Activities of Eric MINARDI related to 2023/0264(BUD)
Plenary speeches (1)
General budget of the European Union for the financial year 2024 - all sections (debate)
Amendments (35)
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Highlights that Member States are still facing numerous challenges and is convinced that Union citizens are therefore expecting the 2024 budget to be more efficient, transparent, performance- based providing concrete reductions in administrative expenditure and granting an efficient and accountable use of taxpayers’ money; underlines also the need to properly evaluate which funds could be better managed at national level in order to ensure full respect for the principle of subsidiarity;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Recalls that the Commission, in drawing up the draft budget for 2024 (the “DB”) based on the existing multiannual financial framework (“MFF”) regulation, explicitly underlined the “limits” of the framework “after three years of unprecedented crises” and stressed that the regulation was agreed “in a completely different geopolitical and economic context”; calls on the Commission to not accumulate a long list of international commitments, which risk to become budgetary unsolvable in detriment of European domestic policies;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes that, despite the Commission’s proposal to revise the MFF, the Council chose to formulate its position on the 2024 budget assuming no change to the framework; deeply regrets that, despite the drastic constraints,takes note that the Council elected to cut commitment appropriations in the DB by EUR 772 million and payment appropriations by EUR 515 million across the MFF headings; considers that the cuts proposed by the Council are not driven by an objective assessment of needs or absorption capacregrets Parliament’s lack of flexibility and run accounter, in many instances, to shared policy ambitions and political agreements; decides, therefore, toability in relation to Council’s position having restored appropriations on all lines cut by the Council to the level of the DB, despite the limited budgetary margins still available and having no guarantee of either if or when an agreement on the revision of the MFF regulation will be reached;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Stresses that new policy priorities or tasks must be accompanied by an efficient use of resources; asks if policy priorities or tasks of decentralised agencies could not be better accomplished by existing Directorates-General of the Commission or by Member states in order to prevent duplication of roles and costs and also improving transparency;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Recalls that the Commission has proposed to establish two new special instruments over and above the MFF ceilings - the European Union Recovery Instrument (EURI) to better manage debt repayment costs and the Ukraine Facility designed to ensure a longer-term structural solution to Ukraine’s funding needs - and to increase appropriations for the Flexibility Instrument and for the Solidarity and Emergency Aid Reserve; regrets the creation of new instruments outside the MFF, which has a negative impact on the accountability and control of EU spending;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Reiterates its assessment, now shared by the Commission, that a structural solution must be found for the repayment of EURI borrowing costs, which are estimated at EUR 4 billion in the DB as against the initially programmed EUR 2,1 billion and would therefore exhaust the Flexibility Instrument and use part of the Single Margin Instrument in 2024 without the MFF revision; highlights that this problematic situation proves once again that the European Commission's forecasts are showing weaknesses especially in case of negative economic scenarios; calls on the European Commission to be more robust and prudent in drafting of the programmes and their budgets;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Notes that the Council, in its position on the 2024 budget, reduces appropriations set aside for EURI borrowing costs; shares the Council’s hope that borrowing costs are ultimately lower than forecast in the DB, but insists that, in accordance with the principle of budgetary prudence, the budgetary authority should rely on the Commission’s objective forecasting and the updates in the Amending Letter; proposes, therefore, to restore the DB amount and, in line with its MFF interim report, to delete the line from Heading 2b and place the full amount in the EURI special instrument over and above the MFF ceilings;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Recalls that the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) is key to boosting investment in high-performance, sustainable trans-European networks and to decarbonisespecially ing the EU economy, thereby accelerating the green transition and promoting interconnectivitycompletion of the trans- European transport network (TEN-T); underlines that CEF Transport has been vital in supporting transport infrastructure in and towards Ukraine (“solidarity lanes”) and in enabling the transport of critical goods in both directions and welcomes the decision to associate Ukraine to the programme; proposes, to increase appropriations for CEF Transport by EUR 100 million above the DB in 2024 in order to support thesestresses that the budget of CEF Transport has been mostly committed by now, which shows the utility and added value of the programme; therefore, takes note of the proposal to increase appropriations for CEF Transport by EUR 100 million above the DB in 2024, although it considers that the increase should be significantly higher to support all the programme’s aims;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Draws attention to the need to create a budget line to support access to drinking water, sanitation and the renovation of water networks for the EU's outermost regions, overseas countries and territories and island regions;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Underscores that soaring energy prices and inflation, following on from the COVID-19 pandemic, have had a significant impact on the cultural and creative sectors, which are often made up of small organisations and individual artists; proposes, therefore, to increase financing for the Creative Europe programme by EUR 25 million above DB, with EUR 15 million for the Culture strand and EUR 10 million for the Cross- Sectoral strand, which plays a vital role in tackling disinformation and promoting media literacy;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Deems it necessaryRegrets the decision to reinforce support to the Turkish-Cypriot line by EUR 2 million above DB in order to finance the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus and support the bi-communal Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
