Activities of Marian HARKIN related to 2013/2158(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the European Semester for economic policy coordination: Employment and Social Aspects in the Annual Growth Survey 2014 PDF (268 KB) DOC (129 KB)
Amendments (12)
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the recession in the eurozone came to an end, numerically speaking, in the second quarter of 2013, but whereas annual growth in the eurozone will remain negative this year and unemployment and inequality are at a record high; whereas growth needs to be furthersignificantly enhanced for this to be considered a long-lived recovery, and in order to generate the necessary momentum to relieve the EU of its socioeconomic challenges;
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas unemployment in the EU has reached the alarming figure of 26.6 million whereas long-term unemployment has risen in most Member States and reached an all time high in the EU as a whole; whereas the decline in employment has been more pronounced in thossome countries which are undertaking more substantial fiscal consolidation;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas systematic errors in the Commission’s economic forecasts for growth and unemployment in recent years demonstrate the need for a change of diagnosis and strategy with a view to ending the crisisn improved model of forecasting; whereas the pace of fiscal consolidation has slowed, yet the deflationary impact of certain structural reforms, mostly focusing on external demand, are having the same severe effects on internal demand, with stagnant investment and growth and weak job creation;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas certain macroeconomic imbalances, for instance in the area of external competitiveness, have improved, although internal imbalances between Member States have been exacerbated; whereas a strengthened exchange rate of the Euro vis-a-vis the dollar and sterling since 2007 has created further difficulties for struggling Eurozone members in their efforts to increase exports; whereas evidence shows that a one-size- fits-all policy that relies on external demand and squeezes internal demand is not possible for all eurozone members at the same time; whereas this is heightening the (underestimated) negative impact of simultaneous austerity programmes, thereby depressing internal demand and resulting in over-reliance on demand from third economies, at a time when there are signs of a weakening outlook for emerging economies;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M a (new)
Recital M a (new)
M a. whereas support for entrepreneurs should be a priority for Member States;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital N
Recital N
N. whereas a coherent policy mix combining macroeconomic policies, structural policies, sound labour market institutions, unsegmented and flexible labour markets, coordination of collective bargaining and well-resourced welfare systems (which serve as automatic stabilisers) is essential in absorbing cyclical shocks;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Welcomes the fact that in the AGS 2014 the Commission calls on the Member States to protect or promote longer-term investment in education, research and innovation, energy and climate action; considers this insufficient, however, to allow Member States with already- constrained budgets to accomplish that goal; calls on the Commission to explore and promote the necessary reforms to exclude productive investments, for instance in education, and research and development, from the deficit targets established under EU rules so as to ring- fence them, given their potential to generate growth and jobs;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Considers that cohesion policy is essential in helping to reduce internal competitive disparities and structural imbalances; calls on the Commission, as a matter of urgency, to reprogramme unspent structural funding in favour of youth employment programmes and SMEs; calls on the Commission to find special solutions for those countries with very high unemployment rates which will be forced to return EU funds on account of co-financing problems; asks the Commission, to this end, to explore the possibility of excluding Member States’ participation in the co-financing of EU funds or programmes (under heading 1 (‘Sustainable growth’) of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF)) from the calculation of their structural deficit as defined in the two-pack;
Amendment 160 #
37. Welcomes the adoption of the Youth Guarantee by the Council and the earmarking of EUR 6 billion for the Youth Employment Initiative under the next MFF; calls on the Member States to implement youth guarantee schemes as a matter of urgency, and to use the available resources efficiently, concentrating on those in the most difficult situations; however is concerned that governments have not made available the financing necessary for this to happen;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38
Paragraph 38
38. Notes with satisfaction that these funds can be used during the first two years of the next financial framework; recalls, however, that this amount is wholly insufficient to combat youth unemployment in a lasting manner and should form an initial tranche with which to combat youth unemployment; emphasises that the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has calculated that EUR 21 billion is needed to implement an effective programme to combat youth unemployment in the eurozone alone; calls on the Commission to make the Youth Guarantee a priority and to increase the available budget in the promised mid-term review of the MFF;
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39
Paragraph 39
39. Calls on the Commission and the Council to ensure that Member States subject to the excessive deficit procedure also have the fiscal space to make use of these measures, in particular by temporarily exempting Member States’ co-financing of measures to combat youth unemployment from the calculation of excessive deficits;
Amendment 185 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47
Paragraph 47
47. Supports the Commission’s call to shift the tax burden away from labour and suggests shifting it towards other forms of sustainable tax such as a harmonised corporate tax, the financial transaction tax (FTT) and carbon taxes;