Activities of Irène TOLLERET related to 2023/2044(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on harnessing talent in Europe’s regions
Amendments (47)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 8 a (new)
Citation 8 a (new)
– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/817 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2021 establishing Erasmus+: the Union Programme for education and training, youth and sport and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1288/20131a, __________________ 1a OJ L 189, 28.5.2021, p. 1
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 a (new)
Citation 9 a (new)
– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/1057 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 establishing the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1296/20131a, __________________ 1a OJ L 231 30.6.2021, p. 21.
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 b (new)
Citation 9 b (new)
– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/1056 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 establishing the Just Transition Fund1a, __________________ 1a OJ L 231 30.6.2021, p. 1.
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 a (new)
Citation 10 a (new)
– having regard to the Commission communication of 30 June 2021 on A long-term Vision for the EU's Rural Areas - Towards stronger, connected, resilient and prosperous rural areas by 2040 (COM(2021)345),
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 11 a (new)
Citation 11 a (new)
– having regard to the Decision (EU) 2023/936 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 May 2023 on a European Year of Skills1a, __________________ 1a OJ L 125, 11.05.2023, p.1
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 15 a (new)
Citation 15 a (new)
– having regard to its resolution of 14 September 2021 entitled ‘Towards a stronger partnership with the EU outermost regions’,
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 15 b (new)
Citation 15 b (new)
– having regard to its resolution of 13 June 2023 on the assessment of the new Commission communication on outermost regions,
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 20 a (new)
Citation 20 a (new)
– having regard to the working paper produced by the Directorate- General for Regional and Urban Policy of the European Commission entitled “The geography of EU discontent and the regional development trap” published in March 2023,
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 a (new)
Citation 22 a (new)
– having regard to the OECD report entitled “Rethinking Regional Attractiveness in the New Global Environment”, published on 5 July 2023,
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the EU’s population has grown steadily over the last 50 years; whereas population growth has slowed in recent decades; whereas current predictions point to growth at a limited rate until 2029, from which date population growth will begin to slow down13 ; whereas the population in the EU is ageing and birth rates have been declining since the 1960s; __________________ 13 See the Commission Staff Working Document entitled ‘The impact of demographic change – in a changing environment’ of 17 January 2023 (SWD(2023)0021).
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas demographic trends have led to a shrinking working age population in the EU; whereas the EU working age population is expected to shrink over the next decades, with a loss of additional 35 million people by 2050; whereas this process will trigger new and growing territorial disparities;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas population loss is a sustained trend over time, particularly affecting rural areas with older populations on average than those found in cities and suburbs14 ; whereas young people are on average more likely to leave rural areas; whereas the loss of population in rural areas is deeply linked to the lack of connectivity, public services and, education and training opportunities and quality employment; whereas the postingdeparture of young workers poses significant challenges to demographic structures such as low generational renewal, ageing demographics and overall population decline; whereas mountainous, isolated and outermost regions are particularly affected by these phenomena; __________________ 14 See the Commission Staff Working Document entitled ‘The impact of demographic change – in a changing environment’ of 17 January 2023 (SWD(2023)0021).
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas in spite of its temporary impact on the labour market, the COVID- 19 pandemic has resulted in a boost to teleworking, offering great potential to connect jobs from urban centres to smaller cities, suburbs and towns15 ; whereas emerging opportunities of the green and digital transition have brought renewed attention to non-urban areas and opened up new job opportunities; __________________ 15 See the Draft Council conclusions on telework in the context of remote work, paragraph 17.
