32 Amendments of Bas EICKHOUT related to 2017/2226(INI)
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 a (new)
Citation 16 a (new)
- having regard to the Commission’s communication of 6 December 2017 on further steps towards completing the Economic and Monetary Union - COM(2017) 821,
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 21 a (new)
Citation 21 a (new)
- having regards to its resolution of 13 December 2017 on Recommendation following the inquiry on money laundering, tax evasion and tax avoidance1a _________________ 1a Text adopted, P8_TA-PROV(2017)0491
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Regrets that the Commission Annual Growth Survey for 2018 still fails to place the future of Union economy in the context of the necessary phase out of carbon emissions and a shift to a circular economy, therefore missing the opportunity to guide Europe's economy to a more stable, inclusive, productive and resilient path;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1 b. Considers that measurement and benchmarking methodologies for resource efficiency and greenhouse gas intensity should be included in both the European Semester in the framework of the scoreboard for macroeconomic imbalances, and the review of the Europe 2020 strategy;
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas, according to Commission forecasts, the expansion of the European economy is expected to continue, although the pace of job creation and household purchasing power growth implies a slight loss of momentum over the next two years, with growth reaching 2.3 % this year in the EU and then marginally slowing to 2.1 % in 2018 and to ease slightly to 1.9 % in 2019; whereas further policy action will nonetheless be required to address unresolved legacies of the global economic crisis; whereas some Member States record high current account surpluses and European macro-economic imbalances are still large;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1 c. Recommends that measures to support the continuation of the recovery focus on ensuring investments that support transition to fossil free, efficient renewable economy in support of domestic employment and demand;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 d (new)
Paragraph 1 d (new)
1 d. Stresses the fact that investment in resource efficiency, energy savings and emission reductions will increase productivity across the economy whilst reducing external costs and impacts; highlights the opportunities for support for the transition towards a circular economy to create new jobs in innovative, maintenance and repair services and in designing and making new, more sustainable products;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 e (new)
Paragraph 1 e (new)
1 e. Reiterates the need to phase out fossil fuel and other environmentally harmful subsidies by 2020 and to shift taxes from labour to environmental taxation;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Calls for increased and structured involvement of civil society and environmental organisations in the European Semester process, and increased involvement of Environment ministers in the European Semester process at Council level;
Amendment 33 #
C. Whereas public investments have suffered deep cuts since the global financial crisis and have not recovered pre-crisis levels; whereas the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) has provided important support for investment in the EU, in addition to the European Structural and Investment Funds, while at the same time the orientation of savings towards equity has decreased returns and provided fewer incentives for investment; whereas EFSI cannot finance investment projects with high societal benefits but low financial rate of returns;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
C a. Whereas the current economic and monetary union faces macro-economic challenges and a lack of proper mutualisation or insurance mechanisms for addressing economic shocks; whereas the recent Commission’s package on further steps towards completing the economic and monetary union is a step forward but still present several shortcomings, especially regarding the European Monetary Fund and the investment protection programme;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas employment is expected to continue to expand, while some labour market indicators and the relatively high level of ‘involuntary’ part-time work, suggest persistent labour market difficulties aggravating inequalities; whereas, beyond unemployment, labour markets are increasingly segmented and new labour and social protection legislation is required to respond to new forms of employment, increased transitions between jobs and statuses of employment and increased self- employment;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
E a. Whereas the EU Flagship Initiative for a Resource-Efficient Europe calls for environmental taxes to account for 10% of total tax and social contribution revenues by 2020 – a substantial increase from the EU average of 6.3% in 2015; whereas environmental taxes are less detrimental to growth than labour taxes; whereas, according to the IMF, fossil energy subsidies in the EU amounted to 603 euros per person in 2013;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas tax avoidance, and tax evasion and aggressive tax planning have caused billions in losses of potential revenues for the public finances of several Member States, to the benefit of mostly large corporations and wealthy individuals; whereas tax evasion and tax avoidance create distortions of competition in the internal market and an uneven playing field between taxpayers;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
