the economic integration of the EU requires more coordination than other economic areas; notes that when translating the BEPS 15 Action of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project from OECD/G20, the EU went further in adding Controlled Foreign Company Rules into the Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive;
Amendment 130 #
2021/2074(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Notes the withdrawal of the proposal for a Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base; urges the Commission to put forward a detailed proposal of a single corporate tax rulebook for the EU in the framework of BEFIT;
Amendment 139 #
2021/2074(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Notes that digitalisation and a heavy reliance on intangible assets that pose challenges to the current tax system warrant a high degree of policy coordination; deplornotes the fact that some Member States have pressed ahead with the introduction of national digital taxes despite ongoing negotiations at EU and OECD levels; stresses that these national measures should be phased out following the implementation of an effective international solution; reminds that the EU agreed to a digital levy as part of the own resources to finance the Next Generation EU recovery instrument and urges the Commission to come forward with alternative proposals that will be compatible with the international commitment;
Amendment 151 #
2021/2074(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Deplores the debt equity bias in corporate taxation that allows for generous tax deductions on interest payments, while equity financing costs cannot be deducted in a similar manner; highlights the structural disadvantage facing companies that rely on equity financing, which are oftenespecially if they are young and small companies with poor access to credit;
Amendment 160 #
2021/2074(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Looks forward to the Commission’s proposal for a debt equity bias reduction allowance5 ; urges the Commission to incorporate strong anti-avoidance provisions to avoid any allowance on equity to be used as a new tool for base erosion; _________________ 5Commission communication of 18 May 2021 on business taxation for the 21st century (COM(2021)0251).
Amendment 165 #
2021/2074(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Notes that the effective marginal tax rate (EMTR) is often a decisivecan be a factor for corporations making investment decisions, together with the quality of infrastructure, the availability of an educated, healthy workforce, and stability13a; notes that there is considerable variation in the EMTR across Member States; invites the Commission to look into whether some Member States are distorting competition by artificially lowering their EMTR, e.g. through accelerated depreciation schedules or adjusting the tax deductibility of certain items;, and to communicate its results to the Parliament; _________________ 13a Klaus Schwab, World Economic Forum, The Global Competitiveness Report 2019
Amendment 173 #
2021/2074(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Highlights that tax incentives for private research and development (e.g. via tax credits, enhanced allowances or adjusted depreciation schedules) can help to lift an economy’s overall spending towards research and development, which often comes with positive externalities; is concerned, however, that certain types of tax incentives such as patent box / intellectual property box regimes do little to increase research and development spending and may actually distort the single market; recommends incentives that target input of innovation rather than output, meaning incentives that are costs- based and not profit-based;
Amendment 178 #
2021/2074(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Stresses that further harmonisation regarding tax incentives for research and development spending may be warranted; notes that that this was part of the Commission’s initial common corporate tax base proposal; deplores the fact that the topic was not addressed in the recent communication on business taxation for the 21st century; demands the Commission to propose guidelines on tax incentives that are not distortive for the Single Market, notably by favouring incentives that are cost-based, limited in time, regularly assessed, and repealed in case of no positive impact, limited in geographical scope and rather partial than full exemptions;
Amendment 180 #
2021/2074(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Amendment 185 #
2021/2074(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15 a. Considers that tax certainty would be reinforced if Member States had a common understanding of what tax incentives are not distortive; calls the Commission to issue guidelines on tax incentives that are not distortive for the Single Market;
Amendment 190 #
2021/2074(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15 b. Asks the Commission to follow up and monitor new national tax reforms or measures implemented as a result of the pandemic to sustain the economy, especially those measures that were not temporary;
Amendment 205 #
2021/2074(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Takes note ofWelcomes the Commission’s ongoing work on an EU taxation scoreboard and calls on the Commission to inform Parliament about its political intentions a; recommends the possible financial implications of this systemrecourse to economic indicators that will allow for the identifications of distortion of the Single Market, such as the levels of FDI, royalties and interests payments; suggests that such work allows for the establishment of enhanced country specific recommendations to Member States that would help ensure well coordinated tax policies across the EU;
Amendment 19 #
2021/2063(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 15 a (new)
Citation 15 a (new)
— having regard to the ECB economy-wide climate stress-test of September 2021,
Amendment 58 #
2021/2063(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
E b. whereas the main physical risks identified in the ECB's economy-wide climate stress test are the risks of wildfires, which is unequally distributed in the Eurozone; whereas transition risks due to exposures in high-emitting industries are more equally spread in the Eurozone;
Amendment 62 #
2021/2063(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital E c (new)
Recital E c (new)
E c. whereas current price-increases due to gas shortages indicate the importance of the environmental transition to maintain price stability;
Amendment 251 #
2021/2063(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Regrets the fact that green bond issuance in the EU represents only 2.6 % of the EU’s total bond issuance, but welcomes the creation of an EU Green Bond Standard as a way to increase the EU's dominance in this market; calls on the ECB to support the EU Green Bond Standard by creating space for their purchase in its asset portfolio;
Amendment 268 #
2021/2063(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19 a. Considers additional capital requirements and concentration limits for exposures to high emitting sectors an effective way to address the significant transition risks found in the ECB's economy-wide climate stress test;
Amendment 23 #
2021/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the European Semester plays an essential role in coordinating economic and budgetary policies in the Member States and it was temporarily adapted to coordinate it with the Recovery and Resilience Facility;
Amendment 58 #
2021/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
Ha. Whereas the corporate income tax rate in the European Union has been reduced by more than half since 1980s, from 50 % in 1985 to 21 % now1a; _________________ 1a https://www.taxobservatory.eu
Amendment 60 #
2021/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital H b (new)
Recital H b (new)
Hb. whereas the EU is estimated to lose between €160 and €190 billion each year due to corporate tax avoidance2a; _________________ 2a https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/ etudes/STUD/2016/558776/EPRS_STU(2 016)558776_EN.pdf
Amendment 62 #
2021/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital H d (new)
Recital H d (new)
Hd. whereas the ECB predicted that a lack of action on climate change could reduce Europe’s GDP in the long-term by some 20pp; whereas such a reduction in growth rates would imply huge human cost and be detrimental to the long-term sustainability of public finances in the Euro zone4a; _________________ 4a https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/other/ ecb.climateriskfinancialstability202107~8 7822fae81.en.pdf
Amendment 64 #
2021/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas aspects relating to the possible future of the EU economic governance framework were dealt with by the review of the macroeconomic legislative framework in the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary AffairsEuropean Parliament of 228 Junely 2021 dedicated to that issue;
Amendment 154 #
2021/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Underlines that fiscal responsibility can be achieved not only by imposing limits to spending, but also by increasing revenues for government; supports governments’ efforts to increase revenues through the closing of loopholes for tax avoidance and the increasing of capital-gains, wealth and corporate income taxes;
Amendment 156 #
2021/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Supports cooperation by governments at both the EU and global level to put an end to the global race to the bottom in tax rates and increase their ability to levy taxes; shames the EU countries participating in the Inclusive Framework who have not yet signed on to the global minimum effective tax rate, Estonia, Ireland and Hungary, for undermining the ability of EU governments to raise sufficient revenues, thereby damaging the long-term fiscal sustainability of the EU; Reminds that Cyprus does not participate in the negotiations under the Inclusive Framework; Urges these four countries to support a minimum effective tax rate at the EU level;
Amendment 191 #
2021/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -13 (new)
Paragraph -13 (new)
-13. Considers that coordinating national investment and reform efforts will be crucial to increase convergence and resilience, to promote sustainable and inclusive growth and to improve institutional frameworks;
Amendment 196 #
2021/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Highlights that the RRF is an unprecedented opportunity for all Member States to address key structural challenges and investment needs, while embracing the green and digital transitions; stresses that restoring the growth potential will be a key element for the structural transformations needed to adapt to the challenges;
Amendment 231 #
2021/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Worries that without a concerted effort to invest in the transition to a sustainable economy, European economies will suffer long-lasting damage, undermining any efforts to promote sustainable fiscal policies; strongly supports the incentivising of sustainable investments by sovereigns, including through the EU Green Bond Standard;
Amendment 241 #
2021/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Is concerned that the Commission identified macroeconomic vulnerabilities related to imbalances and excessive imbalances in 12 Member States; is particularly worried that the nature and source of Member States’ imbalances remain largely the same as prior to the pandemic and that the pandemic could also be exacerbating economic divergences; notes the vulnerabilities in the financial sector as a result of the pandemic and calls on the Commission to pay close attention to national actions in relation to macro-financial stability, notably the risks of financial spillovers in the euro area; calls on the Member States to take advantage of the unprecedented opportunity provided by the RRF to significantly reduce existing macroeconomic imbalances;
Amendment 264 #
2021/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Acknowledges that climate change risks within and across countries are macro-critical threats to financial and fiscal systems and considers that macro- critical aspects of climate change need to be incorporated into EU enhanced surveillance; calls on the Commission, in this regards, to monitor in particular cross-border spillovers risks;
Amendment 266 #
2021/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 b (new)
Paragraph 19 b (new)
19b. Considers that the adaptation of the European Semester to coordinate the Recovery and Resilience Facility gives the former more credibility and ownership; further considers that National Recovery and Resilience plans should effectively address challenges identified in the European Semester; stresses that the framework of the RRF in terms of its structure, function and governance addresses many of the previous shortcomings indicated by Members States; considers that the disbursement of RRF funding and their approval process, with a more active role of the European Parliament, will create a more dynamic political process based on incentives- approach in contrast with the current system;
Amendment 270 #
2021/2061(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 c (new)
Paragraph 19 c (new)
19c. Calls on the Commission to align the 2022 European Semester cycle with the monitoring and implementation of the Recovery and Resiliency Facility; notes that according to the RRF Regulation, Member States should report twice a year in the context of the European Semester on the progress made in the achievement of the recovery and resilience plan and the Commission shall provide an annual report to the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation of the Facility; calls on, in this regard, to assess how the current European Semester tools such as the Country-Reports and In-depth Reviews could be adapted in order to ensure a true value added in the Semester process;
Amendment 5 #
2021/2011(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the new EU Action Plan on Critical Raw Materials and stresses that EU trade policy can play a key role as a vehicle for improving EU access to these materials; notes that the EU 2020 reviewed list contains 30 critical raw materials including four newly added; notes that the COVID-19 outbreak has exposed the lack of resilience of global value chains for certain key products, showing the need for more robust and resilient sustainable supply chains for critical raw materials; notes that the monitoring of commodity dependencies and securing access to critical raw materials should be one of the key elements in the implementation of EU’s open strategic autonomy;
Amendment 22 #
2021/2011(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes that demand for raw materials is projected to double by 2050 and that the EU is highly reliant on non-EU countries for critical raw materials, making diversified sourcing, as well as processing and refining, essential to increase the EU’s security of supply; calls, therefore, on the Commission to diversify thpromote diversification of the sustainable and responsible supply sources of critical raw materials as much as possible, and reduce current reliance on a few countries; calls on the Commission to focus also on securing supplies by establishing strategic stocks and appropriate stockpiling of critical raw materials in Europe, particularly in light of the uncertainties linked to the evolution of the geopolitical situation worldwide and the potential trade tensions with rich non- EU producer countries;
Amendment 31 #
2021/2011(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Calls in this respect for increased cooperation of investors and all relevant stakeholders, including industrial actors along the value chain, Member States and regions, trade unions, civil society, research and technology organisations, investors and NGOs within the sectors of EU economy most affected by bottlenecks in critical raw materials supply either using the framework offered by the European Raw Materials Alliance or forming sector specific industry and stakeholder alliances to address shortages in supply of critical raw materials; such cooperation should aim at analysing supply chain bottlenecks, strategic stockpiling of critical resources and funding research on exploration of new sourcing sites and technologies;
Amendment 39 #
2021/2011(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Underlines that future EU free trade agreements (FTAs) should include a specific focus on raw materials; calls on the Commission to further enhance the enforcement of FTAs, using all EU trade policy tools available including the ability to tackle any non-compliance by partners through unilateral sanctions, to ensure that commitments and obligations on sourcing of critical raw materials are met by trading partners; calls on the Commission to strengthen cooperation on sustainable sourcing of raw materials with third countries, under existing EU policies and instruments, including enlargement, neighbourhood, development and cooperation policies; calls on the Commission to form and strengthen strategic partnerships with sourcing countries, as well as further reinforce the cooperation within the framework of the EU-US-Japan Conference on Critical Materials with enhanced cooperation of Australia and Canada and other like- minded sourcing countries;
Amendment 61 #
2021/2011(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 f (new)
Paragraph 3 f (new)
3f. Underlines that any new sourcing activities of companies operating in the EU market have to adhere to the Conflict Minerals Regulation, rules on responsible sourcing described in the Non-Financial Reporting Directive, as well as comply with the international standards of responsible commodity sourcing and be subject to a mandatory and binding due diligence throughout the entire supply chain to combat child and forced labour and other breaches of human and workers’ rights;
Amendment 64 #
2021/2011(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Underlines that a fully functioning rules-based multilateral trading system is also key to ensuring open trade flows of critical raw materials; renews its call on the Commission, in this regard, to pursue its efforts for the modernisation, strengthening and substantial reactivation of the World Trade Organization to fight distortions of international trade and guarantee effective competition worldwide; calls on the Commission to use the international fora to curtail distortive export restrictions of critical raw materials, imposing of export tariffs and distortive taxes on investment in critical raw materials sourcing which block open and fair trade in critical raw materials;
Amendment 69 #
2021/2011(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Calls on the Commission, the European Investment Bank and other European Union institutions to promote and support investment in new critical raw materials sourcing, processing and refining sites in cooperation with the countries in the European Neighbourhood and the Global South (with special attention to the Western Balkans, Africa and Latin America) as a part of a long-term international sourcing strategy which engages European and international partners and SMEs; stresses that the investments should be compliant with the EU taxonomy for environmentally sustainable economic activities and that we should only support responsible mining practices that prevent environment degradation and protect the interests of local communities and international human rights standards;
Amendment 596 #
2021/0342(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 23 – point a
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 23 – point a
(a) a stand-alone institution in the EU and, for the purposes of complying with the obligations of this Regulation on the basis of its consolidated situation in accordance with Part One, Title II, Chapter 2, an EU parent institution, an EU parent financial holding company and an EU parent mixed financial holding companyinstitutions shall calculate the total risk exposure amount as follows:
Amendment 608 #
2021/0342(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 23 – point a
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 23 – point a
Regulation (EU) No 575/2013
Article 92 – paragraph 3 – point b
Article 92 – paragraph 3 – point b
Amendment 616 #
2021/0342(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 23 – point a
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 23 – point a
Regulation (EU) No 575/2013
Article 92 – paragraph 3 – point c
Article 92 – paragraph 3 – point c
Amendment 635 #
2021/0342(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 23 – point b
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 23 – point b
Regulation (EU) No 575/2013
Article 92 – paragraph 6
Article 92 – paragraph 6
Amendment 1147 #
2021/0342(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 172 a (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 172 a (new)
Regulation (EU) No 575/2013
Article 429a – paragraph 1 – point c a (new)
Article 429a – paragraph 1 – point c a (new)
(172 a) in Article 429a(1), the following point is added: (ca) where the institution is a member of the network referred to in Article 113(7), the exposures that are assigned a risk weight of 0% in accordance with Article 114 and arising from assets being an equivalent of deposits in the same currency of other members of that network stemming from legal or statutory minimum deposit in accordance with Article 422(3), point (b). In such a case exposures of other members of that network being legal or statutory minimum deposit are not subject to point c).
Amendment 1203 #
2021/0342(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 196
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 196
1. By way of derogation from Article 92, paragraphs 3 and 6, parent institutions, parent financial holding companies, parent mixed financial holding companies, stand-alone institutions in the EU or stand-alone subsidiary institutions in Member States may apply the following factor ‘x’ where calculating TREA:
Amendment 1214 #
2021/0342(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 196
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 196
Regulation (EU) No 575/2013
Article 465 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Article 465 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
2. By way of derogation from Article 92(3), point (a), EU parent institutions, EU parent financial holding companies or an EU parent mixed financial holding companies, stand-alone institutions in the EU or stand-alone subsidiary institutions in Member States may, until 31 December 2029, apply the following formula when calculating TREA:
Amendment 1223 #
2021/0342(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 196
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 196
Regulation (EU) No 575/2013
Article 465 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2
Article 465 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2
For the purposes of that calculation, EU parent institutions, EU parent financial holding companies or an EU parent mixed financial holding companies shall take into account the relevant factors ‘x’ referred to in paragraph 1.
Amendment 85 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 1
Recital 1
(1) The Commission has, in its communication on the European Green Deal31 , set out a new growth strategy that aims to transform the Union into a fair and prosperous society, with a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy, where there are no net emissions (emissions after deduction of removals) of greenhouse gases (‘GHG emissions’) in 2050 and where economic growth is decoupled from resource use. The European Green Deal also aims to protect, conserve and enhance the EU’s natural capital, and protect the health and well- being of citizens and future generations from environment-related risks and impacts. At the same time, that transformation must be just and inclusive, leaving no one behind. The Commission also announced in its EU Action Plan: Towards Zero Pollution for Air, Water and Soil32 the promotion of relevant instruments and incentives to better implement the polluter pays principle as set out in Article 191(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (‘TFEU’) and thus complete the phasing out of ‘pollution for free’ with a view to maximising synergies between decarbonisation and the zero pollution ambition. _________________ 31 Communication from the Commission of 11 December 2019 on the European Green Deal (COM(2019) 640 final). 32 Communication from the Commission of 12 May 2021 on Pathway to a Healthy Planet for All (COM(2021) 400).
Amendment 97 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 8
Recital 8
(8) As long as a significant number of the Union’s international partners have policy approaches that do not result in the same level of climate ambition and action in mitigating climate change, there is a risk of carbon leakage. Carbon leakage occurs if, for reasons of costs related to climate policies, businesses in certain industry sectors or subsectors were to transfer production to other countries that do not tax GHG emissions or tax at a lower rate or imports from those countries would replace equivalent but less GHG emissions intensive products. That could lead to an increase in their total emissions globally, thus jeopardising the reduction of GHG emissions that is urgently needed if the world is to keep the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre- industrial levels. The risk of carbon leakage is particularly prevalent in trade- exposed and carbon-intensive industrial sectors.
Amendment 107 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) The initiative for a carbon border adjustment mechanism (‘CBAM’) is a part of the ‘Fit for 55 Package’. That mechanism is to serve as an essential element of the EU toolbox to meet the objective of a climate-neutral Union by 2050 in line with the Paris Agreement by addressing risks of carbon leakage resulting from the increased Union climate ambition whilst ensuring a sustainable level playing field and by incentivising more ambitious climate action internationally.
Amendment 109 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12
Recital 12
(12) While the objective of the CBAM is to lower global carbon emissions by preventing the risk of carbon leakage, this Regulation would also encourage the use of more GHG emissions-efficient technologies by producers from third countries, so that less emissions per unit of output are generated. Special attention, intensive dialogue, administrative, technical and financial support is needed regarding LDCs, empowering them to reach the green transition in a sustainable and fair way and enabling them to be full- fledged participators in global sustainable trade;
Amendment 115 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12 a (new)
Recital 12 a (new)
(12 a) To meet the Union objectives and international commitments, such as those under WTO agreements and the Paris agreement and in line with the principle of CBDR, the Commission should come forward with a proposal and sufficient funding to support LDCs in complying with the various CBAM requirements. This should entail, amongst others, the necessary administrative and technical assistance and financial support to facilitate LDC’s adaptation to the new obligations established by this regulation as well as support the help them cut emissions and accomplish the green transition.
Amendment 117 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12 b (new)
Recital 12 b (new)
(12 b) In the transitional phase, producers of LDCs in the sectors covered by the CBAM should be supported in complying with the administrative requirements of the CBAM and assisted in mapping the real emissions of their production processes. At the same time, possible environmental and energy improvements in the production process (such as regarding raw material use, circular economy aspects, energy efficiency and use of renewable energy) should be proposed, technical and knowledge transfers should take place and best practices should be shared.
Amendment 118 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12 c (new)
Recital 12 c (new)
(12 c) During the implementation phase, when revenues will be generated from the sale of CBAM certificates and the financial consequences of the CBAM will be sensed in third countries, sufficient support and funding should be attributed to helping LDCs in implementing the environment, climate, energy and resource related improvements to help them lower emissions, cut CBAM costs and accomplish the green transition.
