4 Amendments of Bart STAES related to 2008/2055(INI)
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Considers that, for many years, EU regional policy has demonstrated to the European public its unique European added-value by effectively promoting economic and social cohesion across the EU, whilst at the same time contributing to the achievement of the objectives of the Lisbon Strategy for growth and jobs; opposes, therefore, any attempt to re- nationalise this Community policy; reiterates its long-standing position that cohesion policy should relate to the whole of the territory of the EU and that the larger part of the financial resources available should be concentrated on the needs of less-developed regions; calls upon the Commission to evaluate the extent to which Structural Funds programmes can help in the achievement of specific objectives of Community legislation, such as those laid down in the Community's climate change and energy legislation and in the biodiversity action plan;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses the need to simplify the procedures for the implementation of Structural Funds, especially the management and control systems, whilst at the same time ensuring the adequacy of the financial control mechanisms and the implementation of the Action Plan to strengthen supervision under shared management for structural actions; notes that the complexity of the system is to a certain extent responsible for the poor absorption by the Member States of the available resources; urges the Commission to present without further delay concrete proposals for simplifying relevant procedures which should be implemented immediately;
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes that the Commission has for the first time engaged in a systematic evaluation of the effectiveness of the 2000- 2006 operational programmes; awaits with great interest the results of this evaluation, which is a serious attempt to measure the effectiveness of cohesion policy actions; notes, however, that it is extremely difficult to fully appreciate the positive effects that cohesion policy has had in reality, as they cannot be measured in purely economic termsurges the Commission to make EU funding from the 2007-2013 financial framework conditional on achieving the specific objectives of Community legislation such as those laid down in the Community's climate change and energy legislation and in the Biodiversity Action Plan and to ensure the suspension of EU funding in the event of non-compliance with Community environmental law;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Acknowledges that the current financial crisis has significantly changed the economic and financial situation in many Member States; notes that, as a result of this crisis, national investment priorities may change and, for that reason, several operational programmes might need to be adapted; recommends that these adaptations be concentrated on the new challenges of climate and demographic change, energy efficiency and renewable energy sources and sustainable and inclusive cities; underlines the fact that Member States may also face liquidity problems that prevent them from ensuring the payment of national contributions towards the implementation of structural actions and programmes; urges the Commission to work closely with the Member States in a joint effort to re-launch the European economy; also calls on the Commission to propose changes to the existing legislative framework for the Structural Funds 2007- 2013, where necessary;