Activities of Victor NEGRESCU related to 2024/0274(COD)
Shadow opinions (1)
BUDGETARY ASSESSMENT on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2020/2220 as regards specific measures under the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) to provide additional assistance to Member States affected by natural disasters
Amendments (7)
Amendment 2 #
Recital A
A. whereas the recent natural disasters in the EU have had a devastating effect on the rural populations living and working in the regions concerned, destroying a considerable amount of agricultural and forestry production potential, resulting in important losses of income for farmers, forest holders and rural businesses in those regions, manifesting vulnerabilities in the European food system as a consequence from these disasters and posing a risk to EU food security and the availability of traditional products;
Amendment 5 #
Paragraph 2
2. Recalls that the European Parliament has repeatedly called for more resources for the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) in view of the increasing number and intensity of natural disasters and the need to speed-up and simplify procedures so that support reaches Member States and regions hit by natural disasters more quickly; highlights the need for administrative simplification to allow swift deployment of the funds and the use of lump sums for farmers, traditional products producers, foresters and SMEs;
Amendment 7 #
Paragraph 3
3. Recalls that the EP has repeatedly criticised the use of cohesion funding as emergency response tool and maintains that this approach risks undermining its longer-term policy and investment objectives; acknowledges, however, that the present proposal offers a pragmatic solution to deal with insufficient budgetary flexibility and crisis response capacity in the EU budget, in order to provide a fast response to the needs of the affected populations; calls upon the Commission and the Member States to swiftly mobilise and use the 3 billion euro made available through the RESTORE proposal in the EU budget 2025, from the cohesion funds, to deal with the effects of the recent natural disasters;
Amendment 10 #
Paragraph 6
6. Notes, in this context, that payments linked to 2021-2027 programmes under shared management have remained at a low level in the first years of implementation; recalls that this actual payment cycle does not coincide with the more linear payment profile set out in the MFF regulation and that this situation results in a risk of exceeding payment ceilings in the later years; considers that the frontloading of payments towards 2025 and 2026 could alleviate the pressure on payments; calls on the Commission to closely monitor the payments evolution and provide timely information to the European Parliament in this regard;
Amendment 12 #
Paragraph 7
7. Welcomes the tangible financial support to farmers, including small, low-income farmers and traditional products producers, foresters and SMEs that are victims of natural disasters such as severe floods and wildfires, as a concrete expression of European solidarity; acknowledges the need to swiftly address the income losses that European farmers, foresters as well as small and medium businesses active in processing, marketing or development of agricultural and forestry products are facing due to recent devastating climate-related disasters; stresses the need for additional financial support for subsistence agriculture, low- income farmers and traditional products producers; highlights that additional funding for rural areas could be made available under the Union Civil Protection Mechanism of the 2025 EU annual budget;
Amendment 14 #
Paragraph 8
8. Recalls the general observation that, for most types of EU grant funding, a 100% EU-co-financing rate, while delivering effective results, raises questions in terms of lower available overall amount for policy and programme implementation as well as in terms of national, regional and local ownership; is convinced however, that in cases of disaster relief and urgent liquidity support, it is eminently justifiable; highlights the need to consult affected farmers, foresters, SMEs and stakeholders in order to provide realistic and targeted support;
Amendment 16 #
Paragraph 9a (new)
9a. Recalls the prioritisation of recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction of the rural and agricultural infrastructure, while applying the ’build back better’ principle through the integration of protection and risk prevention measures;