Amendment 128 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11
Recital 11
(11) The CBAM seeks to replace these existing mechanisms by addressing the risk of carbon leakage in a different way, namely by ensuring equivalent carbon pricing for imports and domestic products. To ensure a gradual transition from the current system of free allowances to the CBAM, the CBAM should be progressively phased in while free allowances in sectors covered by the CBAM are phased out. The combined and transitional application of EU ETS allowances allocated free of charge and of the CBAM should in no case result in more favourable treatment for Union goods compared to goods imported into the customs territory of the Union. This gradual transition shall be supported by a review mechanism in which the Commission assesses the gradual implementation of the instrument, including the need for its scope extension.
Amendment 141 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12
Recital 12
(12) While the objective of the CBAM is to prevent the risk of carbon leakage, this Regulation would also encourage the deployment and use of more GHG emissions-efficient technologies by producers from third countries, so that less emissions per unit of output are generated.
Amendment 162 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) In order to exclude from the CBAM third countries or territories fully integrated into, or linked, to the EU ETS and where the carbon costs are equivalent to the ones under the EU ETS, in the event of future agreements, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of TFEU should be delegated to the Commission in respect of amending the list of countries in Annex II. Conversely, those third countries or territories should be excluded from the list in Annex II and be subject to CBAM whereby they do not effectively charge the ETS price on goods exported to the Union.
Amendment 185 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 24
Recital 24
(24) In terms of sanctions, Member States should apply penalties to infringements of this Regulation and ensure that they are implemented. The amount of those penalties should be identical to penalties currently applied within the Union in case of infringement of EU ETS according to Article 16(3) and (4) of Directive 2003/87/EC. Penalties to infringements of this Regulation, including for attempts at circumvention, should be dissuasive.
Amendment 191 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 28
Recital 28
(28) Whilst the ultimate objective of the CBAM is a broad product coverage, it would be prudent to start with a selected number of sectors with relatively homogeneous products where there is a risk of carbon leakage. Union sectors deemed at risk of carbon leakage are listed in Commission Delegated Decision 2019/70842 . The Commission should set up a review mechanism in order to better assess the broadening of the broad product coverage, including downstream products covered by this Regulation. _________________ 42 Commission Delegated Decision (EU) 2019/708 of 15 February 2019 supplementing Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the determination of sectors and subsectors deemed at risk of carbon leakage for the period 2021 to 2030 (OJ L 120, 8.5.2019, p. 2).
Amendment 201 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 39 a (new)
Recital 39 a (new)
(39a) The declaration should be harmonised with a common template and based on standardised carbon accounting methodologies and reporting requirements for embedded emissions in order to ensure a more effective and less contentious implementation of the CBAM.
Amendment 202 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 39 b (new)
Recital 39 b (new)
(39b) While competent authorities are responsible to handle requests for authorisations and to manage national registries and CBAM certificates, all the necessary information and data should be transmitted to the Commission through a central registry database. The Commission has the responsibility to ensure the coordination of national registries inclusive of accounts of authorised declarants and accredited verifiers, it should act as a central administration and it has the power to request to competent authorities whenever it considers relevant information to tackle practices of circumvention, to avoid risks of mismanagement of declarations and CBAM certificates as well as fraud.
Amendment 203 #
2021/0214(COD)
(42) The system should allow operators of production installations in third countries to register in a central database and to make their verified embedded GHG emissions from production of goods available to authorised declarants. An operator should be able to choose not to have its name, address and contact details in the central database made accessible to the public.
Amendment 213 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 53
Recital 53
(53) In light of the above, an extensive dialogue with third countries should continue and t, trade partners, EU’s and third country’s industries, federations, international organisations, NGO’s, think tanks and all other involved stakeholders should continue in order to boost global climate action and maximize engagement and the chances of the CBAM succeeding. There should be space for cooperation and solutions that could inform the specific choices that will be made on the details of the design of the measure during the implementation, in particular during the transitional period.
Amendment 216 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 52
Recital 52
(52) The Commission should evaluate the application of this Regulation before the end of the transitional period and report to the European Parliament and the Council. The report of the Commission should in particular focus on possibilities to enhance climate actions towards the objective of a climate neutral Union by 2050 whilst preventing distortion of competition in the EU and global markets. The Commission should, as part of that evaluation, initiate collection of information necessary to possibly extend the scope to indirect emissions, as well as to other goods and services at risk of carbon leakage, such as downstream products using goods initially covered by this Regulation, and to develop methods of calculating embedded emissions based on the environmental footprint methods47 . The report should be based upon a review mechanism that assesses, in particular, the implementation of the Regulation vis- à-vis its objectives and the governance system. If appropriate, the report should be accompanied by legislative proposals whose entry into force should be consistent with the start of the implementation of CBAM. _________________ 47 Commission Recommendation 2013/179/EU of 9 April 2013 on the use of common methods to measure and communicate the life cycle environmental performance of products and organisations (OJ L 124, 4.5.2013, p. 1).
Amendment 228 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 54
Recital 54
(54) The Commission should strive to engage in an even handed manner and in line with the international obligations of the EU, with the third countries whose trade to the EU is affected by this Regulation, to explore possibilities for dialogue and cooperation with regard to the implementation of specific elements of the Mechanism set out this Regulation and related implementing acts. It should also explore possibilities for concluding agreements to take into account their carbon pricing mechanism and their decarbonisation policies.
Amendment 232 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 55
Recital 55
(55) As the CBAM aims to encourage cleaner production processes, the EU stands ready to work with low and middle- income countries towards the de- carbonisation of their manufacturing industries. Moreover, the Union should support less developed countries with the necessary technical assistance in order to facilitate their adaptation to the new obligations established by this regulation. The Union should make use of the Union policies and the Union budget to support those action, if appropriate.
Amendment 233 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 55 a (new)
Recital 55 a (new)
(55a) The European Green Deal and the new emission reductions targets will necessitate massive investments for a sustainable and fair transition. In this regard, keeping competitiveness of the EU industry in the decarbonisation efforts is essential not only for the sake of keeping jobs and a prosperous European economy. The Union and Member States should make use of its policies and budgets to provide the incentives to boost the competitiveness of low-carbon exports through namely the support to innovation.
Amendment 238 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 55 b (new)
Recital 55 b (new)
(55b) On 16 December 2020, the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission concluded the Interinstitutional agreement on budgetary discipline, cooperation on budgetary matters and sound financial management as well as on new own resources, including a roadmap towards the introduction of new own resources (IIA). The repayment of the principal of borrowed funds, by the Commission on behalf of the Union, to be used for expenditure under the European Union Recovery Instrument and the related interest due will have to be financed by the general budget of the Union, including by sufficient proceeds from new own resources introduced after 2021. Therefore, on 22 December 2021, the Commission proposed to amend the Own Resources Decision so that 75% of the revenues generated by a carbon border adjustment mechanism become an own resource for the EU budget. It is the responsibility of Member States to collect revenues from the sale of carbon border adjustment mechanism certificates.
Amendment 244 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1
Article 1 – paragraph 1
1. This Regulation establishes a carbon border adjustment mechanism (the ‘CBAM’) for addressing greenhouse gas emissions embedded in the goods referred to in Annex I, upon their importation into the customs territory of the Union, in order to prevent the risk of carbon leakage and safeguard fair and undistorted competition, ensuring a sustainable level playing field for all.
Amendment 259 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1
Article 2 – paragraph 1
1. This Regulation applies to goods as listed in Annex I, originating in a third country, when those goods, or processed products from those goods as resulting from the inward processing procedure referred to in Article 256 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council53 , are imported into the customs territory of the Union. Annex I shall be regularly assessed and potentially revised to take into account the establishment of a fair level playing field as referred in Article 30. _________________ 53 Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 October 2013 laying down the Union Customs Code (OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 1).
Amendment 273 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 18
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 18
(18) ‘CBAM certificate’ means a certificate, common to all Members States, in electronic format corresponding to one tonne of embedded emissions in goods;
Amendment 281 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 3 – point h a (new)
Article 5 – paragraph 3 – point h a (new)
(ha) the name and contact details of the third country competent authority in charge of collecting the carbon price paid by the operator in that third country, when relevant;
Amendment 286 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 6
Article 5 – paragraph 6
6. The Commission is empowered to adopt implementing acts, concerning the single standard format of the application and the delays and procedure to be followed by the competent authority when processing applications for authorisation in accordance with paragraph 1 and the rules for identification by the competent authority of the declarants for the importation of electricity. The format of the application shall allow for machine readability in order to ease the exchange of information across Member States. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 29(2).
Amendment 287 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 6 a (new)
Article 5 – paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Competent authorities shall submit the standardised declaration form to a national registry and they should set up individual accounts of authorised declarants. Once the information is transmitted to a central registry, the Commission may request to remaining competent authorities any proof regarding the information established in paragraph 3(d).
Amendment 299 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – introductory part
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – introductory part
3. The Commission is empowered to adopt implementing acts concerning the principles of verification referred to in paragraph 1 as regards the possibility to waiveaccuracy of the information in the CBAM declaration, the obligation for the verifier to visit the installation where relevant goods are produced and the obligation to set thresholds for deciding whether misstatements or non-conformities are material and concerning the supporting documentation needed for the verification report.
Amendment 301 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 2
Article 9 – paragraph 2
2. The authorised declarant shall keep records of the documentation, certified by an independent personaccredited verifier, required to demonstrate that the declared embedded emissions were subject to a carbon price in the country of origin of the goods and keep evidence of the proof of the actual payment for that carbon price which should not have been subject to an export rebate or any other form of compensation on exportation.
Amendment 310 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 1
Article 10 – paragraph 1
1. The Commission shall, upon request by an operator of an installation located in a third country, register the information on that operator and on its installation in a central registry database referred to in Article 14(4) accessible by national competent authorities.
Amendment 311 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 2 – point c a (new)
Article 10 – paragraph 2 – point c a (new)
(ca) the name and contact details of the third country competent authority in charge of collecting the carbon price paid by the operator in that third country, when relevant;
Amendment 326 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 11 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 11 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Competent authorities shall set up national registries with accounts of authorised declarants. These accounts shall be connected and interchangeable with all competent authorities and automatically integrated in a central registry system managed by the Commission.
Amendment 343 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – title
Article 14 – title
National registries and EU central registry database
Amendment 346 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 1
Article 14 – paragraph 1
1. The competent authority of each Member State shall establish a national registry of declarants authorised in that Member State in the form of a standardised electronic database containing the data regarding the CBAM certificates of those declarants, and to provide for confidentiality in accordance with the conditions set out in Article 13. Such a standardised electronic database shall be built to be compatible with the EU central database built by the Commission, meaning the data can be automatically uploaded into the central database.
Amendment 350 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 2 – point d a (new)
Article 14 – paragraph 2 – point d a (new)
(da) new the carbon price paid in a third country for related embedded emissions;
Amendment 351 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 2 – point d b (new)
Article 14 – paragraph 2 – point d b (new)
(db) the report of the accredited verifier;
Amendment 352 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 2 – point d c (new)
Article 14 – paragraph 2 – point d c (new)
(dc) the procedures regarding the surrender of CBAM certificates.
Amendment 353 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 3
Article 14 – paragraph 3
3. The Commission shall establish a central database that would automatically collect the information referred to in paragraph 2 which shall be automatically accessible to competent authorities of each Member States. The information in the database referred to in paragraph 2 shall be confidential unless specified otherwise in paragraph 4.
Amendment 354 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Article 14 – paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. The central registry database aims to ensure an efficient and transparent management of the information provided by the authorised declarant and it shall be managed by the Commission. The Commission may ask further information to competent authorities to ensure the consistency of the information provided by the declarant and for purposes of its reports.
Amendment 362 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 3
Article 15 – paragraph 3
3. If irregularities are identified as a result of the controls carried out under paragraph 2, the Commission shall inform the Member State or Member States concerned for further investigation in order to correct the identified irregularities within 3 months.
Amendment 373 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 4
Article 16 – paragraph 4
4. If the authorised declarant has ceased its economic activity or its authorisation was revoked, the competent authority shall close the account of that declarant after 2 years.
Amendment 377 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 17 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) the declarant has not been involved in a serious infringement or repeated infringements of customs legislation, taxation rules and market abuse rules and has no record of serious criminal offences relating to its economic activity during the five years preceding the application; the declarant is not resident for tax purposes in, or incorporated under the laws of, jurisdictions that feature on the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions;
Amendment 397 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 24 a (new)
Article 24 a (new)
Article 24 a Revenues from the sale of CBAM certificates In line with the Union objectives and international commitments, such as those under WTO agreements, the Paris agreement and the CBDR principle, the Commission should come forward with a proposal and sufficient funding to support LDCs. This should entail, amongst others, the necessary administrative and technical assistance and financial support to facilitate LDC’s adaptation to the new obligations established by this regulation and the accomplishment of a sustainable transition. In the transitional phase, producers of LDCs in the sectors covered by the CBAM should be supported in complying with the administrative requirements of the CBAM and assisted in mapping the real emissions of their production processes. At the same time, possible environmental and energy improvements in the production process (such as regarding raw material use, circular economy aspects, energy efficiency and use of renewable energy) should be proposed, technical and knowledge transfers should take place and best practices should be shared. During the implementation phase, when revenues will be generated from the sale of CBAM certificates and the financial consequences of the CBAM will be sensed in third countries, sufficient support and funding should be attributed to helping LDCs in implementing the environment, climate, energy and resource related improvements to lower emissions, cut CBAM costs and accomplish the green transition.
Amendment 406 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 9 a (new)
Article 17 – paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. The competent authority informs the competent authorities of other Member States and the Commission on any refusal or revocation by introducing the necessary information in the national registry that shall be immediately transferred to the central database.
Amendment 437 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 23 – paragraph 1
Article 23 – paragraph 1
1. The competent authority of each Member State shall, on request by a declarant authorised in that Member State, re-purchase the excess of CBAM certificates remaining on the account of the declarant in the national registry after the certificates have been surrendered in accordance with Article 22. The request to re-purchase shall be submitted by 30 June of each year when CBAM certificates were surrendered. The competent authority shall immediately inform the Commission of the request through the central registry database.
Amendment 468 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 27 – paragraph 2
Article 27 – paragraph 2
2. Practices of circumvention include situations where a change in the pattern of trade in relation to goods included in the scope of this Regulation has insufficient due cause or economic justification other than avoiding obligations as laid down in this Regulation and consist, inter alia, in replacing those goods with slightly modified products, which are not included in the list of goods in Annex I but belong to a sector included in the scope of this Regulation or practices of resource shuffling.
Amendment 479 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 27 – paragraph 3
Article 27 – paragraph 3
3. A Member State or any party affected or benefitted by the situations described in paragraph 2 may notify the Commission if it is confronted, over a two- month period compared with the same period in the preceding year with a significant decrease in the volume of imported goods included in the scope of this Regulation and an increase of volume of imports of slightly modified products, which are not included in the list of goods in Annex I. The Commission shall continually monitor any significant change of pattern of trade of goods, resource shuffling and slightly modified products at Union level.
Amendment 487 #
2021/0214(COD)
5. Where the Commission, taking into account the relevant data, reports and statistics, including when provided by the customs authorities of Member States, has sufficient reasons to believe that the circumstances referred to in paragraph 3 are occurring in one or more Member States, it is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 28 to supplement the scope of this Regulation in order to include slightly modified products or practices of resource shuffling for anti- circumvention purposes.
Amendment 506 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 30 – paragraph 1
Article 30 – paragraph 1
1. The Commission shall collect the information necessary with a view to extending the scope of this Regulation to indirect emissions and goods other than those listed in Annex I, and develop methods of calculating embedded emissions based on environmental footprint methodsuch as downstream products using goods covered by this Regulation, notably taking into consideration both environmental risks and the necessity to maintain a sustainable level playing field, and develop methods of calculating embedded emissions based on environmental footprint methods. Particular attention should be given to goods such as organic basic chemicals, hydrogen and polymers.
Amendment 517 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 30 – paragraph 2
Article 30 – paragraph 2
2. Before the end of the transitional period and every five years after that, the Commission shall present a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the application of this Regulation. The report shall contain, in particular, the assessment of the possibilities to further extend the scope of embedded emissions to indirect emissions and to other goods at risk of carbon leakage than those already covered by this Regulation, as well as an assessment of the state of implementation of the Regulation, including how it is fulfilling its objectives, and its governance system. It shall also contain the assessment of the possibility to further extend the scope to embedded emissions of transportation services as well as to consider goods further down the value chain and services that may be subject to the risk of carbon leakage in the future. The Commission can use the confidential information of the central database if relevant, but any report should ensure such data is anonymised.
Amendment 522 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 30 – paragraph 3
Article 30 – paragraph 3
3. The report by the Commission shall, if appropriate, be accompanied by afurther legislative proposals.
Amendment 533 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 31 – paragraph 2
Article 31 – paragraph 2
2. The Commission is empowered to adopt implementingdelegated acts laying down a calculation methodology for the reduction referred to in paragraph 1. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 29(2).
Amendment 537 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 35 – paragraph 2 – point d
Article 35 – paragraph 2 – point d
(d) the carbon price due in a country of origin for the embedded emissions in the imported goods, which is not subject to an export rebate or other form of compensation on exportation.
Amendment 540 #
2021/0214(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 35 – paragraph 3
Article 35 – paragraph 3
3. The competent authority shall communicate the information referred to in paragraph 2 to the Commission at the latest two months after the end of the quarter covered by a report and the information shall be available in the central registry database.
Amendment 103 #
2021/0171(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Recital 47
Recital 47
(47) The assessment of creditworthiness should be based on information on the financial and economic situation, including income and expenses, of the consumer. The European Banking Authority Guidelines on loan origination and monitoring (EBA/GL/2020/06) provide guidelines on what categories of data may be used for the processing of personal data for creditworthiness purposes, which include evidence of income or other sources of repayment, information on financial assets and liabilities, or information on other financial commitments. At the same time, the extent of the check should be proportional to the amount of the credit given and, thus, the proportionality should be defined by EBA. Personal data, such as personal data found on social media platforms or health data, including cancer data, should not be used when conducting a creditworthiness assessment. Consumers should provide information about their financial and economic situation in order to facilitate the creditworthiness assessment. In principle, credit should only made available to the consumer where the result of the creditworthiness assessment indicates that the obligations resulting from the credit agreement or the agreement for the provision of crowdfunding credit services are likely to be met in the manner required under that agreement. However, should such assessment be negative, the creditor or the provider of crowdfunding credit services can exceptionally make credit available in specific and justified circumstances such as when they have a long-standing relationship with the consumer, or in case of loans to fund exceptional healthcare expenses, students loans or loans for consumers with disabilities. In such case, when deciding on whether or not to make the credit available to the consumer, the creditor or the provider of crowdfunding credit services should take into account the amount and the purpose of the credit, and the likelihood that the obligations resulting from the agreement will be met.
Amendment 168 #
2021/0171(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 1
Article 5 – paragraph 1
Member States shall require that, when information is provided to consumers in accordance with this Directive, such information is provided without charge to the consumer regardless of the media used to provide it.
Amendment 244 #
2021/0171(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 13 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 (new)
Article 13 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 (new)
Member States shall prohibit discriminatory price optimisation practices when selling consumer credit products to consumers, in particular pricing which is based on individual price sensitivity.
Amendment 297 #
2021/0171(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 18 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
Article 18 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
2. The assessment of creditworthiness shall be carried out on the basis of relevant and accurate information on the consumer’s income and expenses and other financial and economic circumstances which is necessary and proportionate such as evidence of income or other sources of repayment, information on financial assets and liabilities, or information on other financial commitments. The information shall be obtained from relevant internal or external sources, including the consumer and, where necessary, on the basis of a consultation of a database referred to in Article 19. While the data used to assess the creditworthiness shall be based on the EBA Guidelines on loan origination and monitoring (2020), the extent of the check should be proportional to the amount of the credit given. The exact proportionality principle should be defined and detailed by EBA.
Amendment 336 #
2021/0171(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 19 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Article 19 – paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. In order to provide more transparency on the credit market and counteract over-indebtedness, Member States shall make sure that all credit agreements are registered in databases.
Amendment 363 #
2021/0171(COD)
Proposal for a directive
Article 26 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 26 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. In the case of a linked credit agreement for the purchase of a good with a return policy that ensures a full refund for a certain period of time exceeding 14 calendar days, the right of withdrawal shall be extended to match the duration of such return policy.
