30 Amendments of Iratxe GARCÍA PÉREZ related to 2016/2245(INI)
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas territorial disadvantages affect the immigrant population most particularly and their ties to a local or regional setting depend on the same variables as the rest of the population;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G b (new)
Recital G b (new)
Gb. whereas demographic change affecting rural areas has economic and social consequences, causes territorial fragmentation and affects quality of life and the environment, all in addition to its serious demographic consequences;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Recognises that demographic change, while creating new challenges, also brings development opportunities at a local level through the potential of sectors such as, as a result of shifts in demand in urban societies, especially in regard to food, leisure and rest, through the potential of agriculture, forestry and fishing to produce high quality, safe and distinctive products; considers that rural tourism in general and ecotourism, e- commerce and the silver economy in particular also provide opportunities for development at a local level; underlines in this respect the relevance of smart specialisation strategies to help regions and local territories identify high value-added activities and build attractive ecosystems on the basis of a genuine multi-functional rural development strategy that incorporates the circular economy into regional planning;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes that the main problems relating to the demographic change currently experienced by many EU regions are decreasing population densities, an ageing population due to structural changes in the age period, falling birth rates and gradual depopulationlow density, ageing subsequent to disruption of the population pyramid, a drop in birth rates with, therefore, a drastic drop in infant and youth populations, and constant population loss; recognises that loss of traditional activities, products and production systems, local know-how, women's invisible work, the lack of entrepreneurship, the scarcity or total lack of regional competitiveness owing to lack of investment, or loss of biodiversity, woodland lost to shrubs and fire risk, are further significant problems connected with demographic change;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls for a greater coordination of EU instruments, in the different policy areas, such asparticular the Common Agricultural Policy, European Structural and Investment (ESI) Funds, European Territorial Cooperation, the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) and the Connecting Europe Facility, so as to ensure a more comprehensive approach to demographic change; reiterates its call for the Commission to adopt a European strategy on demographic change that will deliver synergies and maximise the positive impact on European citizens;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Calls once more on the Commission to adopt a strategy on demographic change which prioritises the following fields:decent employment and good quality industrial relations, paying special attention to new forms of work and their social role;the territorial aspect of policies promoting economic activity and employment, as opposed to the current dominant focus on sectors;promotion of infrastructure as a factor in business location, so territories suffering demographic challenges become accessible and competitive;widespread ICT cover with quality and price both competitive in territories with a lower population density;provision of basic welfare state services in territories suffering demographic challenges;public transport at a local level to ensure access to public services;youth emancipation policies, particularly in regard to conditions for access to the labour market and housing;family support policies and boosting the birth rate, including policies on work-life balance and care for dependent persons;policies on reception, integration and return of immigrants;and dissemination of new, more attractive, settings for passing on information about rural life;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Considers that the 'better regulation' agenda should require the impact analysis conducted prior to any EU legislative initiative to include the effects the latter may have on demography;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Highlights the importance of a cross-cutting EU approach by mainstreaming demographic considerations throughout the policy spectrum, including cohesion, empthe EU incorporating demographic considerations in all policy fields and including in its budget headings to make develoypment, agriculture, environment, infrastructure, transport, healthcare, youth and education, family support, social inclusion, innovation and ICT policies, wi of these policies possible, particularly in agriculture, environment, the information society, RDI, employment, education, social policy and transport; considers that demographic impact reports need to be incorporated into the design and demographic criteria into the a view to favouring new policy developmentssessment of the outcomes and undesired effects of all its policies;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Believes it is important to insist that the global vision for the territory views urban and rural areas as complementary functional spaces;stresses that greater integration between the various funds is needed, in order for there to be genuine participative and sustainable local development;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9b. Recalls to mind that the European Union does not just contribute funds for regional development but that, in regulating the internal market through competition law, public procurement and state aid, it also shapes to a large extent the capacity of local and regional authorities to use their own funds to combat social territorial inequalities;
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 c (new)
Paragraph 9 c (new)
9c. Stresses that even if, as a result of modernising state aid, those exceptions for which notification is not required have been simplified and increased in number, the current framework is still very complex and burdensome for smaller regional and local authorities;
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 d (new)
Paragraph 9 d (new)
9d. Considers that, even if public procurement regulations were simplified in 2014, there are still too many obstacles for small local and regional authorities to be able to give preference to local providers, which would help improve the economy of these sensitive areas;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Considers that effective EUthat the EU should support for immigration policies in the Member States can mitigate population loss in declining areain order to minimise negative demographic trends; considers that local and regional authoritbodies should be empowered in devising and implementing policies to promote social inclusion and multiculturalismauthorised to implement successfully integration policies on the ground;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Takes the view that local and regional authorities must be active participants in measures taken to address demographic challenges as part of the European Semester, and must be considered in the recommendations made for Member States;calls for the annual growth survey and the country-specific recommendations to consider regional disparities and imbalances between regions within Member States;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. BelievStresses that there is a need to enESI Funds must address demographic change more effectively in the next programming period, by means of: a greater, better targeted focus on demographic chancge the effectiveness and complementarityas a priority area in final regulations and in guidelines to support Member States, regions and local governments, exploring the potential of ESI Funds in tackladdressing demographic challenges; considers that a greater focus on the topic as a priority area is necessary, together with guidelines to suppornge and in devising and implementing association agreements and operational programmes; a more proactive approach in demographic policy-making and the exchange of good practices and experiences for institutional learning; specific tools for the monitoring and evaluation of the potential and of the real impact of ESI Funds in addressing demographic change by drafting guidelines for the subsequent development of relevant Mdember States and regions in addressing demographic challenges in devising and implementing partnership agreements and operational programmesographic indicators; technical support to managing authorities and local stakeholders in implementing effective policies addressing demographic change at both national and regional levels; the obligatory active participation of local authorities in the design, management and in-house evaluation of programmes implementing funds and the necessary identification of regions faced with demographic challenges at NUTS 3 and local administrative unit (LAU) level;