F a. Whereas fiscal policy plays a role in the stabilisation of the macro-economic environment, while also having other objectives such as fiscal sustainability and redistribution functions;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Highlights, however, the persistent structural problem of insufficient growth of potential output and productivity, flanked by too low a level of investments and wages, leading to persistent social inequalities; Stresses that benefits of globalisation and technological changes, including digitisation, should be distributed fairly across the different groups of society, notably low-skilled workers;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses the importance of a wage increase at European level in order to boost private consumption as the main support for growth and reduce inequalities; highlights that the wage setting mechanism should also able to promoting quality job creation, real income increases and preserving the purchasing power of the low wages, also to fight the issue of working poor; points out the need to focus on the interaction between monetary, fiscal and incomes (including wage and profit development) policies rather than only fiscal issues; calls on the Commission and Member States to promote decent wages and preserve collective bargaining;
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Recalls the importance of public investment for boosting and leveraging investment in the EU; considers that the policy mix proposed in the AGS 2018 should be further developed to remedy the current decrease in public investment in the EU; highlights that this decrease also affects local and regional authorities, threatening their ability to deliver quality public services; recalls that investments in areas such as infrastructures, education, training, health, research, digital innovation and the circular economy can increase both productivity and employment while attention needs to be paid to creating quality employment and safe working conditions; welcomes the recognition by the Commission of the need for Member States to invest in affordable, accessible and quality services, such as childcare, education and training, healthcare and housing;
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Underlines that the European Semester and the Country-Specific Recommendations should achieve the objectives set out in the Pillar of Social Rights; welcomes the stronger focus on the social dimension of the AGS and the fact that principles and rights enshrined in the European Pillar of Social Rights will serve as a point of reference for further implementation of the European Semester and policy coordination; stresses that it is vital both for economic considerations and in light of the current political developments to put social objectives on the same footing as economic objectives;
Amendment 202 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Insists on the need to develop within the European semester a comprehensive strategy to support investment that enhances environmental sustainability; calls on the Commission, in this respect, to demonstrate how its statement that ‘the SDGs are now fully integrated in the Semester’ (Commission communication of 22 May 2017, COM(2017)0500) is reflected in Annual Growth Survey 2018 and will be reflected in the subsequent Semester process; stresses that support for the transition towards a low-carbon and circular economy will create new jobs in services and in making new and more sustainable products and markets; stresses that investments to foster such a transition should be significantly increased at both national and EU level; calls on the Commission to address country specific recommendations (CSRs) in the field of energy efficiency and resource consumption and to ensure that CSRs are fully consistent with the Paris climate agreement;
Amendment 215 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Welcomes the fact that the AGS 2018 acknowledges the need for efficient and fair tax systems to ensure sustainable finance and reverse the current fall in capital income taxation; supports the Commission’s initiatives to achievefight tax evasion and avoidance by proposing an increased public transparency reform, a reformed VAT system and a common consolidated corporate tax base; calls on the Commission and Member States to step up the fight against tax evasion and avoidance, increase the redistributive feature of tax systems, promote tax shifts towards pollution and other sources of taxation less detrimental to growth; calls on the Commission to address CSRs in the field of tax evasion and tax avoidance based on its analysis of tax laws and practices of Member States, which may expose particular jurisdictions to aggressive tax planning;
Amendment 238 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Regrets that the overall neutral fiscal stance proposed in the recommendations for the euro area, even though the fiscal stance is expected to be slightly expansionary in a number of Member States in 2018, does not appear to fully support the strengthening of economic growth and job creation; highlights that the current fiscal framework is characterised by the key weakness of the absence of rules to coordinate the aggregate Euro Area fiscal stance, in particular the SGP asymmetry represented by the lack of tools to require expansionary fiscal stance;
Amendment 248 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Insists on a common effort to bring euro area expenditure on R&D closer to the EU2020 targets; calls for proper policies and investment to ensure equal access to higher education and training; calls on the Commission to ensure that recommendations for sustainable and socially balanced structural reforms in product, services, labour markets, public administrations and tax systems are effectively contributing to the EU2020 objectives;
Amendment 259 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Recalls that the role of the Member States is to guarantee access to quality education and training; emphasizes the need for a stronger focus on training and lifelong learning provided by public agencies and firms to enhance workers’ employability and productivity;
Amendment 282 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Considers that the tools available are not yet equal to the task of fully addressing the EU’s cyclical and structural problems, in particular the need to strengthen inclusive growth and productivity, to boost job creation, promote convergence, support sustainable investments and enhance resilience to shocks; emphasizes that further steps are needed towards making labour markets more resilient in order to reduce segmentation, upgrade skills, including a stronger focus on training and lifelong learning provided by public agencies and firms to enhance workers’ employability and productivity.
