40 Amendments of Eider GARDIAZABAL RUBIAL related to 2015/2353(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 15 a (new)
Citation 15 a (new)
– having regard the interinstitutional joint declaration attached to the MFF on gender mainstreaming
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls for the continuation of the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI), proposed by the European Council of 7-8 February 2013 as a reaction to the persisting problem of high levels of youth unemployment, following athe fully-fledged assessment of its performance andthat the Commission has undertaken to submit in the first half of 2016, and calls for subsequent adjustments to be proposed to overcome existing implementation impediments up to the end of the current financial framework;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Considers, in this respect, that while a review aims at assessing and evaluating the functioning of the MFF against its implementation, new economic conditions and other new developments, and as such could maintain the legislative status quo, a revision implies a modification of the MFF Regulation, which also includes (besides the legislative provisions) the MFF ceilings, on a basis of due respect for Article 312 TFEU and the limitations on the scope of the MFF revision laid down in the last sentence of Article 2 of the MFF Regulation; recalls that this article stipulates that the pre- allocated national envelopes shall not be reduced through a revision; highlights that no other limitations for the MFF revision were set, so an upward revision of the MFF ceilings is possible; stresses in this context that Article 323 TFEU requires that the financial means to fulfil the Union’s legal obligations in respect of third parties are being ensured;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Is concerned at the fact that virtually no resources are available in heading 3 of the current MFF (‘Security and citizenship’) and calls for the next meeting to provide it with the necessary resources and sufficient flexibility to enable it to tackle the significant challenges facing the EU in this area;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 – introductory part
Paragraph 5 – introductory part
5. Considers that a review of the MFF in 2016 should take stock of a number of serious crises and new political initiatives, together with their respective budgetary consequences, which were not anticipated at the time of the MFF’s adoption; notes, inter alia, the migration and refugee crisis, external emergencies, internal security issues, the crisis in agriculture, the funding of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the persistent high level of unemployment, especially among young people, threatening social inclusion and cohesion, rising inequalities, populism and extremism challenging our democratic pluralistic societies and the payment crisis in the EU budget; observes that, in order to finance the additional pressing needs, an unprecedented recourse to the MFF’s flexibility mechanisms and special instruments was deemed necessary, as the MFF ceilings proved to be too tight in some headings; considers that, over the past two years, the MFF has essentially been pushed to its limits;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 – introductory part
Paragraph 5 – introductory part
5. Considers that a review of the MFF in 2016 should take stock of a number of serious crises and new political initiatives, together with their respective budgetary consequences, which were not anticipated at the time of the MFF’s adoption; notes, inter alia, the migration and refugee crisis, external emergencies, internal security issues, the crisis in agriculture, the continuous decline of European and global biodiversity, the internationally agreed urgency for action on climate change, the funding of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the persistent high level of unemployment, especially among young people, and the payment crisis in the EU budget; observes that, in order to finance the additional pressing needs, an unprecedented recourse to the MFF’s flexibility mechanisms and special instruments was deemed necessary, as the MFF ceilings proved to be too tight in some headings; considers that, over the past two years, the MFF has essentially been pushed to its limits;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 – introductory part
Paragraph 5 – introductory part
5. Considers that a review of the MFF in 2016 should take stock of a number of serious crises and new political initiatives, together with their respective budgetary consequences, which were not anticipated at the time of the MFF’s adoption; notes, inter alia, the migration and refugee crisis, external emergencies, internal security issues, the crisis in agriculture, particularly in the milk and meat sectors, the funding of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the persistent high level of unemployment, especially among young people, and the payment crisis in the EU budget; observes that, in order to finance the additional pressing needs, an unprecedented recourse to the MFF’s flexibility mechanisms and special instruments was deemed necessary, as the MFF ceilings proved to be too tight in some headings; considers that, over the past two years, the MFF has essentially been pushed to its limits;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses that the conflicts in Syria, the Middle East and several regions in Africa have had humanitarian, security and migratory consequences on an unprecedented scale; recalls that the EU has been directly impacted, with more than one million refugees reaching Europe in 2015 alone and more expected in the coming years; recalls that this crisis led to a major financial response on the EU’s part and hence had a significant impact on the EU budget, notably on headings 3 (Security and Citizenship) and 4 (Global Europe);