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Takes the view that, in some Member States, subsidies at NUTS 2 level often conceal socio-territorial, intra- regional and even supra-regional inequalities;calls for the EU's maps to use a scale sufficient to reflect territory- related problems so that they may help target support to the most disadvantaged areas;
Amendment 159 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Highlights the fact thatAsks for the European Regional Development Fund can assist regions experiencing population change by boostingto make a greater contribution towards helping areas with high ageing, rurality and population outflow indices to improve their transport, and telecommunications and public service infrastructureinfrastructure, bridge the digital divide, and enjoy better public services;
Amendment 165 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Stresses that the European Social Fund can improve employment prospects should step up its work on training young people, slowing declining regions and serve to stem trends of out-migratiown their exodus and facilitating their return to their place of origin; adds that the fund should promote women’s employability, help people strike a better work-life balance life and combat the social exclusion of elderly persons;
Amendment 173 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Calls on the Commission to consider setting up a specific fund dedicated to addressing areas with severe and permanent demographic disadvantages, or bringing them within the scope of existing funds by means of targeted action, deadlines and specifically defined implementation areas which cannot be circumvented by other authorities;asks for disbursement of the fund to be according to a strategic action plan, underpinned by genuine land-use planning arrangements prioritising lines of action in the short, medium and long term;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Stresses thatTakes the view that, with a view to avoiding territorial divides, the EFSI canshould benefit declining regions by boosting investment in energy, transport and ICT infrastructure, as well as inregions with the most unfavourable demographic dynamics by means of greater investment in EU priority areas such as energy, transport, research, SMEs, education andor social infrastructure;
Amendment 185 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Believes that cohesion policy should play a more prominent role to support regions in adapting to demographic changein addressing demographic change, as part of its explicit remit under Article 174 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union; calls for a precise definition of the notion of 'severe and permanent demographic handicaps' referred to in Article 174 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and Article 121 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 that would enable demographic challenges to be statistically quantified;
Amendment 199 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Calls for the establishment of an EU-wide legal framework thato specifically recognises all territories facing demographic disadvantage regions with severe and permanent demographic handicaps with a view to defining legal frameworks, instruments and financing arrangements;
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Calls for the strengthening and administrative streamlining of the new instruments for enhancing the bottom-up approach and multi-level governance – such as community-led local development (CLLD) and integrated territorial investment (ITI) – so as to increase local and regional involvement as part of an integrated and holistic approach to regional development;
Amendment 206 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)
Paragraph 16 b (new)
16b. Stresses that a lack of capacity and robust governance within many local and regional authorities is a major obstacle to the success of EFSI programmes;takes the view that EU funds should be endowed with a capacity-building instrument for the use of any competent authority responsible for managing or implementing this funding, with a view to ensuring sound financial management and compliance with rules on public procurement and state aid while facilitating the transfer of know-how among management and implementation bodies;
Amendment 207 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Invites the Commission to consider the establishment of new criteria that could pinpoint the territories facing demographic challenges; considers that GDP and population density are not sufficient indicators in this regarddefine new criteria with which to distinguish territories facing demographic challenges by means of demographic, economic, environmental-impact and accessibility variables; considers that GDP and population density do not exclusively facilitate the characterisation of territory with severe and permanent demographic handicaps; asks the Commission to incorporate new indicators into cohesion policy that provide a more complete picture of the specific challenges facing these regions, particularly the EU Regional Social Progress Index;
Amendment 217 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Considers that cohesion policy should include specific instruments for the areas most affected by demographic disadvantage, such asand allowing for greater flexibility as regards co-financing rates or the choice of thematic objectivesin the setting of thematic objectives or co-financing rates, with a view to coordinating inter-regional and intra-regional strategies within the same Member State, with local participation;
Amendment 221 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls on the Commission to include a neworporate a flagship initiative on demographic changes into the Europe 2020 strategy, which should be designed as a cross-cutting instrument and linked to smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, and which could be financially supported by exifinanced from existing ESI funds and comprising a raft of measures in three categories: smart growth, via action to help regions affected by demographic challenges in the field of ICT, RDI and SMEs; inclusive growth, via specific action to encourage young people to remain in the region, promoting the birth rate and self-employment and with social inclusion measures for immigrants; and sustaing European instruments such as ESI Fundable growth, via measures to help these regions invest in the green economy, including sustainable transport systems;
Amendment 225 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Considers that the post-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework should give a forceful, decisive impetus to the promotion of solutions for tacklingefforts to address demographic challenges, taking into account the current demographic situation and current demographic challengetrends, through targeted measures and an ad hoc budget item with additional funding for areas with severe and permanent demographic handicaps;
Amendment 229 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Calls for services and infrastructure reinforcing social inclusion to be strengthened under the second pillar of the Common Agricultural Policy, intended to foster rural development and financed under the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, and for a reversal of trends towards social and economic decline and depopulation in areas with severe and permanent demographic handicaps;
Amendment 231 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 b (new)
Paragraph 20 b (new)
20b. Believes that the trans-European transport networks (TEN-T) and the motorways of the sea (MoS) should serve areas with severe and permanent demographic handicaps;