Amendment 17 #
2020/2258(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the nature of HTP has evolved over the last decades; whereas anti-tax avoidance policies have led to a decline in preferential regimes all around the world, particularly in the Union; whereas new forms of HTP have emerged, notably through the transformation of preferential regimes into aggressive general regimes;
Amendment 27 #
2020/2258(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
C a. whereas the work conducted by the Union against HTP includes the adoption of legislation, soft law, and intergovernmental cooperation;
Amendment 32 #
2020/2258(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Amendment 40 #
2020/2258(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the CoC Group was efficient in deterring specific categories of preferential tax regimes; whereas it has nonetheless failed to prevent aggressive tax competition between Member States; whereas its latest peer review assessments mostly dealt with Intellectual Property (IP) regimes; whereas the CoC Group remains of purely intergovernmental nature;
Amendment 54 #
2020/2258(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Stresses that tax evasion and tax avoidance result in an unacceptable loss of substantial revenue for Member States, currently needed to address the devastating consequences of the pandemic; recalls the conservative estimates by the OECD on BEPS which costs around 4-10 % of global corporate income tax revenues, or USD 100-240 (EUR 84-202) billion annually26 ; recalls that Parliament’s estimates of corporate tax avoidance range from EUR 160 to 190 billion when both BEPS and other tax regimes are considered27 ; deplores that no other study quantifying the scale of tax evasion and avoidance has been made available since 2016 and calls on the Commission to undertake such assessment as it does for the VAT Gap annually; _________________ 26 https://www.oecd.org/tax/beps/ 27 Drover, R., Ferrett, B., Gravino, D., Jones, E. and Merler, S., Bringing transparency, coordination and convergence to corporate tax policies in the European Union, European Parliament, Directorate-General for Parliamentary Research, European Added Value Unit, 24 November 2015. Available at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/et udes/STUD/2015/558773/EPRS_STU(201 5)558773_EN.pdf
Amendment 57 #
2020/2258(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Notes that several tax scandals have boosted the EU policy agenda on HTP, and notably the Luxleaks, the Panama Papers, the Paradise Papers and more recently, the OpenLux revelations;
Amendment 74 #
2020/2258(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Welcomes the internal and external dimension of the work conducted by the CoC Group on HTP; notes that the external dimension of HTP is mainly dealt with by the CoC Group with the application of the ‘Fair Taxation’ criterion; deplores the lack of coherence between the criteria on HTP applied to Member States and the tougher criteria, in particular on economic substance, applied to third-country jurisdictions in the listing process; recalls that the initial listing process was proposed by the Commission in both its communication on an external strategy for effective taxation and its communication on further measures to enhance transparency and the fight against tax evasion;
Amendment 98 #
2020/2258(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes the fact that the proposal put forward by the US Administration for ‘The Made in America Tax Plan’ could facilitate a deal on Pillar II by mid-2021 and gathering more than 130 countries; highlights the US tax plan includes a minimum effective tax rate of 21% for Global intangible low-taxed income(GILTI) and a minimum effective tax rate of 15% for booked income, including US domestic income;
Amendment 109 #
2020/2258(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls for the current scope of the CoC to be progressively updated in order to look beyond the preferential nature of tax regime and instead into the general characteristics of a tax system to determine whether they have harmful effects; notes that this is already partially done by the CoC Group and in the framework of the EU listing process, notably for Notional Interest Deduction regimes and the Foreign Resource Income Exemption Regimes;
Amendment 119 #
2020/2258(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls for the adoption of a definition of ‘minimum level of economic substance’, preferably based on a formulaic approach, and which would evolve progressively as reported income increases, which could be used to assess whether a tax regime is potentially harmful; highlights the economic substance requirement already included in the EU list’s ‘Fair Taxation’ criterion; recalls the current minimum requirement on economic substance as existing in the EU list allows notorious tax havens to be delisted after de minimis reforms;
Amendment 128 #
2020/2258(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Notes that the Commission recognises that a future minimum global taxation standard would have to be integrated into the EU actions on fair tax competition, and that if no consensus is found at global level on such a standard, it should nonetheless be included in the CoC29 ; calls on the Commission to already assess the legislative proposals that will be necessary to implement Pillar II at Union level, including a revision of ATAD and of the Interest and Royalties Directive, and the reform of the CoC and of the criteria in the EU listing of non-cooperative jurisdictions; considers that the definition of a minimum effective level of tax would not prevent Member States to propose legitimate tax incentives at a lower rate, as long as the income qualifying for such regimes relies on minimum economic substance requirements; understands that, overall, the national average effective rate of a large undertaking should not fall below the minimum rate, following the logic of the current Pillar II proposal; _________________ 29 COM(2020)0313.
Amendment 157 #
2020/2258(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls on the Commission to evaluate the effectiveness of patent boxes and other intellectual property (IP) regimes under the new nexus approach defined by Action 5 of the BEPS Action Plan on HTP; notes that the US administration is proposing to repeal its Foreign-Derived Intangible Income (FDII);
Amendment 158 #
2020/2258(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12 a. Highlights the growing increasingly important role played by the European Semester in monitoring and making recommendations on tax policies in the EU; believes the European Semester should be used as a tool to curb aggressive tax planning within the EU by making recommendations on adopting robust rules to prevent tax avoidance, repealing rules that can be misused and lead to aggressive tax planning, and by exposing national tax practices that can be deemed as harmful;
Amendment 165 #
2020/2258(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Welcomes the fact that the CoC has assessed 480 regimes since its creation, deeming around 13030 harmful31 ; recognises the positive effect of the Union’s work on HTP, which has led to a quasi-disappearance of preferential tax regimes within the Union; anticipates a possible similar impact at global stage via the EU listing process; considers therefore the current criteria defining HTP in the CoC as partially outdated given its focus on preferential regimes; _________________ 30Exchange of views of the Subcommittee on Tax Matters (FISC) with Lyudmila Petkova, Chair of the Code of Conduct Group, held on 19 April 2021. 31 https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/docu ment/ST-9639-2018-REV-4/en/pdf
Amendment 170 #
2020/2258(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Highlights the non-binding nature of the CoC; deplores the fact that Member States could maintain a harmful regime without facing any repercussions; leading to unsatisfactory results ; deplores the fact that some Member States have not repealed tax regimes labelled ‘harmful’ before a long period of time and have not exchanged the relevant information regarding their potentially harmful regimes, such as tax rulings, prior to scandals revelations; is of the opinion that the Union should develop tools to enforce its policy against HTP;
Amendment 188 #
2020/2258(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Calls for a revision of the criteria, the governance and the scope of the CoC preferably through a legally binding instrument that should replace the current intergovernmental arrangements and allow for a transition to qualified majority voting; requires that Parliament be included in the process of designing and adopting new policies and criteria to combat HTP;
Amendment 196 #
2020/2258(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Considers the reform of the criteria of the CoC to be a matter of urgency and that it should assess, beyond preferential regimes, all regimes proposing a tax rate below the future internationally agreed minimum effective tax rate in the framework of Pillar II of the Inclusive Framework as being potentially harmful, unless the revenues qualifying for a deduction or a reduced tax rate comply with robust and progressive economic substance requirements ;
Amendment 205 #
2020/2258(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Urges an enlargement of the scope of the CoC, notably by including preferential personal income or capital tax regimes, or personal income and wealth tax regimes that could lead to significant Single Market distortions, so the CoC scope captures regimes aimed at attracting high net worth and high level of income not created in the Member State proposing the tax regime;
Amendment 215 #
2020/2258(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Requires that the body in charge of implementing the Union policies against HTP, which is currently the CoC Group appear at least once a year before Parliament;
Amendment 222 #
2020/2258(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Welcomes the publication of the biannual reports of the CoC Group to the Council; appreciates the efforts made to release CoC Group-related documents and work; regret show ever the lack of accessibility of that information and believes that a dedicated online tool should be created to avoid relying only on Council conclusions to retrieve essential information about tax policy at EU level;
Amendment 3 #
2020/2254(INL)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 20 a (new)
Citation 20 a (new)
— having regard to the resolution of the European Parliament on the implementation of the EU requirements for exchange of tax information: progress, lessons learnt and obstacles to overcome (2020/2046(INI)),
Amendment 9 #
2020/2254(INL)
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the unprecedented impact and magnitude of the COVID-19 crisis on the economy has led to a decrease in tax revenues and an increase in fiscal expenditures to protect society and the economy, and is leading to a sharp increase in government debt; whereas tax fraud and, tax evasion and tax avoidance undermines government revenues, as well as the sustainability of public finances and, taxation systems and tax fairness; whereas it is paramount to keep taxes low to support the sustainable growth of the economy, while not undermining a sufficient income to the budget;
Amendment 15 #
2020/2254(INL)
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas a swift recovery requires a strong economic and fiscal policy response ensuring, inter alia: (i) an effective level playing field for businessetax payers, including less red tape to promote both domestic trade and trade within the Single Market, supported by a simple and more predictable tax environment; (ii) securing tax revenues for Member States to finance the recovery and reducboost investments that will support the reduction in the debt to GDP ratio and (iii) fair taxation of businesses and citizens, enhancing both trust in society and fair competition;
Amendment 28 #
2020/2254(INL)
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas current international corporate tax rules are no longer suitable in the context of digitalisation and globalisation of the economy; whereas developments of digitalisation create aopportunities and challenges in terms of traceability of economic operations and taxable events;
Amendment 40 #
2020/2254(INL)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the Commission's Action Plan and supports its thorough implementation; observes that the majority of the 25 actions are related to VAT, which is appropriate due to the high level of revenue losses in the area of VAT; considers however that an impact assessment should be carried out, before presenting concrete legislative proposals to better apprehend the potential effects on taxpayers and businesse and the need to support business, especially SMEs;
Amendment 58 #
2020/2254(INL)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Recalls that any tax measures, temporary or not, should foster and not hamper the competitiveness of European businessesavoid distorting investment decisions and should act as a tool in supporting the fulfilment of Union goals such as the Green Deal, social justice or digitalisation of the European economy; stresses that the reporting requirements should not generate higher administrative costs for economic actors, notably for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); notes that in order to effectively address lost tax revenues, better quality and possible higher quantities of data may be needed, but only data effectively used, and collected from taxpayers only once with utmost security, should be collected; notes that data should aim to simplify various obligations of taxpayers, while artificial intelligence (AI) and various softwares should be used to maximise the effectiveness of the use of data;
Amendment 62 #
2020/2254(INL)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Highlights that a sustainable recovery strategy should consider the ongoing low interest rates and increasing inflation across the Union; is concerned that under these economic circumstances, the tax burden increasingly moves from capital gains towards labour; considers high mobile workers to constitute a further complication; calls upon the Commission to assess policy measures in the area of personal income taxation, such as a minimum tax rate, wealth tax and inheritance tax, to ensure a fair allocation of taxes among Member States and a fair distribution of the tax burden among its citizens;
Amendment 68 #
2020/2254(INL)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Is of the opinion that better estimates of overall tax losses in the Union are essential for efficient proposals on ways to effectively reduce tax losses; welcomes the creation of the EU tax observatory and recommends the Commission to find means to perpetuate this action that was initiated by a pilot project of the Union annual budget;
Amendment 74 #
2020/2254(INL)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Considers that tax certainty would be reinforced if Member States had a common understanding of what tax incentives are not distortive; calls on the Commission to issue guidelines on tax incentives that are not distortive for the Single Market;
Amendment 81 #
2020/2254(INL)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Notes that the Union decision- making process is not promoting change, as tax policy is a national prerogative and subject to unanimity; recalls the existence of Article 116 TFEU; regrets that the current situation sometimes leads to an uneven or inconsistent application of tax regulations; calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure more harmonised and consistent tax rules and their implementation, to protect the functioning of the single market and to assure the principle of “taxing where profit is generated”;
Amendment 103 #
2020/2254(INL)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Observes that the current EU VAT system remains too complex, especially for SMEs, and vulnerable to fraud, while generating high compliance costs for economic operators8 ; notes that the different measures to tackle tax fraud are adopted in the Member States; recalls that the modernisation of the VAT system and the shift towards a more coherent VAT system across the Union should be addressed urgently9 ; _________________ 8As per the EPRS’ EAVA (September 2021), the VAT gap, including cross- border VAT evasion and fraud, could be estimated at around €120 billion in 2020, page 42. 9As per the EPRS' EAVA (September 2021), the estimated added value of the extended cooperation between the Member States plus the full implementation of the OSS could bring a reduction of est. €29 billion of the VAT gap, and a reduction of est. €10 billion in compliance costs for businesses, page 39.
Amendment 112 #
2020/2254(INL)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10 a. Notes that the Commission, with the new proposals, should take into account the specific needs of SMEs and create a level playing field via requirements based on threshold when relevant;
Amendment 135 #
2020/2254(INL)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Welcomes the efforts of the Commission to address the problem at least partially by introducing various initiatives, but stresses the high importance of the Union in contributing to the success of global negotiations towards the ongoing necessary reforms; welcomes the announcement made by the Commission to implement both Pillars of the Inclusive framework via directives before the end of 2022; stresses that while the Commission's actions would not undermine the OECD initiatives, the specificities of the Union and its Single market might require an expansion of the level of ambition;
Amendment 140 #
2020/2254(INL)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Notes that the reduction of the estimated gap10 due to corporate tax avoidance at around EUR 35 billion per year from the previous Commission estimations of EUR 50-70 billion before anti-BEPS measures were introduced and the correlation between an improvement and the legislative efforts on tax avoidance carried out by the Commission; stresses that situations where some firms are still able to reduce their tax bill is undermining fair competition in the single market and often harming the competitiveness of SMEs; recalls that the tax gap due to corporate tax avoidance can amount up to EUR 190 billion when special tax arrangements, inefficiencies in collection and other practices are taken into account; _________________ 10 COM(2020) 312 final, page 5. There are other estimations, for example by the European Parliament, with estimated losses from financial crime, tax evasion and tax avoidance amounting to EUR 190 bn. Based on the OECD's comprehensive work in the Base Erosion Profit Shifting report (BEPS), Action 11, global revenue losses before any of the anti-BEPS measures were decided amounted to some USD 100-240 billion or 0.35 per cent of global GDP. The EU Commission estimated that some EUR 50-70 billion was attributable to the EU before the Anti-Tax Avoidance Directives I and II were agreed on by Member States.
Amendment 143 #
2020/2254(INL)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Welcomes the two-pillar agreement reached at the G7/G20 levels on the allocation of taxing rights and the application of a minimum effective tax rate of at least 15% on the global profits of MNEs; notes the need for effective implementation in the Union and beyond; calls on the Commission to make the necessary legislative proposals to implement the agreement into Union law as quickly as possible after the finalisation of the technical work on the OECD approach; understands that the Commission’s proposal for a Digital Levy has been put on hold and demands the Commission to communicate quickly on the alternatives it is considering, also in the context of the Union's own resources;
Amendment 150 #
2020/2254(INL)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Observes that the new working arrangements such as telework bring both challenges and opportunities for workers and employers; underlines the urgent need to better define the notion of tax residency for individuals in view of the new working arrangements that have developed rapidly due to the COVID-19 crisis; highlights that such new working arrangements can have a real impact on the collection of personal income tax, notably due to the proliferation of low tax regimes for non-residents; urges the Commission to issue proposals on the definition of tax residency by 2023;
Amendment 159 #
2020/2254(INL)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15 a. Emphasises the need to balance the tax mix in order to gradually minimise the impact of labour tax on workers and to increase the contribution of environmental taxes and fair taxes on capital;
Amendment 162 #
2020/2254(INL)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Supports the rationale of the BEFIT, with the view to design a new and single Union corporate tax rulebook, based on a formulary apportionment and a common tax base of income taxation for businesses, which will be providing clarity and predictability for companies, reflecting the consensus reached in the OECD Pillar 1 and Pillar 2 negotiations; recalls that previous attempts by the Union to define a common rulebook considered three factors: labour, assets and sales; considers that focusing on one factor would have an unbalanced impact on the tax revenues of Member States;
Amendment 166 #
2020/2254(INL)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16 a. Calls on the Commission to consider measures that would ease the implementation of the future BEFIT proposal, in particular for SMEs; suggests, in this context, a one stop shop that would complement a single consolidated tax return and a single digital platform;
Amendment 167 #
2020/2254(INL)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Considers, however, that the BEFIT initiative should be supported by the political process in building political support for change and that the initiative should be accompanied by a thorough impact assessment to shape future proposals, which should contribute to reaching a consensus between Member States; calls on, therefore, the Commission to initiate a wide inclusive consultation process with stakeholders, Member States, including their national parliaments, and the European Parliament;
Amendment 173 #
2020/2254(INL)
18. ConsiderNotes that the new corporate tax agenda should includes a mechanism to address the debt-equity bias through an incentive system, helping to support the resilience of companies in adverse economic circumstances in the future; recalls that, in the past, allowances for corporate equity have been exploited as tax loopholes in the Union; requests the Commission to incorporate strong anti- avoidance provisions to avoid any allowance on equity to be used as a new tool for base erosion if an allowance for corporate equity should be set up; recalls that the reduction of the deduction of exceeding borrowing costs can also reduce the debt- equity bias;
Amendment 183 #
2020/2254(INL)
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – Part B – title
Annex I – Part B – title
B. More certainty for taxpayers and/or Member States' tax administrations
Amendment 187 #
2020/2254(INL)
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – Part B – Recommendation B2 – paragraph 1
Annex I – Part B – Recommendation B2 – paragraph 1
The European Parliament calls on the Commission to reflect the experience and identify remaining gaps in the existing Council Directive (EU) 2017/1852 on tax dispute resolution mechanisms in the Union, in order to address the existing conflicts and uncertainties regarding residency for both natural and corporate persons, causing risks of double taxation. The European Parliament also requests that the outcome of disputes should be made publicly available in the form of a summary that would publish, among other essential, but non commercially sensitive, information, the resulting effective tax rate paid by the taxpayer. The regime set out in the Directive must ensure the time limits for obtaining a decision, which will be legally binding and enforced. The analyses should be done in 2022, and a possible change of Directive presented in 2023.
Amendment 189 #
2020/2254(INL)
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – Part B – Recommendation B3 a (new)
Annex I – Part B – Recommendation B3 a (new)
Recommendation B3 a Guidelines on positive tax incentives calls on the Commission to issue guidelines on tax incentives that are not distortive for the Single Market. This is due to the fact that tax certainty for taxpayers and Member States would be reinforced if the latter had a common understanding of what tax incentives boost the economic performance in the Union without harming the functioning of the Single Market;
Amendment 202 #
2020/2254(INL)
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – Part C – Recommendation C2 a (new)
Annex I – Part C – Recommendation C2 a (new)
Recommendation C2 a A Permanent observatory to monitor and quantify trends in European taxation In 2019 the European Parliament initiated the launch of an EU Tax Observatory as a preparatory action. In order to contribute to evidence-based policy making and to stimulate a European debate on international tax issues, the European Parliament calls on the Commission to work on a solution to perpetuate that initiative.
Amendment 204 #
2020/2254(INL)
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – Part C a (new)
Annex I – Part C a (new)
Amendment 1 #
2020/2114(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Underlines that the rules-basedfair, inclusive, rules-based and non-discriminatory multilateral trading system has been a key driver of global trade liberalisation, which has powered economic growth, job creation, improvement of living standards, income growth and the promotion of sustainable economic development, therefore strengthening prosperity, peace and security; recalls the importance of incorporating a gender perspective into the promotion of inclusive economic growth and to promote women’s empowerment that is key to the eradication of poverty; underlines importance of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement objectives as well as social, environmental and human rights; notes furthermore its role in fostering a predictable trade environment through the development of more transparent and fair trade rules and regulations; believes, however, that there is a need and motivation to rebuild trust in multilateral institutions in the face of global challenges and shifting world power dynamics;
Amendment 14 #
2020/2114(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Regrets the growing tendencies towards protectionism and trade weaponisation that have developed in parts of the global economy; welcomes the strengthening of the EU’s trade enforcement efforts and the development of a toolbox of autonomous trade instruments to respond to these emerging challenges; notes the aim at a reformed and well-functioning multilateral rulebook with an effective functioning dispute settlement system at its core in the World Trade Organization (WTO); stresses the need, however, to remain fully engaged in efforts to reinvigorate the World Trade Organization (WTO) with a view to increasing its effectiveness, inclusiveness, transparency and legitimacy as the cornerstone of a liberalised global economy and to deal with the challenges posed by non-market economies; recalls the need for all WTO members to commit to modernize and equip the WTO with tools to address the trade challenges of the twenty-first century, including digital revolution, green, fair and sustainable transition, and to carry the reform agenda forward aiming at agreeing on a concrete work plan by the next MC12;
Amendment 24 #
2020/2114(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes the need to work closely with like-minded partners, and to engage with all members of the WTO that are committed to a positio bring forward a positive agenda for reform; points out that a successful reform will require engaging with all parties involved agenda for reformnd taking into account their valid concerns when agreeing on a compromise solution; recognises that historically it has been EU- US cooperation that has been the main driving force for progress within multilateral trade negotiations, and therefore welcomes the positive statements on WTO reform made by the current US administration, which shand encourages the US to follow through on this with concrete proposals which could provide a basis for renewed engagement on actionable outcomes; supports a forward- looking transatlantic agenda based on common interests and shared values, aiming to achieve meaningful WTO reform, including of dispute settlement;its monitoring, negotiating and dispute settlement functions; regrets the stalemate at the WTO Appellate Body, which is depriving the global trading system of an enforceable dispute settlement system; urges all WTO members to engage on solutions to restore a fully functioning and independent Appellate Body.