Paragraph 33
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37
Paragraph 37
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40
Paragraph 40
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 41
Paragraph 41
41. Stresses that the war has vastly increased pressure on asylum systems in the Member States and that the Union must provide longer-term support to the host Member States to facilitate the reception and integration of refugees from Ukraine, face the recent migration trends via the Mediterranean route and anticipate the financial implications of a timely agreement on the Pact on Asylum and Migration (AMIF); decides, therefore, to reinforce the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund by EUR 110 million above DB in 2024 given AMIF’s positive contribution in providing immediate support to refugees; stresses that additional resources should be used in particular to ensure the return of migrants to their countries of origin;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42 a (new)
Paragraph 42 a (new)
42a. Underlines the failure of European policies in preventing migration flows and human trafficking; reiterates its concerns about the role played by instruments such as the Internal Security Fund and the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, which should guarantee the proper implementation of a rigorous asylum policy in accordance with international standards, while blocking illegal immigration and ensuring border controls and an adequate repatriation policy;
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 48
Paragraph 48
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 49
Paragraph 49
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 52
Paragraph 52
52. Notes that the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI)-Global Europe cushion has been depleted very quickly and used beyond its core purpose of responding to emerging challenges and priorities, while the humanitarian aid budget has relied heavily on mobilisation of the severely stretched SEAR; reiterates, in that regard, that financing under the Heading should be increased by EUR 2,875 billion in 2024, in line with its MFF interim report;
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 52 a (new)
Paragraph 52 a (new)
52a. Highlights that any funding under the NDICI should be made conditional on the effective implementation of repatriation agreements;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 53
Paragraph 53
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 53
Paragraph 53
53. Stresses the importance of the Southern Neighbourhood line in supporting political, economic and social reforms in the region, in providing assistance to refugees, in particular Syrian and Palestinian refugees, and in enabling support along the southern migration routes; proposes, therefore, to increase appropriations for the line by EUR 650 million above DB, including to ensure predictable funding for UNWRA; proposes, however, to withhold funding for UNWRA under the reserve meachanism due to unsolved cases of anti-Semitic incitement;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 54
Paragraph 54
54. Underlines that the war has had a particularly significant effect on countries in the Eastern Neighbourhood, such as Moldova, that have provided shelter and assistance to refugees fleeing the war and faced the knock-on effects of sky-high inflation and energy prices; underlines the importance of sustained support for candidate countries in implementing the necessary accession-related reforms and in enhancing their resilience and preventing and countering hybrid threats; decides, therefore, to increase appropriations by EUR 450 million above DB for the Eastern Neighbourhood; proposes, furthermore, to increase accession-related support under the Instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA III) by EUR 50 million in 2024 for the Western Balkans;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 54 a (new)
Paragraph 54 a (new)
54a. Calls for an immediate stop to the Union’s accession negotiations with Turkey and the prompt suspension of all funds provided to that country under the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance and EIB financing, since Turkey does not respect several of the basic principles of freedom and democracy and it has increased its aggressive behaviour, not only in the Mediterranean area, becoming a real threat for many Member States;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 56
Paragraph 56
56. Recalls that the NDICI cushion is designed to enable the Union to respond in an agile and effective manner to a changing external policy landscape and emerging challenges through budgetary flexibility; proposes, therefore, to increase appropriations in the cushion by EUR 800 million above DB in 2024;
Amendment 164 #
57. Underlines its support for the implementation of the peace agreement in Colombia and the need to continue relevant actions financed under the EU Trust Fund for Colombia; proposes, therefore, to reinforce appropriations by EUR 10 million above DB for 'The Americas' geographic programme under the NDICI; reiterates, furthermore, its unwavering commitment to protecting and promoting human rights and fundamental freedoms globally and increases by EUR 10 million above DB the allocation for the 'fundamental rights and freedoms' thematic programme;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 58
Paragraph 58
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 59 a (new)
Paragraph 59 a (new)
59a. Stresses that the Overseas Countries and Territories need additional support because of their remoteness; calls for a 50% increase in commitments and payments for this budget line;
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 64
Paragraph 64
64. Underlines the need to provide a sufficient level of payment appropriations in the 2024 budget and decides, as a general rule, to reinforce payment appropriations on those lines which are amended in commitment appropriations; reminds once again that an increase of payment appropriations ceilings does not automatically correlate with better absorption capacity of the EU Budget; points out, in this regard, that the amount of outstanding commitments (committed amounts but not yet paid) attained record 452,2 billion EUR at the end of 2022;
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 65 a (new)
Paragraph 65 a (new)
65a. Reminds with concern that the European Parliament continues to lead very costly building policy (amounting to 18 810 626 EUR in 2023) and to expand the Liaison Offices as well as "Europa Experience" centres (costing 15 399 498 EUR in 2023) all over the Europe;