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Stresses that significant budgetary means have been deployed to tackle the root causes of the refugee and migration crisis by reinforcing specific EU programmes under Heading 4; stresses the additional upcoming budgetary means necessary for the inclusion of most vulnerable migrants, especially women and girls, young and under-aged and LGBTI migrants, recalls the reallocations in favour of migration/refugee-related actions of EUR 170 million in the course of 2015, as well as the approval in 2016 of an additional EUR 130 million under Heading 4 for migration/refugee-related activities, together with the reshuffling of EUR 430 million under the Instrument for Pre- accession Assistance, the Development Cooperation Instrument and the European Neighbourhood Instrument; recalls, furthermore, that in order to address the external dimension of the migration and refugee crisis the Commission has made various additional proposals having an impact on the EU budget, such as those for the establishment of EU trust funds (the Madad Trust Fund and the Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, with an estimated initial budgetary impact of EUR 570 million and EUR 405 million respectively), as well as of the Refugee Facility for Turkey, for which EUR 1 billion is to be funded from the EU budget, not counting possible additional funding; stresses that further pressure on the Union budget might arise from other planned actions announced by the Commission such as the ‘London pledge’ or from events such as the EU- Turkey summit of 18 March 2016; is concerned, however, that owing to the magnitude of the problems the EU is facing further actions might still be required;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Concludes that the activities planned by the Commission to cope with the migrant and refugee crisis could not have been foreseen at the time of the conclusion of the MFF 2014-2020; highlights the fact that owing to the lack of sufficient resources the EU has had to set up ad hoc, ‘satellite’ instruments with no democratic control by the European Parliament such as EU trust funds and the Refugee Facility for Turkey; stresses, however, that Member States have not yet delivered on their contribution pledges to the trust funds, thus undermining the success of those funds;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Recalls that, since the global economic and financial crisis, the EU has suffered from low and insufficient levels of investment; notes in particular that in 2014 total investment was 15 % below the 2007 level, which corresponds to an investment drop of EUR 430 billion; considers that weak investment slows economic recovery and has direct repercussions on growth, jobs and competitiveness;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Stresses that youth unemployment remains dramatically high and represents one of the most pressing and serious problems that the EU is currently facing; highlights that 4.4 million young persons under 25 were unemployed across the Union in February 2016 and that this corresponds to a proportion of over 40 % in several Member States; consequently too many young people are at risk of social exclusion and more specific actions on including young people not in education, employment or training (NEETs) should be taken;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Underlines that the EU budget makes a significant contribution to the fight against unemployment, especially through the European Social Fund and the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI); stresses that despite the initial delays in the designation of national authorities and the implementation of the YEI, the current figures indicate full absorption capacity; notes that an evaluation of this initiative will soon be concluded by the European Commission, and expects that the necessary adjustments will be introduced to ensure its successful implementation;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Recalls the various crises that European farmers have faced since the beginning of the current MFF, most notably the dairy sector crisis and the long- term negative effects on European farmers of the losses caused by the Russian embargo on agricultural products; highlights the budgetary impact of the emergency measures taken in response to these crises, involving EUR 500 million in the budget 2016 and EUR 300 million in 2015; underlines the persistent situation of crisis in the agricultural sector in several Member States; insists that CAP keeps the same level of funding under the MFF 2014-2020; is convinced that a diminished CAP would pose numerous risks and endanger territorial cohesion , in particular as regards the rural areas; is against any movement towards re- nationalization of agricultural policy which would create distortion in the market and unfair competition of farmers;
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 7 a (new)
Subheading 7 a (new)
