8 Amendments of Pascal ARIMONT related to 2014/2209(INI)
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Underlines the importance of each European Structural and Investment Fund (ESIF) and of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) in enhancing the competitiveness of SMEs and, in supporting the shift towards a low-carbon economy in all sectors, and in promoting resource efficiency; is of the opinion that those funds will contribute to the achievement of the Europe 2020 objectives for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls on the Commission to continue identifying the main obstacles and to initiate policies which would encourage SMEs to invest in green growth and eco- innovation, in order todevise clear-cut, feasible policies and combine these with existing strategies and support options in order to provide a basis for specific recommendations for (administratively straightforward) action which would encourage SMEs to invest both in processes to improve their resource and energy efficiency and in eco- innovation and would in that way promote opportunities for employment and the enhancement of sustainable growth;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to find a swift, responsible solution to the enormous backlog of payments related to regional policy and as regards the handling of ESIF assistance for the previous funding period, so as to ensure that SMEs as project partners will not, on account of payment delays, be deterred from taking part in support programmes;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Recommends toCalls on the Member States that they include, when drafting thand the Commission to draft clear and objectively comprehensible selection criteria for EU- funded projects, elements that should incentivise in order to increase the attractiveness of projects geared towards sustainable and smart growth, and ensure a balanced representation of SME and environmental stakeholders when establishing the monitoring committees;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Encourages theCalls on all Member States, to address – withaking into account their national and regional needs, to include ‘green’ public procurement in their operational programmes –and to encourage their national and, regional needs when making use, and local authorities to increase the proportion of ‘green’ public procurement, in order and hence offer real incentives for SMEs to develop environment-friendly products and services, the object being to promote green growth opportunities for SMEs (such as recycling, green energy production, energy efficiency and energy saving schemes); calls on the Commission to inform Parliament on the percentage/number of SMEs that are financed through the operational programmes in each Member State;
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Encourages the extension of innovative support schemes, such as green innovation vouchers, which can promote the introduction of sustainable technologies and environmentally friendly solutions into the market; maintains, as regards applications for support, that the rules need to be simple and clear and only a modest administrative effort should be required;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to support and promote the creation of thematic and geographic/regional platforms, through which incremental or breakthrough eco- innovative projects would attract private and public investments, and to encourage stakeholder cooperation in order to enrich the European value chain;
Amendment 53 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Maintains that SMEs frequently do not recognise the possibilities available to them, for instance for enhancing their energy and material efficiency; calls on the Member States and regions to devise measures to make SMEs more aware of green growth opportunities, not just by supplying them with information, but by approaching them directly and advising them and by supporting exchanges of tried and tested practice in order to help them understand more clearly that resource efficiency both contributes to environmental protection and increases their competitiveness and is consequently an area in which they should invest.