2022/2006(INI) | [ParlTrack]

Draft opinion
Recital 1

(1) Whereas issues addressed in the Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy 2022 have among other things a clear impact on biodiversity, climate change and health;

Amendment 10 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses the importance of accelerating the alignment of the Semester process with the EU’s long- term climate and environmental objectives as set up under the objectives as set up under the European Green Deal and reinforced European Green Deal and reinforced in the Fit for 55 package; Welcomes in the Fit for 55 package; Notes the the insertion, at each European insertion, at each European Semester Semester country report, of dedicated country report, of dedicated sections sections on the Member State’s on the Member State’s progress in the progress in the different SDG areas, as different SDG areas, as well as the set- well as the set-up of additional up of additional indicators to monitor indicators to monitor and guide and guide Member States’ Member States’ performance in view performance in view of EU Green of EU Green Deal policy goals; Deal policy goals;

Amendment 11 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses the importance of accelerating the alignment of the accelerating the alignment of the Semester process with the EU’s Semester process with the EU’s long-term climate and short and long-term climate and environmental objectives as set up environmental objectives as set up under the European Green Deal and under the European Green Deal, reinforced in the Fit for 55 package; enshrined into legislation through Welcomes the insertion, at each the European Climate Law and European Semester country report, reinforced in the Fit for 55 package; of dedicated sections on the Member Welcomes the insertion, at each State’s progress in the different European Semester country report, SDG areas, as well as the set-up of of dedicated sections on the Member additional indicators to monitor and State’s progress in the different guide Member States’ performance SDG areas, as well as the set-up of in view of EU Green Deal policy additional indicators to monitor and goals; guide Member States’ performance in view of EU Green Deal policy goals and the Paris agreement notably ahead of the next global stocktake;

Amendment 12 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses the importance of ac~~celerat~~hieving ~~the~~an alignment of the Semester process with the Paris agreement and the EU’s long-term climate and environmental objectives as set up under the European Green Deal and reinforced in the Fit for 55 package; Welcomes the insertion, a~~t each~~s long as the European Semester ~~country~~includes country specific advice in its reports, of dedicated sections in these reports on the Member State’s progress in the different SDG areas, as well as the set- up of additional indicators to monitor and guide Member States’ performance in view of EU Green Deal policy goals.

Amendment 13 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses the importance of accelerating the alignment of the Semester process with the EU’s long-term climate and environmental objectives as set up under the ~~European Green Deal and reinforced in the Fit for 55 package~~8th Environmental Action Programme, including the objective of reaching climate-neutrality by 2050 at the latest as enshrined in the EU Climate Law; Welcomes the insertion, at each European Semester country report, of dedicated sections on the Member State’s progress in the different SDG areas, a~~s well as the~~nd calls on the Commission to set- up of additional indicators to monitor and guide Member States’ performance in view of ~~EU Green Deal policy goals~~the priority objectives and enabling conditions set out in the 8th Environmental Action Programme;

Amendment 14 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. ~~Stresses the importance of~~Underlines that fiscal accelerating the alignment of the sustainability, compliance with the Semester process with the EU’s EU fiscal and macroeconomic long-term climate and surveillance framework are key in environmental objectives as set up ensuring investments in the EU’s under the European Green Deal and long-term climate and reinforced in the Fit for 55 package; environmental objectives as set up Welcomes the insertion, at each under the European Green Deal and European Semester country report, reinforced in the Fit for 55 package; of dedicated sections on the Member Notes the insertion, at each State’s progress in the different European Semester country report, SDG areas, as well as the set-up of of dedicated sections on the Member additional indicators to monitor and State’s progress in the different guide Member States’ performance SDG areas, as well as the set-up of in view of EU Green Deal policy additional indicators to monitor and goals; guide Member States’ performance in view of key EU policy goals, including the EU Green Deal; emphasizes that the Semester should focus on and contribute to economic resilience and increased productivity in the Member States;

Amendment 15 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses the importance of ~~accelerating the alignment of the Semester process~~radically reforming the Semester process and aligning it with the EU’s long-term climate and environmental objectives as set up under the European Green Deal and reinforced in the Fit for 55 package; Welcomes the insertion, at each European Semester country report, of dedicated sections on the Member State’s progress in the different SDG areas, as well as the set- up of additional indicators to monitor and guide Member States’ performance in view of EU Green Deal policy goals;

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Upon the review of the performance in view of EU Green Deal, urges to readjust goals to be attained by Member States to make them realistic and pragmatic.

Amendment 17 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

Amendment 18 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Notes that, meeting the EU’s ~~ambitious~~ Green Deal agenda will require significant investment and that, according to the Commission, the private and public investment gap to cater for the green transition are estimated at nearly EUR 520 billion per year, for the next decade; further notes that whereas a substantial share of the investment will be borne by the private sector, public investment will have to increase ~~as we~~substantially.

Amendment 19 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Notes that, meeting the EU’s ambitious Green Deal agenda will require significant investment and that, according to the Commission, the private and public investment gap to cater for the green transition are estimated at nearly EUR 520 billion per year, for the next decade; ~~further notes that whereas a substantial share of the investment will be borne by the private sector, public investment will have to increase as well~~stresses that this requires further policy action to redirect financial flows away from harmful economic activities towards sustainable economic activities; further notes that whereas a substantial share of the investment will be borne by the private sector, public investment will have to increase as well; underlines that significant fiscal space could be created by phasing out direct and indirect environmentally harmful subsidies, in particular fossil fuel subsidies;

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Welcomes the Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy 2022 pledge to ~~continue~~ plac~~ing~~e a sustainable, fair and green transition at the heart of the European Semester (Semester) process, enshrining environmental sustainability, climate neutrality, public health and the wellbeing of citizens as guiding principles for the ~~EU’s~~ recovery of the EU member states.

Amendment 20 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Notes that, meeting the EU’s ambitious Green Deal agenda will ambitious Green Deal agenda will require significant investment and require significant investment and that, according to the Commission, that, according to the Commission, the private and public investment gap the private and public investment gap to cater for the green transition are to cater for the green transition are estimated at nearly EUR 520 billion estimated at nearly EUR 520 billion per year, for the next decade; further per year, for the next decade; further notes that whereas a substantial share warns against a substantial share of of the investment will be borne by the the investment to be borne by the private sector, public investment will private sector, and especially against have to increase as well; public investment increase; Highlights that the public investments that are directed to the Green Deal can’t primarily be directed to other important public services, such as health care, security or education, but at best have positive side-effects on these public services. Calls therefore upon the Commission to continuously monitor, in all Member States, whether the investments needed for the Green Deal, do not overshadow the other crucial investments a society needs.

Amendment 21 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Reiterates its call for the reorientation of taxation systems towards an increased use of environmental taxation and to fight tax evasion and tax avoidance;

Amendment 22 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Calls therefore on the Commission to extend the current Semester approach to deliver on its political commitment to make it a governance tool supporting the achievement of the 8th Environmental Action Programme, the European Green Deal and the Sustainable Development Goals; underlines the need to further integrate, without weakening the monitoring process of this extended European semester, the Union’s climate, environmental, including biodiversity, and social objectives in a more comprehensive manner to provide Member States with analysis and indicators beyond economic indicators only, thus better reflecting the current challenges faced by Member States in reducing their ecological footprint and making the process a driver of change towards a sustainable wellbeing for all in Europe; within the planetary boundaries; stresses that the European semester should fully uphold the “do no significant harm” principle; calls for the inclusion of climate and environmental indicators in the scoreboard for the macroeconomic imbalance procedure to better identify and address macroeconomic risks related to sustainability factors;

Amendment 23 #

Sirpa PIETIKÄINEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Calls therefore on the Commission to extend the current Semester approach to deliver on its political commitment to make it a governance tool supporting the achievement of the European Green Deal and the Sustainable Development Goals; underlines the need to further integrate, without weakening the monitoring process of this extended European semester, the Union’s climate, environmental, including biodiversity and social objectives in a more comprehensive manner to provide Member States with analysis and ~~indicators beyond economic indicators only,~~science-based harmonised, comparable and uniform sustainability indicators beyond economic indicators only, including the methods of life-cycle analysis and natural capital accounting, and thus better reflecting the current challenges faced by Member States in reducing their ecological footprint and making the process a driver of change towards a sustainable wellbeing for all in Europe;

Amendment 24 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Calls therefore on the Commission to extend the current Semester approach to deliver on its political commitment to make it a governance tool supporting the achievement of the European Green Deal and the Sustainable Development Goals; underlines the need to further integrate, without weakening the monitoring process of this extended European semester, the Union’s climate, environmental, including biodiversity and social objectives in a more comprehensive manner to provide Member States with analysis and indicators ~~beyond~~on an equal footing to economic indicators ~~only~~, thus better reflecting the current challenges faced by Member States in reducing their ecological footprint and making the process a driver of change towards a sustainable wellbeing for all in Europe in line with the Just Transition;

Amendment 25 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Calls therefore on the Commission to ~~extend the current~~redesign the Semester approach to deliver on ~~its political commitment to make it a governance tool supporting the achievement of~~ the European Green Deal and the Sustainable Development Goals; underlines the need to further integrate~~, without weakening the monitoring process of this extended European semester,~~ the Union’s climate, environmental, including biodiversity and social objectives in a more comprehensive manner to provide Member States with analysis and indicators beyond economic indicators only, thus better reflecting the current challenges faced by Member States in reducing their ecological footprint and making the process a driver of change towards a sustainable wellbeing for all in Europe.

Amendment 26 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Calls therefore on the Commission to ~~extend the current~~radically reform the Semester ~~approach~~in order to deliver on its political commitment to make it a governance tool supporting the achievement of the European Green Deal and the Sustainable Development Goals; underlines the need to ~~further~~ integrate, ~~without weakening the monitoring process of this extended European semester,~~ the Union’s climate, environmental, including biodiversity and social objectives in a ~~more~~ comprehensive manner to provide Member States with analysis and indicators beyond economic indicators only, thus better reflecting the current challenges faced by Member States in reducing their ecological footprint, material and consumption footprint, and making the process a driver of change towards a sustainable wellbeing and prosperity for all in Europe;

Amendment 27 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Calls furtherefmore on the Commission to ~~extend~~carefully consider whether the current Semester approach can be considered as a subject to deliver on its unattainable political commitment ~~to make it~~, such as a governance tool supporting the achievement of the European Green Deal and the Sustainable Development Goals; underlines the need to further integrate, without weakening the monitoring process of this extended European semester, the Union’s ~~climate,~~ environmental, ~~including~~especially biodiversity and social, objectives in a more comprehensive manner to provide Member States with analysis and indicators beyond economic indicators only, thus better reflecting the current challenges faced by Member States in reducing their ecological footprint and making the process a driver of change towards a sustainable wellbeing for all in Europe, calls on the Commission to lower the burden on a Member State if these indicators clearly show that these challenges undermine the wellbeing of present and the future of new generations;

Amendment 28 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. ~~Calls therefore on the Commission~~Welcomes that the recovery and to extend the current Semester resilience plans are assessed based approach to deliver on its political on how they address the challenges commitment to make it a identified in the relevant country- governance tool supporting the specific recommendations (CSRs) achievement of the European and that CSRs will also include Green Deal and the Sustainable recommendations on the budgetary Development Goals; underlines the situation of the Member States as need to further integrate, without envisaged under the Stability and weakening the monitoring process Growth Pact; of this extended European semester, the Union’s climate, environmental, including biodiversity and social objectives in a more comprehensive manner to provide Member States with analysis and indicators beyond economic indicators only, thus better reflecting the current challenges faced by Member States in reducing their ecological footprint and making the process a driver of change towards a sustainable wellbeing for all in Europe;

Amendment 29 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Stresses that the European semester should support the Union’s effort to should support the Union’s effort to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 achieve climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest; calls therefore on the at the latest; calls therefore on the Commission to assess the discrepancy between the structure of the Member States’ budgets and a Paris-aligned scenario for each of their national budgets; thus enabling the Commission to provide recommendations on Member States’ climate debt and climate~~- friendly~~ investment gap associated to the Union’s 2030 objective and the objective of climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest, as well as on their commitment to phase out fossil fuel subsidies in a timeframe consistent with the objective of limiting global warming to 1.5°C;

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

~~1. Welcom~~Notes the Annual Sustainable 1. Growth Strategy 2022 pledge to continue placing a sustainable, fair and green transition at the heart of the European Semester (Semester) process, enshrining environmental sustainability, climate neutrality, public health and the wellbeing of citizens as guiding principles for the EU’s recovery.

