23 Amendments of Konstantinos ARVANITIS related to 2020/2020(INI)
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas Article 3 of the Treaty on European Union stipulates that the Union is to promote social justice and protectionthe Treaties are primary European Union legislation and are the basis and ground rules for all EU action; whereas Article 3 of the Treaty on European Union stipulates that the Union is to promote social justice and protection; whereas Article 9 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union states that in defining and implementing its policies and activities, the Union shall take into account requirements linked to the promotion of a high level of employment,the guarantee of adequate social protection, the fight against social exclusion, and a high level of education, training and protection of human health;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas the internal market should serve the welfare of all, in accordance with the tradition of social progress rooted in the history of Europe and mentioned in the Treaties, economic freedoms cannot be interpreted as granting undertakings the right to exercise them for the purpose or with the effect of undermining, evading or circumventing national social and employment laws and practices or for social dumping;
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the free movement of services requires the free movement of workers; whereas the free movement of services must under no circumstances undermine workers’ rights, social protection orand the principle of subsidiarity, and; whereas access to information about applicable rules as well as effective compliance, monitoring and enforcement, including safe ways to report abuses are necessary preconditions for fair mobility; whereas digital technology can facilitate the supervision and enforcement of the rules safeguarding the rights of mobile workers;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas the free movement of services shouldn’t be to the detriment of worker’s representation rights, including the right to negotiate, conclude and enforce collective agreements and to take collective action, and not infringe upon the autonomy of social partners when exercising these fundamental rights in pursuit of social interests and the protection of workers; whereas any fair and sustainable mobility requires placing workers, their representatives and trade unions, as well as workers’ interests and long standing expertise at its core to ensure it is oriented on the basic needs of society;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Bb. whereas the current Covid-19 crisis has exposed and exacerbated social dumping and the existing precariousness of the situations of many mobile workers and gaps in the implementation and enforcement of existing legislation for their protection; whereas posted workers in the framework of the provision of services have experienced abuses in particular with regard to their working conditions, access to health and safety, social protection, safe transport and decent accommodation;
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion
Recital B c (new)
Recital B c (new)
Bc. whereas the massive outbreak of Covid-19 in slaughterhouses in Germany, directly related to poor labour and housing conditions as well as the common use of subcontracting based on the free movement of services, illustrates the potential impact of the free movement of services on public health;
Amendment 40 #
Draft opinion
Recital B d (new)
Recital B d (new)
Bd. whereas the current rules applicable to worker’s mobility in the European Union allow fraud and social dumping, undermining workers’ rights and damaging fair competition between Member States;
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion
Recital B e (new)
Recital B e (new)
Be. whereas liberalisation of services came along with the assumption that competition would be synonymous with accessible prices and better quality services, while in fact it often lead to a domination of a very small number of large companies, increasingly precarious employment and increased costs for consumers and degradation of the services provided;
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion
Recital B f (new)
Recital B f (new)
Bf. whereas the majority workers in the European Union are employed by SMEs; whereas the protection of workers’ rights must be a priority for every kind of company and every form of employment; whereas initiatives targeting SMEs and start-ups must not provide opportunities for businesses to circumvent existing rules, lower workers’ and consumer protection standards, or increase the risk of corporate fraud, criminal activities and letterbox companies; recalls that unfair competition is the dominant source of difficulties for genuine SMEs;
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the social implications of the free movement of services mean the EU needs a robust cohesion policy and a fair and geographically balanced industrial policycan affect both regions of origin (demographic decline, shortage of workers and skills, reduction in tax revenue) and regions hosting mobile workers (social dumping and wage competition); whereas these consequences therefore mean the EU needs a robust cohesion policy and a fair and geographically balanced industrial policy that must reinforce social cohesion and in that way contribute to the fight against social dumping;
Amendment 50 #
Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas the European services card as proposed by the European Commission would mean transferring primary responsibility for the compliance procedure to the home Member State, in contradiction with the established principle of the host country; whereas differences between regulatory models do not in themselves indicate that reform is necessary; whereas many regulations are based on tradition and experience and whereas the principle of 'equivalence' is based on the very existence of these different systems;
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas the revision notification procedure proposed by the Commission would hinder the exercise of legislative and regulatory powers so that a national or local rule which could better achieve objectives for the regulation of service activities could be deprived of enforceability; whereas the implementation of preventive action prohibiting the implementation of a notified measure would unduly constrain the intervention capacities of Member States and local authorities;
Amendment 70 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Opposes the introduction of the country-of-origin principle, and considers that the free movement of services must be achieved without undermining workers’ rights and social rights; considers that the mobility of workers providing these services should not only be free but also fair, notably in regard to equal rights, working conditions and social protection; calls on the Commission and Member States to amend current legislation prioritising workers' rights over the free movement of services.