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the positive migration and integration of workers with or without tertiary education is one of the solutions to address the challenges faced by Member States and their regions with the highest percentage of population loss; whereas the success of action plans on migrants’ integration and inclusion depends on the involvement of local and regional authorities and civil society organisations;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas regions in, or at risk of, talent development trap are characterised by sharp working age population decline, low and stagnating share of people with a tertiary education, a significant departure of young people, lack of economic dynamism and economic diversification and low innovation capacity; whereas these regions have significantly higher rates of youth unemployment and NEETs compared to the average in EU; whereas, in these regions, wages, income and economic development are substantially lower than in the rest of the EU;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the talent drain is closely related to the need to improve the working and living condiconditions, job opportunities, wages, equal opportunities, availability of services and trust in institutions of people living in regions with low incomes, social gaps and other socio-economic disparities; whereas reducing such disparities is a commitment which has been reiterated through the European Pillar of Social Rights;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas regional and local authorities are best placed to create the socio-economic conditions for attracting talent; whereas governance in the EU is improving overall, but disparities remain between and within Member States, and the role and the capacities of sub-national governments remain unequal; whereas the quality of institutions of regions in, or at risk of, talent development trap is far below the EU average; whereas these administrations need economic reinforcement;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas talent retention does not refer exclusively to stopping the emigration of highly qualified persons from one country to another, or from one region to another, but also to attracting populations whose professional background is related to jobs and skills that are still in high demand in rural and sparsely populated areas; whereas regional attractiveness depends on various factors such as residents-wellbeing, economy and labour market, natural environment, connectedness, housing, cultural capital and tourism;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas the outermost regions are particularly vulnerable to talent drain and have higher levels of unemployment and lower education rates, while their share of young people who are either unemployed or not in education is above the EU average16; , given their specific characteristics as recognised in Article 349 TFEU, in particular their structural economic and social situation, aggravated by their remoteness, insularity, small size, difficult topography and climate, economic dependence on a small number of products and the limited size of their market; whereas these regions have higher levels of unemployment and lower education rates, while their share of young people not in employment, education or training (NEET) is above the EU average16; whereas young people in the outermost regions are often forced to move to other regions in order to continue their education or for specific training or to find a job, which has a strong impact on the demography and development of these territories; __________________ 16 Commission communication of 3 May 2022 entitled on “Putting people first, securing sustainable and inclusive growth, unlocking the potential of the EU’s outermost regions” (COM(2022)0198).
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the Commission communication on ‘Harnessing talent in Europe’s regions’, which is the first key deliverable of the European Year of Skills; appreciates the strategies presented as a mechanism to avoid economic, social and gender disparities between citizens affected by the green and digital transitions; considers it fundamental that the concept of ‘rural proofing’ include assessingnd to ensure that nobody is left behind in the green and digital transitions; recalls that new challenges require fresh money and asks to top up cohesion policy with new budgetary resources to address new challenges; considers it fundamental to implement the ‘rural proofing’ mechanism in the design of each EU legislative proposal, assessing, inter alia, the demographic impact, the issue of job creation, the impact on the educational framework and the gender impact;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the Commission communication on ‘Harnessing talent in Europe’s regions’; appreciates the strategies presented as a mechanism to avoid economic, social, territorial and gender disparities between citizens affected by the green and digital transitions; considers it fundamental that the concept of ‘rural proofing’ include assessing the demographic impact, the issue of job creation, the impact on the educational framework and the gender impact;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Stresses that the strategies and mechanisms presented by the Commission in the context of the initiative entitled ‘Harnessing Talent in European Regions’ must adopt an ‘OR reflex’, as called for by Parliament in its resolution of 14 September 2021, meaning that the specific characteristics of the outermost regions should be systematically taken into account in EU initiatives and legislative proposals and in interinstitutional negotiations, in order to ensure that they respond to the local realities of these territories;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Welcomes the creation of the Talent Booster Mechanism aimed at boosting talent in regions facing, or at risk of facing, what the Commission calls a talent development trap; calls for clear and objective criteria regarding the definition of regions in, or at risk of, a talent development trap; highlights the potential of the Technical Support Instrumentdraws attention on the worrying aggravation of this trend and urges the Commission and the Member States to seriously address this challenge setting regions in, or at risk of, a talent development trap as a core priority of their action and investment under cohesion policy; highlights the potential of the Technical Support Instrument to provide tailor-made technical expertise to Member States to design and implement smart, sustainable and socially responsible reforms, without requiring any co-financing;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Emphasises that regions in, or at risk of, a talent development trap have differing characteristics and need tailor- made solutions to boost investments in education, human capital, research and development, innovation, upskilling of work force and public sector reforms; calls on the Commission to provide flexibility to the Member States at programme level with the aim of urgently adopting specific and targeted measures, programmes and strategies to support these regions through a differentiated and territorial approach; asks to design and implement targeted smart specialisation strategies for the regions in, or at risk