Amendment 30 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Stresses that the European semester should support the Union’s effort to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest; calls therefore on the Commission to build upon the upcoming recommendations of The European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change1 to assess the discrepancy between the structure of the Member States’ budgets and a Paris-aligned scenario for each of their national budgets as well as the appropriate use of earmarked revenues to climate and social by 2050 at the latest; purposes under the EU ETS; thus enabling the Commission to provide recommendations on Member States’ climate debt and climate-friendly investment gap associated to the Union’s 2030 objective, the trajectory over 2040 and the objective of climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest; 1 As established in Article 10a of Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 June 2021 establishing the framework for achieving climate neutrality and amending Regulations (EC) No 401/2009 and (EU) 2018/1999 (‘European Climate Law’)

Amendment 31 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Stresses that the European semester should be radically reformed in order to support the Union’s effort to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest, and preferably earlier; calls therefore on the Commission to assess the discrepancy between the structure of the Member States’ budgets and a Paris-aligned scenario for each of their national budgets; thus enabling the Commission to provide recommendations on Member States’ climate debt and climate-friendly investment gap associated to the achieving the Paris Agreement 1.5 temperature goal, including at least the Union’s 2030 objective and the objective of climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest;

Amendment 32 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Stresses that the European semester should support the Union’s effort in aiming towards to achieveing climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest; calls therefore on the Commission to assess the discrepancy between the structure of the Member States’ budgets and a Paris-aligned scenario for each of their national budgets; thus enabling the Commission to; Commission might feel free to provide recommendations ton Member States’ ~~climate debt and~~on climate-friendly investment gap associated to the Union’s 2030 objective ~~and the objective of climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest;~~; provide

Amendment 33 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. ~~Stresse~~Considers that the European semester ~~should~~can support the Union’s effort to achieve the Union’s 2030 climate objective and climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest~~; calls therefore on the Commission to assess the discrepancy between the structure of the Member States’ budgets and~~ by ensuring fiscal stability and an investment friendly environment; a Paris-aligned scenario for each stresses that any changes to the of their national budgets; thus European Semester must not water enabling the Commission to down its original purpose; provide recommendations on Member States’ climate debt and climate-friendly investment gap associated to the Union’s 2030 objective and the objective of climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest;

Amendment 34 #

Sirpa PIETIKÄINEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

Amendment 35 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Recalling the importance of ensuring the Semester is aligned with the Recovery and Resilience Facility and the need to swiftly address the COVID 19 pandemic impact on the European economy; Highlights that the RRF presents an unprecedented and unique opportunity for all Member States to address key structural challenges and investment needs and transform their economies to make them ~~sustainable, more competitiv~~oriented on improving wellbeing, fully sustainable and ~~more~~ resilient to all sorts of future shocks; stresses the importance of implementing investment policies and sustainable reforms in line with the European priorities identified in the RRF; is of the view that the RRF should serve as an inspiration for the review of the framework for macroeconomic governance, notably in identifying common structural challenges and investment needs; further stresses that this review should design an enabling framework for Member States to accelerate their green transition and close their climate and environment friendly investment gap with urgency;

Amendment 36 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

Amendment 37 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Recalling the importance of ensuring the Semester is aligned with the Recovery and Resilience Facility and the need to swiftly address the COVID 19 pandemic impact on the European economy; Highlights that the RRF presents an unprecedented and unique opportunity for all Member States to address key structural challenges and investment needs and transform their economies to make them sustainable, more competitive and more resilient to future shocks; stresses the need to prevent new waves of infections in the current pandemic, possible future pandemics and health threats by strengthening public health capacities and preventative measures following the One Health approach; stresses the importance of implementing investment policies and sustainable reforms in line with the European priorities identified in the RRF; is of the view that the RRF and the Taxonomy regulation should serve as an inspiration for the review of the framework for macroeconomic governance, notably in identifying common structural challenges and investment needs; further stresses that this review should design an enabling framework for Member States to accelerate their socially inclusive, gender-equal and just green transition and close their climate and environment friendly investment gap; calls on the Commission to issue ambitious country- specific recommendations to promote national tax reforms and the swift phasing-out of fossil fuel subsidies in order to support the transition to a green economy;

Amendment 38 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Recalling the importance of ensuring the Semester is aligned ensuring the Semester is aligned with the Recovery and Resilience with the Recovery and Resilience Facility and the need to swiftly Facility and the need to swiftly address the COVID 19 pandemic address the COVID 19 pandemic impact on the European economy; impact on the European economy; Highlights that the RRF presents an Highlights that the RRF presents an unprecedented and unique unprecedented and unique opportunity for all Member States to opportunity for all Member States to address key structural challenges address key structural challenges and investment needs and transform and investment needs and transform their economies to make them their economies to make them sustainable, more competitive and sustainable, and more resilient to more resilient to future shocks; future shocks; stresses the stresses the importance of importance of proper implementing investment policies implementation of the reforms and and sustainable reforms in line investments in the each of the with the European priorities Recovery and Resilience Plans with identified in the RRF; is of the view full respect of the “do no that the RRF should serve as an significant harm” principle and inspiration for the review of the carefully monitoring the full framework for macroeconomic implementation of the non- governance, notably in identifying regression of EU environmental common structural challenges and law; calls on the Commission to investment needs; further stresses analyse all payment requests in this that this review should design an light and ensure full compliance of enabling framework for Member all milestones and targets reached States to accelerate their green with the regulation before granting transition and close their climate payments, in particular compliance and environment friendly with the “do no significant harm” investment gap; principle and the specific requirements of Annex VI where relevant; is of the view that the RRF should serve as an inspiration for the review of the framework for macroeconomic governance, notably in identifying common structural challenges and investment needs, ; further stresses that this review should design an enabling framework for Member States to accelerate their green transition, close their climate and environmental investment gap and ensure a rapid phase out of all environmentally harmful subsidies, in particular fossil fuel subsidies;

Amendment 39 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. ~~Recalling the importance of ensuring the Semester is aligned with~~Welcomes the fact that the European Semester and the Recovery and Resilience Facility a~~nd the ne~~re closely intertwined, t~~o swiftly address the COVID 19 pandemic impact on the European economy~~herefore further boosting European added value; Highlights that the RRF presents an unprecedented and unique opportunity for all Member States to address key structural challenges and investment needs and transform their economies to make them sustainable, more competitive and more resilient to future shocks; stresses the importance of implementing investment policies and sustainable reforms in line with the European priorities identified in the RRF; is of the view that the RRF should serve as an inspiration for the review of the framework for macroeconomic notably in identifying common structural challenges investment needs; further stresses that this review should design an enabling framework for Member States to accelerate their green transition and close their climate and environment governance, and friendly investment gap;

Amendment 4 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Welcomes the Annual Sustainable~~Notes the Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy 2022 pledge to Growth Strategy 2022 pledge to continue continue placing a sustainable, fair placing a sustainable, fair and green and green transition at the heart of the transition at the heart of the European European Semester (Semester) Semester (Semester) process, enshrining process, enshrining environmental environmental sustainability, climate sustainability, climate neutrality, neutrality, public health and the wellbeing public health and the wellbeing of of citizens as guiding principles for the EU’s citizens as guiding principles for the recovery; Calls for honouring principles of EU’s recovery. market economy.

Amendment 40 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Recalling the importance of 6. Recalling the importance of ensuring ensuring the Semester is aligned with the Semester is aligned with the the Recovery and Resilience Facility Recovery and Resilience Facility and and the need to swiftly address the the need to swiftly address the COVID 19 pandemic impact on the COVID 19 pandemic impact on the European economy; Highlights that European economy; Highlights that the RRF presents an unprecedented the RRF presents an unprecedented and unique opportunity for all and unique project for all Member Member States to address key States attempting to address key structural challenges and investment structural challenges and investment needs and transform their economies needs and transform their economies to make them sustainable, more to make them sustainable, more competitive and more resilient to competitive and more resilient to future shocks; stresses the future shocks; highlights however, importance of implementing that despite all the green ambitions investment policies and sustainable in the RRF, the main aim of the fund reforms in line with the European is the post-pandemic recovery and priorities identified in the RRF; is of that this should remain the main the view that the RRF should serve as aim, investments should therefore an inspiration for the review of the focus on the recovery of the economy framework for macroeconomic in the respective Member States; governance, notably in identifying common structural challenges and investment needs; further stresses that this review should design an enabling framework for Member States to accelerate their green transition and close their climate and environment friendly investment gap;

Amendment 41 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6a (new)

6a. Recalls that 7.5 % of the Union budget should be dedicated to biodiversity objectives from 2024, and 10% from 2026 onwards ;stresses the urgency for these expenditure levels to be met even before stipulated deadlines; further urges Member States to scale up investment in biodiversity conservation and restoration, reform subsidies harmful to biodiversity, and screen (ex ante) and monitor (ex post) recovery support for their biodiversity impacts;

Amendment 42 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6b (new)

6b. Stresses the need for the European Semester to facilitate equitable access to health care of good quality; highlights that the current pandemic has substantially impacted essential care notably in relation to chronic diseases, but also emergency care across Member States; reiterates in this regard that the Semester should address the resilience of health systems.

Amendment 43 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Further calls on the Commission to ensure the proper involvement of ensure the proper involvement of the the European Parliament, as well as European Parliament, as well as of of regional and local authorities, regional and local authorities, social social partners, civil society and partners, civil society and other key other key stakeholders throughout stakeholders throughout the overall the overall process, including process, including during the during the implementation phase. implementation as well as the monitoring and evaluation phases.

Amendment 44 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Further calls on the Commission to ensure the proper involvement of the ensure the proper involvement of the European Parliament, as well as of European Parliament, as well as of regional and local authorities, social regional and local authorities, social partners, civil society and other key partners, civil society and other key stakeholders throughout the overall stakeholders throughout the overall process, including during the process, including during the implementation phase. implementation phase with the aim to ensure that the European Semester is not only a bureaucratic exercise, but delivers much-needed solutions for the citizens of our respective Member States.

Amendment 45 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Further calls on the Commission to ~~ensure the proper~~strengthen involvement of the European Parliament, as well as of regional and local authorities, social partners, civil society, youth organisations, scientific bodies and other key stakeholders throughout the overall process, including the country specific recommendations and during the implementation phase.

Amendment 46 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7a (new)

7a. Underlines that funds and resources should be directed to projects and beneficiaries that spend the resources responsibly, effectively and for economically viable projects;

Amendment 47 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 (new)

8. Warns against increasing tax burden on tax-payers, be it in direct or indirect form, and the overall regulatory burden.

Amendment 5 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

~~public health and the wellbeing of citizens as guiding principles for the EU’s recovery.~~1. Welcomes the Annual Sustainable 1. Welcomes the Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy 2022 pledge to Growth Strategy 2022 pledge to continue placing a sustainable, fair continue placing a sustainable, fair and green transition at the heart of and green transition at the heart of the European Semester (Semester) the European Semester (Semester) process, enshrining environmental process, enshrining environmental sustainability, climate neutrality, sustainability, climate neutrality, public health and the wellbeing of citizens as guiding principles for the EU’s recovery; recalls that economic growth is not an end in itself, and that the EU’s long-term priority objective as set out in the 8th Environmental Action Programme is to ensure that, by 2050 at the latest, people live well within the planetary boundaries, in a wellbeing economy where nothing is wasted, growth is regenerative, climate neutrality within the EU has been achieved, biodiversity has been conserved, ecosystems thrive and nature is protected and restored, and inequalities have been significantly reduced;

Amendment 6 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Welcomes the Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy 2022 overall pledge to continue placing a sustainable, fair and green transition at the heart of the European Semester (Semester) process, ~~enshrin~~while emphasising environmental sustainability, climate neutrality, public health and the wellbeing of citizens as guiding principles for the EU’s recovery. ; it is imperative that economic activity becomes aligned with the dimensions of competitive sustainability, i.e. environmental sustainability, productivity, fairness, and macroeconomic stability.

Amendment 7 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Welcomes the Annual Sustainable~~Notes the Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy 2022 pledge to Growth Strategy 2022 pledge to continue placing a sustainable, fair continue placing a macro- and green transition at the heart of economically and environmentally the European Semester (Semester) sustainable, fair and green transition process, enshrining environmental at the heart of the European sustainability, climate neutrality, Semester (Semester) process, public health and the wellbeing of enshrining economic resilience, citizens as guiding principles for the environmental sustainability, EU’s recovery. climate neutrality, public health and the wellbeing of citizens as guiding principles for the EU’s recovery.

Amendment 8 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1a (new)

1a.Recalls that the Union and the Member States committed under Article 2.1(c) of the Paris Agreement to align both public and private financial flows to a pathway compatible with the objective of limiting global warming to 1.5°C; stresses that this requires a phase out of all direct and indirect fossil fuel subsidies as soon as possible and by 2025 at the very latest;

Amendment 9 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1a (new)

1a. Regrets that the current fundamental design of the European Semester is based on principles of economic and fiscal austerity, principles that constitute an obstacle to the extensive investments in green transition that member states should be encouraged to make, in order to live up to the long- term climate and environmental objectives.

source: 703.256

2022/01/14 BUDG 42 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Underlines that the swift and decisive exceptional mobilisation of significant EU budgetary resources was instrumental in cushioning the impact of the COVID-19 crisis;

Amendment 10 #

Nils TORVALDS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses that the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) requires that the European Semester be reshaped to ensure the delivery of high-quality and ambitious national recovery and resilience plans (NRRPs); considers that the NRRPs are an opportunity for the Member States to address identified structural challenges and reforms and to make their economies more shock- resistant, sustainable and inclusive in line with the European Pillar of Social Rights and the Sustainable Development Goals;

Amendment 11 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses that the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) requires that the European Semester be reshaped to ensure the delivery of high-quality and ambitious national recovery and resilience plans (NRRPs); considers that the NRRPs are an opportunity for the Member States to address identified structural challenges and to make their economies more shock- resistant, sustainable and inclusive in line with the European Pillar of Social Rights and the Sustainable Development Goals and the EU’s climate commitments;

Amendment 12 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2a(new)

~~(new)~~2 a. Calls for the inclusion and highlighting within the European Semester exercise of the policies, activities and recommendations referring to employment, social care, education, culture, sports and media and details of how those issues have been addressed by the national recovery and resilience plans (NRRPs);

Amendment 13 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2a(new)

~~(new)~~ 2 a. Stresses that 37% of national plans need to be dedicated to green spending, following the specific requirements set down in Annex VI of the RRF Regulation and that all measures in the NRRPs need to fully respect the “do no significant harm” principle; urges the Commission to adopt all necessary steps to effectively monitor, audit and enforce the full implementation of these requirements, as well as on the non-regression of EU environmental law; calls on the Commission to analyse all payment requests in this light and ensure full compliance of all milestones and targets reached with the regulation before granting payments;

Amendment 14 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2b(new)

~~(new) 2 b.~~Calls for a better correlation of the European Semester with the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI); calls on Member States to take the necessary measures to reinforce their digital infrastructure, connectivity and the methods used by schools and learning centres for digital education and learning in the context of the pandemic and reiterates the need to accelerate the reforms implementing the digital transformation ensuring that all Europeans can take advantage of it;