Amendment 76 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Underlines that in order to be free, safe and fair, the future of the free movement of services needs increasing cohesion in the internal market; highlights the importance in that regard of public investment, fair and progressive taxation, public spending on public services and infrastructures as well as social, workers’ and trade union rights; urges the Commission to review the priorities for the future of free movement of services in this view;
Amendment 83 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Reminds that administrative practices and regulation of services are justified to protect workers, consumers, the environment and secure a level playing-field, legal certainty and predictability for entrepreneurs and business;
Amendment 87 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1c. Recalls that the subsidiarity principle is a fundamental principle of the internal market; recalls the constitutional right of Member States to go beyond the minimum levels established by European Union directives as part of their internal democratic legislative processes in order to reach policy objectives such as ensuring quality services and a high level of protection of workers, consumers and the environment;
Amendment 110 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Considers that post-Covid19 all relevant EU policies including those aimed at strengthening the internal market must embrace the recovery of quality employment and manufacturing opportunities throughout the Union, in order to support the equal and sustainable development of all EU regions;
Amendment 115 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Highlights that any future initiative on the design and implementation of the regulation of professions and free movement of services should place workers, their representatives and trade unions, as well as workers’ interests and long-standing expertise at its core to ensure democratic functioning and high social and environmental standards; calls on the Commission to fully include workers, their representatives and trade unions at every stage of the procedure;
Amendment 128 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Commission and Member States to promote the use of digital tools and provide labour inspectorates with sufficient resources.; calls on the Member States to improve the cooperation and the exchange of information on social security systems: Calls on the Commission to put forward an initiative for a European Social Security Number, providing legal certainty for workers and businesses, while effectively also controlling subcontracting practices, and combatting social frauds such as false self- employment, bogus posting, letterbox companies and other artificial arrangements;
Amendment 136 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Underlines that harmful practices on the free movement of workers affect every Member State; Calls for increased vigour from the Commission to ensure efficient coordination and exchange of information between Member States, so as to improve the enforcement of procedures and checks for the cross-border provision of services, including workers’ rights, effectively detecting abuses and exploitation such as social fraud, false self-employment, bogus posting, letter-box companies and artificial arrangements through subcontracting and in supply- chains; Calls on the Commission and Member States to strength the common labour inspections
Amendment 147 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Expresses deep concern that a European services e-card may create additional loopholes in existing legislation, hinder effective controls and enforcement of the rules in place by effectively introducing the country of origin principle; is of the opinion that such a proposal is a support program for undeclared work, letter box companies, avoiding labour standards, fair pay, collective agreements and social dumping; therefore calls on the Commission to withdraw the legislative services e-card proposal as previously requested by the European Parliament;
Amendment 154 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3c. Considers the Commission proposal for a revised services notification procedure would undermine the legislative competence of the Member States in the field of services and does not comply with the principle of subsidiarity; therefore calls on the Commission to withdraw this proposal;
Amendment 160 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 d (new)
Paragraph 3 d (new)
3d. Calls on Member States to ban subcontracting so that employers take direct responsibility for their workers, minimise worker turnover at the workplace where an acute risk for public health exists and halt the use of precarious contracts;