of, a talent development trap;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Bears in mind that less developed regions have the same particularities as those considered as being ‘in a talent development trap’, such as low population density, low economic resources, low employability, ageing of the population and a reduction in the population of working age; points out the need to include in the categorisation of such regions those deemed ‘less developed’, as defined in Article 108(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, while a considerable number of transition regions are considered as being “at risk of falling into a talent development trap” in the future; highlights, however, that demographic challenges concern all EU regions and may trigger new territorial disparities, if left unaddressed; in this regard insists on the necessity to tackle intraregional disparities, including in more developed regions;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Encourages the financing of specific measures through the multiannual financial framework to addressHighlights that the next multiannual financial framework should provide for specific measures to tackle the demographic challenges, with a specific budget forespecially in regions with severe and permanent demographic difficulties; in this context, considers it necessary to reformulate the specific instruments of the cohesion policy by assigning greater weight to depopulation for the allocation of fundsindicators complementary to GDP, such as demographic, social and environmental criteria for the allocation of funds; insists on the importance to take into account depopulation, unemployment and youth unemployment rates, the share of people with a tertiary education as well as the departure of young talents, in order to give a more precise picture of the socio- economic situation at regional and sub- regional level;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Underlines that regions in, or at risk of, a talent development trap are characterised by a percentage of the population living in rural areas above the EU average and that revitalising rural areas is crucial; welcomes the long-term vision for the EU’s rural areas and the launch of the Rural Pact and the EU Rural Action Plan; regrets nonetheless that no specific and dedicated financial support has been established for this initiatives; asks, therefore, the Commission to earmark, in the next programming period, at least 5 % of the cohesion policy resources at national level for rural areas;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Highlights the valuable contribution to rural development delivered by actions under the LEADER programme, which aims to engage local actors in the design and delivery of strategies, decision-making and resource allocation for the development of their rural areas; calls on the Commission and the Member States to reinforce LEADER by increasing its budgetary envelope, by guaranteeing high level of autonomy of the Local Action Groups regarding their constitution and their decision making and reducing the administrative burden;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Considers it essential to improve the executive and managerial capacity of local administrations and to reduce bureaucracygaps between and within Member States; calls on the Commission and Member States to reduce bureaucracy for managing authorities and final beneficiaries, avoid over-regulation, as well as to promote closer cooperation between the different institutions;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Believes it necessary to improve the exchange of good practices between national and local authorities of the different Member States; calls on the Commission to create, under the Erasmus+ Programme, a new training scheme dedicated to public administration civil servants, in order to offer them the opportunity to learn how European, national and local policies are designed and implemented in other Member States;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Recalls that it is essential that Member States, their regions and local authorities come up with innovative solutions tailored to each territory; welcomes the Commission’s proposal that Member States set up thematic and regional working groups to address specific challenges under the Talent Booster Mechanism; insists on the need to design and implement place-based strategies under this new dedicated EU mechanism, by adopting a bottom-up approach to local development in order to involve and empower citizens to take ownership of their territories’ development;
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Stresses the need to help build strategies and solutions to combat brain drain and talent drain and increase the attractiveness of the outermost regions (ORs), especially for young people; calls on the Commission and the Member States to work with local stakeholders, including local and regional authorities, universities, training institutions, the private sector and civil society organisations, in order to support the establishment in each OR of a digital one- stop shop to help young jobseekers find local jobs or training tailored to their profile and skills; stresses the opportunities offered by the creation of agreements and partnerships between education and vocational training institutions and local businesses, in order to promote the provision of traineeships and apprenticeships and the creation of local jobs in the ORs; calls also on the Member States to support programmes for the return of workers and public officials from the ORs to their territories;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Highlights the potential of community-led local development (CLLD) to find local solutions to local problems and design strategies to boost demand for and supply of talent to avoid development traps; takes the view that CLLD should be mandatory for Member States;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to finance and promote specific projects for the development of initiatives to ensure young people’s access to training, with a particular focus on deficit or high-demand occupations, to stimulate the creation of quality jobs and to guarantee paid traineeships; highlights the potential of the Just Transition Mechanism, completing other financial instruments under Cohesion Policy and the Recovery and Resilience Facility, in supporting the development and implementation of comprehensive strategies to upskill and reskill the labour force and stimulate the dynamism and attractiveness of the territories; in this regard, encourages the Commission to provide further flexibility in the implementation of the Just Transition Fund to allow impacted territories to fully absorb financial resources and avoid carry-over;
