43 Amendments of Petra KAMMEREVERT related to 2017/0102(COD)
Amendment 62 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 8
Recital 8
Amendment 73 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10
Recital 10
Amendment 127 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 1
Recital 1
(1) The European Union is built on solidarity, among its citizens and among its Member States. This common value guides its actions and provides the necessary unity to cope with current and future societal challenges, which young Europeans are willing to help address by expressing their solidarity in practice. The principle of solidarity is rooted in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union and in the preamble to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
Amendment 141 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) In its Communication “A European Solidarity Corps” of 7 December 201618, the Commission emphasised the need to strengthen the foundations for solidarity work across Europe, to provide young people with more and better opportunities for solidarity activities covering a broad range of areas, and to support national and local actors, in their efforts to cope with different challenges and crises. The Communication launched a first phase of the European Solidarity Corps whereby different Union programmes have been mobilised to offer volunteering, traineeship or job opportunities to young people across the EU. These activities, whether implemented before or after the entry into force of this Regulation, should continue to apply the rules and conditions set by the respective Union programmes that have financed them under the first phase of the European Solidarity Corps. __________________ 18 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions A European Solidarity Corps, COM(2016) 942 final of 7.12.2016.
Amendment 145 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) Young people should be provided with easily accessible opportunities to engage in solidarity activities, which could enable them to express their commitment to the benefit of communities while acquiring useful experience, skills and competences for their personal, educational, social, civic and professional development, thereby improving their employability. Those activities would also support the mobility of young volunteers, trainees and workers.
Amendment 158 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) The solidarity activities offered to young people should be of high quality, in the sense that they should respond to unhelp to overcomet societal needchallenges, contribute to strengthening communities and active citizenship, offer young people the opportunity to acquire valuable knowledge and competences, be financially accessible to young people, and be implemented in safe and healthy conditions.
Amendment 162 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6
Recital 6
(6) The European Solidarity Corps would provide a single entry point for solidarity activities throughout the Union. Consistency and complementarity of that framework should be ensured with other relevant Union policies and programmes. The European Solidarity Corps should build on the strengths and synergies of existing programmes, notably the European Voluntary Service. It should also complement the efforts made by Member States to support young people and ease their school-to-work transition under the Youth Guarantee19 by providing them with additional opportunities to make a start on the labour market in the form of traineeships or jobs in solidarity-related areas within their respective Member State or across borders. Complementarity with existing Union level networks pertinent to the activities under the European Solidarity Corps, such as the European Network of Public Employment Services, EURES and the Eurodesk network, should also be ensured. Furthermore, complementarity between existing related schemes, in particular national solidarity schemes and mobility schemes for young people, and the European Solidarity Corps should be ensured, building on good practices where appropriate. __________________ 19 Council Recommendation of 22 April 2013 on establishing a Youth Guarantee (2013/C 120/01).
Amendment 167 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 8
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 8
Amendment 177 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 9
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 9
Amendment 181 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) Voluntary activities constitute a rich experience in a non-formal and informal learning context which enhances young people's personal, socio-educational and professional development, and active citizenship and employability. Voluntary activities should not have an adverse effect on potential or existing paid employment, nor should they be seen as a substitute for it. In order to ensure continuity with respect to the volunteering activities that are supported at Union level, the volunteering activities under the European Voluntary Service that fall within the geographical scope of the European Solidarity Corps should be supported by the latter in the form of cross- border volunteering placements. The other volunteering activities under the European Voluntary Service that do not fall under the geographical scope of the European Solidarity Corps should continue to be supported under the Programme established by Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing 'Erasmus+': the Union programme for education, training, youth and sport20. With respect to the interpretation of related legislation at Union level, both the cross-border volunteering placements under the European Solidarity Corps and the volunteering activities that continue to be supported under Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 should be considered equivalent to those carried out under the European Voluntary Service. __________________ 20 Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 establishing 'Erasmus+': the Union programme for education, training, youth and sport and repealing Decisions No 1719/2006/EC, No 1720/2006/EC and No 1298/2008/EC, OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 50.
Amendment 195 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11
Recital 11
(11) Young people’s spirit of initiative is an important asset for society and for the labour market. The European Solidarity Corps should contribute to fostering this aspect by offering young people the opportunity to devise and implement their own projects aimed at addressing specific challenges to the benefit of their local communities. Those projects should be an opportunity to try out ideas and support young people to be themselves drivers of solidarity actions. They could also serve as a springboard for further engagement in solidarity activities and could be a first step towards encouraging European Solidarity Corps participants to engage in self- employment or setting up associations, NGOs or other bodies active in the solidarity, non-profit and youth sectors.
Amendment 213 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) To ensure the impact of European Solidarity Corps placements on the personal, educational, social, civic and professional development of the participants, the knowledge, skills and competences that are the learning outcomes of the placement should be properly identified and documented, using the Youthpass, in accordance with national circumstances and specificities, as recommended in the Council Recommendation of 20 December 2012 on the validation of non-formal and informal learning22. __________________ 22 Council Recommendation of 20 December 2012 on the validation of non- formal and informal learning, OJ C 398, 22.12.2012, p. 1.