Amendment 33 #
2020/2114(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Welcomes the WTO’s close collaboration the World Health Organisation and other international organizations ensuring that trade plays a positive role in addressing the pandemics and subsequent crisis and in supporting the recovery of the global economy; urges the conclusion of an ambitious initiative in the area of trade and health, eliminating trade and regulatory restrictions that affect the distribution of and boosting the capacity to produce active ingredients, medicines, vaccines, treatments and equipment, and on transparency and global cooperation in times of crisis including temporary TRIPS waiver, in order to maintain the resilience of supply chains in the current context but for future crises as well; welcomes the purpose to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response capacity of the WTO;
Amendment 38 #
2020/2114(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses that democratic, legitimate, accountable and transparent global governance should feature greater participation of parliamentary bodies, as directly elected parliamentarians can function as a crucial link between citizens and the multilateral system; emphasises the importance of the work of the joint European Parliament and Inter- Parliamentary Union parliamentary conference on the WTO; underlines the need to ensure that parliamentarians have better access to trade negotiations and are involved in the formulation and implementation of WTO decisions; reiterates the need for all WTO members to enhance the exchange with stakeholders including civil society and business organisations and community and calls on improved cooperation with other international organisations such as the ILO, the UN system, the OECD and the IMF.
Amendment 21 #
2020/2078(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the shock is symmetrical but the impact varies considerably among Member States and different sectors, reflecting the severity of the pandemic and the stringency of their containment measures, but also their specific economic exposures and initial conditions, including their available scope for discretionary fiscal policy responses;
Amendment 27 #
2020/2078(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas a determined, coordinated and solidarity-based European response is essential to mitigate the negative economic and social consequences of the crisis and, fragmentation of the single market, the further deepening of macroeconomic divergence as well as political tensions; Whereas a lack of a unified approach towards addressing the consequences of the crisis can lead to spill-over effects, prolonging the current, already harsh, economic crisis;
Amendment 35 #
2020/2078(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas the Member States, also due to the support from the Commission and a coordination amongst each other, has been able to facilitate addressing and overcoming the difficulties caused by the current crisis;
Amendment 39 #
2020/2078(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Amendment 55 #
2020/2078(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes with great concern that, according to the Commission’s Springummer 2020 economic forecast, the EU is expected to suffer the deepest recession in its history in 2020, as the euro area economy would contract by 8.7% in 2020 and the EU as a whole would contract by 8.3% in 2020;
Amendment 67 #
2020/2078(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Is concerned at the negative impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the global economy, trade, incomeequalities (including income and gender inequalities) and poverty;
Amendment 91 #
2020/2078(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Commends the swift, strong and decisive response to the crisis in the area of monetary and fiscal policy, at both EU and Member State level, with the ECB’s Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP), the activation of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and the launch of the EIB’s pan- European Guarantee Fund, the activation of the ‘general escape clause' by the European Commission, the adoption of temporary state aid rules and the imminent European Support Scheme Mitigating Unemployment Risks in Emergency (SURE); Emphasizes that without such support, the economic, social and environmental downturn in the EU would be more severe and could have even more negative spill-over effects beyond the EU;
Amendment 94 #
2020/2078(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Welcomes the ambitious "Next Generation EU" approach of the Commission, aiming at establishing a European Recovery Plan, a revamped long-term EU budget, the issuance of common bonds by the European Commission and new own resources;
Amendment 114 #
2020/2078(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Amendment 140 #
2020/2078(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Underlining the harmfulness of tax evasion and tax avoidance practices towards the national and European budgets, stresses that companies registered on the territories put on EU list of non- cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes should not be eligible for state aid and other public support during the recovery phase and beyond unless they prove a legitimate economic activity there;
Amendment 164 #
2020/2078(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Considers it essential that the revision of the EU’s fiscal and economic policy framework should be completed by the time the escape clause is repealed and should enable fiscal policy to respond with discretion to shocks in the short term, and to reduce high public debt ratios to an agreed reference value in the long term, while allowing a sufficient level of public investment, progressive tax policies and the repayment of loans in a cycle- comfortable manner, and the long-term modernisation of public commodities; Emphasizes, in this respect, the need for tailor-made solutions for Member States in the Stability and Growth Pact, which is based on strict rules, but without undermining the competitiveness of the countries and hitherto socioeconomic specifics;
Amendment 212 #
2020/2078(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Welcomes the refocus of the European Semester Spring Package aimed at providing an immediate economic policy response to tackle and mitigate the health and socio-economic impact of COVID-19 and reboot economic activity; supports the Commission’s announcement of a reform of the European Semester to convert it into a tool to coordinate the recovery measures, framed by the principles of the EGD, the EPSR and the SDGs, especially in the context of the current crisis; is convinced that this has to include the coordination of measures concerning state aid and tax policies; underlines the need for the integration of a new set of binding sustainability and wellbeing indicators and alternative measurements of growth performance;
Amendment 242 #
2020/2078(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Reiterates the fact that still many Country Specific Recommendations (CSRs), related to the European Semester, are not being implemented of sometimes even taken into account by the Member States; Calls on, in this respect, the Commission to involve to a greater extend national parliament in order for them to have more ownership in the whole process and, hence, be stricter in implementing the CSRs;
Amendment 261 #
2020/2078(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Invites the Commission to explore new policies suggested by international institutions that support and contribute to financing a just transition and sustainable growth, as well as aiming to restore Member States’ public finances; calls for the new basket of resources to include income stemming from EU policies favouring both the implementation of environmental protection and the preservation of a faircompetitive, fair and economically sustainable single market;
Amendment 263 #
2020/2078(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Calls on the Commission and the Council to cooperate more comprehensively with other European institutions such as the EIB or the ECB in developing, promoting and introducing new tools to address the socioeconomic and environmental challenges that the EU faces;
Amendment 24 #
2020/2075(INI)
A. whereas over the past 30 years the economic governance framework has undergone a number of changes to resolve its design and implementation flaws and adapt it to new economic challenges;
Amendment 25 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital B (new)
Recital B (new)
B. whereas in the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis, the successive reforms of the EMU focused on risk reduction but failed to introduce risk- sharing elements;
Amendment 26 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital C (new)
Recital C (new)
C. whereas in 2015 the European Commission (EC) adopted guidance on the best use of the flexibility in the rules of the SGP strengthening the link between structural reforms, investment and fiscal responsibility;
Amendment 27 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital D (new)
Recital D (new)
D. whereas the current governance framework presents conceptual and practical weaknesses that lead to rules overly complex, weak enforcement, lack of ownership and of incentives to pursue symmetrical counter-cyclical policies and it did not succeed to reduce divergences between in the EU nor to protect or stimulate growth enhancing public investment;
Amendment 28 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital E (new)
Recital E (new)
E. whereas gross public investment was severely cut following the financial and sovereign debt crisis, and in many Member States net public investment is even negative implying that the current fiscal framework leads to too recessive consolidation measures and facilitates the decline of public investment during the periods of fiscal consolidation;
Amendment 29 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital F (new)
Recital F (new)
F. whereas there are significant investment funding gaps that should be addressed: €470 billion a year until 2030 to meet EU environmental objectives 20a; €142billion a year for social infrastructure such as hospitals or schools 21a ; along with €190 billion a year to stabilise the stock of public capital 22a; _________________ 20aEuropean Commission, “SWD(2020) 98 final - Identifying Europe’s recovery needs”, 27.5.2020, p.14-16. 21aThis estimation only cover health and long-term care (EUR 70 billion), education and life-long learnings (EUR 15 billion) and affordable housing (EUR 57 billion). Source: FRANSEN, L., BUFALO, G., REVIGLIO, E., “Boosting Investment in Social Infrastructure in Europe - Report of the High-Level Task Force on Financing Social Infrastructure in Europe”, 2018, 116p. 22aEuropean Commission, “SWD(2020) 98 final - Identifying Europe’s recovery needs”, 27.5.2020, p. 18-20
Amendment 30 #
2020/2075(INI)
G. whereas in 2020, the European Commission started a public consultation on the review of effectiveness of economic governance framework which was disrupted by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic;
Amendment 31 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital H (new)
Recital H (new)
H. whereas the pandemic is causing an unprecedented exogenous shock with large asymmetric impacts, weighting negatively on the EU economic outlook and enlarging divergences between Member States;
Amendment 32 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital I (new)
Recital I (new)
I. whereas the pandemic has amplified pre-existing inequalities and poverty and has demonstrated the importance of European social model and its existing social safety nets;
Amendment 33 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital J (new)
Recital J (new)
J. whereas, in Europe, economic forecasts 23a 24a show a multispeed, incomplete and uneven recovery; whereas the vaccine rollout is accelerating but remain slow, and there are considerable risks of divergences and aggravated inequalities across countries and sectors as well as prospects for scarring; _________________ 23aEuropean Commission Winter 2021 Economic Forecasts show a contraction in 2020 of - 6,3 % of GDP in the EU and with - 6,8 % of GDP in the euro area and GDP growth is expected to recover only slowly in the short-term with 3.7% in 2021 and 3.9% in 2022 in the EU, and3.8% in both years in the euro area. 24aWorld Economic Outlook: Managing Divergent Recoveries, IMF (April 2021)
Amendment 34 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital K (new)
Recital K (new)
K. whereas the discretionary fiscal support differed in size and composition across Member States with a clear positive correlation between fiscal space and the size of policy response leading to an asymmetric response, creating risks of an unequal level playing field in the internal market and further differentiate the speed of recovery;
Amendment 35 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital L (new)
Recital L (new)
L. whereas public debt levels at the beginning of the pandemic were high, the unprecedented economic recession, the unprecedented national fiscal measures taken in response to the pandemic and the need to support a sustainable and inclusive recovery will impact public finances pushing EU debt-to-GDP to a new peak above 100% of GDP;
Amendment 36 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital M (new)
Recital M (new)
M. whereas environmental 25a and social sustainability are interconnected with long-term fiscal sustainability; _________________ 25aExtreme disaster tend to lower economic output (Botzen, Deschenes and Sanders, 2019); IMF forecasts that major weather-related disasters could have a negative impact in real GDP per capita and countries that are better equipped to address major natural disasters could more easily cushion the impact.
Amendment 37 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital N (new)
Recital N (new)
N. whereas the crisis response of the EU 26a has strengthened the EMU and, so far, succeeded to create trust and confidence, tame financial markets volatility; underlines for this effect the importance of the issuance of EU bonds; _________________ 26a Through in particular the Recovery Package and the SURE instrument.
Amendment 98 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Supports policies that are tailored to the stage of the pandemic, the path to the economic recovery and to countries´ individual circumstances;
Amendment 103 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the Member States to embed the high-quality fiscal support in credible medium-term frameworks, to ensure where expansionary fiscal measures are needed, these are supported by growth and inclusive measures bearing in mind that emergency measures are temporary, limited and targeted; calls on the Member States to monitor fiscal risks, namely contingent liabilities, as appropriate for instance guarantee programmes, as appropriate; notes that such good public financial management practices would improve transparency and accountability;
Amendment 108 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Points out that for as long as differences in the pace of recovery are economically significant, fiscal policy should limit the scarring and reduce inequalities by supporting those segments of the economy and society that are at a higher risk of divergence; notes that income inequalities are likely to increase notably within young workers, women and low-skilled workers;
Amendment 111 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Welcomes the policy response of governments aimed at avoiding a sharp increase in corporate insolvencies and unemployment; warns that an abrupt and uncoordinated withdrawal of support measures could lead to financial distress and recommends that more general support is replaced gradually by more targeted schemes including solvency measures; further recommends fiscal measures to facilitate job creation and reallocation namely through retraining and reskilling programmes, together with income support as needed;
Amendment 121 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Recalls the importance of the swift, responsible and efficient implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility to address the EU´s long term challenges by focusing on building a resilient, inclusive and greener economy, by supporting the recovery and by boosting productivity and investment;
Amendment 122 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Paragraph 7 c (new)
7c. Highlights that monetary policy has been carrying the main burden of stabilisation in the past years and crisis; notes that the crisis caused by the pandemic showed that monetary policy is not enough for stabilisation purposes and fiscal policy should play an increasing role;
Amendment 138 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Stresses the importance of complementarity between monetary and fiscal policies to deliver the required support post-COVID-19, the former by preserving favourable financing conditions and the latter by supporting firms, workers and people; considers that the low interest rate environment has implications for fiscal policy; warns against a premature tightening of monetary and fiscal policy;
Amendment 148 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Underlines that structural factors are likely to keep rates low in the long term; considers that macroeconomic policies should address the factors underlying secular stagnationsuch as ageing, global savings, low inflation and productivity slowdown are likely to keep rates low in the long term and the impact of Covid-19 shocks is likely to accelerate this tendency as precautionary savings are rising further and investment decisions might be delayed; considers that macroeconomic policies should address the factors underlying secular stagnation through high-quality fiscal expansion with durable repercussions on the private-sector savings-investment balance complemented with growth-enhancing reforms;
Amendment 154 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls for an appropriate fiscal and monetary policy mix that works together towards achieving the EU’s objectives; considers a credible fiscal framework a necessary requirement for a strong and mutually supporting coordination of fiscal and monetary policies, to avoid that pro- cyclical policies will counteract the stimulus of the recovery programme and in order to ensure improved and transparent governance;
Amendment 180 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Stresses that debt service costs are expected to remain low for the foreseeable future thanks to a large share of debt burden covered by long maturities and sometimes negative yielding bonds, and primary deficits are likely to be offset by favourable interest-growth differentials; further considers that as long as the differentials are negative it is possiblewill ensure the ability to sustain and progressively reduce high debt levels;
Amendment 200 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Recalls the importance of growth- enhancing policies and public investment aimed at increasing sustainable growth potential and achieving the EU’s objectives; reiterates that future-oriented investment and expenditure has positive spill overs in the medium-to-long-term debt sustainability;
Amendment 207 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Stresses the importance of pursuing a broad and transparent DSA in orderebt Sustainability Analysis (DSA) in order to support policymakers´ decision to set an appropriate country-specific path, using innovative tools and techniques such as stress tests and stochastic analysis to better reflect risks to public debt dynamics; (such as interest-growth differentials, debt composition, demographics and climate change) and the quality of public expenditure;
Amendment 240 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Calls for the renewed fiscal framework to promote sustainability and cyclical stabilisation and to improve the quality of public expenditure through sustainable investments and reforms; calls for well-defined, transparent, simple, flexible and enforceable rules embedded in a credible and democratic framework that takes into account the specificities of Member States, including the different economic structures and geographical constraints, and promote upward economic and social convergence;
Amendment 272 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Notes that the country-specific path would not be subject to applying any strict formula and the outcome should result from a discussion between each Member State and the Commission, after a consultation with the EFB in the context of the European Semester; considers that the expenditure rule should also include a correction mechanism to remove cyclical items as interest payments and cyclical unemployment benefits;
Amendment 279 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Underlines that expenditure rules allow for automatic stabilisers to operate and are under the direct control of the government; argues that while potential output growth is unobservable and has to be estimated, it is less likely to be subject to revisions than the output gap; notes that expenditure rules show to be more effective in reducing the procyclicality bias of fiscal policy 28a; _________________ 28aManescu, C., Bova, E. (2021), Effectiveness of national expenditure rules: Evidence from EU member states.
Amendment 286 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Proposes, in line with the EFB, ‘ onethe adoption of a general escape clause, triggered based on independent economic judgement’ proposed by the Commission supported by an opinion based on independent economic judgement in order to reduce complexity and to preserve the ability to act in case of unforeseeable circumstances;
Amendment 301 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Shares the EFB’s opinion that sustainable growth-enhancing public investments should be exempt from the expenditure rule, in particular those investments that are aligned with the EU’s long-term objectives of the NGEU; calls for a revamped fiscal framework that promotes the increase and stabilisation of growth-enhancing public investment related namely to social resilience, climate change and digitalisation;
Amendment 321 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. Underlines that a renewed EU fiscal framework should provide fiscal space and internalize the effects of national discretionary fiscal policies while safeguarding sound public finances; stresses that coordination of the fiscal stance is of particular importance for the euro area and calls for the appropriate fiscal tools to properly coordinate national fiscal policies mitigating possible imbalances;
Amendment 352 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Stresses the importance of the MIP in identifying and taking preventive and corrective actions against emerging imbalances; points out, however, that the potential of this mechanism has not been fully exploited on account of its structural weaknesses notably the asymmetry of the indicators in the Alert Mechanism, indicators lacking a clear prioritization and the lack of clear accountability;
Amendment 369 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Calls for the MIP to be reformed to make its indicators and recommendations more forward-looking and symmetrical with regard to over- and undershooting target values, and to focus on indicators under the control of policymakers and geared towards reducing intra-euro area imbalances and driving the economic cycle of the eurozone from a consolidated point of view; considers that greater compliance with pared-back recommendations must be achieved and MIP-relevant country-specific recommendations should focus on policy actions that can have a direct impact on imbalances;
Amendment 377 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Considers that clarity and consistency concerning the interplay between the MIP and the Stability and Growth Pact is key to ensuring that their objectives are achieved; the recommendations to Member States within the MIP framework could be contradictory in some cases with the fiscal policy guidelines based on the application of the Stability and Growth Pact; therefore, it is necessary to improve clarity and consistency concerning the interplay between the MIP and the Stability and Growth Pact and to provide the EU with additional instruments to guarantee a correct aggregate fiscal stance according to the cyclical needs of the eurozone economy as a whole;
Amendment 394 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Calls for a renewed European Semester as the main economic and social policy coordination framework supporting the EU’s long-standing goals of sustainability and upward convergence with stronger national ownership; calls for a more balanced institutional role of the European Parliament in the European Semester to ensure a more rigorous democratic scrutiny ; demands for the European Parliament’s full involvement in defining the overarching goals and the guidance;, in particular the ones related to the euro area; stresses the importance of a stronger balance in policy coordination between employment and social affairs ministers and finance ministers namely in the euro area.