Amendment 15 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2c(new)

~~(new) 2 c.~~ Calls for monitoring to include the social objectives agreed upon in the Social Summits and in the European Pillar for Social Rights; regrets that, in some NRRPs, due to extensive politicisation, anti-social and anti-development measures have been included among the reforms, including to keep pensions and salaries under the poverty line;

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. ~~Welcomes~~Take note of the creation of the Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard, which is designed to monitor progress on the implementation of the RRF, but a step back is needed in order to assess its impact; calls on the Commission to develop tools to ensure the robust implementation of the NRRPs and measure the attainment of targets and milestones, as well as Member States’ efforts to prevent fraud, corruption and conflicts of interest, as a prerequisite for the disbursement of RRF funds;

Amendment 17 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Welcomes the Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard, which is designed to monitor progress on the implementation of the RRF; calls on the Commission to develop tools to ensure ~~the~~ robust implementation of the NRRPs and measure ~~the~~ attainment of targets and milestones as a prerequisite for the disbursement of RRF funds; points to the need to streamline reporting requirements, reduce the administrative burden and ensure conditions for proper implementation;

Amendment 18 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Welcomes the Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard, which is designed to ~~monitor~~inform the wider public about progress on the implementation of the RRF; ~~calls on the Commission to develop tools to ensure the robust implementation of the NRRPs and measure the attainment of targets and milest~~regrets that indicators are mostly output-based and lack a performance or results-based dimension; urges the Commission to concentrate on such results-based evaluationes ~~as a prerequisite for the disbursement of RRF funds~~in its annual reports on the RRF and the mid-term implementation report;

Amendment 19 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3a(new)

~~(new)~~ 3 a. Calls on the Commission to monitor closely Member States’ progress reports on the implementation of the NRRPs within the European Semester exercise in order to verify to what extent the objectives of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) have been met; calls on the European Commission to be open, transparent and available for the rapid correction of errors in NRRPs or revisions of NRRPs, especially if the reforms included risk generating negative social and development effects;

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Underlin~~Notes that the swift and decisive mobilisation of significant EU budgetary resources was instrumental in cushioning the impact of the COVID-19 crisis;

Amendment 20 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. ~~Reiterates the need for Member States to have the necessary control mechanisms in place to ensure respect for the rule of law and protect the EU’s financial interests~~Questions the causal link between budgetary implementation and the conditionality rules of the rule of law and the political use of this instrument;

Amendment 21 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Reiterates the need for Member States to have the necessary control mechanisms in place to ensure respect for the rule of law and protect the EU’s financial interests; especially to prevent fraud, corruption and conflicts of interest;

Amendment 22 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Reiterates the need for Member States to have the necessary control and audit mechanisms in place to ensure respect for the rule of law ~~and~~, protect the EU’s financial interests, secure transparency and prevent corruption; regrets that the Commission has not yet implemented the rule of law conditionality regulation (RoL Regulation), despite its entry into force on 1 January 2021, and is therefore not fulfilling its duty as guardian of the EU treaties; reiterates its call for the Commission to apply the RoL Regulation completely and without ambiguity;

Amendment 23 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4a(new)

~~(new)~~4 a. Calls on the Commission to address the distributional consequences of the transition to a climate-neutral economy in the upcoming country reports for 2022 and to analyse the distributional fairness of taxation and social policies in relation to the transition in the country reports;

Amendment 24 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4b(new)

~~(new)~~4 b. Calls on the Commission to develop a climate indicator to assess the discrepancy between the structure of Member States’ budgets and the Paris- aligned scenario for each of their national budgets; stresses the need for this indicator to provide Member States with information on their trajectory within the framework of the Paris Agreement in order to ensure the achievement of climate-neutrality targets by 2050; expects the climate indicator to be used as a guide for the European Semester and reflected in the country-specific recommendations (CSRs);

Amendment 25 #

Hélène LAPORTE, Joachim KUHS, Anna BONFRISCO, Valentino GRANT

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Recalls that public funding is key to achieving the 2030 climate objectives and addressing other social, educational and economic challenges; underlines its concern about the gaps in Europe on how access to education and lifelong learning is being dealt with during the pandemic and underlines the need to make sure everyone continues to get access to quality education and lifelong learning, knowing that this represents a key feature in the European Pillar of Social Rights in achieving sustainable long-term development of the European Union and Member States; considers that all options to incentivise Member State investments to tackle those challenges should be on the table, specifically the revision of the Stability and Growth Pact to promote a future-oriented economy and the extension of lending and borrowing capacities at EU level, building on NextGenerationEU; calls for the amounts allocated to national recovery and resilience plans to be removed from the deficit targets;

Amendment 26 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. ~~Recalls that public funding is key to achieving the 2030 climate objectives and addressing o~~Warns the Commission against over-ambitious climate targets and calls for in-depth studies on ther s~~ocial and economic challenges~~ectors impacted by the ecological transition; considers that all options to incentivise Member State investments to tackle those challenges should be on the table, specifically the revision of the Stability and Growth Pact to promote a future-oriented economy and the extension of lending and borrowing capacities at EU level, building on NextGenerationEU;

Amendment 27 #

Nils TORVALDS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Recalls that public and private funding is key to achieving the 2030 climate objectives and addressing other social and economic challenges; considers that all options to incentivise Member State investments to tackle those challenges should be on the table, specifically the revision of the Stability and Growth Pact to promote a future-oriented economy and the extension of lending and borrowing capacities at EU level, building on NextGenerationEU;

Amendment 28 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Recalls that public funding is ~~key~~a leverage for mobilising private investments and that both are needed to achiev~~ing~~e the 2030 climate objectives and address~~ing~~ other social and economic challenges; considers that all budgetary- sustainable options to incentivise Member State investments to tackle those challenges should be on the table~~, specifically the revision of the Stability and Growth Pact to promote a future-oriented economy and the extension of lending and borrowing capacities at EU level, building on NextGenerationEU~~;

Amendment 29 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Recalls that public funding is key to achieving the 2030 climate objectives, promoting the digital transition and addressing other social ~~and~~, economic and public health challenges; considers that all options to incentivise Member State investments to tackle those challenges should be on the table, specifically the thorough revision of the Stability and Growth Pact to promote a just, sustainable and future-oriented economy and the e~~xtension of~~stablishment of permanent lending and borrowing capacities at EU level, building on NextGenerationEU; calls on the Commission and the Member States to urgently reform the EU economic governance framework well in advance of the deactivation of the general escape clause in order to effectively promote fair, inclusive and sustainable growth, enhance democratic accountability and avoid a new debt crisis;

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Underlines that the swift and decisive mobilisation of significant EU budgetary resources was and will continue to be instrumental in cushioning the health, social and economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis; stresses the general importance of significant public investment to support a sustainable, fair and inclusive recovery in the EU, to promote strengthened public healthcare systems, pandemic and crisis prevention and preparedness, upward social and economic convergence, social and economic resilience, social justice and equality and to contribute to the full implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the European Pillar of Social Rights, the EU’s climate and biodiversity objectives, the just green and digital transitions and the EU Gender Equality Strategy;

Amendment 30 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Recalls that ~~public funding is key to achieving the 2030 climate objectives and addressing other social and economic challenges~~meeting the EU’s ambitious Green Deal agenda will require significant investment and that, according to the Commission, the private and public investment gap to cater for the green transition is estimated at nearly EUR 520 billion per year for the next decade; further notes that, whereas a substantial share of the investment will be borne by the private sector, public investment will have to increase as well; underlines that significant fiscal space could be created by phasing out direct and indirect environmentally harmful subsidies, in particular fossil fuel subsidies, and redirecting financial flows to sustainable investments and actions and to fill part of the investment gap for the green transition; in addition reiterates its call for the reorientation of taxation systems towards an increased use of environmental taxation and to fight tax evasion and tax avoidance which would also contribute towards creating the needed fiscal space; considers that all options to incentivise Member State investments to tackle those challenges should be on the table, specifically the revision of the Stability and Growth Pact to promote a future-oriented economy and the extension of lending and borrowing capacities at EU level, building on NextGenerationEU;

Amendment 31 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Believes that RRF governance, notably the assessment and approval of the NRRPs by the Commission and the Council, provides a solid foundation for discussions on how to allow sufficient public investment under the fiscal rules; recalls that the European Parliament, social partners, civil society, academia and local authorities have to be actively involved in the governance and supervision of the implementation of the NRRPs in each Member State; regrets that, in some Member States, as was the case of the previous government in Romania, the authorities refused the active participation of social partners and of the parliament in the drafting of the NRRPs;

Amendment 32 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Believes that RRF governance, notably the assessment and approval of the NRRPs by the Commission and the Council, provides a solid foundation for discussions on how to allow sufficient public investment under the fiscal rules; supports the introduction of a golden rule to exclude public investment on tackling climate change, promoting digitisation of the public sector and strengthening public healthcare and education systems as well as public spending to meet emergency needs, from the calculation of public deficit;

Amendment 33 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Believes that RRF governance, notably the assessment and approval of the NRRPs by the Commission and the Council, ~~provides a solid foundation for discussions on how to allow sufficient public investment under the fiscal rules~~lacks democratic control through the European Parliament and national parliaments and reduces budgetary priority-setting to a technocratic exercise between the Commission and Member State governments; highlights that this lack of democratic accountability weakens the Commission’s ability to enforce ambitious reforms and investment projects in the Member States; calls specifically for the spending financed by RRF loans to benefit from special treatment in the EU fiscal framework, as otherwise borrower countries will have to reduce their non-RRF spending once the currently suspended fiscal rules are re- activated;

Amendment 34 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6a(new)

~~(new)~~6 a. Underlines the need to increase the role and visibility of education in the European Semester format in order to assess the developments and reforms of the educational systems and consistently check the implementation of the EU actions plans, agendas and recovery targets across the Union, especially in the context of the pandemic;

Amendment 35 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Recalls that the design of NextGenerationEU requires debt repayment through new own resources of the EU budget; questions the actual repayment of the loan by new own resources, which, even if paid in full to the EU budget, would probably not be sufficient.

Amendment 36 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. RWelcomes the promising early signs of bond issuance by the Commission to finance the first disbursements under the RRF; recalls that the design of NextGenerationEU requires debt repayment through new own resources of the EU budget.

Amendment 37 #

Nils TORVALDS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Recalls that the design of NextGenerationEU requires debt repayment through new own resources of the EU budget; calls for the Member States to ratify the Own Resources Decision (ORD).

Amendment 38 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Recalls that the design of NextGenerationEU requires debt repayment through new own resources of the EU budget, which need to be budgetary-neutral for Member states.

Amendment 39 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Recalls that the design of NextGenerationEU requires debt repayment through the introduction of a basket of new own resources of the EU budget; calls on the Commission and the Council to respect in full the timeline included in the legally-binding roadmap as agreed in the Interinstitutional Agreement; stresses that delays or failure to introduce the agreed basket of new own resources will be to the detriment of European programmes and instruments and result in much higher national contributions for the repayment of the NextGenerationEU debt.

Amendment 4 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Underlines that the swift and decisive mobilisation of significant EU budgetary resources was instrumental in cushioning the impact of the COVID-19 crisis; recalls that Member States have taken sizeable fiscal measures in response to the pandemic and in support of the recovery (5.2% of GDP in 2021 and 2.8% of GDP in 2022), an increasing share of which is financed via the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), which will fund 24% of total recovery support measures in 2022 ; highlights the stabilising effect of NGEU for Member States at a time of great economic uncertainty, thereby allowing governments to maintain investment levels and keep down borrowing costs despite immense demands on national budgets;

Amendment 40 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Recalls that the design of NextGenerationEU requires debt repayment through new own resources of the EU budget.; expects the Commission to put forward an ambitious basket of new own resources in 2023, so the revenues are sufficient to cover the debt servicing from 2028;

Amendment 41 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7a(new)

~~(new)~~7 a. Recalls that the degree to which Member States have addressed their 2019 and 2020 CSRs in the NRRPs varies significantly between Member States; emphasises that COVID-19 has demonstrated that improving the resilience of public institutions to shocks should be a reform priority for many Member States;

Amendment 42 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7b(new)

~~(new)~~7 b. Highlights that, beyond the commitment period of the RRF, a modern and effective framework for EU common fiscal policy needs to be developed; emphasises that, to carry democratic legitimacy, such a framework needs to overcome the European Semester’s shortcomings in parliamentary accountability and lack of democratic oversight; is of the view that the RRF offers important lessons and can serve as an inspiration for identifying common structural challenges and investment needs.