Amendment 231 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 17
Recital 17
(17) A European Solidarity Corps Portal should continuously be developed in order to ensurecontribute to easy access to the European Solidarity Corps and to provide a one-stop shopn interactive, multilingual platform for both interested individuals and organisations as regards, inter alia, registration, identification and matching of profiles and opportunities, networking and virtual exchanges, online training, language and post-placement support as well as other useful functionalities, which may arise in the future.
Amendment 237 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point b
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point b
Amendment 239 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point c
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point c
Amendment 255 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 22
Recital 22
(22) In addition to the Member States, the European Solidarity Corps should also be open to the participation of other countries on the basis of bilateral agreementsexisting programme countries and partner countries of Erasmus+ Youth in Action. This participation should be based, where relevant, on additional appropriations to be made available in accordance with the procedures to be agreed with the concerned countries.
Amendment 306 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 41
Recital 41
(41) This Regulation should apply from 1 January 2018. In order to allow for the prompt application of the measures provided for in this Regulation, this Regulation should enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union ––.
Amendment 321 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 1
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 1
(1) “solidarity activity” means an activity aimed at addressing unmesignificant societal needchallenges to the benefit of a communitysociety as a whole while also fostering the individual’s personal, educational, social, civic and professional development, which may take the form of placements, projects or networking activities, developed in relation to different areas, such as education and training, employment, gender equality, entrepreneurship, in particular social entrepreneurship, citizenship and democratic participation, environment and nature protection, climate action, disaster prevention, preparedness and recovery, agriculture and rural development, provision of food and non-food items, health and wellbeing, creativity and culture, physical education and sport, social assistance and welfare, reception and integration of third-country nationals, territorial cooperation and cohesion;
Amendment 324 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 1 a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 1 a (new)
(1a) “Solidarity” describes the readiness to make an effort for the common good as part of specific activities without any expectation of consideration in return;
Amendment 326 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 2
(2) “participant” means a young person who has registered inpart of the European Solidarity Corps Portal and takes part in a solidarity activity under the European Solidarity Corps offered by a participating organisation or developed by a group of young people registered in the European Solidarity Corps Portal;
Amendment 331 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 3
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 3
(3) “disadvantaged young people” means individuals who need additional support because of disability, educational difficulties, economic obstacles, cultural differences, health problems, social obstacles, geographical obstacles or other exclusion factors;
Amendment 336 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 4
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 4
(4) “participating organisation” means any public or non-profit private entity, non-governmental organisation or civil society organisation that has been attributed the European Solidarity Corps quality label, which offers a placement to a participant in the European Solidarity Corps or implements other activities in the framework of the European Solidarity Corps;
Amendment 340 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 4 a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 4 a (new)
(4a) “intermediary organisation” means a non-profit-making entity which plays a fundamental role in advertising, identifying for candidates and facilitating access to volunteer activities, and in building partnerships in the volunteer field, such as trade unions, youth associations, non-governmental organisations, churches or other civil society entities;
Amendment 347 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5
(5) “solidarity placement” means a volunteering activity, traineeship or job in a solidarity-related area, which is organised by a participating organisation and which contributes to addressing key societal challenges while enhancing the personal, educational, social, civic and professional development and the employability of the European Solidarity Corps participant who undertakes it, either in a country other than the country of residence (cross-border) or in the country of residence of the participant (in-country);
Amendment 358 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 6
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 6
(6) “volunteering” means a full-time32n unpaid voluntary service for a period of up to twelve months, and not less than two months, performed either full-time or part-time for at least 10 hours per week which provides young people with the opportunity to contribute to the daily work of non-profit-making organisations active in solidarity-related fields, to the ultimate benefit of the communities within which the activities are carried out and particularly of those in need within such communities, including a solid learning and training dimension in order to enable the young volunteer(s) to gain skills and competences, which will be useful for their personal, educational, social and professional development, and which will also contribute to improving their employability; __________________ 32 As a general principle, an activity carried out continuously, 5 days a week for 7 hours a day.;
Amendment 381 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 11
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 11
(11) “quality label” means the certification attributed to a public or private entity orarticipating and internationalmediary organisation willing to provide placements under the European Solidarity Corps following a procedure aimed at ensuring compliance with the principles and requirements of the European Solidarity Corps Charter;
Amendment 392 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 14
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 14
(14) "European Solidarity Corps Portal" means a multilingual, web-based tool that provides relevant online services to the European Solidarity Corps participants and participating organisations,and intermediary organisations; these services complement the activities of the participating organisations and includinge providing information about the European Solidarity Corps, registering participants, searching for participants for placements, advertising and searching for placements, searching for potential project partners, managing contacts and offers for placements and projects, training, communication and networking activities, informing and notifying about opportunities, the provision of an evaluation system for purposes of quality assurance, as well as other relevant developments related to the European Solidarity Corps.