Amendment 408 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)
Paragraph 30 a (new)
30a. Underlines the importance to clarify the link between each specific governance tool and the objectives to be achieved; calls for better reflecting the existing scoreboards in policy recommendations;
Amendment 409 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 b (new)
Paragraph 30 b (new)
30b. Points towards the lack of ownership as one the main weaknesses of the European Semester; notes that the design of this framework must respect a set of long-term objectives and guidance at EU level, reflected in national plans, policy recommendations on a variety of policy objectives which should allow for policy choices properly reflecting national needs and priorities underpinned by an open and inclusive policy dialogue between the EU and national institutions and stakeholders;
Amendment 418 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Calls for more involvement of national macro prudential authorities and national productivity councils in the MIP process;
Amendment 419 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 a (new)
Paragraph 32 a (new)
32a. Underlines the importance of ensuring a proper balance of responsibilities between the different institutions in the implementation of the EU fiscal framework; calls for a higher involvement of the European Parliament when discussing medium to long-term budgetary guidelines; in order to ensure greater transparency and accountability, it should be enhanced the involvement of the national parliaments;
Amendment 420 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 b (new)
Paragraph 32 b (new)
32b. Welcomes the significant improvements of the role of Independent Financial Institutions (IFIs) in the budgetary process for enhancing transparency and accountability of fiscal policy through both monitoring and independent analysis; notes that IFIs should incorporate in their work the medium to long-term challenges to the fiscal frameworks; underlines the importance to ensure accountability of these institutions towards the European and national parliaments, as appropriate;
Amendment 463 #
2020/2075(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37
Paragraph 37
37. Recalls that the creation of the ESM outside the institutions of the Union represents a setback in the development of the Union; recalls its call for the ESM to be integrated into EU law under the Community method;
Amendment 43 #
2020/2058(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the Sustainable Europe Investment Plan (SEIP) as central in ensuring the success of the Green Deal and the transition towards a more sustainable and resilient economy; Emphasizes that the SEIP should go hand in hand with other main socio-economic long-term goals and priorities of the EU; Stresses that the SEIP must be built on the lessons learned from the socio-economic crisis related to the Covid-19 crisis in order to facilitate the development of a more inclusive and stronger economy in the years to come;
Amendment 48 #
2020/2058(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the Sustainable Europe Investment Plan (SEIP) as central in ensuring the success of the Green Deal and the transition towards a more sustainable and resilient economy; considers that the investment envisaged in the SEIP will deliver necessary economic stimulus, build resilience to future shocks and create jobs;
Amendment 68 #
2020/2058(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the Commission’s European Recovery Plan with the European Green Deal at its heart; endorses the underlying principle that public investments will respect the oath to ‘do no harm’; stresses that the recovery shall be built on the Sustainable Development Goals and shall support the twin green and digital transitions; emphasises that national recovery and resilience plans should put the EU on the path to a 50 % to 55 % reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 and climate neutrality by 2050;
Amendment 84 #
2020/2058(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses that the success of the EU’s aim to achieve climate neutrality will depend on the adequacy of the financing; Underlines that the financing by the SEIP will not be sufficient to reach the abovementioned goals connected to the Green Deal, especially in countries more dependent on fossil fuels; Calls, therefore, the Commission and the Member States to come up with proposals to find additional resources as well as not to undermine the current solutions and proposals at place and proposed;
Amendment 140 #
2020/2058(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Wishes to see it ensured that funding from the SEIP, at EU and national level, goes towards the policies and programmes with the highest potential to contribute to the fight against climate change, protect environment and preserve biodiversity, and looks forward to the Commission’s upcoming climate tracking methodology using appropriately the criteria established by the EU taxonomy;
Amendment 168 #
2020/2058(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls for the phasing-out of public and private investments in highly polluting and harmful industries for which economically feasible alternatives are available, while fully respecting the rights of Member States to choose their energy mix so as not to make some countries lag behind in the fully fledged transition related to the very much needed Green Deal;
Amendment 188 #
2020/2058(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Stresses the central role of the EU budget in delivering the SEIP; reiterates its long-standing position that new initiatives should always be financed through additional appropriations and should not negatively affect other policies; welcomes the new European Union Recovery Instrument, "Next Generation EU", as an emergency instrument to support investments and reforms aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals and to reinforce the EU programmes that contribute for a sustainable and resilience recovery of the EU economy;
Amendment 243 #
2020/2058(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Underlines that the aim of the JTF should be to provide support to citizens, economic activities and territories facing energy sustainability, energy security and energy affordability challenges in the transition process towards a just and sustainable, climate-neutral, climate- resilient, resource-efficient economy of the Union by 2050; Stresses that in order to minimize the negative socio-economic consequences of the very much needed Green Deal transition, the JTF should concentrate on particular regions, not countries as a whole, with fresh funds of at least 40 bln euro and not resources already before allocated to cohesion policy;
Amendment 248 #
2020/2058(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10b. Emphasizes in the context of the Just Transition Fund that it is environmental, social and economic sustainability as well as long-term viability of projects in the transition regions that should be key to receiving the funds; Stresses that strict economic, short-term viability as a key determinant for the regions to receive finance is short- sighted and might be detrimental in the regions' path towards change;
Amendment 249 #
2020/2058(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 c (new)
Paragraph 10 c (new)
Amendment 258 #
2020/2058(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Welcomes the role of InvestEU in the implementation and functioning of the SEIP and considers that it should be at the heart of the Union’s green, fair and resilient recovery; welcomes, therefore, the Commission’s proposal to increase the programme’s size and scope; stresses the importance to support sustainable infrastructure projects, including the renovation wave for local jobs; welcomes the proposal to create a Strategic Investment Facility within InvestEU to promote sustainable investments in key technologies (such as clean hydrogen and batteries) and value chains;
Amendment 297 #
2020/2058(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Reaffirms its previous position regarding candidates for new own resources, and calls on the Commission to propose new own resources which correspond to essential EU objectives including the fight against climate change and the protection of the environment; asks, therefore, for the introduction of new own resources based on the auction revenues of the Emissions Trading System, a contribution on non-recycled plastic packaging waste, the future Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, a Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base or a precursor based on operations of large enterprises, a tax on digital companies, and a financial transaction tax; Calls on the Member States not to undermine the abovementioned solutions, especially related to taxation, either from being established or from being allocated as own resources in the EU budget;
Amendment 333 #
2020/2058(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Welcomes the efforts of the European Investment Bank (EIB) to revise its energy lending policy and to devote 50 % of its operations to climate action and environmental sustainability; calls on the EIB to commit to the sustainable transition towards climate neutrality while taking into account the different energy mixes of Member States and devoting particular attention to the sectors and regions most affected by the transition; calls on the EIB to review and modify its climate action definitions, namely the environmental sustainability financing definitions, in line with the EU taxonomy;
Amendment 337 #
2020/2058(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Welcomes the efforts of the European Investment Bank (EIB) to revise its energy lending policy and to devote 50 % of its operations to climate action and environmental sustainability; calls on the EIB to commit to the sustainable transition towards climate neutrality while taking into account the different energy mixes of Member States and devoting particular attention to the sectors and regions most affected by the transition; Underlines the need for the EIB to include various stakeholders in determining the necessity of projects to be co-financed by it;
Amendment 374 #
2020/2058(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Recalls the statement of the ECB President that the ECB is supporting the development of a taxonomy as a way of facilitating the incorporation of environmental considerations in central bank portfolios; emphasizes that environmental and climate disasters more and more poses financial stability risks and, therefore, prudential regulation and supervision shall better incorporate those long-term risks in their assessments; calls on the ECB to evaluate the feasibility of including sustainability criteria in its collateral framework and its annual stress testing exercise, while assessing ways to guide lending towards energy transition investments and to rebuild a sustainable economy in the aftermath of the COVID- 19 crisis;
Amendment 393 #
2020/2058(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Supports a renewed sustainable finance strategy; underlines the need for an EU eco-label for financial products, for an EU Green Bond Standard (EU GBS), and for more reliable, comparable and accessible sustainability data obtained by harmonising sustainability indicators and creating a public sustainability data register; recalls the genuine importance of green finance to the international role of the euro in the next decade.
Amendment 487 #
2020/2058(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Recalls that the European Semester is a framework for EU Member States to coordinate their budgetary and economic policies; believes that it couldmust facilitate the implementation of the European Green Deal, the European Pillar of Social Rights and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), while putting a strict emphasis on economic and social sustainability as well as mutual and sincere cooperation amongst Member States; believes that the SDGs should be at the heart of EU’s policy making process;
Amendment 551 #
2020/2058(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Wishes it to be ensured that all contribute equitably to the post-corona recovery and the transition to a sustainable economy; seeks an intensified fight against tax fraud, tax evasion and tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning; calls on the Commission to create a blacklist of EU Member States facilitating tax avoidance; calls for EU-level coordination to avoid aggressive tax planning by individuals and corporates; seeks in this context an ambitious strategy for business taxation for the 21st century; reminds the Commission about the existence of Article 116 of the TFEU in the context of tax-related dossiers and encourages the Commission to make use of it in case the issue addressed creates distortions to the conditions of competition within the single market;
Amendment 568 #
2020/2058(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Is of the opinion that companies registered on the territories put on EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes should not be granted public financial support unless they prove a legitimate economic activity there;
Amendment 13 #
2020/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas in its 20 years of existence, the euro has become a symbol of Europe’s economic strength and of its position in the world, becoming a channel of proliferating European values of democracy, free markets and international cooperation;
Amendment 20 #
2020/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas despite the euro area’s economic size and influence in global trade, the use of the euro lags behind the US dollar by a wide margin, yet it is still ahead of all other competing currencies, remaining, at the same time, unchallenged as the second most important currency in the international monetary system;
Amendment 22 #
2020/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas the euro's global potential has not been fully reached, and its benefits are shared unevenly among the Eurozone members;
Amendment 30 #
2020/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas a stronger role of the euro, and its increased use as a reserve currency, would increase the ability of the EU to frame its policy stance vis-a-vis other countries and regions;
Amendment 31 #
2020/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas a greater role for the euro would provide a higher degree of financial autonomy to the euro area, protecting it from the use of other currencies as foreign policy tools by other national administrations;
Amendment 38 #
2020/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas the stability of a currency is also determined by the stability of the institutions behind it, more European integration is necessary to give additional institutional and political stability behind the euro;
Amendment 40 #
2020/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
Eb. whereas in the long run the attractiveness of a given currency is also determined by the vitality of its economy;
Amendment 48 #
2020/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas the Covid-19 crisis has provided renewed focus on the argument of the greater international role of the euro;
Amendment 52 #
2020/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas post-pandemic economic recovery requires the fast implementation of the EU recovery plan, which will address structural weaknesses and put in place policies to enhance growth and competitiveness; whereas such policies are paramount both to enhancing the attractiveness of the euro globally and to strengthening Europe’s economic and financial autonomy; whereas the recently- proposed recovery fund is an excellent example of what is needed as a European fiscal response to build confidence among investors; whereas a meaningful fiscal stimulus, in conjunction with a monetary one – including a joint European effort –, will have a positive effect on the international position of the euro; whereas the premature withdrawal of fiscal stimulus and the lack of coordination of fiscal action can undermine the attractiveness of the euro as an international currency;
Amendment 57 #
2020/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
Ha. whereas the bond issuance that goes together with the recovery fund will allow global investors to get exposure to the euro area as a whole also establishing a genuine euro-area yield curve;
Amendment 59 #
2020/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital H b (new)
Recital H b (new)
Hb. whereas the ECB’s pandemic emergency purchase programme is a decisive element to maintain price stability and ensure stable sources of funding for the euro area economy;
Amendment 71 #
2020/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)
Recital J a (new)
Ja. whereas the USA enjoys the benefits of issuing large amounts of debt securities that are considered on markets around the world as risk free;
Amendment 73 #
2020/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital J b (new)
Recital J b (new)
Jb. whereas the USA can benefit from the so-called dollar’s “exorbitant privilege” and benefit from seigniorage and the ability to sell government securities at low interest rates to fund a large increase in spending;
Amendment 74 #
2020/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital J c (new)
Recital J c (new)
Jc. whereas American companies have enjoyed the stability that comes from being able to conduct international transactions in their own currency;
Amendment 80 #
2020/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital K a (new)
Recital K a (new)
Ka. whereas the right mix of fiscal and monetary policy is needed to build a deeper and better more stable EMU, necessary to increase the euro’s influence and the benefits that accrue to euro area members;
Amendment 102 #
2020/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Reiterates, in this context, the need to deepen and complete the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), the Banking Union and the Capital Markets Union (CMU), with a view to enhancing - by strengthening the governance and the fiscal capacity for eurozone to be able to provide a counter-cyclical stabilization function -, the Banking Union - by focusing on an introduction of a common deposits insurance scheme - and the Capital Markets Union (CMU) - in order to ensure deeper cross-border capital flows including strengthening of cooperation on taxation on financial products and convergence of company law and insolvency regimes - with a view to enhancing the EU's political and institutional framework and therefore the international competitiveness of European markets and the attractiveness of the euro;
Amendment 110 #
2020/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Underlines that the international role of the euro would also benefit from the untapping of the potential of one of the greatest added values of the EU - its single market; calls in this respect for the completion of the single market, which encompasses all EU countries, also the ones not belonging to the euro area;
Amendment 133 #
2020/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Emphasises the need for sustainable and sound fiscal and structural growth- enhancing policies that are based on a commitment to credible fiscal rules; calls for further reflection on the adequacy of the stability and growth pact framework despite the challenging circumstances; supports the plan outlined in Next Generation EU to use, in addition to monetary policy, a fiscal impulse, notably borrowing EUR 750 billion from capital markets bonds to finance the recovery and green transition, in addition to the issuance of EUR 100 billion in ‘social’ bonds under the European instrument for temporary support to mitigate unemployment risks in an emergency (SURE), which is intended to preserve employment; Emphasizes in this respect that a crucial factor in the use of Next Generation EU is, alongside the investment in a greener economy, is to intensify policy to restructure the EU economies toward medium and high-level technologies; applauds the high level of interest that investors have demonstrated in European bonds;
Amendment 142 #
2020/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Highlights, in this respect, that a higher amount of EU's own resources through various taxes is a step in the right direction in becoming a true fiscal entity, and therefore, strengthening the role of the euro;
Amendment 156 #
2020/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Underlines that as large and permanent current account surpluses create instability for a prominent international role of a currency, the Euro area growth model should be rebalanced and the export-led tendency shall be offset by measures that stimulate the internal demand, to a level compatible with potential supply;
Amendment 183 #
2020/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Emphasises that the euro is not only an economic project but also a political one; stresses the irreversible nature of the single currency; draws attention to the requirement for every Member State, with the exception of Denmark, to adopt the single currency once they have met the Maastricht convergence criteria;
Amendment 225 #
2020/2037(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Takes note ofWelcomes the ECB report on the digital euro, and of the value a digital currency can add in strengthening the international role of the euro; supports the ECB’s efforts in ensuring a high level of cyber resilience;
Amendment 18 #
2020/2023(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Believes it to be in both Parties’ mutual interests to establish an ambitious and reliable future economic partnership covering a wide number of sectors; underlines that, in any case, a level playing field must be ensured and EU standards safeguarded in order to avoid a ‘race to the bottom’ and the acquisition of unfair competitive advantages through the undercutting of levels of protection or other regulatory divergences; considers that any future framework should safeguard fair competition, investor and consumer protection, and the integrity of the single market, while respecting the EU’s regulatory regime and decision- making autonomy;
Amendment 56 #
2020/2023(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Recalls, in the context of financial services, that passporting rights, which are based on mutual recognition and harmonised prudential rules in the internal market, will cease to apply between the EU and the UK at the end of the transitional period; underlines that, thereafter, access to the European financial market must be based on equivalence decisions made within the EU’s legal framework, as well as on reciprocity principle to grant the EU financial institutions an undisturbed access to appropriate market infrastructure, including CCPs, in the UK;
Amendment 59 #
2020/2023(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Emphasizes the need for further deep cooperation and transparency in the area of tax fraud and money laundering between the EU and the UK; underlines the need for the UK and its overseas territories to comply with international and EU standards in these matters; recalls, in this context, the existence of the EU list of third countries with strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing frameworks as well as the EU list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions;
Amendment 84 #
2020/2023(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Defends the need to extend the transition period, especially in light of the current economic, social and health crisis caused by the coronavirus; in order to allow enough time to conclude the negotiations on a comprehensive future partnership, while safeguarding citizens’ rights, legal certainty and economic and financial stability.
Amendment 86 #
2020/2023(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Reminds that the liquidity of Member States' bonds market as well as liquidity of exchange of national currencies of non-euro zone Member States have been relying on the infrastructure offered by investment banks in the UK; mentions that as it is banned in many of EU legal systems to conduct primary trading of state bonds in third countries, there is an important need to take the abovementioned issue into consideration in the new EU-UK partnership negotiations;
Amendment 268 #
2020/2023(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Strongly believes that the UK should adhere to the evolving standards on taxation and anti-money laundering legislation within the EU acquis as well as worldwide, including tax transparency, the exchange of information on tax matters and anti-tax avoidance measures, and, in order to guarantee a fruitful and trust-based mutual cooperation, should address the respective situations of its Overseas Territories, its Sovereign Base Areas and its Crown Dependencies and their non- compliance with EU good governance criteria and transparency requirements; Recalls, in this context, the existence of the EU list of third countries with strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing frameworks as well as the EU list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions;
Amendment 129 #
2020/0104(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) At Union level, the European Semester of economic policy coordination (‘European Semester’), including the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights, is the framework to identify national reform priorities and monitor their implementation. As part of the goals of the European Semester, structural reforms based on solidarity, integration and social justice are also addressed, with the aim of creating quality employment and growth, ensuring equality of and access to opportunity and social protection, protecting vulnerable groups and improving the living standards of all. Member States develop their own national multiannual investment strategies in support of those reforms. Those strategies should be presented alongside the yearly National Reform Programmes as a way to outline and coordinate priority investment projects to be supported by national and/or Union funding.
Amendment 147 #
2020/0104(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 changed the economic outlook for the years to come in the Union and in the world, calling for an urgent and coordinated response from the Union in order to cope with the enormous economic and social consequences for all Member. The challenges linked to the demographic context have been amplified by COVID-19. The current COVID-19 pandemic as well as the previous economic and financial crisis have shown that developing sound and resilient economies and financial and social welfare systems built on strong economic and social structures helps Member States to respond more efficiently to shocks and recover more swiftly from them. The medium and long-term consequences of the COVID-19 crisis will critically depend on how quickly Member States’ economies will recover from the crisis, which in turn depends on the fiscal space Member States have available to take measures to mitigate the social and economic impact of the crisis, and on the resilience of their economies. Reforms and investments to address structural weaknesses of the economies and strengthen their resilience will therefore be essential to set the economies back on a sustainable recovery path and avoid further widening of the divergences in the Union.
Amendment 166 #
2020/0104(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) The implementation of reforms contributing to achieve a high degree of resilience of deconomiestic econom and societies, strengthening adjustment capacity and unlocking growth potential are among the Union’s policy priorities. They are therefore crucial to set the recovery on a sustainable path and support the process of upward economic and social convergence. This is even more necessary in the aftermath of the pandemic crisis to pave the way for a swift recovery.
Amendment 279 #
2020/0104(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12 a (new)
Recital 12 a (new)
(12a) The scope of application of the Facility should refer to policy areas related to economic, social and territorial cohesion, the green and digital transitions, health, competitiveness, entrepreneurship, resilience, productivity, stability of the financial systems, culture, education and skills, children and youth policies, research and innovation, smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, public healthcare systems, policies in line with the European Pillar of Social Rights - such as social protection - high-quality jobs and investment, gender equality, the integration of people with disabilities, social dialogue and strengthening democratic systems, including efficient and independent judicial systems as well as media pluralism and media freedom.
Amendment 317 #
2020/0104(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) The Facility’s general objective should be the promotion of economic, social and territorial cohesion. For that purpose, it should contribute to improving the resilience and adjustment capacity of the Member States, mitigating the social and economic impact of the crisis, and supporting the green and digital transitions aimed at achieving a climate neutral Europe by 2050, thereby restoring the growth potential of the economies of the Union in the aftermath of the crisis, fostering employment creation, boosting investments in relevant sectors and to promoting sustainable growth.
Amendment 351 #
2020/0104(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16
Recital 16
(16) To ensure its contribution to the objectives of the Facility, the recovery and resilience plan should comprise measures for the implementation of reforms and publics well as public and private investment projects through a coherent recovery and resilience plan. The recovery and resilience plan should be consistent with the relevant country- specific challenges and priorities identified in the context of the European Semester, with the national reform programmes, the national energy and climate plans, the just transition plans, and the partnership agreements and operational programmes adopted under the Union funds. To boost actions that fall within the priorities of the European Green Deal and the Digital Agenda, the plan should also set out measures that are relevant for the green and digital transitions. The measures should enable a swift deliver of targets, objectives and contributions set out in national energy and climate plans and updates thereof. All supported activities should be pursued in full respect of the climate and, environmental and digital priorities of the Union.
Amendment 355 #
2020/0104(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16 a (new)
Recital 16 a (new)
(16a) As local governments and municipalities are the closest to their citizens, and they have a first-hand experience regarding needs and problems of the local communities and economies, they play a crucial role in economic and social recovery. Taking this into consideration municipalities and local governments should be closely involved in the planning and implementation of this Facility, including the preparation of the recovery and resilience plans as well as the management of the projects under the Facility. In order to fully exploit the potential of municipalities and local governments in achieving recovery and resilience, a significant part of resources of the Recovery and Resilience Facility should be dedicated to them, with creating a direct access to those sources for municipalities and local governments.
Amendment 361 #
2020/0104(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16 b (new)
Recital 16 b (new)
(16b) In those Member States, where the EU determines the existence of generalised deficiencies of the rule of law, and subsequently decides to suspend the transfer of Union funds to the government of that Member State, the Recovery and Resilience Fund should be made available via direct management by the Commission, to regional and local governments, enterprises and civil society organisations for projects defined and implemented by them.
