26 Amendments of Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ related to 2020/0101(COD)
Amendment 50 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) In accordance with Regulation [European Recovery Instrument] and within the limits of resources allocated therein, recovery and resilience measures under the European Investment and Structural Funds should be carried out to address the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 crisis. Such additional resources should be used to ensure compliance with the time limits provided for in Regulation [ERI]. Moreover, additional resources for economic, social and territorial cohesion should be made available through a revision of the multiannual financial framework for 2014- 2020.
Amendment 59 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) An additional exceptional amount of EUR 58 272 800 000 (in current prices) for budgetary commitment from the Structural Funds under the Investment for growth and jobs goal, for the years 2020, 2021 and 2022 as well as for the years 2023 and 2024, where justified by a Member State, should be made available to support Member States and regions most impacted in crisis repair in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic or preparing a green, digital and resilient recovery of the economy, with a view to deploying resources quickly to the real economy through the existing operational programmes. Resources for 2020 stem from an increase in the resources available for economic, social and territorial cohesion in the multiannual financial framework for 2014-2020 whereas resources for 2021 and 2022 and where applicable for 2023 and 2024, stem from the European Union Recovery Instrument. Part of the additional resources should be allocated to technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission. The Commission should set out the breakdown of the remaining additional resources for each Member State on the basis of an allocation method based on the latest available objective statistical data concerning Member States’ relative prosperity and the extent of the effect of the current crisis on their economies and societies. The allocation method should include a dedicated additional amount for the outermost regions given the specific vulnerability of their economies and societies. In order to reflect the evolving nature of the effects of the crisis, the breakdown should be revised in 2021 on the basis of the same allocation method using the latest statistical data available by 19 October 2021 to distribute the 2022, and where relevant the 2023 and 2024 tranches of the additional resources.
Amendment 65 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5 a (new)
Recital 5 a (new)
Amendment 66 #
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, while the protection of final beneficiaries is crucial to foster crisis repair in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Local and regional authorities, civil society organisations, NGOs or SMEs cannot lose their funding as a consequence of generalised deficiencies as regards the rule of law in the Member States. If necessary, the Commission should temporarily, directly or indirectly, manage funds with recipients without the involvement of national governments violating the rule of law.
Amendment 78 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) In order to complement the actions already available under the scope of support of the ERDF, as extended by Regulations (EU) 2020/460 and (EU) 2020/558 of the European Parliament and of the Council5, Member States should continue to be allowed to use the additional resources primarily for investments in products, staff and services for health services including residential care homes for elderly people, for providing support in the form of working capital or investment support to SMEs, and support to adapt to teleworking in operations contributing to the transition towards a digital and green economy, infrastructure providing basic services to citizens, including in Outermost Regions, rural and depopulated areas and areas affected by industrial transition, or economic support measures for those regions most dependent on sectors, such as tourism and culture, most affected by the crisis. Technical assistance should also be supported. It is appropriate that the additional resources are focused exclusively under the new thematic objective “Fostering crisis repair in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and preparing a green, digital and resilient recovery of the economy”, which should also constitute a single investment priority, to allow for simplified programming and implementation of the additional resources. _________________ 5 Regulation (EU) 2020/460 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 March 2020 amending Regulations (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013 and (EU) No 508/2014 as regards specific measures to mobilise investments in the healthcare systems of Member States and in other sectors of their economies in response to the COVID-19 outbreak (Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative) (OJ L99, 31.3.2020, p. 5); Regulation (EU) 2020/558 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2020 amending Regulations (EU) No 1301/2013 and (EU) No 1303/2013 as regards specific measures to provide exceptional flexibility for the use of the European Structural and Investments Funds in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, (OJ L 130, 23.4.2020, p. 1).
Amendment 93 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) For the ESF, Member States should primarily use the additional resources to support job maintenance, including taking into special consideration the needs of the Outermost Regions, rural and depopulated areas, and areas affected by industrial transition, including, but not exclusively, through short-time work schemes and support to self-employed, job creation, in particular for people in vulnerable situations and women bearing the brunt of the ensuing economic crisis, support to youth employment measures, education and training, transition towards a more digital and online education system, skills development and to enhance access to social services of general interest, including for children and people in vulnerable situations. It should be clarified that in the present exceptional circumstances support to short-time work schemes for employees and the self- employed in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic can be provided even when that support is not combined with active labour market measures, unless the latter are imposed by national law. Union support to those short-time work schemes should be limited in time.