Climate change and environmental challenges Recalls that global warming represents an unprecedented challenge to the whole of mankind; is concerned that, according to the mid-term review of the EU biodiversity strategy, no significant progress has been made towards reaching the headline target of halting biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation in the EU by 2020; gives utmost importance to biodiversity protection and restoration in the EU; notes the significant needs for financing to climate action, biodiversity protection and the sustainable use of natural resources;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Recalls the build-up over the previous (2007-2013) MFF of a backlog of unpaid bills, which rose from a ‘normal’ level of EUR 5 billion at end 2010 to EUR 11 billion at end 2011, EUR 16 billion at end 2012, and EUR 23.4 billion at end 2013; warns that this backlog has spilled over into the current (2014-2020) MFF, reaching an unprecedented peak of EUR 24.7 billion at the end of 2014; stresses that, at the insistent request of Parliament, a payment plan has been agreed with the aim of reducing the backlog of outstanding cohesion policy-related payment claims for 2007-2013 to a "normal" level of EUR 2 billion by the end of 2016; points out that at least EUR 8.2 billion of unpaid bills were identified at the end of 2015 for 2007-2013 in the field of cohesion policy, a figure which is expected to fall below EUR 2 billion by the end of 2016; notes that this decrease provides merely temporary relief as it is only the result of submissions of payable claims for both the 2007-2013 and 2014-2020 programmes being less than announced; regrets that no action has been undertaken to address the ‘hidden backlog’ identified under other headings;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 – introductory part
Paragraph 22 – introductory part
22. Regrets that the consequences of this payment crisis have been severe, affecting beneficiaries of the EU budget such as students, universities, SMEs and, researchers and project leaders , as well as local and regional authorities; recalls, in particular, the dramatic shortage of payments in the field of humanitarian operations in 2014, which negatively affected the EU’s life-saving operations; recalls that the Commission had to resort to ‘mitigating measures’ such as reducing pre-financing percentages and postponing calls for proposals/tenders and related contracting; recalls that an artificial slowdown in the implementation of the new 2014-2020 programmes occurred owing to the general lack of payments, an example being an artificial delay relating to EUR 1 billion worth of calls for proposals under Horizon 2020 in 2014, which aimed at ensuring that payments would fall due in 2015 rather than in 2014; stresses, furthermore, that penalties for late payments have been charged to the EU budget, reaching some EUR 3 million in both 2014 and 2015;
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Anticipates that any further needs that arise with relation to the migration and refugee crisis in 2016, including the tranche of EUR 200 million for the new instrument to provide emergency support within the Union, should result in the mobilisation of the Contingency Margin as soon as necessary; recalls that no more margins are available under Heading 3, while the Flexibility Instrument has already been used up in its entirety for this year; suggests to investigate further opportunities for flexibility for emerging challenges, including easier access to unspent margins for any budget line, so that these margins can be redeployed for emergencies in other headings;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)
Paragraph 28 a (new)
28a. Gives utmost importance to the well-timed implementation of any modification which will be agreed under the Mid-term revision of the MFF; stresses that these changes should be echoed in the EU budget for the year 2017; calls on the Commission to ensure that negotiations on both MFF Revision and the annual EU budget are concluded until the end of 2016 as this will influence Parliament´s decision making process on the EU budget 2017;
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Is convinced that, while fully confirming the notion of large-scale political and financial support for EFSI, the EU budget should not be financing new initiatives to the detriment of existing Union programmes and policies; intends to deliver on its commitment to fully offset the EFSI-related cuts affecting Horizon 2020 and CEF, in order to allow them to accomplish their objectives as agreed only two years ago; furthermore stresses that reinforcements are needed for the EU programmes and policies contributing to growth, jobs and competitiveness as well as transition to a low carbon economy; believes that margins in Subheading 1a are not sufficient for accommodating these needs, hence calls for an increase of the ceiling in this subheading;
Amendment 191 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Strongly supports the continuation of the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI), as a means of ensuring an urgent response in the fight against youth unemployment, following the necessary adjustments brought about by the ongoing evaluation of European institutions as well as a continued assessment of its performance by all relevant stakeholders, especially young people and youth organisations; considers that this can only be achieved through the provision of an adequate level of commitment appropriations for the YEI for the remaining years of the current MFF; notes that this should entail an upwards revision of the ceilings of Subheading 1b, as no margins are available;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Strongly supports the continuation of the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI), as a means of ensuring an urgent response in the fight against youth unemployment, following the necessary adjustments brought about by the ongoing evaluation; considers that this can only be achieved through the provision of an adequate level oft least EUR 21 billion in commitment appropriations for the YEI for the remaining years ofunder the current MFF; notes that this should entail an upwards revision of the ceilings of Subheading 1b, as no margins are available;
