Activities of Nirj DEVA related to 2014/2205(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Private sector and development (short presentation)
Reports (1)
REPORT on the private sector and development PDF (374 KB) DOC (188 KB)
Amendments (38)
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 18 b (new)
Citation 18 b (new)
- having regard to UNIDO's Lima Declaration: Towards Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development (ISID),
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 18 d (new)
Citation 18 d (new)
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
Ac. whereas there is a clear correlation between the development of a strong manufacturing sector and market poverty reduction: 1% of increase in Manufacturing Value Added (MVA) per capita, decreases the poverty head count by almost 2 %;1 __________________ 1 http://www.unido.org/fileadmin/user_med ia/Services/PSD/WP4_2014_Industrializat ion_and_social_well-being.pdf
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B f (new)
Recital B f (new)
Bf. whereas 60% of the developing world's jobs are in the informal sector in micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs) and whereas 70% of MSMEs receive no financing from financial institutions, even though they need it to grow and create jobs;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C d (new)
Recital C d (new)
Cd. whereas the willingness of the private sector to contribute to sustainable development is hindered by a lack of clear models for enterprises to engage in partnerships with the public sector;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C g (new)
Recital C g (new)
Cg. whereas the High-Level Panel advising UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- Moon on the post -2015 development agenda, which consulted the chief executive officers of 250 companies (with annual revenues of $8 trillion) from 30 countries, concluded that sustainability needs to be built into their corporate strategies to take advantage of the commercial opportunities for sustainable growth;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)
Recital F b (new)
Fb. whereas PPPs in developing countries are so far mostly concentrated in energy, infrastructure and telecommunications, while the potential in sectors such as agriculture, education, green technologies, research and innovation, healthcare and property rights remains largely untapped;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas 2.5 billion people, most of them in developing countries and a majority of them women and youth, remain excluded from the formal financial sector; whereas there is a persistent gender gap of 6-9 percentage points across income groups within developing countries; whereas a large proportion of those outside the banking sector turn to unsafe and expensive informal-savings mechanisms, such as rotating-savings clubs or credit associations;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H c (new)
Recital H c (new)
Hc. whereas 45 million job seekers join the developing world's labour force every year,1 however 34% of firms in 41 countries admit to the fact that they cannot find the workers they need; __________________ 1 Building an employment-Oriented Framework for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth - in "Challenges of Growth, Employment and Social Cohesion", Background Paper for High- Level ILO-IMF Conference, ILO, 2010
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the Commission's initiative to endorse the private sector in becoming, alongside other governmental and non- governmental development organisations, a true partner in achieving inclusive and sustainable development, alleviating poverty, creating wealth, reducing inequalities and promoting human rights, societal development and environmental standards;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Emphasises that all partnerships and alliances with the private sector must focus on shared value priorities that align business goals with the EU's development objectives; be co-designed and co-managed to ensure that risks, responsibilities and profits are shared; be cost-effective; and have precise targets, regular milestones and clear accountability and transparency;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Highlights the vast potential of the EU's value added in partnering with the private sector, in close coordination with its Member States, many of which have a proven track record in working with the private sector;
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Points out that the EU needs to take accessibility into account in its support to the private sector, as the exclusion of wide groups of the population, such as persons with disabilities, deprives private enterprises of a market of non-negligible size;
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Underlines the need for increased support towards partnering with developing countries to overhaul their regulatory frameworks by creating an environment friendly for private initiatives, providing support mechanisms for businesses; calls on partner governments to introduce a sunset clause whereby redundant measures can be annulled; notes that legislation should be subject to impact assessments aimed at gauging negative job creation and threats to environmental standards;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls for DG DEVCO to work with DG Enterprise in replicating regional support structures for SMMEs in developing countries, on the model of Enterprise Europe Network, aimed at helping them enter legality, get access to finance and capital, obtain market access and overcome legal obstacles;
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Highlights that such structures could also become in time launching avenues for local and regional public-private partnerships in areas ranging from agribusiness to vocational training and healthcare programmes, therefore facilitating capacity building, sharing of knowledge and experience and the pooling of local and international resources;
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Highlights that in fragile states and post-conflict nations, the private sector obstacles to development are greater than elsewhere and require a more targeted approach in order to improve the investment climate and remove stifling, obsolete business regulations, predatory behaviours and the high level of corruption; recommends in this respect that the Commission engages with partner countries and the private sector in policy reform dialogue, in order to overcome the deep mistrust between governments and the private sector, enabled traditionally by rent-seeking behaviours, cronyism and lack of legitimacy;
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to step up their efforts to promote the economic empowerment of women; notes that a savings-led approach to the financial inclusion of women has a proven track record; recommends a gender mainstreaming approach in all partnership programmes, combined with entrepreneurship training for women and youth, youth and people with disabilities;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Recommends that the Commission works with partner countries to enhance women's voice by raising awareness of their rights and their participation in local workers' associations, helping them address issues before they become grievances and to contribute to programs for skills upgrading, in order to enable more women to rise into supervisory positions, where they are currently under- represented;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Emphasises that the private sector must be part of the policy dialogue, alongside all other development partners, in order to facilitate mutual understanding and manage expectations, ensuring efficiency and transparency;
Amendment 187 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Underlines the fact that DG Enterprise has numerous tools to help SMEs that wish to do business abroad, such as the SME Internationalisation Portal; calls for DG DEVCO to make more efficient use of such instruments to ensure that European SMEs are involved in multi-stakeholder partnerships;
