Activities of João ALBUQUERQUE related to 2022/2188(INI)
Opinions (1)
OPINION on the implementation report on the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement
Amendments (28)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the cultural and creative sectors are not mentionincorporated in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA);
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the TCA provides for social security coordination to protect the social security rights of people moving between the EU and the UK after 1 January 2021; whereas it also provides for a robust level playing field to ensure fair competition by maintaining high levels of protection in a number of areas, including social and labour rights, with binding enforcement and dispute settlement mechanisms to ensure compliance;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas Erasmus+ is not just a mobility programme, but a powerful tool for exchanging knowledge, fostering academic cooperation, creating strong and lasting linkbonds and promoting understanding between people and institutionfrom different cultural backgrounds, institutions and their members, as well as a wide range of stakeholders and their organisations and networks, contributing to the development of policies and practices;
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Stresses the importance of strong EU and UK civil society involvement, including employers’ and workers’ organisations and non-governmental organisationtrade unions, as well as NGOs, in the implementation of the TCA in accordance with Articles 13 and 14 thereof; nNotes the meetings of the EU Domestic Advisory Group in this regard and welcomes the first meeting of the Civil Society Forum in October 2022; stresses the importance of continuing this dialogue and cooperation;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas the UK’s global programme to study and work abroad ("Turing Scheme") does not offer such mutual exchanges comparable to Erasmus+;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Welcomes the Specialised Committee on Social Security Coordination’s commitment to adopting a decision approving the use of the Electronic Exchange of Social Security Information (EESSI) in the context of the Protocol, as well as considering that relevant parts of the Decisions and Recommendations of the Administrative Commission for the Coordination of Social Security Systems should be made applicable in the context of the Protocol by means of a Specialised Committee Recommendation3 ; Reiterates its call on Member States to ensure that the EESSI becomes fully functional as soon as possible and to make use of the opportunities provided by existing EU funds to fully implement the EESSI and further digitalise public administration; __________________ 3 Minutes of the Second meeting of the Specialised Committee on Social Security Coordination, Brussels, 30 June 2022.
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Is concerned by a number of developments in the labour and social sphere, which represent in the UK, which pose a risk of non- compliance with the level playing field provisions of the TCA; notestrongly regrets in this regard the July 2022 repeal of the prohibition of employment agencies fromin providing temporary staff to replace workers taking part in industrial action, which undermines the right of workers to take collective action, including the right to strike;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas non-EU countries can join Erasmus+ as member or associated countries;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Further highlights worrysome concerning legislative developments in the UK which have been proposed but are not yet adopted, namelysuch as the Bill of Rights Bill, the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill and, the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill and the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill (No. 2) Bill; stresses that these proposals, if adopted, would have serious implications for workers’ rights, in particular the fundamental rights of freedom of association and the right to organise, and the right to collective bargaining and collective action, including the right to strike; stresses that the adoption of these legislative proposals would undermine the UK’s commitments under the TCA;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas, as a consequence of Brexit, EU citizens studying in the UK canare no longer benefit fromtitled to ‘home fees’, but have to pay higher international student fees, making it prohibitively expensive for the vast majority of them, penalising even more young students from socially disadvantaged backgrounds and ultimately narrowing down the exposure of UK learners and teachers to their fellow Europeans;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Recalls that the protection of theseworkers’ rights is essential for maintaining a level playing field and sustainable development as set out in, inter alia, Articles 355, 386, 387, 399 and 524 of the TCA; cCalls on the Commission to closely monitor developments in this regard and to use all available means to address any concerns that the adoption of these proposals could raise for the application of Chapter 6 of Title XI, including through dialogue in the Partnership Council and Specialised Committees, consultation of the EU Domestic Advisory Group and where necessary the dispute settlement mechanisms provided for under Article 389;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Recital S a (new)
Recital S a (new)
Sa. Whereas members of educational and cultural institutions and organisations from the EU and the UK continue their relationship despite a lack of funding, administrative obstacles and all other adversities caused by the UK's non-participation in Erasmus+;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Notes that in June 2021 the UK Government announced its intention to establish a single enforcement body for employment rights tasked with ensuring centralised supervision of its labour laws4 with the aim of improving the coordination and effectiveness of existing bodies and expanding enforcement into new areas; notes, however, that to date no further progress has been made on the proposal; calls on the Commission to continue to closely monitor the enforcement of relevant labour and social standards, as required by the TCA, and to monitorany developments in this regard, and to continue its efforts with the UK Government to ensure full compliance with the TCA; __________________ 4 Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, UK. Establishing a new single enforcement body for employment rights, 2021.