Amendment 197 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)
Paragraph 30 a (new)
30a. In a context of new increasing challenges, including migration and diverse societies, more investments in education, training, youth and culture are very much needed to reinforce cohesive, equal and inclusive societies as well as intercultural dialogue;
Amendment 202 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Considers that the magnitude of the migration and refugee crisis, caused by wars and climate change, goes to show that additional needs with significant budgetary consequences may be expected to arise in the coming years; underlines, moreover, that the need for internal security in the EU and the fight against terrorism are expected also to necessitate additional funding to back up reinforced action at EU level; is of the firm opinion that, even with the mobilisation of the small margins available under Heading 3 (Security and Citizenship) and existing flexibility provisions, the resources available will not be sufficient to tackle the increased needs under this heading; calls, therefore, for significant reinforcements for the AMIF and the Internal Security Fund, as well as for the Union agencies operating in the field, as well as other initiatives that can be undertaken; considers that an upward revision of the ceilings under Heading 3 is required;
Amendment 227 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 a (new)
Paragraph 35 a (new)
35a. Conditionality to ensure fundamental right of the EU Insists that all countries should assume full share of responsibilities in the context of the refugee crisis and the Decision on the dedicated reallocation mechanism; calls on the Commission to introduce a financial bonus and malus mechanism as regards the Member States' fulfilment, or not, of their commitments under measures adopted by the EU; upholds that any financial contribution coming from sanctioning a Member state who does not respect these measures should flow back into the EU budget as an extra revenue;
Amendment 249 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 14 a (new)
Subheading 14 a (new)
Gender Mainstreaming
Amendment 251 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42 a (new)
Paragraph 42 a (new)
42a. Welcomes the MFF mid-term review as an opportunity to make significant progress in a more effective integration of the gender mainstreaming in the MFF and in the implementation and monitoring of the Joint Declaration attached to the MFF on this regard;
Amendment 252 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42 b (new)
Paragraph 42 b (new)
42b. Underlines that in addition to the ability to react flexibly to changing circumstances without prejudice to the agreed programming, there is also a necessity for the Union to be able to react quickly to developing crises; calls, therefore, for the establishment of a permanent EU crisis reserve within the Union budget over and above the MFF ceilings and below GNI limit of 1.23%, in order to avoid ad hoc solutions like the setting-up of trust funds; this reserve would enable the EU to deal with unforeseen circumstances or to cope with substantial and lasting changes in political priorities;
Amendment 261 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43
Paragraph 43
43. Believes that the mid-term review/revision provides for an excellent opportunity for the first-time assessment of the functioning of the EU policies and programmes concerned, and expects the Commission to supply an analysis involving relevant stakeholders such as civil society in a structured dialogue, identifying the shortcomings of the current implementation system; invites the Commission to come up with concrete proposals to address the possible deficiencies and to improve the implementation environment for the remaining years of the current MFF, in order to ensure the best possible use of scarce financial resources;
Amendment 263 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43
Paragraph 43
43. Believes that the mid-term review/revision provides for an excellent opportunity for the first-time assessment and evaluation of the functioning of the EU policies and programmes concerned, and expects the Commission to supply an analysis identifying the shortcomings of the current implementation system; invites the Commission to come up with concrete proposals to address the possible deficiencies and to improve the implementation environment for the remaining years of the current MFF, in order to ensure the best possible use of scarce financial resources;
Amendment 267 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43 a (new)
Paragraph 43 a (new)
43a. Stresses that the Commission´s proposal to improve European spending via the so called performance based budgeting remains unclear; is convinced that the EU must strive to best use taxpayer's money, but that it must not take a form of a technocratic exercise aiming at reducing budgetary support in certain policy areas; recalls that a poor evaluation of the functioning of a programme should primarily lead to revision of its legal basis and its functioning in a Member state and not to the end of it financing; repeats that by no means should performance based budgeting lead to a budget reduction or transfer of fund; underlines that better spending cannot solve the main problem the EU is faced with- allocating scarce resources while the needs are growing;
Amendment 275 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44
Paragraph 44