Amendment 5 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1a(new)

~~(new)~~1 a. Stresses for the need to highlight, in a specific analysis for each Member State, the measures implemented and the budgetary resources allocated to deal with the COVID-19 crisis and the share of EU funding in supporting those measures;

Amendment 6 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses that the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) requires that the European Semester be reshaped to ensure the delivery of high-quality and ambitious national recovery and resilience plans (NRRPs); cConsiders that the NRRPs are an opportunity for the Member States to address identified structural challenges and to make their economies more shock- resistant, sustainable and inclusive ~~in line with the European Pillar of Social Rights and the Sustainable Development Goals~~;

Amendment 7 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses that the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) requires that the European Semester be reshaped to ensure the delivery of high-quality, future- oriented and ambitious national recovery and resilience plans (NRRPs); considers that the NRRPs are an opportunity for the Member States to address identified structural challenges and to make their economies more shock- resistant, sustainable and inclusive in line with the European Pillar of Social Rights and the Sustainable Development Goals; highlights that the funds obtained by borrowing need to be paid back and that responsible fiscal management is crucial;

Amendment 8 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses that the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) requires that the European Semester be completely reshaped to ensure the delivery of effective, high- quality, inclusive and ambitious national recovery and resilience plans (NRRPs) given that the European Semester process has proved insufficient to address social and economic disparities and inequalities in the EU; considers that the NRR~~Ps are~~F aims at the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and offers an opportunity for the Member States to address identified structural challenges, to implement growth- enhancing and socially-just reforms and investments, and to make their economies more shock- resistant, sustainable, fair and inclusive in line with the European Pillar of Social Rights and the Sustainable Development Goals; underlines that Member States aim to spend around 40% of their total grant allocation in 2022 alone, thus making the success of the RRF one of the greatest challenges for 2022; points out that support from the RRF is not meant to substitute recurring national budgetary expenditure; regrets the lack of adequate and substantial consultation with all relevant stakeholders in the preparation and implementation of NRRPs;

Amendment 9 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses that the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) requires that the European Semester be reshaped to ensure the delivery of high-quality and ambitious national recovery and resilience plans (NRRPs); considers that the NRRPs are an opportunity for the Member States to contribute significantly to the economic and social recovery of the Union, to address identified structural challenges and to make their economies more shock- resistant, sustainable and inclusive in line with the European Pillar of Social Rights and the Sustainable Development Goals; deplores, however, that NRRPs fail to tackle adequately aggressive tax planning schemes;

source: 703.226

2022/01/20 ECON 249 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Nicola BEER, Caroline NAGTEGAAL, Engin EROGLU, Ivars IJABS, Linea SØGAARD-LIDELL

Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 a (new)

— having regard to the Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Sustainable Development Goals,

Amendment 10 #

Jonás FERNÁNDEZ, Victor NEGRESCU, Margarida MARQUES, Pedro MARQUES, Alfred SANT, Marek BELKA, Joachim SCHUSTER, Csaba MOLNÁR, Pedro SILVA PEREIRA, Paul TANG, Aurore LALUCQ, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Gabriele BISCHOFF, Costas MAVRIDES

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the European Semester plays an important role in coordinating economic, employment, social and budgetary policies in the Member States, thereby safeguarding the macroeconomic stability of the Economic and Monetary Union; whereas the Semester has been expanded to include, among other aspects, issues related to the financial sector and taxation, as well as objectives of the UN SDGs;

Amendment 100 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Points out that not only the successful roll- out of the RRF will help to make EU economies and societies more sustainable, inclusive, resilient and better prepared for the green and digital transitions; but also an efficient and transparent monitoring of the national plans which ensures that funds are used to modernise member state economies;

Amendment 101 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Points out that the ~~successful roll- out~~rapid, efficient, transparent and successful implementation of the RRF will help to make EU economies and societies more sustainable, inclusive, resilient and better prepared for the green and digital transitions;

Amendment 102 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Points out that the successful roll- out of the RRF will help to make EU economies and societies more prosperous, sustainable, inclusive, resilient and better prepared for the green and digital transitions;

Amendment 103 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Points out that the successful roll- out of the RRF will help to make EU economies and societies more sustainable, green, inclusive, resilient and better prepared for the green and digital transitions;

Amendment 104 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Points out that the successful roll- out of the RRF ~~will~~should help to make EU economies and societies more sustainable, inclusive, resilient and better prepared for the green and digital transitions;

Amendment 105 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Points out that ~~the~~a successful roll- out of the RRF will help to make EU economies and societies more sustainable, inclusive, resilient and better prepared for the green and digital transitions;

Amendment 106 #

Csaba MOLNÁR, Pedro MARQUES, Aurore LALUCQ, Marc ANGEL, Joachim SCHUSTER, Margarida MARQUES, Jonás FERNÁNDEZ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Believes that building a resilient economy calls for reinforcing the social dimension of the European governance, aiming at providing adequate protection to all people without excluding the possibility of setting EU minimum standards, including the European minimum wage, in order to boost upward convergence of living and working conditions;

Amendment 107 #

Jonás FERNÁNDEZ, Victor NEGRESCU, Margarida MARQUES, Pedro MARQUES, Alfred SANT, Marek BELKA, Joachim SCHUSTER, Csaba MOLNÁR, Pedro SILVA PEREIRA, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Gabriele BISCHOFF, Costas MAVRIDES

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 2

Responsible and growth-promoting fiscal policies

Amendment 108 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 2

Responsible and sustainable fiscal policies

Amendment 109 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Notes that the general escape clause of the Stability and Growth Pact will continue to be applied in 2022 and ~~is expected to be deactivated as of 2023~~urges the Commission to deactivate the clause as soon as possible. Recalls that member states must adhere to the debt and deficit budget limitations stipulated in the Stability and Growth Pact in order for the EU to have a viable economic future. However sees with concern that these limitations may conveniently be undermined in the future by raising the debt level via the Recovery and Resilience Facility;

Amendment 11 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the European Semester plays an important role in coordinating economic and budgetary policies in the Member States, thereby safeguarding the macroeconomic stability of the Economic and Monetary Union and boosting the EU’s competitiveness;

Amendment 110 #

Jonás FERNÁNDEZ, Victor NEGRESCU, Pedro MARQUES, Alfred SANT, Marek BELKA, Joachim SCHUSTER, Csaba MOLNÁR, Pedro SILVA PEREIRA, Paul TANG, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Gabriele BISCHOFF, Costas MAVRIDES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Notes that the general escape clause of the Stability and Growth Pact will continue to be applied in 2022 ~~and is expected to be deactivated as of 2023~~; expects that it will remain activated as long as the underlying justification of the activation exists in order to support the efforts of the Member States to recover from the pandemic crisis and strengthen their competitiveness, as well as economic and social resilience;

Amendment 111 #

Nicola BEER, Caroline NAGTEGAAL, Linea SØGAARD-LIDELL, Engin EROGLU

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Notes that the general escape clause of the Stability and Growth Pact will continue to be applied in 2022 and is expected to be deactivated as of 2023; highlights that the deactivation of the general escape clause should be conditional upon the health, social and economic situation across Member States in order to ensure that fiscal support is provided for as long as needed;

Amendment 112 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Notes that the general escape clause of the Stability and Growth Pact will continue to be applied in 2022 and iappreciates its expected ~~to be~~ deactivat~~ed as of 2023~~ion in 2023 the latest;

Amendment 113 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Notes that the general escape clause of the Stability and Growth Pact will continue to be applied in 2022 and ~~is expected to~~will be deactivated as of 2023 at the latest;

Amendment 114 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Points out that applying the general escape clause in the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) cannot, under any circumstances, avoid the need for responsible economic policies and balanced fiscal policies, and stresses that SGP flexibility mechanisms should thus be discussed in relation to the necessary reform of the European fiscal framework;

Amendment 115 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Is concerned about the steep increase in the government debt-to-GDP ratio's in many Member States, which has led to record levels of public indebtedness and burdens the next generation with the costs of repayment; reiterates that sound fiscal policies and sustainable debt levels are essential in the longer run to create the required fiscal space to address future challenges;

Amendment 116 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Is concerned about the current public debt levels in the Member States and the macro-economic risks these debt levels entail; points out that these debt levels can only be sustained by sufficient economic growth and fiscal discipline;

Amendment 117 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Insists that the call by some for a quick return to the old economic regulations regime has no real-life logic to back it and is just based on dogma;

Amendment 118 #

Aurore LALUCQ, Pedro MARQUES, Marc ANGEL, Alfred SANT

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Believes that the review of the EU’s economic governance framework is necessary; agrees with the European Fiscal Board on the importance of having a clear pathway towards a reviewed fiscal framework, preferably prior to the deactivation of the general escape clause; recalls the scientific consensus that climate change and the deterioration of biodiversity will, with a significant probability, trigger disruptive events, unknown until now, with major and irreversible economic and social consequences; stresses that the tax base, the stability of financial markets are closely linked to the ecological and social sustainability of the economy and its resilience Considers that, there view and reform of the budgetary framework should aim for a sustainable increase in investment in the social and ecological transition, with an emphasis on health and education;

Amendment 119 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. ~~Believe~~Points out that the current fiscal framework has proven to provide flexibility in times of crisis; believes nonetheless that ~~the~~a review of the EU’s economic governance framework ~~is necessary; agrees with~~could be beneficial, in order to improve the enforcement of the rules as well as lowering the public debt levels in the Member States; takes note of the position of the European Fiscal Board on the importance of having a clear pathway towards a reviewed fiscal framework, preferably prior to the deactivation of the general escape clause;

Amendment 12 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the European Semester ~~plays an important role in~~was design to coordinat~~ing~~e economic and budgetary policies in the Member States, ~~thereby safeguarding the macroeconomic stability of the Economic and Monetary Union~~should be further simplified in order not to constrain the sovereignty of the Member States;

Amendment 120 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Believes that the review of the EU’s economic governance framework is necessary and should be done taking into account the Report on the review of the macroeconomic legislative framework for a better impact on Europe’s real economy and improved transparency of decision- making and democratic accountability; agrees with the European Fiscal Board on the importance of having a clear pathway towards a reviewed fiscal framework, ~~preferably~~ prior to the deactivation of the general escape clause;

Amendment 121 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. ~~Believes that the~~Is open to review of the EU’s economic governance framework ~~is necessary; agrees with~~; notes the European Fiscal Board's stance on the importance of having a clear pathway towards a reviewed fiscal framework, preferably prior to the deactivation of the general escape clause; emphasises, however, that the deactivation of the general escape clause should not be linked to a potential review of the framework and that the quality of a possible revision is more important than the speed of the process;

Amendment 122 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

Amendment 123 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Believes that the review of the EU’s economic governance framework is necessary; calls on the Commission to submit a proposal in a timely manner; agrees with the European Fiscal Board on the importance of having a clear pathway towards a reviewed fiscal framework, ~~preferably~~ prior to the deactivation of the general escape clause, as well as on the need to do away with its current pro-cyclical bias;

Amendment 124 #

Nicola BEER, Caroline NAGTEGAAL, Engin EROGLU, Linea SØGAARD-LIDELL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

Amendment 125 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

Amendment 126 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

Amendment 127 #

Nicola BEER, Caroline NAGTEGAAL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Considers that reform of the European fiscal framework should be swift, fully transparent, targeted at dimensions that are key to sustainably correcting the macroeconomic imbalances, and based on both a thorough assessment of experience gained from applying the current rules and the specific economic and fiscal situation in each of the 27 Member States; notes that it should also fully involve the European Parliament to guarantee the democratic legitimacy of the European Semester process and instruments;

Amendment 128 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Calls on the commission to make its indicator for fiscal sustainability ("S2"), a binding component of the assessment of national budgets within the framework of the Stability and Growth Pact;

Amendment 129 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Stresses, however, that the deactivation of the general escape clause should not be delayed in case consensus about a revised fiscal framework has not yet been reached;

Amendment 13 #

Nicola BEER, Caroline NAGTEGAAL, Engin EROGLU, Linea SØGAARD-LIDELL

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas the European Semester, which started with the Annual Sustainable Growth Survey, is an important policy coordination instrument in the economic and fiscal field, and should, first and foremost, focus on these key dimensions of European economic and monetary integration; whereas, however, the European Pillar of Social Rights should be fully integrated in this process; whereas this process should also not ignore the objectives of the European Green Deal; whereas integration of the European Pillar of Social Rights and coherence with environmental policy should not detract from the mainly economic and fiscal nature of this European instrument;

Amendment 130 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)

7b. Calls on the Commission to ensure compliance of the Member States with the rules of the fiscal pact and make it a condition for accessing cohesion funds;

Amendment 131 #

Nicola BEER, Caroline NAGTEGAAL, Engin EROGLU, Linea SØGAARD-LIDELL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 c (new)

7c. Suggests automatic sanctions against member states that persistently violate the principles of public budget management, including non-financial sanctions, such as the suspension of the right to vote in the Council of Economics and Finance Ministers;

Amendment 132 #

Nicola BEER, Caroline NAGTEGAAL, Ivars IJABS, Linea SØGAARD-LIDELL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Is convinced that the coordination of national fiscal policies remains crucial in underpinning the recovery; notes that the overall fiscal stance, taking into account national budgets and the RRF, is projected to remain supportive in 2022 to sustain the recovery; stresses that the amount of fiscal stimulus should depend on the rates of unemployment and inflation, taking duly into account that national debt levels must remain sustainable at any point in time; highlights in this regard that excessive and unsustainable debt levels were the primary cause of the European debt crisis; agrees with the Commission that Member States with low or medium levels of debt should pursue or maintain a supportive fiscal stance, and that Member States with high levels of debt should use the RRF to finance additional investment to support the recovery, while pursuing a prudent fiscal policy; ~~agrees with the Commission that all Member States should preserve or broadly preserve their national financed investment~~is concerned however that continued fiscal stimulus is unfolding an increasingly inflationary environment, exacerbating the forces at play; expresses its deep concern that increasing levels of inflation have a disproportionate impact on low and fixed incomes, erode savings and disturb the crucial price signalling function that market prices perform in ensuring an efficient allocation of economic resources, potentially leading to macroeconomic instability;

Amendment 133 #

Stéphanie YON-COURTIN, Gilles BOYER, Olivier CHASTEL, Billy KELLEHER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Is convinced that the coordination of national fiscal policies remains crucial in underpinning the recovery; notes that the overall fiscal stance, taking into account national budgets and the RRF, is projected to remain supportive in 2022 to sustain the recovery; ~~agrees with the Commission that Member States with low or medium levels of debt should pursue~~ calls for a continued expansionary fiscal stance for as long as needed to support the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and a green, digital and inclusive transfor ma~~intain a supportive fiscal stance, and that Member States with high levels of debt should use the RRF to finance additional investment to support the recovery,~~tion while ensuring fiscal sustainability; reiterates that supportive national fiscal policy is important to ensure that the RRF’s impact is lasting, sustainable, and fairy distributed across societies and regions; calls for the spending financed by RRF loans to benefit from special treatment in the EU fiscal framework, as otherwise borrower countries whil~~e pursuing a prudent fiscal policy~~l have to reduce their non-RRF spending once the currently suspended fiscal rules are re- activated; agrees with the Commission that all Member States should preserve or broadly preserve their nationally financed investment and stresses that these should be countercyclical and targeted towards investments that ensure long-term environmental and social sustainability;