Amendment 297 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. UIs concerned by the lack of tools to ensure an effective coordination of fiscal policies at Euro area aggregate level, jeopardising the sustainability of the monetary Union; underlines that asuch fiscal capacity – on top of existing capacities, and not through redeployments that would undermine the vital role currently played by structural funds and cohesion policy – represents a necessary tool for increasing incentives for convergence and to counter asymmetric or symmetric economic shocks;
Amendment 309 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Is concerned that gaps and discrimination on the labour market remain high throughout the European Union, contributing to differences in remuneration, retirement, participation in decision- making and wealth between men and women; stresses the importance of preserving high standards in relation to the quality of the proposed employment and the need to make labour markets more resilient to reduce segmentation and upgrade skills; stresses that long-term unemployment, youth unemployment and exclusion, as well as intergenerational fairness remain a real concern, which needs to be addressed through active labour market policies and active inclusion strategies that enable access to quality services and income support in a personalized way, where necessary;
Amendment 315 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16 a. Stresses that while the effects of these developments will vary across Member States, the ageing of the population will have an impact on public finances, highlights the need to ensure sustainability and adequacy of pension and healthcare systems in the EU, and to adopt, when needed, sustainable and socially inclusive reforms to structurally address these challenges;
Amendment 328 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. CNotes that the financial system and its institutions are crucial for investment and growth in the European economy; stresses that while safety and stability of the financial system have been modestly increased, the latter still faces pressing challenges linked to high non-performing loans, low-interest rate environment, too big to fail institutions and obstacles to resolvability; calls for the completion of the Banking Union, including a credible European deposit-insurance scheme and a common fiscal backstop, as a crucial step to increase resilience in the banking sector and to contribute to financial stability;
Amendment 348 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Highlights the importance of an improved European Semester process, including the formalisation of the euro area aggregate fiscal stance as a key tool for policy formulation and implementation across the EMU; calls for a broader reform of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) in order to improve its flexibility, toto firstly shift away from the current main focus on external competitiveness and pro-cyclical budgetary policies towards a broader approach with budgetary rules ensuring long term budgetary sustainability while allowing member states to safeguard investment and social security spending in times of economic contractions and recessions, and secondly incorporate the differentiated treatment of investments and to introduce the concept of aggregate fiscal stance;
Amendment 369 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19 a. Welcomes the recognition by the European Commission that corruption still remains a barrier to investments in some Member States and that the respect of the rule of law and independent judiciary and law enforcement authorities are necessary to ensure proper economic development; deplore nonetheless the removal by the European Commission of the annual anti-corruption report and calls on the Commission to re-start this annual analysis of corruption within the Member States and mechanisms to fight it;
Amendment 374 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 b (new)
Paragraph 19 b (new)
19 b. Is concerned about the low rate of compliance with Country Specific Recommendations including both those aimed at fostering convergence and increasing competitiveness to structurally reduce the current account deficit bias of certain economies, and those aimed at using the available fiscal space to increase investment, improve long-term growth prospects and reducing the current account surplus; calls on the Commission to use all existing tools to enforce those CSRs aimed at addressing these challenges which represent a threat for the sustainability of the monetary union;