Amendment 503 #
2020/0104(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 32 a (new)
Recital 32 a (new)
(32a) Where the European Semester and in particular the country-specific recommendations, identifies challenges that require urgent reforms but the Member State in question makes inadequate use of the allocated funding or the Commission decided to suspend such funding because of unsatisfactory implementation of the recovery and resilience plans or in case of deficiency with regards to rule of law, regional and local level actions, including civil society initiatives that contribute to addressing those challenges should continue to benefit from the Facility, and funding should be made available for regional and local authorities and other stakeholders, including social partners and civil society organisations.
Amendment 516 #
2020/0104(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 34 a (new)
Recital 34 a (new)
(34a) Member States should ensure that communication activities, in particular with regard to the obligation to make visibility of the support provided within the framework of the Facility, are properly disseminated at the appropriate regional and local level, on multiple outlets in a non-discriminatory manner.
Amendment 552 #
2020/0104(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 39
Recital 39
(39) The recovery and resilience plans to be implemented by the Member States and the corresponding financial contribution allocated to them should be established by the Commission by way of implementing act. In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission. The implementing powers relating to the adoption of the recovery and resilience plans and to the payment of the financial support upon fulfilment of the relevant milestones and targets should be exercised by the Commission in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council, under the examination procedure thereof13 . After the adoption of an implementing act, it should be possible for the Member State concerned and the Commission to agree on certain operational arrangements of a technical nature, detailing aspects of the implementation with respect to timelines, indicators for the milestones and targets, and access to underlying data. To allow the continuous relevance of the operational arrangements in respect of the prevailing circumstances during the implementation of the recovery and resilience plan, it should be possible that the elements of such technical arrangements may be modified by mutual consent. Horizontal financial rules adopted by the European Parliament and the Council on the basis of Article 322 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union apply to this Regulation. These rules are laid down in the Financial Regulation and determine in particular the procedure for establishing and implementing the budget through grants, procurement, prizes, indirect implementation, and provide for checks on the responsibility of financial actors. Rules adopted on the basis of Article 322 TFEU also concern the protection of the Union's budget in case of generalised deficiencies as regards the rule of law in the Member States, as the respect for the rule of law is an, democratic checks and balances, an independent judiciary, media pluralism and media freedom are essential preconditions for sound financial management and effective EU funding and fighting corruption. __________________ 13 Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by Member States of the Commission’s exercise of implementing powers (OJ L 55, 28.2.2011, p. 13).
Amendment 1161 #
2020/0104(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 3 – point d
Article 16 – paragraph 3 – point d
(d) whether the recovery and resilience plan is expected to effectively contribute to strengthen the growth potential, job creation, social progress and economic and social resilience of the Member State, decrease inequalities, mitigate the economic and social impact of the crisis, and contribute to enhance economic, social and territorial cohesion;
Amendment 1370 #
2020/0104(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 6
Article 19 – paragraph 6
6. Where the Member State concerned has not taken the necessary measures within a period of six months from the suspension, the Commission shall cancelmake the amount of the financial contribution pursuant to Article 14(1) of the Financial Regulatioavailable for regional and local authorities and other stakeholders, including social partners and civil society organisations that contribute to addressing the challenges identified in the recovery and resilience plan after having given the Member State concerned the possibility to present its observations within two months from the communication of its conclusions.
Amendment 1374 #
2020/0104(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 7 – introductory part
Article 19 – paragraph 7 – introductory part
7. Where, within eighteen months of the date of the adoption the decision referred to in Article 17(1), no tangible progress has been made in respect of any relevant milestones and targets by the Member State concerned, the amount of the financial contribution shall be cancelled pursuant to Article 14(1) of the Financial Regulatiomade available for regional and local authorities and other stakeholders, including social partners and civil society organisations that contribute to addressing the challenges identified in the recovery and resilience plan.
Amendment 1506 #
2020/0104(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 26 – paragraph 1
Article 26 – paragraph 1
1. The recipients of Union funding shall acknowledge the origin and ensure the visibility of the Union funding, in particular when promoting the actions and their results, by providing coherent, effective and proportionate targeted information to multiple audiences, including the media and the publicthe public, including through the media on a non- discriminatory basis.
Amendment 32 #
2020/0100(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 1
Recital 1
(1) The Commission adopted a Communication on the European Green Deal on 11 December 20199 , drawing its roadmap towards a new growth policy for Europe and setting ambitious objectives to counter climate change and for environmental protection. In line with the objective to achieve climate neutrality in the Union by 2050 in an effective and fair manner, while striving for socio-economic sustainability, the European Green Deal announced a Just Transition Mechanism to provide means for facing the climate challenge while leaving no one behind. The most vulnerable regions and people are the most exposed to the harmful effects of climate change and environmental degradation. At the same time, managing the transition requires significant structural changes. In order to be successful, the transition should reduce inequalities, create a net employment effect with new high quality jobs, and be fair and socially acceptable for all. _________________ 9 COM(2019) 640 final.
Amendment 37 #
2020/0100(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) The Commission adopted a Communication on the European Green Deal Investment Plan10 on 14 January 2020, establishing the Just Transition Mechanism which focuses on the regions and sectors that are most affected by the transition given their dependence on fossil fuels, including coal, peat and oil shale or greenhouse gas-intensive industrial processes but have less capacity to finance the necessary investments. The Just Transition Mechanism consists of three pillars: a Just Transition Fund implemented under shared management, a dedicated just transition scheme under InvestEU, and a public sector loan facility to mobilise additional investments to the regions concerned. All three pillars are to complement each other to support the implementation of the Green Deal and address the economic, social, energy sustainability, energy security, energy affordability and regional challenges and opportunities of the transition to a sustainable, climate-neutral and climate- resilient, resource-efficient, and circular economy by 2050 at the latest. _________________ 10 COM(2020) 21 final.
Amendment 42 #
2020/0100(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) The proposal for establishing the Just Transition Fund was adopted by the Commission on 14 January 202011 . For the better programming and implementation of the Fund, territorial just transition plans are to be adopted, setting out the key steps and timeline of the transition process towards the achievement the Union 2030 climate targets and a climate neutral economy by 2050, in a way that leaves no one behind, and identifying the territories most negatively affected by the transition towards a climate neutral economy and with less capacity to deal with the transition challenges. Only Member States that are committed to the EU 2050 climate neutrality target should benefit from the Facility. _________________ 11 COM(2020) 22 final
Amendment 50 #
2020/0100(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) A public sector loan facility (the ‘Facility’) should be provided. It constitutes the third pillar of the Just Transition Mechanism, supporting public sector entities in their investments. Such investments should meet the development needs resulting from the transition challenges described in the territorial just transition plans as adopted by the Commission and contribute towards achieving the goals of the Green Deal and the European Pillar of Social Rights. The activities envisaged for support should be consistent with and complement those supported under the other two pillars of the Just Transition Mechanism.
Amendment 57 #
2020/0100(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) In order to enhance the economic diversification of territories impacted by the transition, the Facility should cover a wide range of investments, on condition that they contribute to meet the development needs in the transition towards a climate neutral economy, as described in the territorial just transition plans. The investments supported may cover energy, but shall not be limited to, energy infrastructure, including clean hydrogen-, biogas- and biomethane- compatible investments, and transport infrastructure, district heating networks, green mobility, investment in green and sustainable research and innovation projects, smart waste management, clean energy and energy efficiency measures including renovations and conversions of buildings, support to transition to a circular economy, land restoration and decontamination, environmental infrastructure (water and sanitation), urban renewal and regeneration, cultural and historical heritage, as well as up- and re-skilling, training and social infrastructure, including social housing. Infrastructure developments may also include solutions leading to their enhanced resilience to withstand disasters. Comprehensive investment approach should be favoured in particular for territories with important transition needs. Investments in other sectors could also be supported if they are consistent with the adopted territorial just transition plans. By supporting investments that do not generate sufficient revenues, the Facility aims at providing public sector entities with additional resources necessary to address the social, economic and environmental challenges resulting from the adjustment to climate transition. In order to help identify investments with a high positive environmental impact eligible under the Facility, the EU taxonomy on environmentally sustainable economic activities may be used.
Amendment 74 #
2020/0100(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6
Recital 6
(6) Horizontal financial rules adopted by the European Parliament and the Council on the basis of Article 322 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union apply to this Regulation. These rules are laid down in the Financial Regulation and determine in particular the procedure for establishing and implementing the budget through grants, procurement, prizes, indirect implementation, and provide for checks on the responsibility of financial actors. Rules adopted on the basis of Article 322 TFEU also concern the protection of the Union's budget in case of generalised deficiencies as regards the rule of law in the Member States, as the respect for the rule of law is an essential precondition for sound financial management and effective EU funding. Only Member States that adhere to the fundamental values of the Union, including the rule of law principle, should benefit from the Facility. In case the Commission is of the opinion that the rule of law in a Member State is breached, it should seek to support the transition of concerned regions in other ways or find a way to direct the support strictly to the region, if it obeys the rule of law principles, without involving the national government.
Amendment 91 #
2020/0100(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13
Recital 13
(13) In order to ensure that all Member States are granted the possibility to benefit from the grant component to the highest level possible, and understanding that it is transition regions that might be mostly financially and socially hit by the transition, a mechanism should be set up to establish earmarked national shares to be respected during a first stage, based on the distribution key proposed in the Just Transition Fund Regulation. However, in order to reconcile that objective with the need to optimise the economic impact of the Facility and its implementation, such national allocations should not be earmarked after 31 December 2024. Thereafter, the remaining resources available for the grant component should be provided without any pre-allocated national share and on a competitive basis at Union level, while ensuring predictability for investment and following a needs-based and regional convergence approach. An interim evaluation report should be published by 30 June 2024 to provide input into allocating the remaining resources.
Amendment 103 #
2020/0100(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) Specific eligibility conditions and award criteria, which may include relevant criteria established by Regulation (EU)… (Regulation on establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment), should be set out in the work programme and the call for proposals. Those eligibility conditions and award criteria should take into account the relevanceability of the project in the context of theto meet the objectives and development needs described in the territorial just transition plans, the contribution to ensuring the climate transition is achieved in a manner leaving no one behind, the overall objective of promoting regional and territorial convergence and the significancrole of the grant component for the viaffordability of the project. Union Support established by this Regulation should thus only be made available to Member States with at least one territorial just transition plan adopted. The work programme and calls for proposals will also take into account the territorial just transition plans submitted by Member States to ensure that coherence and consistency across the different pillars of the mechanism is ensured.
Amendment 108 #
2020/0100(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 14 a (new)
Recital 14 a (new)
(14 a) On an ad-hoc basis, the Facility support should be given to regions undergoing an unforeseen business crisis resulting from actions to address climate change, to allow for an adeuqate response to cisis situations that may arise in the context of the transition. This is to ensure, that regions may receive support, even if they are not pre-labeled as impacted regions.
Amendment 120 #
2020/0100(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 19 a (new)
Recital 19 a (new)
(19 a) Financial support through the Facility should not be granted to companies registered in the countries placed on the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes, unless they prove they have a legitimate business activity there.
Amendment 141 #
2020/0100(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Only Member States that are committed to achieving the EU 2050 climate neutrality target and adhere to the fundamental values of the Union, including the rule of law principle, may benefit from the Facility. Respect for the rule of law is an essential precondition for sound financial management and effective EU funding.
Amendment 147 #
2020/0100(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5
5. 'territorial just transition plan' means a plan established in accordance with Article 7 of Regulation [JTF Regulation], prepared by relevant local and regional authorities and consulted with social partners, regional civil society and the private sector representatives, and approved by the Commission;
Amendment 150 #
2020/0100(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 6 a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 6 a (new)
6 a. 'additionality' means the support for projects that do not generate a sufficient stream of own resources to cover investment costs, and would thus not otherwise materialise in the same timeframe, and that contribute to the general objectives laid down in Article 3.
Amendment 155 #
2020/0100(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1
Article 3 – paragraph 1
1. The general objective of the Facility is to address serious socio- economic challenges deriving from the transition process towards a climate-neutral economy for the benefit of the Union territories identified in the territorial just transition plans prepared by the Member States in accordance with Article 7 of Regulation [JTF Regulation] in line with Paris Agreement objectives and ensuring that the transition reduces inequalities, creates a net employment effect with new high quality jobs, and is fair and socially acceptable for all.
Amendment 170 #
2020/0100(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) assigned revenue as referred to in paragraph 2 up to a maximum amount of EUR 1 2752 170 000 000 in current prices.
Amendment 174 #
2020/0100(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2
Article 4 – paragraph 2
2. The resources referred to in paragraph 1(b) shall be provided by repayments stemming from financial instruments established under the programmes listed in Annex I to this Regulation up to a maximum amount of EUR 2751 000 000 000 and from the surplus of the provisioning for the EU guarantee established by the EFSI Regulation up to a maximum amount of EUR 1 0700 000 000.
Amendment 207 #
2020/0100(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) the projects achieve measurable impact in addressing serious social, economic or environmental challenges deriving from the transition process towards a climate-neutral economy ensuring that the climate transition is achieved in a just manner leaving no one behind and benefit territories identified in a territorial just transition plan, even if they are not located in those territories;
Amendment 225 #
2020/0100(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point d a (new)
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point d a (new)
(d a) By derogation from paragraph 1(b), it is possible for projects receiving Union support under the Facility to receive advisory and technical assistance support for their preparation, development or implementation from other Union programmes.
Amendment 239 #
2020/0100(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 11 – paragraph 1
Article 11 – paragraph 1
1. In addition to the grounds specified in Article 131(4) of the Financial Regulation and after consulting the finance partner, the amount of the grant mayshall be reduced or the grant agreement may be terminated, if within two years from the date of signature of the grant agreement, the economically most significant supply, works or services contract has not been signed, in cases where the conclusion of such contract is envisaged pursuant to the grant agreement.
Amendment 242 #
2020/0100(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 11 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
Article 11 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
In such cases and after consulting the finance partner, the amount of the grant mayshall be reduced or the grant agreement may be terminated, and any related amounts paid may be recovered, in accordance with the conditions set out in the grant agreement.
Amendment 248 #
2020/0100(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 1
Article 13 – paragraph 1
The Facility shall be implemented by work programmes established in accordance with Article 110 of the Financial Regulation. The work programmes shall specify the eligibility conditions and award criteria for the selection. Such award criteria may include relevant criteria out of those laid down in Regulation (EU)... (Regulation on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment), the project's ability to meet the objectives and needs identified in the territorial just transition plans, the contribution to ensuring that the climate transition is achieved in a just manner leaving no one behind, the overall objective of promoting regional and territorial convergence and the grant's contribution to the affordability of projects. The Commission shall ensure that gender equality and the integration of gender perspective are taken into account and promoted in the work programme. The work programmes shall set out the national shares of resources, including any additional resources, for each Member State in accordance with Articles 4(1) and 6(2) of this Regulation.
Amendment 263 #
2020/0100(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 2
Article 15 – paragraph 2
2. The interim evaluation of the Facility shall be performed by 30 June 20254, when sufficient information is expected to be available about the implementation of the Facility. The evaluation shall in particular demonstrate how the Union support provided under the Facility shall have contributed in addressing the needs of territories implementing the territorial just transition plans.
Amendment 264 #
2020/0100(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 3
Article 15 – paragraph 3
3. At the end of the implementation period and no later than 31 December 2031, a final evaluation report on the results and long-term impact of the Facility shall be established. and submitted by the Commission to the Parliament and the Council. The beneficiaries and the finance partners shall contribute to such evaluation by providing the Commission all relevant information necessary to enable it to perform that evaluation.
Amendment 267 #
2020/0100(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Article 15 – paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. The evaluation shall present an assessment of the Facility's contribution to meeting the objectives of the European Social Pillar and the EU sustainability policy objectives, in particular the Union's 2030 targets for climate and energy and the transition towards a climate neutral economy in the Union by 2050.
Amendment 272 #
2020/0100(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 1
Article 18 – paragraph 1
1. The beneficiaries and the finance partners shall ensure, to the highest possible level, the visibility and details of the Union support provided under the Facility, in particular when promoting the projects and their results, by providing targeted information to multiple audiences, including the mediapublic and privately-owned media, the social partners and the public.
Amendment 276 #
2020/0100(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 18 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. The finance partners shall disclose all relevant financial information on each project co-financed by the Facility on their website.
Amendment 289 #
2020/0100(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Annex II – point 7
Annex II – point 7
7. Greenhouse gas emission reduced, where relevant for calculation
Amendment 291 #
2020/0100(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Annex II – point 7 a (new)
Annex II – point 7 a (new)
7 a. Employment and unemployment rate
Amendment 294 #
Amendment 295 #
2020/0100(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Annex II – point 7 c (new)
Annex II – point 7 c (new)
7 c. Population of regions/territories benefitting from projects carried out under the Facility
Amendment 95 #
2020/0066(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 3
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 3
Regulation (EU) No 575/2013
Article 500a – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 500a – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. By way of derogation from Article 114(2), for exposures to the central governments and central banks of Member States denominated and funded in the domestic currency of another Member State. (a) until 31 December 2022, the risk weight applied to the exposure values shall be 0 % of the risk weight assigned to those exposures in accordance with Article 114(2); (b) during the period from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023, the risk weight applied to the exposure values shall be 20 % of the risk weight assigned to those exposures in accordance with Article 114(2); (c) during the period from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024, the risk weight applied to the exposure values shall be 50 % of the risk weight assigned to those exposures in accordance with Article 114(2); (d) during the period beginning 1 January 2025 and thereafter, the risk weight applied to the exposure values shall be 100 % of the risk weight assigned to those exposures in accordance with Article 114(2).
Amendment 99 #
2020/0066(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 3
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 3
Regulation (EU) No 575/2013
Article 500a – paragraph 1 b (new)
Article 500a – paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. By way of derogation from Articles 395(1) and 493(4), competent authorities may allow institutions to incur exposures referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, up to the following limits: (a) 100 % of the institution’s Tier 1 capital until 31 December 2023; (b) 75 % of the institution’s Tier 1 capital until 31 December 2024; (c) 50 % of the institution’s Tier 1 capital until 31 December 2025. The limits referred to in points (a), (b) and (c) of the first subparagraph of this paragraph shall apply to exposure values after taking into account the effect of the credit risk mitigation in accordance with Articles 399 to 403.
Amendment 61 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 1
Recital 1
(1) The regulatory framework governing the Union’s cohesion policy for the period from 2021 to 2027, in the context of the next multi-annual financial framework, contributes to the fulfilment of the Union’s commitments to implement the Paris Agreement, the European Pillar of Social Rights and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by concentrating Union funding on green objectives, while at the same time not undermining the social and economic sustainability in the EU. This Regulation implements one of the priorities set out in the Communication on the European Green Deal (‘the European Green Deal’)11 and is part of the Sustainable Europe Investment Plan12 providing dedicated financing under the Just Transition Mechanism in the context of cohesion policy to address the economic and social costhallenges of the transition to a climate-neutral and circular economy, where any remaining greenhouse gas emissions are compensated by equivalent absorptions. __________________ 11 COM(2019) 640 final, 11.12.2019. 12 COM(2020) 21, 14.1.2020.
Amendment 70 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) The transition to a climate-neutral and, circular and globally competitive economy constitutes one of the most important policy objectives for the Union. On 12 December 2019, the European Council e.g. through the New Green Deal endorsed the objective of achieving a climate-neutral Union by 2050, in line with the objectives of the Paris Agreement. While fighting climate change and environmental degradation will benefit all in the long term and provides opportunities and challenges for all in the medium term, not all regions and Member States start their transition from the same point or have the same capacity to respond. Some are more advanced than others, whereas the transition entails a wider social and economic impact for those regions that rely heavily on fossil fuels - especially coal, lignite, peat and oil shale - or greenhouse gas intensive industries. Such a situation not only creates the risk of a variable speed transition in the Union as regards climate action, but also of growing disparities between regions, detrimental to the objectives of social, economic and territorial cohesion.
Amendment 78 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) In order to be successful, the transition has to be fair, inclusive and socially acceptable for all as well as contribute to high-quality job-creation and eradication of poverty. Therefore, both the Union and the Member States must take into account its economic and social implications from the outset, and deploy all possible instruments to mitigate adverse consequences. The Union budget has an important role in that regard.