Amendment 134 #

Marco ZANNI, Antonio Maria RINALDI, Valentino GRANT, Gunnar BECK, Jörg MEUTHEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

Amendment 135 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

Amendment 136 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

Amendment 137 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

Amendment 138 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Is convinced that the coordination of national fiscal policies remains crucial in underpinning the recovery; notes that the overall fiscal stance, taking into account national budgets and the ~~RRF~~expected acceleration in spending financed by RRF grants, is projected to remain supportive in 2022 to sustain the recovery and should remain supportive as long as necessary; agrees with the Commission that Member States with low or medium levels of debt should pursue or maintain a supportive fiscal stance, and that Member States with high levels of debt should use the RRF to finance additional investment to support the recovery, while pursuing ~~a prudent fiscal~~responsible fiscal and sustainable policyies; agrees with the Commission that all Member States should preserve or broadly preserve their national financed investment and ensure a socially just recovery;

Amendment 139 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. ~~Is convinced~~Believes that the coordination of national fiscal policies ~~remains crucial in underpinning the recovery~~helps to underpin the recovery; stresses furthermore that solid public finances enable national automatic stabilisers to help Member States in reaching the appropriate fiscal stance; notes that the overall fiscal stance, taking into account national budgets and the RRF, is projected to remain supportive in 2022 to sustain the recovery; agrees with the Commission that Member States with low or medium levels of debt should pursue or maintain a supportive fiscal stance, and that Member States with high levels of debt should use the RRF to finance additional investment to support the recovery, while pursuing a prudent fiscal policy; agrees with the Commission that all Member States should preserve or broadly preserve their national financed investment;

Amendment 14 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas the Council, the Commission and the Eurogroup should remain accountable to the European Parliament throughout all stages of the European Semester process for it to benefit from a high level of democratic legitimacy and transparency;

Amendment 140 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

Amendment 141 #

Joachim SCHUSTER, Paul TANG, Margarida MARQUES, Gabriele BISCHOFF, Jonás FERNÁNDEZ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

Amendment 142 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Underlines that public revenues are essential to ensure the sustainability of Member States public finances; considers it therefore necessary to subject the level of taxes and duties in the Member States to greater European coordination to avoid tax competition and to ensure that necessary government spending, whether for consumption or investment, is financed by regular revenues, except if these sources of revenue are insufficient due to a crisis or if additional growth-generating expenditure is to be financed;

Amendment 143 #

Pedro MARQUES, Pedro SILVA PEREIRA, Joachim SCHUSTER, Margarida MARQUES, Csaba MOLNÁR, Paul TANG, Aurore LALUCQ, Gabriele BISCHOFF, Jonás FERNÁNDEZ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Recalls that the Commission, in the context of the European Semester and the assessment of the National Recovery and Resilience Plans, found that more reforms are needed in order to address aggressive tax planning in six Member States; encourages the Commission to insist on the implementation of recommendations addressing aggressive tax planning given its negative impact on both the economic recovery and public accounts of other Member States and third countries;

Amendment 144 #

Margarida MARQUES, Jonás FERNÁNDEZ, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Alfred SANT, Pedro SILVA PEREIRA, Marc ANGEL, Joachim SCHUSTER, Marek BELKA, Csaba MOLNÁR, Gabriele BISCHOFF, Pedro MARQUES, Costas MAVRIDES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Recalls that public funding is key to achieving the 2030 climate objectives and addressing other social and economic challenges; considers that all options to incentivise Member State investments to tackle those challenges should be on the table, notably the revision of the Stability and Growth Pact to promote a future- oriented economy and the extension of lending and borrowing capacities at Union level, building on NGEU;

Amendment 145 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Underlines that sustainable public revenues are essential to guarantee fiscal sustainability; supports governments’ efforts to increase revenues through the closing of loopholes for tax avoidance, addressing harmful tax practices and the increasing of capital-gains, wealth and corporate income taxes;

Amendment 146 #

Nicola BEER, Caroline NAGTEGAAL, Engin EROGLU, Ivars IJABS, Linea SØGAARD-LIDELL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Reiterates its stance that a proper and credible economic governance framework is a necessary requirement for sustainable fiscal policies, debt and deficit trajectories ensuring credible paths of debt reduction; stresses the importance of a sustainable debt level for the real economy;

Amendment 147 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Stresses that governments’ revenues are essential to guarantee the sustainability of public finances; calls on the Member States to take action to tackle tax fraud, tax avoidance, and tax evasion, as well as money laundering;

Amendment 148 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Underlines that tax policies must remain a national competence, while so called "own resources" should be kept at a minimum and should not be allowed to increase;

Amendment 149 #

Jonás FERNÁNDEZ, Victor NEGRESCU, Margarida MARQUES, Pedro MARQUES, Alfred SANT, Marek BELKA, Csaba MOLNÁR, Pedro SILVA PEREIRA, Paul TANG, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Gabriele BISCHOFF, Costas MAVRIDES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)

8b. Recalls that the European Semester cycle is a well-established framework for EU Member States to coordinate their budgetary, economic, social and employment policies, and after the COVID-19 crisis, a functioning European Semester will be needed more than ever to coordinate these policies across the European Union; but also notes that the Semester, since the inception, has been expanded to include, among other aspects, issues related to the financial sector and taxation, as well as objectives of the European Pillar of Social Rights and the UN SDGs, giving due consideration to the people of our planet in our economic policy;

Amendment 15 #

Joachim SCHUSTER, Margarida MARQUES, Pedro MARQUES, Gabriele BISCHOFF, Jonás FERNÁNDEZ

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas the European Semester must not be overburdened with competing objectives, but should keep a narrow focus on competitiveness and sound fiscal policies;

Amendment 150 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)

8b. Recognises the role that the Commission has allotted to the European Semester in the Recovery Plan and its importance for policy coordination at EU level; stresses, however, that the effectiveness and success of the alignment of Member States’ investment and reform programmes will depend on the review of the Semester and, according to the outcome, its adaptation as well as the increased ownership by the Member States of the implementation of the CSRs;

Amendment 151 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 c (new)

8c. Calls on the Commission to improve the European Semester process in order to create a governance framework that enables inclusive and sustainable growth, structural changes for a sustainable economy, integrating the principles of well-being and sustainability, and reflecting actual economic and budgetary realities of Member States;

Amendment 152 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 3

Growth-enhancing, socially-balanced, inclusive and sustainable structural reforms and investment

Amendment 153 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 3

Growth-enhancing~~, balanced, inclusive and sustainable~~ structural reforms and investment

Amendment 154 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)

8b. Welcomes the fact that the Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy 2022 puts environmental sustainability and fairness across regions and citizens at the core of the EU’s recovery; agrees that the Commission’s green agenda needs to be swiftly implemented and should be supported by significant investment;

Amendment 155 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 3 a (new)

Democratic accountability

Amendment 156 #

Dragoş PÎSLARU, Stéphanie YON-COURTIN, Olivier CHASTEL, Ivars IJABS, Engin EROGLU, Gilles BOYER, Billy KELLEHER, Carlo CALENDA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Notes that the Commission, the President of the Council and the President of the Eurogroup should regularly appear before the competent Committee of the European Parliament to provide information and exchange views on the latest economic and political events;

Amendment 157 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)

8b. Highlights the work of the European Parliament´s Working Group on the scrutiny of the Recovery and Resilience Facility, a novel structure to monitor the implementation of the EU´s recovery funds;

Amendment 158 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 c (new)

8c. Invites the Commission to keep both co-legislators equally well informed on all aspects relating to the application of the EU economic governance framework, including on its preparatory stages;

Amendment 159 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 d (new)

8d. Calls to enhance the European Stability Mechanism´s accountability towards the European Parliament;

Amendment 16 #

Stéphanie YON-COURTIN, Gilles BOYER, Olivier CHASTEL, Billy KELLEHER

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas according to the Commission’s autumn economic forecast, the GDP growth rate for 2022 is expected to be 4.3 % of GDP per capita for both the euro area and the EU-27, but is expected to fall to 2.4 % and 2.5 % respectively in 2023; whereas it is therefore vital to adopt economic and fiscal policies that will mitigate the predicted economic slowdown and that will encourage higher growth rates in line with the global economic recovery;

Amendment 160 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Considers that it is crucial to coordinate national reform and investment efforts and the exchange of best practices in order to increase the convergence and resilience of our economies, promote sustainable, digital and inclusive growth~~, and improve institutional frameworks~~ in line with the European Green Deal and the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, and improve institutional frameworks to increase national ownership and accountability; recalls the urgent need to complete the Banking Union, to deepen the Capital Markets Union, to advance towards a credible fiscal capacity for the European Monetary Union, and to create a European Unemployment Reinsurance Scheme, based on the experience of the SURE Regulation;

Amendment 161 #

Aurore LALUCQ, Pedro MARQUES, Marc ANGEL, Alfred SANT

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

Amendment 162 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

Amendment 163 #

Jonás FERNÁNDEZ, Victor NEGRESCU, Margarida MARQUES, Pedro MARQUES, Alfred SANT, Marek BELKA, Joachim SCHUSTER, Csaba MOLNÁR, Marc ANGEL, Pedro SILVA PEREIRA, Paul TANG, Aurore LALUCQ, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Gabriele BISCHOFF, Costas MAVRIDES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

Amendment 164 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Considers that it is crucial to coordinate national reform and investment efforts and the exchange of best practices in order to increase the convergence and resilience of our economies, promote sustainable and inclusive growth, to facilitate access to education, development digital education, and improve institutional frameworks;

Amendment 165 #

Nicola BEER, Caroline NAGTEGAAL, Ivars IJABS, Linea SØGAARD-LIDELL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Considers that it is crucial to coordinate national reform and investment efforts and the exchange of best practices in order to increase the convergence and resilience of our economies, promote ~~sustainable and~~ inclusive growth, strengthen the Union's resilience by bringing down public debt levels and improve institutional frameworks;

Amendment 166 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

Amendment 167 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Considers that it is crucial t~~o coordinate national reform an~~hat Member States implement structural reforms, pursue targeted investment ~~effort~~s and ~~the~~ exchange of best practices in order to increase the convergence and resilience of our economies, promote sustainable and inclusive growth, and improve institutional frameworks;

Amendment 168 #

Stéphanie YON-COURTIN, Gilles BOYER, Olivier CHASTEL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

Amendment 169 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Calls on the European Commission to extend, without weakening the current EU economic governance process, the European Semester by complementing the current approach, based on fiscal and budgetary discipline, with climate and environmental discipline; calls therefore on the European Commission to develop a new climate indicator, mirroring the economic indicators, to assess the discrepancy between the structure of Member States’ budget and a Paris-aligned scenario for each of their national budgets; stresses the need for this indicator to provide Member States with an indication on their trajectory of temperature under the framework of the Paris Agreement, thus enabling the extended European Semester to provide recommendations about the decrease of their climate debt;

Amendment 17 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

Amendment 170 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Reiterates the need for the completion of the Banking Union, with the appropriate safeguards, in order to reduce the risk of a return of the "doom loop" that led to the financial crisis, ensure a level playing field, promote fair competition, facilitate the expansion of pan-European banking and reinforce the stability of the euro area as a whole;

Amendment 171 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Calls for the inclusion and highlighting within the European Semester exercise of the policies, activities and recommendations included in the European Pillar for Social Rights referring to employment, social care, education, culture, sports and media sectors and how those issues have been addressed by the national recovery and resilience plans (NRRPs);

Amendment 172 #

Csaba MOLNÁR, Pedro MARQUES, Aurore LALUCQ, Marc ANGEL, Joachim SCHUSTER, Margarida MARQUES, Jonás FERNÁNDEZ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Calls for a committed coordination with social partners and other relevant stakeholders at both national and European level, with a view to strengthening democratic accountability and transparency, and scrutinizing the role of civil society;

Amendment 173 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Considers it however equally important to allow these efforts to take place into a tailor-made manner in order to reflect the specific needs of the different economies in the Union;

Amendment 174 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Remains concerned about the low productivity growth in the EU;

Amendment 175 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)

9b. Calls for a better correlation of the European Semester with the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI); calls on Member States to take the necessary measures to reinforce their digital infrastructure, the connectivity and the methods used by schools and learning centres for digital education and learning in the context of the pandemic and reiterates the need to accelerate the reforms implementing the digital transformation ensuring that all Europeans can take advantage of it;

Amendment 176 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)

9b. Highlights the benefits that a fully- fledged capital markets union would bring to the EU and its citizens, as better integrated financial markets could provide for further private risk-sharing and risk-reduction mechanisms, facilitate cross-border investments and access to finance for SMEs. the real economy and the promotion of sustainable investments;

Amendment 177 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)

9b. Recalls that growth-friendly structural reforms do not require fiscal space, but rather political, legislative and administrative efforts aimed at strengthening efficiency of the public sector, market forces and private sector initiatives;

Amendment 178 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 c (new)

9c. Underlines its concern by the gaps existing in Europe on how access to education and lifelong learning is being dealt with during the pandemic and calls for the need to make sure everyone continues to get access to quality education and lifelong learning, knowing this represents a key feature in the European Pillars for Social Rights in achieving sustainable long term development of the European Union and Member States;

Amendment 179 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 d (new)

9d. Underlines the need to increase the role and visibility of education in the European Semester format in order to assess the evolutions and reforms of the educational systems and consistently check the implementation of the EU actions plans, agendas and recovery targets across the Union, especially in the context of the pandemic;