Amendment 101 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10 a (new)
Recital 10 a (new)
(10a) In the context of the response to the impact of the crisis, the additional resources contribute to eliminating inequalities, promoting gender equality and integrating the gender perspective, as well as combating discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation as set out in Article 2 TEU, Article 10 TFEU and Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. All stakeholders involved at all stages of the implementation of this crisis repair instrument commit to promoting gender equality and ensuring the impact on women is taken into account, given that they are disproportionately impacted by the crisis;
Amendment 115 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) In order to enable Member States to deploy the additional resources for crisis repair quickly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and preparing a green, digital and resilient recovery of the economy within the current programming period, it is justified to exempt, on an exceptional basis, Member States from the need to comply with ex ante conditionalities and requirements on the performance reserve and application of the performance framework, on thematic concentration, also in relation to the thresholds established for sustainable urban development for the ERDF, and requirements on preparation of a communication strategy for the additional resources. It is nevertheless necessary that Member States carry out at least one evaluation by 31 December 2024 or by 31 December 2026 where additional resources are made available for budgetary commitment in 2023 and 2024, to assess the effectiveness, efficiency and impact of the additional resources as well as how they contributed to achieving the goals of the new dedicated thematic objective. To facilitate the availability of comparable information at Union level, Member States are highly encouraged to make use of the programme-specific indicators made available by the Commission. In addition, while carrying out their responsibilities linked to information, communication and visibility, Member States and managing authorities should enhance the visibility of the exceptional measures and resources introduced by the Union, in particular by ensuring that potential beneficiaries, beneficiaries, participants, final recipients of financial instruments and the general public are aware of the existence, volume and additional support stemming from the additional resources.
Amendment 133 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) With a view to allow the targeting of these additional resources to the geographic areas where they are most needed, as an exceptional measure and without prejudice to the general rules for allocating Structural Funds resources, the additional resources allocated to the ERDF and the ESF are not to be broken down per category of region. However, Member States are expected toshould take into account the different regional needs and development levels in order to ensure that focus is maintained on less developed regions, in accordance with the objectives of economic, social and territorial cohesion set out in Article 173 TFEU. Member States should also involve local and regional authorities, as well as relevant bodies representing civil society, in accordance with the partnership principles.
Amendment 134 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15 a (new)
Recital 15 a (new)
(15a) REACT-EU represents a significant amount of additional resources to be spent in a short amount of time, increasing the pressure on control systems. Therefore, effective anti-fraud measures should be adopted and applied through existing anti-fraud agencies at Member State and EU level, such as the EPPO, ECA and OLAF.
Amendment 136 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16 a (new)
Recital 16 a (new)
(16a) The available resources should be eligible for incurred expenditure related to the COVID-19 crisis as of 1 February 2020, in order to guarantee that all COVID-19 related costs are covered under this instrument.
Amendment 153 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013
Article 92 b – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 3
Article 92 b – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 3
The additional resources for 2021 and 2022 shall be made available from the addditional resources as set out in Article 92a. By way of derogation from the first subparagraph, and based on a reasoned request from a Member State, the additional resources may also be made available for budgetary commitment in 2023 and 2024. The additional resources set out in Article 92a shall also support administrative expenditure up to EUR 18 000 000 in current prices.
Amendment 156 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013
Article 92 b – paragraph 4
Article 92 b – paragraph 4
4. The Commission shall adopt a decision, by means of implementing acts, setting out the breakdown of the additional resources as appropriations from the Structural Funds for 2020 and 2021 for each Member State in accordance with the criteria and methodology set out in Annex VIIa. That decision shall be revised in 2021 to set out the breakdown of the additional resources for 2022 based on data available by 19 October 2021. Where applicable, it shall also be revised in 2022 in relation to budgetary commitments in 2023 and 2024, based on the latest statistical data available. The revisions in 2021, and 2022 if applicable, shall ensure that operational programmes are not negatively impacted.
Amendment 164 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013
Article 92 b – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 6
Article 92 b – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 6
Each Member State shall allocate the additional resources available for programming under the ERDF and the ESF to operational programmes, together with local and regional authorities, as well as relevant bodies representing civil society, in accordance with the partnership principle.
Amendment 165 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2 Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2 Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013
The distribution shall take into account the cumulative numbers of COVID-19 infections and the economic impact at NUTS 3 level, and concentrate the additional resources in the NUTS 3 areas with the highest sanitary and economic impact.