Amendment 93 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) This Regulation establishes the Just Transition Fund (‘JTF’) which is one of the pillars of the Just Transition Mechanism implemented under cohesion policy. The JTF should strive to create synergies and complementarities with the other two pillars of the Just Transition Mechanism. The aim of the JTF is to mitigate the adverse effects of the climate transition by supporting the most affected territories and workers concerned, while, at the same time, enhancing the EU's global competitiveness as well as social and economic standard setting agenda. In line with the JTF specific objective, actions supported by the JTF should directly contribute to alleviate the impact of the transition by financing the diversification and modernisation of the local economy and by mitigating the negative repercussions on employment. This is reflected in the JTF specific objective, which is established at the same level and listed together with the policy objectives set out in Article [4] of Regulation EU [new CPR].
Amendment 106 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6
Recital 6
(6) In view of the importance of tackling climate change in line with the Union’s commitments to implement the Paris Agreement, the commitment regarding the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the European Pillar of Social Rights and the increased ambition of the Union as proposed in the European Green Deal, the JTF should provide a key contribution to mainstream climate actions. Resources from the JTF own envelope are additional and come on top of the investments needed to achieve the overall target of 25% of the Union budget expenditure contributing to climate objectives. Resources transferred from the ERDF and ESF+ will contribute fully to the achievement of this target.
Amendment 112 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 7
Recital 7
(7) The resources ofrom the JTF should be significantly increased and complement the resources available under cohesion policy in order to address the ambitious objectives of the EU. The establishment of the JTF should not lead to any cuts or transfers from other funds such as the new Common Provisions Regulation.
Amendment 115 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 7 a (new)
Recital 7 a (new)
(7a) The additional resources to the Union Budget to finance the JTF and its ambitious objectives should come from a basket of Union new own resources, including mechanisms and taxes that would have a beneficial impact on the just transition such as income from the carbon border adjustment mechanism, the income from the emission trading system but also from the taxation of digital services.
Amendment 121 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 8
Recital 8
(8) Transitioning to a climate-neutral economy is a challenge for all Member States. It will be particularly demanding for those Member States that rely heavily on fossil fuels or greenhouse gas intensive industrial activities which need to be phased out or which need to adapt due to the transition towards climate neutrality and that lack the financial means to do so. Hence, no Member State nor its citizens should be left alone by itself. The JTF should therefore cover all Member States, but the distribution of its financial means should reflect the capacity of Member States to finance the necessary investments to cope with the transition towards climate neutrality.
Amendment 127 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) This Regulation identifies types of investments for which expenditure may be supported by the JTF. All supported activities should be pursued in full respect of the climate and environmental priorities of the Union. The list of investments should include those that support local economies and are sustainable in the long- term, taking into account all the objectives of the Green Deal. The projects financed should contribute to a gradual transition to a socially-balanced, innovative, economically sustainable, climate-neutral and circular economy. For dseclining sectorstors with high CO2 emissions level, such as energy production based on coal, lignite, peat and oil shale or extraction activities for these solid fossil fuels, support should be linked to the phasing out of the activity and the corresponding reduction in the employment level, while cooperating on this matter with social partners, trade unions and other stakeholders to find a balanced yet ambitious timeframe for such actions. As regards transforming sectors with high greenhouse gas emission levels, support should promote newlower carbon activities through the deployment of new technologies, new processes or, new products or, under exceptional circumstances, affordable low emission energy, leading to significant emission reduction, in line with the EU 2030 climate objectives and EU climate neutrality by 205013 while maintaining and enhancing skilled employment and, avoiding environmental degradation and further strengthening the EU's global competitiveness. Particular attention should also be given to activities enhancing innovation and research in advanced and sustainable technologies, as well as in the fields of digitalisation and connectivity, provided that such measures help mitigate the negative side effects of a transition towards, and contribute to, a competitive, sustainable, climate- neutral and circular economy. __________________ 13 As set out in “A Clean Planet for all European strategic long-term vision for a prosperous, modern, competitive and climate neutral economy”, Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the European Investment Bank - COM(2018) 773 final.
Amendment 140 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11
Recital 11
(11) To protect citizens who are most vulnerable to the climate transition, the JTF should also cover the professional training, up-skilling and reskilling of the affected workerscitizens of affected by such changes (especially workers in such places), with the aim of helping them to adapt to new employment opportunities, as well as providing job-search assistance to jobseekers and their active inclusion into the labour market.
Amendment 145 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12
Recital 12
(12) In order to enhance the economic diversification of territories impacted by the transition, the JTF should provide support to productive investment in SMEall companies, yet should concentrate mainly on SMEs and micro enterprises. Productive investment should be understood as investment in fixed capital or immaterial assets of enterprises in view of producing goods and services thereby contributing to gross-capital formation and employment. For enterprises other than SMEs, productive investments should be supported if they strongly be supportecontribute to the transition to a low-carbon, competitive and sustainable economy and if they are necessary for mitigating job losses resulting from the transition, by creating or protecting a significant number of jobs and they do not lead to or result from relocation. Investments in existing industrial facilities, including those covered by the Union Emissions Trading System, should be allowed if they contribute to the transition to a climate- neutral economy by 2050 and go substantially below the relevant benchmarks established for free allocation under Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council14 and if they result in the protection of a significant number of jobs. Any such investment should be justified accordingly in the relevant territorial just transition plan. In order to protect the integrity of the internal market and cohesion policy, support to undertakings should comply with Union State aid rules as set out in Articles 107 and 108 TFEU and, in particular, support to productive investments by enterprises other than SMEs should be limited to enterprises located in areas designated as assisted areas for the purposes of points (a) and (c) of Article 107(3) TFEU. __________________ 14Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 2003 establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC (OJ L 275, 25.10.2003, p. 32).
Amendment 161 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) The JTF support should be conditional on the effective implementation of a transition process in a specific territory in order to achieve a climate-neutral economy. In that regard, Member States should prepare, in cooperation with the relevant stakeholders, including local and regional authorities, as well as the social partners and representatives of the civil society on the local and regional level and supported by the Commission, territorial just transition plans, detailing the transition process, consistently with their National Energy and Climate Plans. To this end, the Commission should set up a Just Transition Platform, which would build on, but not limit itself to, the existing platform for coal regions in transition and its experience to enable bilateral and multilateral exchanges of experience on lessons learnt and best practices across all affected sectors.
Amendment 170 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) The territorial just transition plans should identify the territories most negatively affected, where JTF support should be concentrated and describe specific actions to be undertaken to reach a climate-neutral economy, notably as regards the conversion or closure of facilities involving fossil fuel production or other greenhouse gas intensive activities, while preserving or offering jobs in the region in order to avoid social exclusion. Those territories should be precisely defined and correspond to NUTS level 3 regions or should be parts thereof. The plans should detail the challenges and needs of those territories and identify the type of operations needed in a manner that ensures the coherent development of climate-resilient economic activities that are also consistent with the transition to climate-neutrality and, where possible coherent with other EU and national funding schemes, as well as the objectives of the Green Deal. Only investments in accordance with the transition plans should receive financial support from the JTF. The territorial just transition plans should be part of the programmes (supported by the ERDF, the ESF+, the Cohesion Fund or the JTF, as the case may be) which are approved by the Commission.
Amendment 173 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15 a (new)
Recital 15 a (new)
(15a) Regions that are not identified as territories most negatively affected, shall be eligible for financial support under the JTF, in cases of business challenges resulting from actions to address climate change, and to be able to respond on an ad-hoc basis to unforeseen circumstances.
Amendment 187 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1
Article 1 – paragraph 1
1. This Regulation establishes the Just Transition Fund (‘JTF’) to provide support to the people and territories facing serious socio-economic, energy security and environmental challenges deriving from the transition process towards a climate- neutral economy of the Union by 2050.
Amendment 196 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1
Article 2 – paragraph 1
In accordance with the second subparagraph of Article [4(1)] of Regulation (EU) [new CPR], the JTF shall contribute to the single specific objective ‘enabling regions and people to address the social, economic and environmental impacts of the transition towards a climate- neutral economy’. in line with the European Pillar of Social Rights, the UN SDGs as well as the Paris Agreement goals and the EU's goal to be climate- neutral by 2050.
Amendment 202 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1
Article 3 – paragraph 1
1. The JTF shall support the Investment for jobs and growth goal in all Member States.high-quality jobs and sustainable growth goal in all Member States. While the JTF should encourage and support the overarching ideas of the EU Green Deal, in order to address social, economic and environmental challenges connected to the transition to a low- carbon economy, a vast majority of the funds (>70%) should be targeted to regions listed as "Coal Mining Regions" in the Annex to the Terms of Reference for the Platform on Coal and Carbon- Intensive Regions;
Amendment 209 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
The resources for the JTF under the Investment for jobs and growth goal available for budgetary commitment for the period 2021-2027 shall be at least EUR 7.540 billion in 2018 prices, which may be increased, as the case may be, by additional resources allocated in the Union budget, and by other resources in accordance with the applicable basic act.including but not limiting itself to mechanisms and taxes that would have a beneficial impact on the just transition such as income from the emissions trading scheme, a carbon border adjustment mechanism, and by other resources in accordance with the applicable basic act; the abovementioned amount should be new funds, not transferred from the allocations of the funds covered by e.g. the CPR or the EAFRD;
Amendment 221 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2
For the purposes of programming and subsequent inclusion in the Union budget, the amount referred to in the first subparagraph shall be indexed at least 2% per year, depending on the economic situation.
Amendment 233 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part
In accordance with paragraph 1, the JTF shall exclusively supportsupport particularly, yet not be limited to, the following activities:
Amendment 239 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point a
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point a
(a) productive investments in SMEs, including start-ups, leading to economic diversification and reconversioncompanies, in particular SMEs, start-ups, micro-enterprises or regional and local publicly-owned companies, leading to economic diversification and reconversion, while increasing economic and social sustainability;
Amendment 251 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point b
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point b
(b) investments in the creation of new firms, including SMEs through local and regional business incubators and consulting services;
Amendment 252 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point c
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point c
(c) sustainable investments in research and innovation activities, including through universities and research centres, and fostering the transfer of advanced technologies;
Amendment 265 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point d
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point d
(d) investments in the deployment of technology and infrastructures for affordable, low-emission or clean energy, in greenhouse gas emission reduction, energy efficiency and renewable energy;
Amendment 280 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point e a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point e a (new)
(ea) investments in green energy solutions;
Amendment 284 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point f
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point f
(f) investments in regeneration, revitalisation and decontamination of sites, land restoration and repurposing projects, including countering the results of e.g. drought in the coal mine regions;
Amendment 298 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point h
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point h
(h) professional training, upskilling and reskilling of workers; as well as investment in the silver economy for traditionally mining regions;
Amendment 313 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point k a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point k a (new)
(ka) investment in public services of general interest, which contribute to an energy, economic, social and environmental transition;
Amendment 315 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point k b (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point k b (new)
(kb) any other actions agreed upon by Member States, social partners, specific regions and the Commission, aiming at addressing the goals of the EU Green Deal as well as mitigating its economic and social challenges connected to it;
Amendment 320 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2
Additionally, the JTF may support, in areas designated as assisted areas in accordance with points (a) and (c) of Article 107(3) of the TFEU, productive investments in enterprises other than SMEs, provided that such investments have been approved as part of the territorial just transition plan based on the information required under point (h) of Article 7(2). Such investments shall only be eligible where they are necessaryunderlined by the transitional regions to be crucial for the implementation of the territorial just transition plan.
Amendment 332 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) the decommissioning or the construction of nuclear power stations, including storage of nuclear waste;
Amendment 335 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point c
Amendment 346 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point d
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point d
(d) investment related to the production, processing, distribution, storage or combustion of fossil fuels, including the opening of new mines;
Amendment 352 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point e a (new)
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point e a (new)
(ea) investments that - according to the Commission - are detrimentally harmful to climate and social objectives, according to the European Pillar of Social Rights and UN SDGs;
Amendment 356 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point e b (new)
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point e b (new)
(eb) companies and investment of companies registered in the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes;
Amendment 373 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 6 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Due to the urgency of the transition and the economic and social sensitivity on the regions being the beneficiaries of the JTF, the JTF should be able to cover up to 75% of the costs of the objectives underlined in Article 2;
Amendment 377 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1
Article 7 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall prepare, together with the relevant authorities oflocal and regional authorities and in cooperation with the relevant stakeholders such as trade unions and the civil society in the territories concerned, one or more territorial just transition plans covering one or more affected territories corresponding to level 3 of the common classification of territorial units for statistics (‘NUTS level 3 regions’) as established by Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 868/201417 or parts thereof, in accordance with the template set out in Annex II. Those territories shall be those most negatively affected based on the economic and soci, social and environmental impacts resulting from the transition, in particular with regard to expected job losses in fossil fuel production and use and the transformation needs of the production processes of industrial facilities with the highest greenhouse gas intensity. __________________ 17 Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003 on the establishment of a common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS) (OJ L 154 21.6.2003, p. 1).
Amendment 382 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. On an ad-hoc basis, JTF support should be given to regions in unforeseen business crisis resulting from actions to address climate change, to allow for an adequate response to crisis situations that may arise in the context of the change over, in particular through labour market policy measures in the area of retraining and the mitigation of redundancies . This is to ensure, that regions can get support, if they are not pre-labeled as impacted regions.
Amendment 391 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point c
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point c
(c) an assessment of the transition challenges faced by the most negatively affected territories, including the social, economic, and environmental impact of the transition to a climate-neutral economy, while taking into account the objectives of the European Pillar of Social Rights and the UN 2030 Agenda, identifying the potential number of affected jobs and job losses, the development needs and objectives, to be reached by 2030 linked to the transformation or closure of greenhouse gas-intensive activities in those territories;
Amendment 395 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point d
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point d
(d) a description of the expected contribution of the JTF support to addressing the social, economic and environmental impacts of the transition to a climate-neutral and competitive economy;
Amendment 398 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point e
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point e
(e) an assessment of its consistency with other national, regional or territorial strategies and plans relevant to the JTF goals and support;
Amendment 401 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point g
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point g
(g) a description of the type of operations envisaged and their expected contribution to alleviate the impact of the transitionsocial, economic and environmental impact of the transition, also in the context of competitiveness of the region on the EU single market;
Amendment 405 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point h
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point h
(h) where support is provided to productiveJTF- relevant investments to enterprises other than SMEs, an exhaustive and throughout list of such operations and enterprises and a justification of the necessity of such support through a gap analysis demonstrating that the expected job losses would exceed the expected number of jobs created in the absence of the investment;
Amendment 414 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 3
Article 7 – paragraph 3
3. The preparation and implementation of territorial just transition plans shall involve the relevant partners in accordance with Article [6] of Regulation (EU) [new CPR] as well as a representation of civil society, social partners and different representatives of the industry affected.
Amendment 417 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1
Article 7 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1
Territorial just transition plans shall be consistent with the territorial strategies referred to in Article [23] of Regulation (EU) [new CPR], with relevant smart specialisation strategies, the NECPs and, the European Pillar of Social Rights. as well as the UN SDGs.
Amendment 436 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Annex I – paragraph 1 – point a – point i
Annex I – paragraph 1 – point a – point i
(i) greenhouse-gas emissions of industrial facilities in NUTS level 2 regions where the carbon intensity, as defined by the ratio of greenhouse gas emissions of industrial facilities as reported by Member States in accordance with Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 166/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council28 compared to the gross value added of the industry, exceeds by a factor of two the EU-27 average. Where that level is not exceeded in any NUTS level 2 regions in a given Member State, greenhouse-gas emissions of industrial facilities in the NUTS level 2 region with the highest carbon intensity is taken into account (weighting 249%), __________________ 28Regulation (EC) No 166/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 January 2006 concerning the establishment of a European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register and amending Council Directives 91/689/EEC and 96/61/EC (OJ L 33, 4.2.2006, p. 1).
Amendment 443 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Annex I – paragraph 1 – point a – point ii
Annex I – paragraph 1 – point a – point ii
(ii) employment in mining of coal and lignite (weighting 250%),
Amendment 453 #
2020/0006(COD)
Proposal for a regulation
Annex I – paragraph 1 – point b
Annex I – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) the allocations resulting from the application of point (a) are adjusted to ensure that no Member State receives an amount exceeding EUR 2 billion. The amounts exceeding EUR 2 billion26.7% of the total budget of the fund . The amounts exceeding 26.7% of the total budget of the Fund per Member State are redistributed proportionally to the allocations of all other Member States. The Member States shares are recalculated accordingly;
Amendment 4 #
2019/2211(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 13
Citation 13
— having regard to the Commission communication of 21 Nov17 December 20189 entitled ‘Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy 2020’ (COM(2019)0650), and to the Commission’s Alert Mechanism Report 2020 of 17 December 2019 (COM(2019)0651),
Amendment 5 #
2019/2211(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 a (new)
Citation 16 a (new)
- having regard to the European Investment Bank Report 2019/2020, "Accelerating Europe´s transformation"
Amendment 19 #
2019/2211(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 25 a (new)
Citation 25 a (new)
- having regard to the Commission communication of 14 January 2020 on the Sustainable Europe Investment Plan (COM(2020) 21 final)
Amendment 21 #
2019/2211(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 25 b (new)
Citation 25 b (new)
- having regard to the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Just Transition Fund (COM(2020) 22 final)
Amendment 35 #
2019/2211(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the improvement in the economic situation and low interest rates provide an opportunity to implement ambitious reforms, in particularcluding socially balanced structural reforms but also measures aimed at encouraging public and private investment to tackle climate change and its social consequences and create full- time jobs;
Amendment 65 #
2019/2211(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. having regard to the need for a European Climate Law with a legally binding goal of reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 at the latest and an intermediate target of at least 655 % for 2030;
Amendment 79 #
2019/2211(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that, in view of the climate change emergencyambitious plan of the EU to fight climate change but also due to demographic and digital challenges, 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; Emphasizes, however, that the European Semester process should still maintain mainly an instrument related to budgetary and economic issues and challenges for EU Member States;
Amendment 90 #
2019/2211(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that, in view of the climate change emergencyenvironmental, digital and demographical challenges, the EU’s Annual Growth Survey (AGS) has now been renamed the Annual Sustainable Growth Survetrategy (ASGS), and consid to steers that this implies a change in the posie EU´s economic policy orientation ing of the report and the implementation of ecological indicatorsdirection of sustainable growth;
Amendment 100 #
2019/2211(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes the role of the European Green Deal as the EU’s new growth strategy defining ecological issueswith sustainability and the wellbeing of citizens as principal goalits fcor the Unione; 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 willmight 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 implemenreflect long-term planningconcerns in addition to short- term economic policy management to tackle climate change;
Amendment 104 #
2019/2211(INI)
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 one of the 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 willmight 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;
Amendment 121 #
2019/2211(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Considers achieving a fair transition to climate neutrality - while at the same time doing its utmost to safeguard the EU's competitiveness worldwide and protect EU citizens from any potential negative social consequences that such transformation might cause - 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;
Amendment 128 #
2019/2211(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Emphasizes, in this context, that an ambitious Just Transition Fund must mitigate the, mostly social, costs of the transformation connected to the New Green Deal especially in the regions that will be mostly affected by this change;
Amendment 151 #
2019/2211(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Considers that the transition to a new growth model requires significant amount of public and private investment; stresses the importance of a properly funded EU budget able to deliver on the common challenges committed and to meet citizens expectations; recalls the need to create the right conditions for private investment to accelerate the transformation and the importance to complete the Capital Markets Union to support long-term investment, including the one for the transitions, and foster higher-risk investment for young and innovative firms.