Amendment 18 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas according to the Commission’s autumn economic forecast, the GDP growth rate for 2022 is expected to be 4.3 % ~~of GDP per capita~~ for both the euro area and the EU-27, but is expected to fall to 2.4 % and 2.5 % respectively in 2023;

Amendment 180 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Highlights that the RRF presents an unprecedented and unique opportunity for all Member States to address key structural challenges and investment needs and insists that all recovery and resilience plans address all requirements of the RRF Regulation, in particular the six pillars; recalls that each national recovery and resilience plan is adopted through a Council decision following an assessment by the European Commission, and should therefore be rooted in transparency and collegiality; highlights the interplay between the European Semester and the RRF; calls on the Member States to make the most of this opportunity and to use it to transform their economies and make them sustainable, more competitive and more resilient to future shocks; ~~highlights the role of the European Parliament in the implementation of the RRF, as enshrined in~~is of the view that the RRF should serve as an inspiration for the review of the framework for macroeconomic governance, notably in identifying common structural challenges and investment needs, and in strengthening the role of the European Parliament; stresses the importance of implementing investment policies and sustainable reforms in line with the European priorities identified in the RRF to deliver growth and jobs and enable Member States to accelerate their green and digital transitions and close their investment gap in climate, environment, research, infrastructure, digitisation and defence; calls for reflection on the use of common European bond issuance to finance common European investment needs, based on the experience of the RRF Regulation;

Amendment 181 #

Joachim SCHUSTER, Margarida MARQUES, Pedro MARQUES, Gabriele BISCHOFF, Jonás FERNÁNDEZ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Highlights that the RRF presents an unprecedented and unique opportunity for all Member States to address key structural challenges and investment needs and insists that all recovery and resilience plans address all requirements of the RRF Regulation, in particular the six pillars; highlights the interplay between the European Semester and the RRF; calls on the Member States to make the most of this opportunity and to use it to transform their economies and make them sustainable, greener, more competitive and more resilient to future shocks; highlights the role of the European Parliament in the implementation of the RRF, as enshrined in the RRF Regulation; stresses the importance of proper implementation of the reforms and investments under the Recovery and Resilience Plans with full respect of the “do no significant harm” principle and carefully monitoring the full implementation of the non-regression of EU environmental law; calls on the Commission to analyse all payment requests in this light and ensure full compliance of all milestones and targets reached with the regulation before granting payments, in particular compliance with the “do no significant harm” principle and the specific requirements of Annex VI where relevant;

Amendment 182 #

Jonás FERNÁNDEZ, Victor NEGRESCU, Margarida MARQUES, Pedro MARQUES, Alfred SANT, Marek BELKA, Joachim SCHUSTER, Csaba MOLNÁR, Pedro SILVA PEREIRA, Aurore LALUCQ, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Gabriele BISCHOFF, Costas MAVRIDES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Highlights that the RRF presents an unprecedented and unique opportunity for all Member States to address key structural challenges and investment needs ~~and~~while embracing the just, green and digital transitions; insists that all recovery and resilience plans address all requirements of the RRF Regulation, in particular the six pillars, namely: green transition; digital transformation; smart, sustainable and inclusive growth; social and territorial cohesion; health, economic, social and institutional resilience; and policies for the next generation, children and the youth; highlights the interplay between the European Semester and the RRF; calls on the Member States to make the most of this opportunity and to use it to transform their economies and make them sustainable, more competitive and more resilient to future shocks; highlights the role of the European Parliament in the implementation of the RRF, as enshrined in the RRF Regulation;

Amendment 183 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

Amendment 184 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

Amendment 185 #

Nicola BEER, Caroline NAGTEGAAL, Ivars IJABS, Linea SØGAARD-LIDELL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

Amendment 186 #

Marco ZANNI, Antonio Maria RINALDI, Valentino GRANT, Gunnar BECK, Jörg MEUTHEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Highlights that the ~~RRF presents an unprecedented and unique~~impact of the RRF on investment will be marginal compared to the contribution of national expenditure, although it presents an opportunity for all Member States to address part of the key structural challenges and investment needs and insists that all recovery and resilience plans address all requirements of the RRF Regulation, in particular the six pillars; highlights the interplay between the European Semester and the RRF; calls on the Member States to make the most of this opportunity and to use it to transform their economies and make them sustainable, more competitive and more resilient to future shocks; highlights the role of the European Parliament in the implementation of the RRF, as enshrined in the RRF Regulation;

Amendment 187 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

Amendment 188 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

Amendment 189 #

Jonás FERNÁNDEZ, Victor NEGRESCU, Margarida MARQUES, Pedro MARQUES, Alfred SANT, Marek BELKA, Csaba MOLNÁR, Pedro SILVA PEREIRA, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Gabriele BISCHOFF, Costas MAVRIDES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Invites the Commission and the Member States to draw conclusions from the RRF exercise and improve the mechanisms driving the economic governance framework especially when it comes to establishing a more transparent and democratic coordination process, defining underlying political guidelines, cooperation between the institutions and increased ownership of the Member States, developing the national reform programmes and implementing socially- balanced structural reforms;

Amendment 19 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas, given that the forecast growth rates for the EU and euro area in 2022 and 2023 are lower than the predicted global economic growth in GDP, Member States should adopt an ambitious approach when designing their national reform programmes for economic policy and their stability or convergence programmes for fiscal policy, as should the EU when producing country-specific recommendations; whereas, therefore, the EU (and the euro area in particular) should ideally, as a minimum, monitor global growth rates, which should include carefully assessing the gradual removal of public policy stimuli for growth, in line with the practice of other countries or economic cooperation areas;

Amendment 190 #

Joachim SCHUSTER, Margarida MARQUES, Victor NEGRESCU, Gabriele BISCHOFF

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Recalls that, as stipulated in its Regulation, the Recovery and Resilience Facility cannot be used to finance current expenditure or increase structural expenditure in the Member States, but should be used to develop fiscal policies that are attractive to investment, and should involve management efficiency criteria that ensure short-term or medium-term budgetary savings for Member State governments;

Amendment 191 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Is concerned about possible administrative burdens resulting from the interplay between the RRF and the European Semester and asks the Commission to closely monitor the mechanisms and take measures if necessary; invites the Commission, moreover, to reassess if annually published CSRs fulfil the purpose to properly evaluate the need for and monitor structural reforms that are mostly implemented over a longer period of time;

Amendment 192 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Recalls that the efficiency of market economies is in part dependent on the individual diligence of capital owners. Regrets therefore that access to cheap loans via the Recovery and Resilience Facility seem positive for the so called weaker countries, but that the aggregate result is suboptimal given the opportunity cost to the union as a whole inherent to this approach;

Amendment 193 #

Nicola BEER, Caroline NAGTEGAAL, Engin EROGLU, Ivars IJABS, Linea SØGAARD-LIDELL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Calls for the inclusion in the monitoring of the social objectives as agreed upon in the Social Summits and in the European Pillar for Social Rights; regrets that in some NRRPs, due to extensive politicisation, anti-social and anti-development measures have been included among the reforms, including to keep pensions and salaries under the poverty ratio;

Amendment 194 #

Csaba MOLNÁR, Pedro MARQUES, Aurore LALUCQ, Marc ANGEL, Joachim SCHUSTER, Margarida MARQUES, Costas MAVRIDES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Calls on the Member States to build up the necessary administrative and monitoring capacity to provide the involvement of the general democratic public, firm guarantees of the proper use of funds and the respect for the principles of rule of law; calls on the European Commission to insist on the implementation of these measures;

Amendment 195 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Recalls that Member States, in their recovery and resilience plans, are required to effectively address all challenges identified in the relevant CSRs, including the fiscal aspects thereof; encourages the European Commission to make sure that this requirement is adhered to when scrutinising the RRPs and their implementation;

Amendment 196 #

Joachim SCHUSTER, Margarida MARQUES, Pedro MARQUES, Victor NEGRESCU, Gabriele BISCHOFF, Jonás FERNÁNDEZ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Calls for the RRF to become a permanent EU instrument beyond the current pandemic crisis; highlights that a permanent facility would provide macro- economic stabilisation to the European economy and at the same time it would finance the much-needed investment in European public goods, such as the green and digital transition;

Amendment 197 #

Pedro MARQUES, Pedro SILVA PEREIRA, Joachim SCHUSTER, Csaba MOLNÁR, Paul TANG, Gabriele BISCHOFF, Jonás FERNÁNDEZ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Considers Next Generation EU to be a valuable and reliable blueprint for the European growth strategy for the next decade; calls, in that regard, for the establishment of a new fund on strategic investments in key technologies, as part of the EU industrial strategy;

Amendment 198 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)

10b. Believes that the renewed and simplified EU Semester could profit from the lessons learned from the RRF process in regards to establish a more transparent and democratic coordination process when it comes to defining the policy objectives of the European Semester and the CSRs with full involvement of the European Parliament and the Member States as well as in regards to the reciprocal process between Commission and the Member States in developing the needed reforms and investment to achieve those policy objectives; therefore, calls on the Commission to closely assess the RRF exercise and draw conclusions for the review and adaptation of the European Semester cycle and the CSRs;

Amendment 199 #

Stéphanie YON-COURTIN, Gilles BOYER, Olivier CHASTEL, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Billy KELLEHER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)

10b. Calls on the Commission to monitor closely Member States progress reports on the implementation of the NRRPs within the European Semester exercise in order to verify to what extent have the objectives of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) been met; calls upon the European Commission to be open, transparent and available for the rapid correction of errors in NRRPs or revisions of NRRPs especially if the reforms included risk to generate negative social and development effects; calls for the amounts allocated to national recovery and resilience plans to be removed from the deficit targets;

Amendment 2 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 13 a (new)

— having regard to the Commission communication of 6 December 2017 entitled ‘Further Steps Towards Completing Europe’s Economic and Monetary Union: A Roadmap’(COM(2017)821),

Amendment 20 #

Nicola BEER, Caroline NAGTEGAAL, Engin EROGLU, Ivars IJABS, Linea SØGAARD-LIDELL

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas most Member States had reached the pre-pandemic volume of output by the end of 2021, with the remaining few Member States expected to fully recover in 2022;

Amendment 200 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)

10b. Asks the Commission to thoroughly assess the arrangements proposed by the Member States to prevent, detect and correct corruption, fraud and conflicts of interest when using the funds provided under the RRF and to give a particular attention in this context that the national plans include all necessary reforms, together with relevant milestones and targets, in particular related to the relevant CSRs, where appropriate;

Amendment 201 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)

10b. Is concerned that, without a coordinated effort to invest in the transition to a sustainable economy, European economies will suffer long- lasting damage, undermining any efforts to promote sustainable fiscal policies;

Amendment 202 #

Nicola BEER, Caroline NAGTEGAAL, Engin EROGLU, Ivars IJABS, Linea SØGAARD-LIDELL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 c (new)

10c. urges the Commission to monitor very carefully the risks to EU financial interests in the implementation of the RRF of any breach or potential breach of the principles of the rule of law, with a detailed and in particular attention to public procurement; expects the Commission not to proceed with any payments under the RRF if milestones linked to measures to prevent, detect and correct corruption, fraud and conflicts of interest when using the funds provided under the RFF are not met;

Amendment 203 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Highlights that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on women; emphasises the importance of increasing women’s participation in the economy, including inclusive participation in the digital economy and transformation, and ensuring more inclusive growth as part of the solution to the post-pandemic recovery, which will help to increase jobs, economic prosperity and competitiveness across the EU;deleted

Amendment 204 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

Amendment 205 #

Jonás FERNÁNDEZ, Victor NEGRESCU, Margarida MARQUES, Pedro MARQUES, Alfred SANT, Joachim SCHUSTER, Csaba MOLNÁR, Marc ANGEL, Pedro SILVA PEREIRA, Paul TANG, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Gabriele BISCHOFF, Costas MAVRIDES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Highlights that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant negative impact on women both in paid and unpaid work with far reaching consequences; emphasises the importance of increasing women’s participation in the economy, including inclusive participation in the digital economy and transformation, ~~and~~ ensuring more inclusive growth, ensuring equal pay for equal work and reducing the poverty gap as part of the solution to the post-pandemic recovery, which will help to increase jobs, economic prosperity and competitiveness across the EU; calls therefore on the Commission and the Council to ensure that gender equality and equal opportunities for all, and the mainstreaming of those objectives, are addressed effectively in the country- specific recommendations and promoted in the implementation of investment and reforms;

Amendment 206 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

Amendment 207 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Highlights that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on women; emphasises the importance of increasing women’s participation in the economy, including inclusive participation in the digital economy and transformation, reinforcing existing EU maternity support policies, and ensuring more inclusive growth as part of the solution to the post- pandemic recovery, which will help to increase jobs, economic prosperity and competitiveness across the EU;

Amendment 208 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Highlights that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on ~~women~~the most vulnerable people; emphasises the importance of increasing ~~women’s~~their participation in the economy~~, including inclusive participation~~ and in the digital ~~economy and~~ transformation, and ensuring more inclusive growth as part of the solution to the post-pandemic recovery, which will help to increase jobs, economic prosperity, sustainability of pension systems and competitiveness across the EU;

Amendment 209 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Highlights that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on women; emphasises the importance of increasing women’s participation in the economy, including inclusive participation in the digital economy and transformation, and ensuring more inclusive growth as part of the solution to the post-pandemic recovery, which will help to increase jobs, wages and economic prosperity ~~and competitiveness~~ across the EU;

Amendment 21 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas growth is not an objective in itself as meeting the goals of the Green Deal and Paris agreement requires targeted fiscal efforts;

Amendment 210 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Highlights that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant negative impact on the cultural and creative sector; Stresses the importance of supporting and promoting activities based on cultural values, artistic or creative expressions; calls on the Member States to follow the recommendations of the European Parliament and to allocate 2% of the RFF to support the cultural and creative sector;