Amendment 166 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013
Article 92 b – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 7
Article 92 b – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 7
By way of derogation from Article 92(7), a share of the additional resources may also be proposed toshall be used to increase the support for the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (‘FEAD’) before or at the same time as the allocation to the ERDF and the ESF. This share shall amount to at least 3% of the additional resources in order to ensure a minimum amount for the support to the most deprived who have been hit to an unprecedented degree by the COVID-19 crisis.
Amendment 178 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Regulation No 1303/2013
Article 92 b – paragraph 8 – subparagraph 2
Article 92 b – paragraph 8 – subparagraph 2
Member States may allocate the additional resources either to one or more separate priority axes within an existing operational programme or programmes or to a new operational programme referred to in paragraph 11. By way of derogation from Article 26(1), the programme shall cover the period until 31 December 2022, or 31 December 2024 where the derogation referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article applies, subject to paragraph 4 abovof this Article.
Amendment 183 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013
Article 92 b – paragraph 8 – subparagraph 3
Article 92 b – paragraph 8 – subparagraph 3
For the ERDF, the additional resources shall primarily be used to support investments in products, staff and services for health services, including residential care homes for elderly people, and to provide support in the form of working capital or investment support to SMEs, investmentsupport to adapt to teleworking in operations contributing to the transition towards a digital and green economy, investments in infrastructure providing basic services to citizens, and including in the Outermost Regions, rural and depopulated areas and areas affected by industrial transition, or economic support measures infor those regions which are most dependent on sectors, such as tourism and culture, most affected by the crisis.
Amendment 198 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013
Article 92 b – paragraph 8 – subparagraph 4
Article 92 b – paragraph 8 – subparagraph 4
For the ESF, the additional resources shall primarily be used to support job maintenance, including through short-time work schemes and support to self- employed, even when that support is not combined with active labour market measures, unless the latter are imposed by national law. The additional resources shall also support taking into special consideration the needs of the Outermost Regions, rural and depopulated areas and areas affected by industrial transition, including, but not exclusively, through short-time work schemes and support to self-employed, job creation, in particular for people in vulnerable situations, support to youth employment measures, education and training, skills development, in particular to support the twin green and digital transitionstransition towards a more digital and online education system, skills development, and to enhanceing access to social services of general interest, including for children and people in vulnerable situations. The support to short-time work schemes for employees and the self-employed in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic may be provided, even when that support is not combined with active labour market measures, unless the latter are imposed by national law.
Amendment 206 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013
Article 92 b – paragraph 8 – subparagraph 4 a (new)
Article 92 b – paragraph 8 – subparagraph 4 a (new)
The Member States and the Commission shall ensure that gender equality and the integration of gender perspective are taken into account and promoted throughout the preparation and implementation of the operational programmes, including in relation to monitoring, reporting and evaluation.
Amendment 215 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013
Article 92 b – paragraph 9 – subparagraph 5
Article 92 b – paragraph 9 – subparagraph 5
The revised financing plan set out in Article 96(2)(d) shall set out the allocation of the additional resources for the years 2020, 2021 and, where applicable, for 2022, 2023 and 2024, without identifying amounts for the performance reserve and with no breakdown per category of regions.
Amendment 239 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013
Article 92 b – paragraph 12 – point d
Article 92 b – paragraph 12 – point d
Amendment 242 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013
Article 92b – paragraph 12 – point e
Article 92b – paragraph 12 – point e
Amendment 244 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013
Article 92 b – paragraph 12 a (new)
Article 92 b – paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. By way of derogation from Article 65(9), expenditure or operations supported under the thematic objective set out in paragraph 9 of this Article shall be eligible as of 1 February 2020.
Amendment 247 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013
Article 92 b – paragraph 13 a (new)
Article 92 b – paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Strong mechanisms to avoid possible fraud and corruption shall be put in place by Member States, such as enhanced cooperation with the European Public Prosecutor´s Office.
Amendment 253 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 a (new)
Article 1 a (new)
Article 1a The Commission shall provide the European Parliament and the Council with an evaluation report on REACT-EU by 31 December 2030, covering budgetary commitments for the years 2020, 2021 and 2022. That report shall include information on the achievement of the objectives of REACT-EU, the efficiency of the use of its resources, the actions financed, the beneficiaries and final recipients of the financial allocations and its European added value in aiding the economic recovery, as well as a gender impact assessment.