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Strongly regrets the UK’s discriminatory treatment of workers from five EU Member States in 2021 as regards reduced fees for long-term work visas; further regrets the UK’s subsequent renunciation of Article 18(2) of the European Social Charter and consequent removal of work-related visa fee reductions for all EU citizens as of February 2022; calls on the Commission to continue to raise this issue through the Partnership Council and the Specialised Committee on Level Playing Field for Open and Fair Competition and Sustainable Development; calls on the Commission to take all measures necessary in view of ensuring a level playing field in this regard.
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes that numerous education, culture and youth stakeholders, both in the EU and the UK, are calling for the UK to be associated with Erasmus+, Creative Europe, European Solidarity Corps and Horizon Europe once more; calls for the issue to be addressed in different political contexts to raise awareness of opportunities at the level of the European institutions, EU Member States and UK authorities; further, calls for practical, intermediary or alternative solutions to be explored to mitigate the loss of opportunities for students, teachers, artists, cultural and creative workers, athletes and young people;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Underlines the enormous benefits of the Erasmus+ programme not only for students, but also for teacherhigher education students, vocational education and training (VET) students, adult learners, young people, administrative staffbut also for teachers, academics, administrative staff and generally for education institutions and society as a whole, which cannot be measured by the size of its financial envelope;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Regrets the narrowness of the ‘value for money’ approach adopted by the UK Government regarding Erasmus+, which disregards the numerous benefits in terms of exchange of knowledge and skills for students, teachers and administrative staff, the contribution to diversity on campuses and in schools, and its contribution to broadening its participants’ outlooks and opportunities; notes that this approach is also characteristic of the "Turing scheme", which ultimately impacts on the student and academic community;
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Notes the creation of the Turing scheme by the UK Government; regrets, however, that this programme only covers outgoing student mobility, and does not cover the youth and sport sectors6 ; notes in this context that the "Turing Scheme" represents a significant deterioration compared to Erasmus+ and therefore cannot be seen as an equivalent replacement for Erasmus+; _________________ 6 UK Government, Turing scheme website.
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Welcomes the new possibility to dedicate 20 % of the Heading 2 budget of the Erasmus+ 2021-2027 programme to outgoing international mobility outside the 33 countries participating fully in Erasmus+; notes, however, that this part cannot be dedicated entirely to one specific partner country, and does not replace the missed opportunities resulting from the UK’s withdrawal from the Erasmus+ programme;
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Welcomes the work currently being undertaken by the Scottish Government to create a similar programme, covering both incoming and outgoing mobility; invites the Scottish Government to consider the sports sector in the planning of the programme;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Notes that 11 UK Universities are partners in alliances through the European Universities initiative; regrets that these cooperation projectsir participation will end when the first- generation alliances expire (at the end of 2024);
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Is concerned by the excessive bureaucracy created by the UK’s withdrawal from the EU for UK artists wanting to tour in the EU and European artists wanting to tour in the UK, as illustrated by the administrative obstacles created by the application of the CITES Regulations for artists travelling with certain types of musical instruments containing protected species, especially when travelling by Eurostar train;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Notes that the plethora of migration rules, including different visa and work- permit systems in each of the EU Member States, as well as customs and VAT rules for merchandising, rules on cabotage and cross-border trade for specialist hauliers transporting merchandising and stage decor between the UK and the EU, are making it difficult and expensive for emerging and independent UK artists to tour in the EU or participate in European festivals; notes that EU artists are also affected by similar issues when touring in the UK;
Amendment 51 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Stresses that streamlining visa and work arrangements is in the interest of the cultural and creative sectors in both the EU and the UK and urges both parties to work towards an agreement; believes that these visa and work arrangements should be part of a future EU framework for artists and cultural professionals;
Amendment 52 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 31 a (new)
Paragraph 31 a (new)
31a. Notes that numerous UK cultural organisations continued to be connected after Brexit through their partnership with European cultural networks, professional associations and trade federations; expresses concern, that in the medium term the sustainability of these relationships is at great risk and that the adverse effects of programme exit will increase;
Amendment 57 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 31 b (new)
Paragraph 31 b (new)
31b. Regrets that the number of EU citizens working in the cultural and creative industries and sectors in the UK has dropped since Brexit;1a _________________ 1a https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationa ndcommunity/populationandmigration/int ernationalmigration/articles/changesinpa yrolledemploymentsheldbynonuknationals duringthecoronaviruscovid19pandemican deuexitperiods/2022-03-01
Amendment 58 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 31 c (new)
Paragraph 31 c (new)