Amendment 211 #

Joachim SCHUSTER, Margarida MARQUES, Pedro MARQUES, Gabriele BISCHOFF, Jonás FERNÁNDEZ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Takes into consideration the systemic weakening of healthcare systems in many Member States also due to a reduction of public spending in the sector; proposes to exclude health related expenses from the calculation of the structural balance until a suitable upgrade of the European public health sector is achieved;

Amendment 212 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Stresses that the recovery efforts must go hand in hand with a lasting increase of public and private investment beyond the RRF in order to be able to address current and future challenges and to achieve the EU policy objectives;

Amendment 213 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Underlines that the recovery must be based on upward social and economic convergence, social dialogue and improved social rights and working conditions for workers, employees and the self-employed;

Amendment 214 #

Stéphanie YON-COURTIN, Gilles BOYER, Olivier CHASTEL, Dragoş PÎSLARU

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Notes that many Member States are having to contend with old and new structural challenges that are hindering their growth potential; highlights, therefore, that tackling structural challenges is crucial for a sustainable recovery and continued growth; takes the view that implementing reforms to address old and new structural vulnerabilities is key not only to improving the ability to withstand and cope with existing challenges, but also to accomplishing the twin transitions in a sustainable, fair and inclusive manner and to reducing social inequalities; points to the lack of national ownership as one of the main weaknesses in enacting reforms aimed at addressing structural deficiencies; calls on the Commission to adopt targeted and tailor- made Country-Specific Recommendations in 2022, focusing on commitments related to the RRF as well as areas not covered by the scope of the RRF;

Amendment 215 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Notes that many Member States are having to contend with old and new structural challenges that are hindering their growth potential; highlights, therefore, that tackling structural challenges in a socioeconomic sensitive manner, is crucial for a sustainable recovery and continued growth; takes the view that implementing reforms to address old and new structural vulnerabilities is key not only to improving the ability to withstand and cope with existing challenges, but also to accomplishing the twin transitions in a sustainable, fair and inclusive manner and to reducing social and economic inequalities; points to the lack of national ownership as one of the main weaknesses in enacting reforms aimed at addressing structural deficiencies;

Amendment 216 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Notes that many Member States are having to contend with old and new structural challenges that are hindering their growth potential; highlights, therefore, that tackling structural challenges is crucial for a sustainable recovery and continued growth; takes the view that implementing structural reforms to address old and new structural vulnerabilities is key not only to improving the ability to withstand and cope with existing challenges and potential future shocks, but also to accomplishing the twin transitions in a sustainable, fair and inclusive manner and to reducing social inequalities; points to the lack of national ownership as one of the main weaknesses in enacting reforms aimed at addressing structural deficiencies;

Amendment 217 #

Marco ZANNI, Antonio Maria RINALDI, Valentino GRANT, Gunnar BECK, Jörg MEUTHEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Notes that many Member States are having to contend with old and new structural challenges that are hindering their growth potential; highlights, therefore, that tackling structural challenges is crucial for a sustainable recovery and continued growth; takes the view that implementing reforms economically and socially sustainable to address old and new structural vulnerabilities is key not only to improving the ability to withstand and cope with existing challenges, but also to accomplishing the twin transitions in a sustainable, fair and inclusive manner and to reducing social inequalities; points to the lack of national ownership as one of the main weaknesses in enacting reforms aimed at addressing structural deficiencies;

Amendment 218 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Notes that many Member States are having to contend with old and new structural challenges that are hindering their growth potential; highlights, therefore, that tackling structural challenges is crucial for a sustainable recovery and continued growth; takes the view that implementing growth enhancing reforms to address old and new structural vulnerabilities is key not only to improving the ability to withstand and cope with existing challenges, but also to accomplishing the twin transitions in a sustainable, fair and inclusive manner and to reducing social inequalities; points to the lack of national ownership as one of the main weaknesses in enacting reforms aimed at addressing structural deficiencies;

Amendment 219 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Notes that many Member States are having to contend with old and new structural challenges that are hindering their growth potential; highlights, therefore, that tackling structural challenges is crucial for a sustainable recovery and continued growth; takes the view that implementing reforms to address old and new structural vulnerabilities is key not only to improving the ability to withstand and cope with existing challenges, but also to accomplishing the twin transitions in a competitive, sustainable, fair and inclusive manner and to reducing social inequalities; points to the lack of national ownership as one of the main weaknesses in enacting reforms aimed at addressing structural deficiencies;

Amendment 22 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas the Commission’s autumn economic forecast shows a significant difference in the pace of recovery between the Member States in 2021, with a disparity of GDP growth ranging from 2.7 % to 14.6 %; whereas the growth forecast for 2022 and 2023 is more evenly distributed across Member States;

Amendment 220 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Notes that many Member States are having to contend with old and new structural challenges that are hindering their growth potential; highlights, therefore, that tackling structural challenges is crucial for a long-lasting sustainable recovery and continued growth; takes the view that implementing reforms to address old and new structural vulnerabilities is key not only to improving the ability to withstand and cope with existing challenges, but also to accomplishing the twin transitions in a sustainable, fair and inclusive manner and to reducing social inequalities; points to the lack of national ownership as one of the main weaknesses in enacting reforms aimed at addressing structural deficiencies;

Amendment 221 #

Stéphanie YON-COURTIN, Gilles BOYER, Olivier CHASTEL, Dragoş PÎSLARU

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)

12a. Calls for a renewed European Semester as the main economic and social policy coordination framework supporting the EU’s long-standing goals of sustainability and upward convergence with stronger national ownership; in this context, calls for the Semester process to be grounded on targets and objectives, while leaving the means to achieve those to the Member States; considers that the Recovery and Resilient Facility offers a great opportunity to improve ownership in the future economic policy coordination and to shift to a logic of positive incentives to push forward a reform agenda that conciliates economic, social, and environmental objectives; stresses that any Semester review should design an enabling framework for Member States to accelerate their green transition, close their climate and environment friendly investment gap, and ensure a rapid phase out of all environmentally harmful subsidies, in particular fossil fuel subsidies;

Amendment 222 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)

12a. Recognises the positive impact of the Country-Specific Recommendations in fostering necessary tax reforms in the Member States that received recommendations on aggressive tax planning while deploring that some Member States have yet to address the Country-Specific Recommendations on this matter; recalls that the Recovery and Resilience Facility and the Country- Specific Recommendations, including those related to taxation, are intricately linked, as set out in the RRF Regulation;

Amendment 223 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)

12b. Calls on the Commission to establish an inventory of all environmentally harmful subsidies, including in the form of tax rebates, that continue to exist at national level and hamper the achievement of the European Green Deal, and to monitor their phase out as soon as possible in the context of the Semester and the CSR; reiterates its call for the reorientation of taxation systems towards an increased use of environmental taxation;

Amendment 224 #

Nicola BEER, Caroline NAGTEGAAL, Engin EROGLU, Ivars IJABS, Linea SØGAARD-LIDELL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Is concerned that the Commission identified macroeconomic vulnerabilities related to imbalances and excessive imbalances in 12 Member States; is worried that the nature and source of Member States’ imbalances remain largely the same as before the pandemic and that the pandemic could also be exacerbating imbalances and economic divergences; calls on the Member States to take advantage of the unprecedented opportunity provided by the RRF to significantly reduce existing macroeconomic imbalances, in particular by including ambitious reform measures in the national plans of all Member States~~; stresses that sound execution~~, following the country-specific recommendations, and paying particular attention to reducing public debt and providing an ideal framework for investment, new business start-ups and job creation; stresses that rapid, efficient and transparent execution, involving local and regional authorities and civil society, is essential to make full use of this opportunity;

Amendment 225 #

Marco ZANNI, Antonio Maria RINALDI, Valentino GRANT, Gunnar BECK, Jörg MEUTHEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Is concerned that the Commission identified macroeconomic vulnerabilities related to imbalances and excessive imbalances in 12 Member States; is worried that the nature and source of Member States’ imbalances remain largely the same as before the pandemic, as many mistakes were made in the management of the severe financial crisis, and that the pandemic could also be exacerbating imbalances and economic divergences; calls on the Member States to preserve national investments, which has been and will be the main tools for recovery, and to take advantage of the ~~unprecedented~~ opportunity provided by the RRF to significantly reduce existing macroeconomic imbalances, in particular by including ambitious reform measures economically and socially sustainable in the national plans of all Member States; stresses that sound execution is essential to make full use of this opportunity;

Amendment 226 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Is concerned that the Commission identified macroeconomic vulnerabilities related to imbalances and excessive imbalances in 12 Member States; is worried that the nature and source of Member States’ imbalances remain largely the same as before the pandemic and that the pandemic could also be exacerbating imbalances and economic divergences; highlights in this regards again the importance of a general compliance with the fiscal rules to either maintain or achieve a fiscal sustainability and consolidation; calls on the Member States to take advantage of the unprecedented opportunity provided by the RRF to significantly reduce existing macroeconomic imbalances, in particular by including ambitious reform measures in the national plans of all Member States; stresses that sound execution and close monitoring is essential to make full use of this opportunity;

Amendment 227 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Is concerned that the Commission identified macroeconomic vulnerabilities related to imbalances and excessive imbalances in 12 Member States; is worried that the nature and source of Member States’ imbalances remain largely the same as before the pandemic and that the pandemic could also be exacerbating imbalances and economic divergences; calls on the Member States to take advantage of the unprecedented opportunity provided by the RRF to significantly reduce existing macroeconomic imbalances, in particular by including ambitious reform measures in the national plans of all Member States; stresses that sound execution is essential to make full use of this opportunity, Nevertheless, continues to emphasise that there should be no liability in the EU for the debts of other Member States;

Amendment 228 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Is concerned that the Commission identified macroeconomic vulnerabilities related to imbalances and excessive imbalances in 12 Member States; is worried that the ~~nature and source of Member States’ imbalances remain largely the same as before the~~ pandemic and that the pandemic could also be exacerbating imbalances and economic divergences; calls on the Member States to take advantage of the unprecedented opportunity provided by the RRF to significantly reduce existing macroeconomic imbalances, in particular by including ambitious reform measures in the national plans of all Member States; stresses that sound execution is essential to make full use of this opportunity;

Amendment 229 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

Amendment 23 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas disparities in GDP growth among the Member States point to very different structural economic situations across the EU27, which should be taken into account in the European Semester process and, in particular, in the development of national and European instruments as part of the process; whereas, therefore, the process should take account of good examples of public policy (both economic and fiscal) of those Member States that exceed the average growth rates to a greater or lesser extent;

Amendment 230 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Is concerned that the Commission identified macroeconomic vulnerabilities related to imbalances and excessive imbalances in 12 Member States; is worried that the nature and source of Member States’ imbalances remain largely the same as before the pandemic and that the pandemic could also be exacerbating imbalances and economic divergences; calls on the Member States to take advantage of the unprecedented opportunity provided by the RRF to significantly reduce existing macroeconomic imbalances, in particular by including ambitious reform measures in the national plans of all Member States; stresses that sound execution is essential to make full use of this opportunitynotes that the persistence of such imbalances demonstrates the structural deficiencies of the Eurozone architecture; notes that, in the absence of broad structural changes, including a sizeable common budget with a redistributive nature, the Eurozone will continue to promote these imbalances and foster social and economic unrest;

Amendment 231 #

Jonás FERNÁNDEZ, Victor NEGRESCU, Pedro MARQUES, Alfred SANT, Marek BELKA, Joachim SCHUSTER, Csaba MOLNÁR, Pedro SILVA PEREIRA, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Gabriele BISCHOFF, Costas MAVRIDES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

Amendment 232 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a. Is concerned about the high levels of government debt reaching 100% of GDP in the Eurozone in 2021 and 92.1% of GDP in the EU; notes that this level of public indebtedness is considerably higher than the reference values in the treaty; notes with concern that high public debt levels are a source of systemic macroeconomic risk, particularly when the ECB's monetary policy is expected to become less accommodative due to rising inflationary pressures;

Amendment 233 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a. Expresses concern about public debt levels, both in absolute values and in terms of their relationship to GDP, in various Member States, which face a key macroeconomic challenge concerning the sustainability of their debt, emphasising the importance of sustained debt reduction strategies in a scenario of inflationary pressure on interest rates and gradual withdrawal of monetary stimuli;

Amendment 234 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a. Recalls that the European Parliament, social partners, the civil society, academia and local authorities have to be actively involved in the governance and supervision of the implementation of the NRRPs in each member states; regrets that in some member states, like it was the case by of the previous government in Romania, the authorities refused the active participation of social partners and of the Parliament in the drafting of the NRRPs;

Amendment 235 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a. Underlines, in this context, that money-for-free does usually not pave the way for long-term financial stability on a national level; there is rather a risk for constant budget deficits and a permanent dependency on financial support from outside;

Amendment 236 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)

13b. Emphasises that failing to make reforms in the context of the favourable financial framework resulting from the application of the RRF and the implementation of the MFF will not only prolong structural weaknesses in national economies and societies, but will in fact worsen them, both in terms of the quality of services provided to the public (by governments) and promotion of the competitiveness of EU economies; urges the Member States to take advantage of all the opportunities offered by the RRF, combined with the application of the general escape clause in the SGP and the monetary stimuli provided by the European Central Bank, to make strategic reforms in order to protect the rights of citizens, provide quality services and create an environment conducive to investment and work by our businesses (particularly SMEs), notably in the areas of health, education, justice and social security;

Amendment 237 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)

13b. Calls on Member States to reduce deficits and aggregate public debt levels to bring them in line with the treaty reference values thereby reducing the burden on future generations;

Amendment 238 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 c (new)

13c. Notes the importance of Member States building sufficient fiscal buffers in good times in order to increase the resilience of the Union and increase the Union's capacity to react to future crises;

Amendment 239 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

Amendment 24 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas the premature withdrawal of fiscal stimulus and the lack of coordination of fiscal action can exacerbate already existing divergences in the Eurozone and thus undermine its cohesiveness and integrity;