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Acknowledges that direct financial support to regions in or at risk of a talent development trap will be provided under existing instruments; regrets nonetheless that no specific and dedicated financial support has been established for this purpose; suggests that the new programming period should include the creation of a new dedicated fund addressing the brain drainpriority area under the European Social Fund+ addressing the brain drain; this new priority area shall be financed with the new budgetary resources topping up the funding of the ESF+ of the current programming period;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Stresses the importance of synergies between different funding tools to channel an adequate level of funding towards regions in, or at risk of, a talent development trap through a multi-fund approach; calls on the Commission to considerably reduce the administrative complexity which the managing authorities have encountered in implementing the multi-fund approach;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Advocates ensuring regions’Underlines the need to strongly improve access to quality public services such as health, education and social protection, as well as to essential transport infrastructure and digital connectivityespecially in areas with severe and permanent natural and demographic handicaps; encourages Member States to implement digital tools and platforms such as telemedicine or itinerant medicine solutions and services; highlights the importance of quality, affordable and safe public transports and transport infrastructure to improve mobility solutions; stresses the need to boost digital connectivity to enhance the attractiveness of regions as a destination for talents, firms and investors by facilitating teleworking, ensuring social connections and increasing opportunities for productivity and growth;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Calls for education and training to be accessible to all ages and social groups, both on-site and through remote access; points out the need for Member States to implement policies fostering women’s and girls’ participation in STEM education programmes and provide incentives to create jobs in sectors where their knowledge can be applied; emphasizes the importance of universities and vocational education and training providers in stimulating dynamic innovation ecosystems, harnessing talent, developing knowledge clusters and attract businesses into their areas by partnering with them on programmes to train workers in the new skills needed in the area;
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Considers it essential to design policies to attract and retain families offering job opportunities for both partners, implementing programmes aimed at making communities safer for kids and environments friendly for women, offering affordable housing through specific grants and loans schemes, and implementing cultural policies to foster talent attraction and retention;
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12b. Encourages Member States and local authorities to implement policies and strategies aiming at mitigating brain drain and attracting back talents in the context of multi-level governance; suggests to involve all relevant stakeholders (public authorities, businesses, universities, NGOs, etc.) to contribute to design the most adapt tools such as subsidies for employers hiring young talents and talents returning to the country, grants covering return expenses and subsidies for the start of entrepreneurial activity;
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 c (new)
Paragraph 12 c (new)
12c. Reiterates the need for an ambitious and sustainable policy on legal migration and integration at European level; underlines the need of a strategic approach to the integration of third- country nationals as a potential driver of local growth and welcomes measures paving the way towards a more sustainable and inclusive approach to labour mobility;
Amendment 185 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 d (new)
Paragraph 12 d (new)
12d. Acknowledges the central role of agriculture in rural and depopulated areas and the importance of the EU Pact for Skills in the agri-food sector; calls on the Commission to support generational renewal in the farming sector and the set- up of new businesses in rural areas; highlights the economic potential of women in rural areas and calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure targeted support, to facilitate access to funding opportunities and business skills, with a view to increasing female entrepreneurship;
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 e (new)
Paragraph 12 e (new)
12e. Highlights the emergent phenomenon of “third places” as a new vector characterising the functioning of democratic societies; stresses their central role in revitalising rural and depopulated areas, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to local democracy and empowerment of citizens, enhancing innovation capabilities and creativity, improving the quality of life of workers and increasing the performance of companies and employees; calls on the Commission to launch a European initiative to support the creation and development of “third places”, matching citizens’ needs in terms of financial, networking, and methodological support;
Amendment 187 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Advocates the promotion of supranational cooperation networks aimed at promoting the exchange and circulation of talent, thereby acting as a driver for the dissemination of knowledge, experience and training; underlines, in this regard, the crucial role of the Interreg programme in contributing to enhance the attractiveness of border regions facing talent development trap; stresses the importance to remove obstacles to cross- border cooperation and strongly encourages the Commission and the Council to resume negotiations with the aim of adopting a new proposal removing administrative and legal barriers;
Amendment 189 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Reiterates that the European Semester should play an important role in fostering the reforms, notably in the labour market and in education and training; underlines, in this regard, the need to improve the articulation between cohesion policy and the European economic governance, involving local and regional authorities at all stages of the procedures linked with the European Semester and its country specific recommendations; suggests to envisage the possibility that public spending co- financed by cohesion policy, such as expenditure related to labour market, education and training policies, should be considered as strategic investment and not equivalent to structural expenditure as defined in the Stability and Growth Pact;
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Calls on the Commission and national agencies to develop, in the context of the Erasmus+ programme, new mobility opportunities tailored to regional assets and the demand for training and skills, particularly in new professions linked to the green and digital transitions; stresses, in this regard, the potential of the outermost regions to host young people on mobility schemes, particularly in the areas of the blue economy, biodiversity conservation and the circular economy;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13b. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to work with the local and regional authorities of the outermost regions (ORs) to implement development strategies by stepping up integration and regional cooperation, in particular through the Interreg programme; stresses, in this regard, the potential of strengthening economic ties, student mobility and exchange programmes and sectoral cooperation between the ORs and partner countries in their regional areas;