[ParlTrack]

Hannes HEIDE, Constanze KREHL, Nora MEBAREK

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 1

(1) Since the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2021/241 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Recovery and Resilience Facility,3 unprecedented geopolitical events and their direct and indirect socio-economic consequences have considerably affected the Union’s economy, society and ~~economy~~citizens. In particular, it has become clearer than ever that the Union’s energy security and energy independence is indispensable for a successful, sustainable and inclusive recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, as it is also a major factor contributing to the resilience of the European economy. _________________ 3 Regulation (EU) 2021/241 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 February 2021 establishing the Recovery and Resilience Facility (OJ L 57, 18.2.2021, p. 17).

2022/09/21
Committee: REGI

Hannes HEIDE, Constanze KREHL, Nora MEBAREK

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 4 a (new)

(4 a) Insists that Cohesion Policy programmes 2021 - 2027 which, with implementation run until 2030, should be started as soon as possible, as they are a valuable instrument to tackle the unprecedented energy crisis which we are experiencing.

2022/09/21
Committee: REGI

Hannes HEIDE, Constanze KREHL, Nora MEBAREK

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6

(6) The REPowerEU chapter should include new reforms and investments contributing to the REPowerEU aims. Furthermore, that chapter should contain an outline of other measures~~, financed from sources other than the Recovery and Resilience Facility,~~ contributing to the energy-related objectives outlined in recital (3). The outline should cover measures whose implementation should take place between 1 February 2022 to 31 December 2026, the period during which the objectives set by this Regulation are to be achieved. As regards natural gas infrastructure, the investments and reforms of the REPowerEU chapters to diversify supply away from Russia should build on the needs currently identified through the assessment conducted and agreed by the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas (ENTSOG), established in the spirit of solidarity as regards security of supply and take into account the reinforced preparedness measures taken to adapt to new geopolitical threats. Finally, the REPowerEU chapters should provide an explanation and a quantification of the effects of the combination of the reforms and investments financed by the Recovery and Resilience ~~Facility and the other measures financed by other sources than the Recovery and Resilience~~ Facility.

2022/09/21
Committee: REGI

Hannes HEIDE, Constanze KREHL, Nora MEBAREK

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 8

(8) Investments in infrastructure and technologies alone are not sufficient to ensure a reduction of dependency from fossil fuels. Resources should be dedicated to the reskilling and upskilling of people, to further equip the workforce with green skills. This is in line with the objective of the European Social Fund Plus, which aims at supporting Member States in achieving a skilled and resilient workforce ready for the future world of work. ~~In light of this, resources transferred from the European Social Fund Plus should help supp~~Member States are therefore called upon to speed up the implementation of cohesion policy in order to use the available funds fort measures ~~for~~as the reskilling and upskilling of ~~the~~ workforce. The Commission will assess whether the measures included in the REPowerEU chapters significantly contribute to supporting a requalification of the workforce towards green skills.

2022/09/21
Committee: REGI

Hannes HEIDE, Constanze KREHL, Nora MEBAREK

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12

(12) Pursuant to Article 18(4) point (q) of Regulation (EU) 2021/241, the Member States should also provide a summary of the mandatory consultation process of local and regional authorities and other relevant stakeholders, including, as relevant, from the agricultural sector, for reforms and investments included in the REPowerEU chapter. Such summaries should explain the outcome of those consultations and outline how the input received was reflected in REPowerEU chapters.

2022/09/21
Committee: REGI

Hannes HEIDE, Constanze KREHL, Nora MEBAREK

Proposal for a regulation
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. It should continue to apply to the reforms and investments supported by the Facility, with one targeted exemption to safeguard the EU’ immediate energy security concerns. Considering the objective of diversifying energy supplies away from Russian suppliers, the reforms and investments set out in those REPowerEU chapters which aim to improve energy infrastructure and facilities to meet immediate security of supply needs for oil and gas should not be required to comply with the principle of ‘do no significant harm’ and should therefore be exempted from such assessment.

2022/09/21
Committee: REGI

Hannes HEIDE, Constanze KREHL, Nora MEBAREK

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 17

(17) ~~Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 of the European Parliament and of the Council6 should be amended to provide for the~~In addition to the already existing possibility to transfers up to 7.5% of resources of shared management programmes ~~governed by that Regulation to the Facility for the achieve~~, no further resources from regulation (EU) 2021/1060 of the European Parliament and of the REPowerEU objectives, in addition to the existing transfer possibility of up to 5%. Such a possibility is justified by the need to cover REPowerEU objectives, providing Member States with additional flexibility to address those urgent needs. Furthermore, the Facility allows for a fast disbursement of funds, making it particularly well suited for financing of urgent energy-related measures. Such transfers should be justified by a higher financial need linked to additional reforms and investments included inCouncil6are to be transferable to the Facility. Member States are therefore called upon to accelerate the implementation of their cohesion policy programmes in order to contribute to the effective achievement of the REPowerEU ~~chapter~~objectives. _________________ 6 Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund Plus, the Cohesion Fund, the Just Transition Fund and the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund and financial rules for those and for the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, the Internal Security Fund and the Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy (OJ L 231, 30.6.2021, p. 159).

2022/09/21
Committee: REGI

Hannes HEIDE, Constanze KREHL, Nora MEBAREK

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 22

(22) Recent geopolitical events have affected prices of energy and other resources like construction materials ~~and have also~~, which caused shortages in the global supply chains. These developments may have a direct impact on the capacity to implement some investments included in the recovery and resilience plans. To the extent that Member States can demonstrate that such developments make a specific milestone or target, either totally or partially, no longer achievable, such situations may be invoked as objective circumstances under Article 21. These developments cannot constitute objective circumstances for revising reforms, as reforms are generally not cost dependent. In addition, no request for amendments should undermine the overall implementation of the recovery and resilience plans. Member States should also ensure that proposals to amend their recovery and resilience plans respond to challenges that have arisen from current dramatic changes in the geopolitical situation, while preparing the future to be able to tackle new challenges.

2022/09/21
Committee: REGI

Hannes HEIDE, Constanze KREHL, Nora MEBAREK

Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point b

Regulation (EU) 2021/241
Article 14 – paragraph 4

4. The loan support to the recovery and resilience plan of the Member State concerned shall not be higher than the difference between the total costs of the recovery and resilience plan, as revised where relevant, and the maximum financial contribution referred to in Article 11~~, including, where relevant, the revenue referred to in Article 21a as well as, where relevant, resources from shared management programmes to support REPowerEU objectives referred to in Article 21b~~.

2022/09/21
Committee: REGI

Hannes HEIDE, Constanze KREHL, Nora MEBAREK

Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 3

Regulation (EU) 2021/241
Article 18 – paragraph 4 – point q

(q) for the preparation and, where available, for the implementation of the recovery and resilience plan, a summary of ~~the~~a mandatory consultation process, conducted in accordance with the national legal framework, of local and regional authorities, social partners, civil society organisations, youth organisations and other relevant stakeholders, and how the input of the stakeholders is reflected in the recovery and resilience plan; in particular, the summary of the consultation process shall explain the outcome of the consultations with local and regional authorities and other relevant stakeholders on reforms and investments included in the REPowerEU chapter and outline how the input received was reflected in the REPowerEU chapter;

2022/09/21
Committee: REGI

Hannes HEIDE, Constanze KREHL, Nora MEBAREK