Amendment 403 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1
Article 3 – paragraph 1
The objective of the European Solidarity Corps is to promote European Solidarity; it shall enhance the engagement of young people and organisations in accessible and high quality solidarity activities as a means to contribute to strengthening cohesion and solidarity in Europe, supporting communitiescitizenship in Europe, as well as existing actions and structures of organizations in this regard, supporting communities and individuals, in particular the most vulnerable, and responding to societal challenges.
Amendment 412 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) to provideing young people, with the support of participating organisations, with easily accessible opportunities for engagement in solidarity activities while improving their skills and competences for personal, educational, social, civic and professional development, as well as their employability and facilitating transition into the labour market, including by supporting the mobility of young volunteers, trainees and workers;
Amendment 424 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) to ensure that the solidarity activities that are offered to the European Solidarity Corps participants contribute to addressing concrete, unmet societal needsovercoming significant societal challenges for the benefit of the community and strengthening communities, are of high quality and properly validated.
Amendment 459 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) solidarity placements in the form of volunteering, traineeships or jobs, including individual cross- border and in- country placements as well as volunteering teams’ placements;
Amendment 476 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) measures aimed at ensuring the quality of solidarity placements, including training for preparation before and guidance during the solidarity placement, language support, administrative support for participants and participating organisations, insurance, post-placement support as well as the development of a certificate that identifies and documents the knowledge, skills and competences acquired during the placement;
Amendment 479 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point a a (new)
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point a a (new)
(aa) activities and measures provided by participating and intermediary organisations which support young people in accessing volunteer activities and developing solidarity projects of their own;
Amendment 534 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 11 – paragraph 2
Article 11 – paragraph 2
2. The European Solidarity Corps shall be open forto the participation of other countries on the basis of bilateral agreementsexisting programme countries and partner countries of Erasmus+ Youth in Action. Cooperation shall be based, where relevant, on additional appropriations to be made available in accordance with the procedures to be agreed with those countries.
Amendment 538 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 1
Article 12 – paragraph 1
1. Young people aged 17 to 30 years willing to participate in the European Solidarity Corps shall register in the European Solidarity Corps Portal or gain access via application processes provided by intermediary organisations. However, at the moment of commencing a placement or a project a registered young person shall be at least 18 years of age and not older than 30.
Amendment 541 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 2
Article 12 – paragraph 2
2. When implementing this Regulation, the Commission and the participating countries shall ensure that particular efforts are made to promote social inclusion, in particular for the participation of disadvantaged young people. They include support systems and persons, special contacts during the assignments and special formats such as short-term assignments. The additional costs involved in participation shall be covered 100% by grants.
Amendment 552 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 1
Article 13 – paragraph 1
1. The European Solidarity Corps shall be open to the participation of public or private entities,entities, non-profit private entities, non- governmental organisations, civil society organisations or international organisations, provided that they have received a European Solidarity Corps quality label.
Amendment 557 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 13 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. When acting as a sending or receiving organisation, the participating organisation shall be responsible for maintaining safe and appropriate living conditions for the volunteer throughout the duration of the activity. It should provide appropriate staff and linguistic and specialist support, including appointing a support officer for each individual volunteer.
Amendment 574 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 6 a (new)
Article 13 – paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Participating organisations whose solidarity assignments receive funding in the context of volunteer activities may independently provide the training stipulated in the programme for purposes of preparation, support during solidarity assignments and follow-up, in so far as they do not opt to entrust responsibility for such training to the appropriate national agency. The participating organisations shall receive financial support for their own training schemes.
Amendment 579 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 1
Article 14 – paragraph 1
Any public or private entity established in a participating country as well as international organisations carrying out solidarity activitiesarticipating or intermediary organisation established in thea participating countriesy may apply for funding under the European Solidarity Corps. In the case of the activities referred to in point (a) of Article 7(1), a quality label shall be obtained by the participating organisation as a pre-condition for receiving funding under the European Solidarity Corps. In the case of the solidarity projects referred to in point (b) of Article 7(1), natural persons may also apply for funding on behalf of informal groups of European Solidarity Corps participants.
Amendment 584 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 1
Article 15 – paragraph 1
1. The Commission, in cooperation with the participating countries, the executive agencies and the participating and intermediary organisations, shall regularly monitor the performance of the European Solidarity Corps towards achieving its objectives. To this end, an accompanying programme committee shall be established at EU level with the players mentioned here.
Amendment 627 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2
At the latest six months after thetime of entry into force of this Regulation, the Commission shall establish a detailed programme for monitoring the outputs, results and impacts of this Regulation.
Amendment 666 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 21 – paragraph 7
Article 21 – paragraph 7
7. The Commission shall organise regular meetings with the network of national agencies and the participating and intermediary organisations in order to ensure coherent implementation of the European Solidarity Corps across all participating countries.