44. Acknowledges the increased role of financial instruments in the Union budget as a complementary form of funding as compared to subsidies and grants; recognises the potential of these instruments in terms of increasing the financial, and therefore the political, impact of the Union budget; underlines, however, that a shift from traditional financing to more innovative instruments is not advisable in all policy areas, as not all policies are entirely market-driven; highlights that financial instruments provide an alternative and complementary way of funding and should not be used for the projects which can only benefit from the use of grant; underlines that increasing use of financial instruments should not lead to a reduction in the Union budget; recalls Parliament’'s repeated calls for greater transparency and democratic scrutiny regarding the implementation of financial instruments supported by the Union budget; stresses that when assessing a financial instrument, the leverage dimension cannot be the only evaluation criteria; in this context reminds of the importance of the "additionality" criteria and the ability to contribute fulfilment of the EU's political objectives;
Amendment 279 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44
Paragraph 44
44. Acknowledges the increased role of financial instruments in the Union budget as a complementary form of funding as compared to subsidies and grants; recognises the potential of these instruments in terms of increasing the financial, and therefore the political, impact of the Union budget; underlines, however, that a shift from traditional financing to more innovative instruments is not advisable in all policy areas, as not all policies are entirely market-driven (e.g. youth and education sectors); underlines that increasing use of financial instruments should not lead to a reduction in the Union budget; recalls Parliament’s repeated calls for greater transparency and democratic scrutiny regarding the implementation of financial instruments supported by the Union budget;
Amendment 320 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 54
Paragraph 54
54. Calls for the introduction of one or several new own resources, ideally with a clear link to European policies that create added value; notes that a large number of possible new own resources have already been discussed by the High Level Group, and eagerly awaits itin the European Parliament, such as a reformed VAT, a Financial Transaction Tax, bank levies and ECB seigniorage, a reformed EU Emissions Trading System and carbon taxation, transport taxation, an EU-wide corporate taxation, electricity or digital taxation; eagerly awaits the High Level Group's recommendations;
Amendment 324 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 54 a (new)
Paragraph 54 a (new)
54a. Stresses furthermore that a new revenue system should reflect the Union's political priorities such as combating cross border tax fraud, tax evasion and fiscal competition, reducing the risk of financial speculation, and addressing environmental issues; calls for the continuation of tax harmonisation with the aim of establishing a minimum EU- wide corporate taxation;
Amendment 327 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 55
Paragraph 55
55. Underlines the importance of the principle of the unity of the budget, and recalls that according to Article 310(1) TFEU all items of revenue and expenditure of the Union shall be shown in the budget; is concerned about the recent shift from the Community method to intergovernmental decision-making as observed, since 2014, in the setting-up of the Bêkou Trust Fund for the Central African Republic, the Madad Regional Trust Fund in response to the Syrian crisis, and the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, as well as of the Refugee Facility for Turkey; stresses that this form of financing entails a reallocation of funds under existing multiannual financial programmes negotiated and agreed among the three institutions; highlights that this endangers democratic accountability, as the European Parliament has been excluded from setting-up of those funds;
Amendment 331 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 57
Paragraph 57
57. Reiterates its long-standing position that the European Development Fund (EDF) should be integrated in the Union budget, as from 2021, while ensuring the financing of the African Peace Facility and security- related operations; highlights in this respect that also the financial means financing the EDF have to be transferred into the EU budget then;
Amendment 340 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 59
Paragraph 59
Amendment 346 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 22
Subheading 22
Follow up of the Parisinternational agreements on climate change
Amendment 348 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 60
Paragraph 60
60. Notes that the agreement reached on 12 December 2015 in Paris by the 196 parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 21) is a universal, binding, dynamic and differentiated agreement aimed at facing the challenge of climate change; calls on the Commission to pstresses that any funding for the possible measures originating from COP 21 should be additional; furthermore stressent its first evaluation of the possible impact of the COP21 agrees that individual obligation of donor countries to provide support to developing countries cannot be financed from the EU budget ; recalls that the EU is committed to implement the United Nations Convention's Strategic Plan for Biodiversity which will expire in 2020; calls on the Commission to present an assessment onf the EU budget in dueary implications of different replacement options in time for the revision;