Amendment 164 #
2019/2211(INI)
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 objto simplify the Stability and Growth Pact and make it more effectives; 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, and education and trainingcalls, therefore, for a revision of the Stability and Growth Pact including an enabling framework to protect growth-enhancing public expenditure, while ensuring sound fiscal policy;
Amendment 215 #
2019/2211(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. States that climate policy must go hand-in-hand with supporting public and private investment in the EU and enhance industrial competitiveness of the EU economy as well as create further jobs;
Amendment 330 #
2019/2211(INI)
17 a. Emphasizing that tax fraud has been a serious hit for the EU Member States' budgets, calls for decisive steps of the Commission and the Council to overcome the deadlock in the negotiations of the CC(C)TB and the public CbCR; Emphasizes a need for a clear common position of the EU for the international negotiations related to tax challenges arising from the digitalisation of the economy;
Amendment 353 #
2019/2211(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19 a. Notes that despite of the recovery in the European labour market, productivity growth has slowed and strong disparities persist. Noting that skills constraints are still one of the main obstacles to investment, considers that technological changes can have a significant impact on jobs and that a long term strategy to foster adaptative and inclusive systems for skills development is needed;
Amendment 361 #
2019/2211(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Emphasizing that youth unemployment is still a major issue in many EU Member States, underlines that the unemployment rate in the EU has been steadily falling; 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;
Amendment 400 #
2019/2211(INI)
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 and national level, in order to further boost the process’s democratic legitimacy; Believes that streamlining the process and better communication on the European Semester could increase citizens' interest in the Commission's recommendations, intensify national ownership and - therefore - increase the willingness of EU Member States to commit to the reforms proposed by the Commission;
Amendment 2 #
2019/2210(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Highlights that supporting EU- related reforms in the areas of democracy, rule of law, social market economy, economic cooperation and trade as well as good neighbourly relations and successfully opening, conducting and concluding accession talks with the Western Balkan countries is one of the EU’'s core priorities in the region;
Amendment 11 #
2019/2210(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Believes thatTakes into account the new methodology for the accession negotiations adopted by the European Commission, which envisions the EU’s enlargement policy ias a two-way street on which both sides must uphold their commitments and supports the Commission in rewarding negotiation progress as well as in reopening negotiations when expected reforms are not delivered;
Amendment 19 #
2019/2210(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Demands strong integration efforts in order to support Western Balkan countries in promoting improvement of the rule of law, democracy and human rights so as to enhance economic competitiveness, prosperity and social wellbeing, budgetary balance and structural reform;
Amendment 21 #
2019/2210(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. In this respect, calls on the candidate countries to deliver reforms which will guarantee a rules-based economic system with a level playing field for all participants and the adoption of EU standards with regard to citizen's labour and social rights;
Amendment 24 #
2019/2210(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
Amendment 28 #
2019/2210(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Requests that the Commission provide further technical support to the Western Balkans to improve the external investment framework, in particular in the areas of predictability and investor protection also by the means of increased financing of technical assistance through the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance;
Amendment 10 #
2019/2209(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Is aware that common problems in the EaP countries are a high level of corruption, bank fraud, the influence of oligarchs, the informal economy and poor governance; calls on the EaP countries to improve the rule of law, to eliminate these problems and to tackle illicit trade; calls on the EaP countries to guarantee the full respect of human rights and democracy.
Amendment 19 #
2019/2209(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Stresses the European Commission to provide further technical support to Eastern Partners in order to improve the external investment framework, particularly in the areas of predictability, certainty and investor protection.
Amendment 22 #
2019/2209(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6 b. Stresses the European Commission to extend the cooperation with our Eastern Partners to strengthen the role of civil society for the scrutiny of trade agreements and relations.
Amendment 1 #
2019/2202(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Believes that the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) has contributed to the positive evolution of trade and to economic modernisation, has boosted foreign direct investments and has created new jobs on both sides; welcomes the continuous positive results achieved in bilateral trade and economic relations, with Ukrainian imports growing by 12.3 % and exports by 9.7 %, amounting to EUR 43.3 billion in 2019; underlines that the European Union remains the main trading partner of Ukraine;
Amendment 10 #
2019/2202(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the approval and disbursement in two parts of the fourth consecutive Macro Financial Assistance (MFA) programme of EUR 1 billion in support to Ukraine; recalls that the MFA has been an important tool in implementing Ukraine’s ambitious reform agenda and accelerating economic growth, notably through the ‘more for more’ approach and the conditionalities attached to it; encourages Ukraine to continue making progress in regulatory approximation; in this respect calls for further efforts in fighting corruption and the reform of the judiciary, continued work on reaching compliance with EU legislation on animal welfare and EU phytosanitary standards, and approximation of legislation standards in the protection of labour force rights;
Amendment 26 #
2019/2202(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Welcomes the results achieved under the DCFTA Facility for SMEs in terms of improving access to finance and opening up trade opportunities; highlights that a proper information campaign could enable SMEs to benefit more from the opportunities offered by the DCFTA; calls on the Commission to monitor the impact of the DCFTA on SMEs; at the same time encourages the Commission to monitor the effects of the DCFTA on labour rights, freedom of association and wages in economy sectors connected to trade with the EU;
Amendment 89 #
2019/2131(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Amendment 262 #
2019/2131(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Reiterates that taxation is sometimes used to grant indirect State aid, creating an uneven playing field in the internal market; therefore, concerning investigations of tax deals or benefits for large multinational companies which may disturb the competition amongst enterprises in the EU, calls on the Commission to show relevant devotion and strictness;
Amendment 137 #
2019/2130(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Stresses that the ultra-low negative interest environment may result in significant financial stability concerns, negatively influencing small retail- deposit-based banks;
Amendment 17 #
2019/2129(INI)
B. whereas according to Eurostat figures, the unemployment rate in August 2019 stood at 6.2 % in the EU and 7.4 % in the euro area, the lowest rates since July 2008; whereas the unemployment rate has remained uneven across the European Union; whereas a high youth unemployment rate remains a serious issue to be tackled in the EU;
Amendment 47 #
2019/2129(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
Ha. whereas according to the December 2018 Eurobarometer, the popular support for the euro in 2018 rose to 75%;
Amendment 131 #
2019/2129(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Underlines the requirement for every EU Member State except Denmark and the UK to adopt the single currency once it has met the Maastricht convergence criteria; Calls on the ECB to continue a fruitful cooperation also with the non-eurozone EU states;
Amendment 187 #
2019/2129(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Emphasising, however, that monetary policy per se is not enough to achieve a long-term economic recovery, calls on policymakers to pursue socially- balanced, ambitious structural reforms and fiscal policies within the framework of the Stability and Growth Pact, also within the flexibility instrument it provides;
Amendment 248 #
2019/2129(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Calls for thea fully-fledged capital markets union (CMU) project to be accelerated in order to deepboost economic growth, deepen and strengthen financial integration, with a view to improving resilience to shocks and making the transmission of monetary policy across the monetary union more effective; Recognizes, in this respect, the strong hitherto support of the ECB in establishing a real CMU;
Amendment 278 #
2019/2129(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Calls on the ECB to continue to pay attention to access to credit for small and medium-sized enterprises; Welcomes that according to the latest Survey on the Access to Finance of Enterprises , the availability and conditions of external financing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) further improved in 2018; States, in this respect, however, a need for further stimulus for public and private investment in the EU;
Amendment 1 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 24 a (new)
Citation 24 a (new)
- having regard to the Interinstitutional Proclamation on the European Pillar of Social Rights on the 17th November 2017 in Gothenburg,
Amendment 2 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 24 b (new)
Citation 24 b (new)
- having regards to the report of the European Parliament on financial crimes, tax evasion and adopted on 26 March 2019 (2018/2121(INI)),
Amendment 3 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 24 c (new)
Citation 24 c (new)
- having regards to the Paris Agreements on climate changes in 2015 and the UN 2030 climate and energy framework,
Amendment 5 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 24 d (new)
Citation 24 d (new)
- having regards to UN Agenda 2030 and the SDGs,
Amendment 6 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas according to the Commission’s forecasts, the GDP growth rate for 2019 stands at 1.2 % of GDP per capita in the euro area and 1.4 % in the EU28, and is expected to rise to 1.4 % and 1.6 % respectively in 202010, based on the assumption of a status quo in terms of trading patterns between the EU27 and the UK and notwithstanding the mainly negative risks to the global economic outlook; whereas the economic recovery is uneven across the EU; whereas further policy action will nonetheless be required to address unresolved legacies of the global economic crisis; whereas globalisation has not brought the same benefits for all, leading to persistent high levels of income inequality and slow reduction of poverty, needing new efforts to ensure growth and equity; ____________________ 10 Commission’sEuropean Economic Forecast – Summer 2019 (Interim) of 10 July 2019
Amendment 12 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas annual revenue losses caused by aggressive corporate tax planning in the EU ranges from EUR 50- 70 billion to EUR 160-190 billion depending on the methodology;
Amendment 13 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas latest estimates of tax evasion within the EU point to a figure of approximately EUR 825 billion per year;
Amendment 14 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital C c (new)
Recital C c (new)
Cc. whereas nominal corporate tax rates have decreased at EU level from an average of 32 % in 2000 to 21,9 % in 201810a, which represents a decrease of 32 %; ____________________ 10aTaxation Trends in the European Union, Table 3: Top statutory corporate income tax rates (including surcharges), 1995-2018, European Commission, 2018.
Amendment 15 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital C d (new)
Recital C d (new)
Cd. whereas some assessments of effective tax rates in the EU diverge from 2,2 % to 30 %10b; ____________________ 10bPublic hearing of 24 January 2019 on ‘The Evaluation of the Tax Gap’.
Amendment 16 #
2019/2110(INI)
Ce. whereas despite a small decline in poverty, 113 million remain at risk, far short of the Europe 2020 target, with large imbalances between member states with more than a 1/3 of population in BG, RO and EL and growing in-work poverty (9.6 %);
Amendment 19 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the general government deficit is expected to rise from 0.5 % to 0.9 % in the euro area and from 0.6 % to 1.0 % in the EU28 in 2019, and to remain at that level in 2020; whereas the debt-to- GDP ratio in 2019 stands at 85.8 % in the euro area and 80.2 % in the EU28 and is forecast to decrease to 84.3 % and 78.8 % respectively in 2020; whereas some Member States record high current account surpluses and European macro- economic imbalances are still large;
Amendment 22 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas, according to Eurostat and Word Inequality Database, inequality of income distribution in the euro area has increased since the beginning of the financial crisis; whereas tax competition between European states, continually increased, which has undermined the progressivity of taxes increasing the unfair tax burden and undermining public finances;
Amendment 23 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
Eb. whereas the incomes of the richest 1% jumped twice as fast as the average and captured a share of growth similar to those captured by the bottom 50%; In 2017, the richest 20% in the EU earned over 5 x the poorest 20%;
Amendment 26 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas, in the light of the risks of trade tensions between the US and the China alongside the persistent uncertainty related to the withdrawal of the UK from the EU, the global outlook risks bending towards the downside; not to mention the risks of recession and crisis in Germany and the situation in Italy;
Amendment 28 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas tax optimization, tax evasion and tax avoidance for the benefit of some large companies and individuals have resulted in billions of euros in lost revenue for public finance management in several Member States at the expense of SMEs and other taxpayers; contributing to increasing inequality and imbalances;
Amendment 32 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)
Recital F b (new)
Fb. whereas the current European Semester is not designed to drive the necessary economic, social and environmental transformations the EU and its Member States are committed to, within the Commission’s 2030 climate target, the UN SDGs and the Paris Agreement;
Amendment 34 #
2019/2110(INI)
Fc. whereas the implementation of the UN SDGs and the Paris Agreement goals requires a comprehensive, broad and long-term EU strategy in which a reformed European Semester needs to be embedded;
Amendment 35 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital F d (new)
Recital F d (new)
Fd. whereas global CO2 emissions have increased by 55% in 20 years; whereas human activities have altered 75% of the terrestrial environment and 66% of the marine environment; whereas 1 million plant and animal species are threatened with extinction; considering that the value of agricultural production has increased four-fold since 1970; whereas almost half of coral reef cover has disappeared since the 1870s;
Amendment 36 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital F e (new)
Recital F e (new)
Fe. whereas gaps and labour market segregation remain high throughout the European Union, contributing to gender differences in pay, pensions, decision- making and wealth;
Amendment 48 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Agrees that effectiEmphasizes a low level of public inve structural reforms, accompanied by well-targetedment and a lack of ambitious and socially balanced reforms in some Member States, therefore well-targeted investments and social inclusive and sustainable investments and responsible fiscal policies, continue to provide a successful compass for preparing the EU for its future and present challenges;
Amendment 57 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Recalls the importance of efficient regulation of banking and financial sectors to prevent a new crisis especially in the matter of shadow banking;
Amendment 58 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Highlights, that in order to achieve the implementation of the Commission’s 2030 climate target, it is of importance to transform the European Semester into a tool of boosting social inclusive and sustainable investments and introduce a multi-annual sustainability pact, based on the UN SDGs and underpinned by the European Pillar Social Rights;
Amendment 59 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3c. Calls on the Commission, to enlarge the reference indicators of the European Semester by including social and environmental indicators to be able to take into account the sustainability impact of reforms and fiscal consolidation;
Amendment 71 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Recognises that the average level of debt-to-GDP is projected to decline; notes, however, that the average level still remains significantly above the level required by the Stability and Growth Pact; points out the possibility of rising debt service costs; underlines, therefore, the importance of bringing down overall debt levels, in line with EU fiscal rulescluding private debt;
Amendment 72 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a Supports flexibility in the implementation of the Stability and Growth Pact as proposed by the Commission in 2015; considers that much more flexibility should be set up to boost investments and ecological transition in the EU; calls, therefore, to reform the Stability and Growth Pact and introduce a Euro area fiscal instrument;
Amendment 91 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. RegretsTakes note that the aggregate fiscal stance appears to be mildly expansionary in 2019, while emphasising that the European Fiscal Board considers a neutral stance as more appropriate;
Amendment 118 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Highlights, however, the persistent structural problem of insufficient economical activities, steaming from a too low level of public and private investments in essential services, social protection and wages, leading to persistent social and regional inequalities;
Amendment 121 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Reminds, that one of the core policy areas of the European Semester and a prerequisite of sustained economic well-being is financial stability; therefore it is essential to ensure that financial institutions are better regulated and supervised both in the Eurozone and all over the EU, to put an end to the era of "too-big-to-fail" and massive bailouts paid for by taxpayers;
Amendment 122 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Highlights, however, the persistent structural problem of insufficient economical activities, steaming from a too low level of public and private investments in essential services, social protection and wages, leading to persistent social and regional inequalities.
Amendment 139 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Calls on the Member States to set in place proper policies to ensure equal access to education, and to provide investment to ensure equal access to lifelong education and training and to close the gender gap;
Amendment 142 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 c (new)
Paragraph 10 c (new)
10c. Reminds that all EU countries would benefit from increased fiscal capacity and notes that additional resources can be found through a willing and effective policy against tax fraud and tax avoidance including support for an EU Financial Transactions Tax;
Amendment 143 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls on Member States to support and implement EU actions to Aggressive Tax Planning; combat Tax Fraud, Tax Avoidance and Aggressive Tax Planning and anti-money laundering, and in particular, the implementation of the Anti Tax Avoidance Directive (ATAD), so that the EU complies with current international standards; calls on the European Commission to publish a first assessment of the ATAD which should has been transposed since 1 January 2019; demands that such assessment includes an analysis on the level of corporate tax revenues, on tax strategies put in place by multinationals and on growth as well as an assessment of the robustness of implementation against new tax avoidance strategies;
Amendment 144 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls on Member States to support and implement EU actions to combat Aggressive Tax Planning; . Reiterates the call of the Parliament and the Commission stating that EU tax policy should not be dependent on a unanimity rule that can be misused for purely national interests, at the expense of the Single Market and other Member States’ needs. A move to qualified majority voting in taxation would enable Member States to control more effectively the part of their sovereignty that they have pooled together in the interests of the Union as a whole and for greater collective and individual results. Invites therefore the Commission to put this statement in practice and make swiftly use of the specific passerelle clause in the Treaties which offers an obvious route to move away from unanimity in the tax area;
Amendment 151 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls on all Member States to support and implement EU actions to combat Aggressive Tax Planning;
Amendment 156 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Welcomes the on-going international negotiations on tax and digitalisation, and in particular, welcomes the Programme of Work to Develop a Consensus Solution to the Tax Challenges Arising from the Digitalisation of the Economy (Programme of Work) as proposed by the Inclusive Framework and the OECD and endorsed by G20 Finance Ministers last June;
Amendment 162 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11b. Remains concerned about the implications of tax competition within the EU and with third countries on the sustainability of tax systems and tax collection, as well as consequences on fiscal capacity and fair competition in the EU Internal Market;
Amendment 163 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 c (new)
Paragraph 11 c (new)
11c. Supports the French and German position to have a second pillar in the current Programme of Work aiming at granting taxing rights that would strengthen the ability of jurisdictions to tax profits where the other jurisdiction with taxing rights applies a low effective rate of tax to those profits, by 2020; understand that this would leads to a de facto minimum effective level of taxation worldwide which would mitigate the negative effect of tax competition;
Amendment 166 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 d (new)
Paragraph 11 d (new)
11d. Invites the Commission and the Council to look for new resources that would both allow to speed up the needed ecological transition and create fiscal capacity to finance needed social and sustainable investment [including investments in healthcare, education]; welcomes the announcement of the Commission President to propose a Carbon Border Tax and to review the Energy Taxation Directive;
Amendment 169 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 e (new)
Paragraph 11 e (new)
11e. Highlights the fact that, in the recent period, real wage growth has lagged behind productivity growth, while improvements have occurred in the labour market; stresses, against this background, the room for wage increases in certain sectors and areas, to ensure good standards of living, taking into account the need to tackle poverty, including growing in-work, inequalities and boost growth;
Amendment 171 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 f (new)
Paragraph 11 f (new)
11f. Calls for further stabilization of the Euro area by increasing its capacity to absorb large-scale economic shocks and respective consequences for the labour market through the introduction of a European Unemployment Insurance Scheme, combining a self-insurance mechanism for national unemployment insurance systems with a European re- insurance as a solidarity mechanism for extreme shocks; and commitment to progress on an EU framework directive to guarantee adequate minimum income;
Amendment 179 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Agrees that the economic upswing needs to be supported by public and private investment, particularly in innovation, and notes that there is still an investment gap in the euro area; welcomes the fact that in some Member States investments already exceed the pre-crisis level, and regrets that in others investment is still lagging behind or is not picking up at the necessary speed; insists that investment has declined on average at EU level by 2.3 points and by 2.7 points in the euro area. They accounted for 20.1% of European GDP in 2017 compared with 22.4% 10 years ago;
Amendment 210 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Underlines that investment in tangibles and intangibles in order to increase productivity, skills and innovation, along with the growth-enhancing socially- balanced structural reforms, will increase long-term growth potential;
Amendment 211 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Stresses that the support for the transition towards a low-carbon and circular economy will create new jobs in services and in the development of new and more sustainable products and markets; stresses that investments to foster such a transition should be significantly increased at both national and EU levels;
Amendment 214 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)
Paragraph 14 b (new)
14b. Calls on the Commission to provide an assessment of the gap between the need for green investments and the concrete realization of these; including an annual analysis of green investment needs; calls for annual monitoring of the implementation of green investments in each Member Stat;.
Amendment 216 #
Amendment 217 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 d (new)
Paragraph 14 d (new)
14d. Recalls that the fight against aggressive tax planning strategies is essential to provide fair treatment of taxpayers, safeguard public finances, and preserve social cohesion and fight inequalities;
Amendment 218 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 e (new)
Paragraph 14 e (new)
14e. Insists on the need to implement an ambitious pCBCR and CCCTB;
Amendment 219 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 f (new)
Paragraph 14 f (new)
14f. Recalls the need to implement the recommendations of the special committee TAXE 3; stresses that the complexity of tax systems can give rise to legal loopholes facilitating tax fraud schemes such as cum-ex;
Amendment 220 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 g (new)
Paragraph 14 g (new)
14g. Encourages a stronger coordination and harmonization of taxation with the objective to reduce the differences among Member States over a ten-year period, thus making any possible company relocation unattractive;
Amendment 241 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)
Paragraph 16 b (new)
16b. Recalls the need of stronger surveillance of the employment and social situation in Europe and appropriate and constant follow up at every step of the European Semester to boost quality jobs creation and accordingly achieving smart, sustainable;
Amendment 242 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 c (new)
Paragraph 16 c (new)
16c. Shares the Commission's concerns over developments in the housing market in some Member States; stresses that rising interest rates and housing prices are affecting households' private debt; underlines that this debt plays a role in the stability of the euro area; calls on the Commission to take initiatives in this area in line with recommendation 19 of the Social Pillar;
Amendment 243 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)
Paragraph 16 b (new)
16b. Recalls the need of stronger surveillance of the employment and social situation in Europe and appropriate and constant follow up at every step of the European Semester to boost quality jobs creation and accordingly achieving smart, sustainable;
Amendment 250 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Welcomes that taxation has regularly become part of the proposed country-specific recommendations for many Member States; welcomes in particular the attention given to spillover effects of taxpayers' aggressive tax planning strategies between Member States; calls on the Commission, the Council and concerned Member States to make proposals to counter the mentioned phenomenon;
Amendment 251 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)
Paragraph 17 b (new)
17b. Supports recommendation that invite Member States to ensure a greater stability and fairness of their fiscal capacity and tax collection, such as limiting the scope and number of tax expenditures and broadening the tax base; invites the Commission and the Council to better look at the impact of progressivity of tax systems in that regard;
Amendment 259 #
2019/2110(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Reminds Member States regardless of their membership in the euro area of the importance of committing to and delivering on the CSRs;