12 Amendments of Kader ARIF related to 2008/2231(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Stresses that ownership by the population will guarantee a strong partnership and the success of this initiative; considers that, for that to happen, political aspirations must be translated into specific, more easily comprehensible projects closer to the citizens; also considers that the UFM must incorporate local and regional authorities and the private sector into the operation of its mechanisms for the consultation and active participation of civil society (associations, social partners, etc.);
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Hopes that the UFM’s projects will be specific and unifying, and that they will reflect the needs of people in the region; stresses that they must contribute to balanced and sustainable development in the region and must foster regional and sub-regional inter-connections with a view to promoting integration and cohesion;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3c. Recalls the first initiatives proposed at the Paris Summit for the Mediterranean on 13 July 2008: de-pollution of the Mediterranean, maritime and land highways, civil protection, the Mediterranean Solar Plan, higher education and research, and the Mediterranean Business Development Initiative;
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 d (new)
Paragraph 3 d (new)
3d. Notes that at present only one of the six proposed projects focuses on economic and commercial issues; regrets that the Paris Declaration contains very few references to the economic and commercial aspects of the partnership, such as direct foreign investments, employment, the informal economy and poverty reduction;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Recalls that, in the second part of the 2005 five-year Work Programme, entitled ‘Sustainable Socio-Economic Development and Reform’, the Euro- Mediterranean partners identified a number of priorities: on the one hand the need for an improved business climate, increased access to credit, consolidated macro-economic stability and improved public finance management, and on the other hand the need to deal with social issues, including social protection systems, poverty reduction and job creation, particularly for young people and women;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Stresses the need to assess and take systematically into account, the social impact of liberalisation processes, particularly in terms of food security; further stresses that this impact may vary significantly from one sector to another and from one country to another;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Stresses that the Union must boost its support for the Mediterranean partners’ programmes aimed at facilitating the creation of a favourable climate whereby investments can be increased and economic cooperation and trade enhanced by means of technical and financial assistance mechanisms for the facilitation of trade;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Calls for consideration to be given to establishing specialised EU agencies in the partner countries with a view to providing these countries with concrete aid in areas such as investment promotion;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 c (new)
Paragraph 8 c (new)
8c. Stresses the importance of the informal sector and the mass economy in the countries of the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean; considers that, in the interests of the development of the region, support must be given to progressively integrating these activities into the formal economy;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 d (new)
Paragraph 8 d (new)
8d. Notes that, since the 2004 and 2007 enlargements, trade between the Union’s new Member States and its Mediterranean partners has been constantly increasing; calls for this trend to be taken into account and supported in the context of the partnership;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12b. Also stresses the need to give the UFM a genuine parliamentary dimension, based on the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly (EMPA), which must be regarded as the UFM’s legitimate parliamentary expression and which, as a consultative body, should have the right to submit proposals and evaluations.