Amendment 189 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Stresses that one of the key constraints in increasing private participation in developing countries stems from the lack of bankable projects owing to weak legal, institutional and fiscal frameworks and enforcement capacities, as well as of resources for investment planning and project preparation; calls for increased technical assistance to the partner countries' public enterprise sector in order to raise their capacity to assume the ownership and responsibility for the management of PPPs;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Notes that private participation in infrastructure in developing countries has increased considerably, from USD 18 billion in 1990 to USD 150 billion in 2013; calls for continued engagement; in this respect, noting that the lack of access to infrastructure is a key constraint to private sector growth, undermining output and job creation;
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Highlights the vast potential for PPPs in agriculture, under a clearly defined legislative framework for property rights and land tenure security, to prevent land grabbing; and ensure increased and effective agricultural production; recommends that the EU and its delegations play an increasing role in working with the partner governments, as well as the EIB, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and other similar bodies, in engaging the private sector to develop market-based solutions to agricultural challenges;
Amendment 208 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Recommends that the EU continues to engage PPPs in renewable and green energy projects in developing countries; welcomes the fact that one of the priorities of the EIB's IFE is the investment in energy, widely recognised as a key element in unlocking economic growth in Africa; expects the innovative financing instruments to catalyse private sector investment into renewable energy, energy efficiency and access to energy;
Amendment 212 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15b. Recommends that, in reforming land tenure and property rights legislation in developing countries, PPPs could play a crucial role in implementing systematic titling and cadastral mapping using low- cost technologies, as well as in the digitalisation of land records;
Amendment 215 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Welcomes the achievements made in pooling public-private resources for healthcare and improved access to medicines, and for increasingly tapping the potential for technology transfer in developing countries; recommends that the EU becomes a facilitator in opening avenues for cooperation beyond access to medicines towards reforming dysfunctional healthcare systems in developing countries;
Amendment 217 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)
Paragraph 16 b (new)
16b. Highlights the importance of closing the gap between the education system and the existing job market in developing countries; calls for the European Commission to facilitate programs and support PPPs that involve all stakeholders concerned, from schools, universities, training centres and private sector actors to offer opportunities for training and education that that are relevant to the marketplace;
Amendment 225 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Highlights that engagement with the enterprise sector requires a flexible approach; tailored not just on the basis of intended outcomes, but also keeping in mind the extent to which local conditions are favourable to private enterprise and investment; recommends a differentiated approach with regards to least developed countries and fragile states;
Amendment 233 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Is concerned that safeguards to guarantee the purposeful use of public finance are not always in place; stresses that measurable output indicators must be agreed upon in the preparatory phase of the project; stresses the importance of risk assessment, debt sustainability, transparency and investment protection; highlights the importance of the formal consultative and scrutiny role of national parliaments, and of civil society in ensuring full accountability and transparency;
Amendment 239 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that enterprises involved in development partnerships abide by the principles of cre fully aligned with the SDGs through appropriate partnerships, financial instruments, incentives, an accountability framework and effective Corporate sSocial rResponsibility (CSR);
Amendment 241 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 b (new)
Paragraph 20 b (new)
20b. Welcomes the Commission's view that decent work needs to be fostered, as a way to address inequality and social exclusion, in particular among the most marginalised, including women, children, the elderly and persons with disabilities; highlights the need for companies to support a fair treatment of workers, secure safe and healthy working conditions and enable a constructive relationship between workers, management and contractors;
Amendment 243 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 d (new)
Paragraph 20 d (new)
20d. Recalls that the European Union is committed to promoting gender equality and ensuring gender mainstreaming in all its actions; urges that the gender dimension be integrated into planning and delivery of PPPs; calls in this context for increased support to be given to local SMEs, especially to female entrepreneurs, so as to enable them to gain from private sector-led growth;
Amendment 251 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Calls for the setting up at EU level of sectorial, multi-stakeholder platforms, bringing together the private sector, CSOs, NGOs, think tanks, partner governments, donors and other stakeholders, in order to overcome the reservations and the lack of trust among partners and to resolve the challenges that inadvertently arise from collaborative development interventions; notes that the Commission's proposal to reinforce existing mechanisms, such as the Policy Forum for Development, is a step in the right direction, conditional upon ensuring that the private sector dialogue is made an overarching priority of such platforms;
Amendment 272 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Calls for a stronger commitment on the part of the Commission, when it comes to leveraging its political weight and pursuing avenues of dialogue with partner governments and local authorities, to facilitate a greater and more positive interaction with the private sector; highlights the fact that Country Strategy Papers, National Indicative Programmes and budget support may be the most valuable instruments in spearheading business environment reforms in partner countries;
Amendment 273 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Paragraph 26 a (new)
26a. Recommends that the EU endorses UNCTAD's Action Plan for Investing in the SDGs; draws attention to the fact that the designing, structuring and implementing of PPPs remains a challenging and complex endeavour and their success is also dependent upon the enabling environment they operate in;
Amendment 274 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 b (new)
Paragraph 26 b (new)
26b. Recognises that Africa and Latin America in particular and Central Asia require substantial infrastructure investments; while acknowledging and welcoming the Chinese-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank with 4 EU Member States as shareholders will contribute to a substantial growth in Asian infrastructure investments, this will still leave Africa and Latin America to fend for themselves and therefore now calls on the EU to lead the way in setting up an African Infrastructure Investment Bank where their substantial shareholders will be the European Investment Bank and the European Commission together with European private banks;