Amendment 240 #

Marco ZANNI, Antonio Maria RINALDI, Valentino GRANT

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Recognises the importance of the macroeconomic imbalance procedure in identifying, preventing and addressing macroeconomic imbalances in the EU; highlights that continuous monitoring and vigilance will be needed and that Member States should address emerging imbalances through reforms that enhance economic and social resilience and promote the digital transformation and green and just transitions; calls for the MIP recommendations to become more forward-looking and symmetrical with regard to over- and undershooting target values; stresses, in particular, that the current account thresholds should be adjusted so as to apply a symmetric approach between account surpluses and deficits; further calls for the introduction of indicators on households’ disposable income, poverty, capital unit costs, as well as indicators to measure progress towards investment in environmental sustainability and innovation, with respective alert thresholds signalling the build-up of imbalances;

Amendment 241 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Recognises the importance of the macroeconomic imbalance procedure in identifying, preventing and addressing macroeconomic imbalances in the EU; highlights that excessive current account surpluses in the balance of payments have not been adequately addressed in the past, that continuous monitoring and vigilance will be needed and that Member States should address emerging imbalances through reforms, economically and socially sustainable, that enhance economic and social resilience and promote the digital transformation and green and just transitions;

Amendment 242 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

Amendment 243 #

Nicola BEER, Caroline NAGTEGAAL, Engin EROGLU, Linea SØGAARD-LIDELL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

Amendment 244 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Recognises the importance of the macroeconomic imbalance procedure in identifying, preventing and addressing macroeconomic imbalances in the EU; highlights that continuous monitoring ~~and~~, vigilance and sanctions as a measure of last resort will be needed and that Member States should address emerging imbalances through reforms that enhance economic and social resilience and promote the digital transformation and green and just transitions;

Amendment 245 #

Joachim SCHUSTER, Paul TANG, Pedro MARQUES, Gabriele BISCHOFF, Jonás FERNÁNDEZ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14a. Invites the Commission to revamp the comprehensive economic policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to take the principles of NGEU as a basis for a modernisation of the common European fiscal architecture; invites the Commission therefore to consider the possibility of a permanent investment fund for the euro area and the non-euro area aligned to European priorities and with the aim to finance future-oriented investments, create European added value, to effectively tackle economic shocks and manage the economic cycle;

Amendment 246 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14a. Asks for the necessary respect for the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality; stresses that in line with the Treaties, Member States must continue to have sufficient flexibility in implementing an appropriate social policy and remain sovereign over their tax policy;

Amendment 247 #

Jonás FERNÁNDEZ, Victor NEGRESCU, Margarida MARQUES, Pedro MARQUES, Alfred SANT, Marek BELKA, Joachim SCHUSTER, Csaba MOLNÁR, Pedro SILVA PEREIRA, Paul TANG, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Gabriele BISCHOFF, Costas MAVRIDES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

Amendment 248 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)

14b. Reiterates the European Parliament’s call for strengthening its democratic role in the economic governance framework;

Amendment 249 #

Jonás FERNÁNDEZ, Victor NEGRESCU, Margarida MARQUES, Pedro MARQUES, Alfred SANT, Marek BELKA, Joachim SCHUSTER, Csaba MOLNÁR, Marc ANGEL, Pedro SILVA PEREIRA, Aurore LALUCQ, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Gabriele BISCHOFF, Costas MAVRIDES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 c (new)

14c. Calls for committed coordination with social partners and other relevant stakeholders at both national and European level, with a view to strengthening democratic accountability, transparency and enhancing social dialogue;

Amendment 25 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

~~D. whereas the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in social, territorial, economic and gender- based inequalities;~~deleted

Amendment 26 #

Csaba MOLNÁR, Pedro MARQUES, Aurore LALUCQ, Marc ANGEL, Joachim SCHUSTER, Margarida MARQUES, Jonás FERNÁNDEZ

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in social, territorial, economic and gender- based inequalities, resulting in extreme poverty, high unemployment rate and social disparity that affect vulnerable groups in particular;

Amendment 27 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in social, territorial, economic and gender- based inequalities and unemployment, affecting vulnerable groups in particular;

Amendment 28 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in social, territorial, and economic ~~and gender- based inequaliti~~inequalities among the EU Member States;

Amendment 29 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in social, territorial, intergenerational, economic and gender- based inequalities;

Amendment 3 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 14 a (new)

— having regard to the Commission Communication of 27 May 2020 entitled ‘Europe’s moment: Repair and Prepare for the Next Generation’ (COM(2020)456),

Amendment 30 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns led to an increase in social, territorial, and economic ~~and gender- based~~ inequalities;

Amendment 31 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas a determined, coordinated and solidarity-based European economic policy approach remains essential to foster EU economic integration and to mitigate the negative economic and social consequences of the crisis, the fragmentation of the internal market and the further deepening of macroeconomic divergence and structural polarisation between regions and countries;

Amendment 32 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas the levels of poverty in Europe, particularly amongst pensioners and children, and those of unemployment especially in Southern euro countries, were already worrying before the commencement of the COVID-19 economic crisis;

Amendment 33 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas the government debt-to- GDP ratio is estimated to have increased in 2021 to 92.1% in the EU-27 and 100% in the euro area;

Amendment 34 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)

Db. whereas direct state intervention in the form of support to businesses and workers across the EU has been crucial to avoid the worst scenarios of an economic crisis during the last two years of pandemic;

Amendment 35 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D c (new)

Dc. whereas energy commodity prices have reached unprecedented high levels in Europe with gas prices during the autumn of 2021 becoming 400% more expensive than spring of the same year;

Amendment 36 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas according to the Commission’s autumn economic forecast, the average rate of unemployment fell to 7.9 % in the euro area and 7.1 % in the EU-27 in 2021, with further decreases to 7.5 % and 6.7 % expected in 2022;deleted

Amendment 37 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas according to the Commission’s autumn economic forecast, the average rate of unemployment fell to 7.9 % in the euro area and 7.1 % in the EU- 27 in 2021, with further decreases to 7.5 % and 6.7 % expected in 2022; whereas young people have experienced the sharpest increase in unemployment;

Amendment 38 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)

Ea. whereas according to the Commission’s autumn economic forecast, general government deficit narrowed slightly in 2021 to 7.1 % of GDP in the euro area and 6.6 % in the EU-27 on the back of the still high and necessary level of support provided to households and firms; whereas it is forecasted to decrease to 3.9% and 3.6% respectively in 2022, thanks to the unwinding of the emergency support measures and the rebound in revenues;

Amendment 39 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)

Ea. whereas the European recovery is being robust and strong but supply disruptions, labour shortages, pandemic- related closures, rising energy and commodity prices and a scarcity of some key materials risk of holding back growth and adding to cost pressures;

Amendment 4 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 15 a (new)

— having regard to the Commission Communication of 4 March 2021 entitled ‘The European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan’ (COM(2021)102),

Amendment 40 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)

Ea. whereas in 2021 aggregate government debt-to-GDP levels have risen to 100.0% in the Euro Area and 92.1% in the EU;

Amendment 41 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)

Eb. whereas the EU is estimated to lose between €160 and €190 billion each year due to corporate tax avoidance10a; __________________ 10a https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/ etudes/STUD/2016/558776/EPRS_STU(2 016)558776_EN.pdf

Amendment 42 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas the post-pandemic economic recovery requires the fast ~~and~~, efficient and transparent implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF); whereas all national recovery and resilience plans should address each of the six pillars and the general and specific objectives of the RRF Regulation and respect its horizontal principles; whereas the Member States should therefore focus their efforts on implementing national plans that promote competitiveness, resilience and adaptation of the European economies to the challenges of the green and digital transitions; whereas funding should thus be targeted at the economies, and Member States should avoid using all or most of the funds for bureaucratic or administrative costs; whereas national plans should be fully consistent and mutually efficient with programmes implementing the multiannual financial framework (MFF);

Amendment 43 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas the post-pandemic economic recovery requires the fast and efficient implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF); whereas all recovery and resilience plans should address each of the six pillars and the general and specific objectives of the RRF Regulation and respect its horizontal principles; whereas reforms and investments in recovery and resilience plans should solely target the economic and social recovery of the EU Member States;

Amendment 44 #

Nicola BEER, Caroline NAGTEGAAL, Engin EROGLU, Ivars IJABS, Linea SØGAARD-LIDELL

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas the post-pandemic economic recovery requires the fast and efficient implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), including the corresponding reforms; whereas all recovery and resilience plans should address each of the six pillars and the general and specific objectives of the RRF Regulation and respect its horizontal principles;

Amendment 45 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas the post-pandemic economic recovery requires the fast and efficient implementation of the temporary Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF); whereas all recovery and resilience plans should address each of the six pillars and the general and specific objectives of the RRF Regulation and respect its horizontal principles;

Amendment 46 #

Nicola BEER, Caroline NAGTEGAAL, Engin EROGLU, Ivars IJABS, Linea SØGAARD-LIDELL

Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)

Fa. whereas the NextGenerationEU package is the European institutions’ rapid response to the extremely serious effects of the pandemic on EU economic systems, businesses and jobs; whereas it is the largest economic stimulus package ever financed in Europe, which aims to regain lost competitiveness and create opportunities and jobs for EU citizens;

Amendment 47 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)

Fa. whereas during the Porto Social Summit held on 7 and 8 May 2021, the EU’s leaders recognised the European Pillar of Social Rights as a fundamental element of the recovery; whereas in the Porto declaration they underlined their determination to continue deepening its implementation at EU and national level;

Amendment 48 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)

Fa. whereas the efforts of a transition to a neutral carbon economy demand significant public and private investment and may bring negative supply shocks, thereby demanding that the Union is equipped with the necessary tools to be able to deal with challenges of the green transition;

Amendment 49 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)

Fa. whereas the RRF Regulation stipulates that the debt issued to finance the Recovery and Resilience Fund is to be repaid by 2058, in a manner that ensures the steady and predictable reduction of liabilities;

Amendment 5 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 15 b (new)

— having regard to the Porto Social Commitment of 7 May 2021 of the Council, the Commission, the Parliament and social partners,

Amendment 50 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)

Fa. whereas unprecedented levels of public debt may represent a drag on the recovery, pose greater risk of a fiscal crisis and lead to large tax hikes;

Amendment 51 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)

Fb. whereas the Regulation on the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the best funded programme in the NextGenerationEU package, includes the need to link investments with the achievement of milestones and targets in the form of reforms; whereas those reforms, contained in the national recovery and resilience plans of each Member State, should be consistent with the country-specific recommendations made in the context of the European Semester;

Amendment 52 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)

Fb. whereas the EU and its Member States have committed to the Treaty-based fundamental values, the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda, the European Pillar of Social Rights and the Paris Climate Agreement;

Amendment 53 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)

Fb. whereas the fiscal consolidation with the clear intention of lowering the deficit and public debt must remain a priority of the Member States;

Amendment 54 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F c (new)

Fc. whereas, in the context of the European Semester, Member States should report on the implementation of investments received through the Recovery and Resilience Facility and on the reforms implemented to achieve the milestones and targets;

Amendment 55 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F c (new)

Fc. whereas the ECB predicted that a lack of action on climate change and an insufficiently orderly climate transition could result in falls of up to 20% in global GDP by the end of the century10b; __________________ 10b https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/other/ ecb.climateriskfinancialstability202107~8 7822fae81.en.pdf

Amendment 56 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F c (new)

Fc whereas full and unambiguous enforcement of the fiscal rules by the Commission is necessary for their successful implementation by the Member States;

Amendment 57 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F d (new)

Fd. whereas the EU's low productivity and global competitiveness require urgent structural, growth enhancing reforms, well targeted investments in future proof infrastructure and the return to fiscal discipline;

Amendment 58 #

Nicola BEER, Caroline NAGTEGAAL, Engin EROGLU, Ivars IJABS, Linea SØGAARD-LIDELL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Notes that the European economy is recovering faster than expected from the devastating impact of the global pandemic; underlines the crucial importance that timely policy interventions have played and will continue to play in mitigating the impact of the pandemic on the European economy; takes the view that, in order to continue mitigating the effects of this crisis, it is vital to increase public-private investment so that the sectors of the economy worst affected by this crisis can be revitalised;

Amendment 59 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Notes that the European economy is recovering faster than expected from the devastating impact of the global pandemic; underlines the crucial importance that timely policy interventions have played and will continue to play in mitigating the impact of the pandemic on the European economy; recalls fiscal consolidation and a sound and sane economy for future investments as the underlying reason behind establishing the RRF;

Amendment 6 #

Stéphanie YON-COURTIN, Gilles BOYER, Olivier CHASTEL, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Billy KELLEHER

Motion for a resolution
Citation 17 a (new)

— having regard to the European Systemic Risk Board report of 16 February 2021 entitled ‘Financial stability implications of support measures to protect the real economy from the COVID-19 pandemic’,

Amendment 60 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Notes that the European economy is recovering faster than expected from the devastating impact of the global pandemic, although the rate of growth is uneven across Member States; underlines the crucial importance that timely policy interventions have played and will continue to play in mitigating the impact of the pandemic on the European economy;

Amendment 61 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Notes that the European economy is recovering faster than expected from the devastating impact of the global pandemic; underlines the crucial importance that timely policy interventions have played and will continue to play in mitigating the impact of the pandemic on the European economy and society, in particular in the field of health and education;

Amendment 62 #

Stéphanie YON-COURTIN, Gilles BOYER, Olivier CHASTEL, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Billy KELLEHER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Notes that the European economy is recovering faster than expected from the devastating impact of the global ~~pandemic~~COVID- 19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns; underlines the crucial importance that timely policy interventions have played and will continue to play in mitigating the impact of the pandemic on the European economy;

Amendment 63 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Notes that the European economy is recovering faster than expected from the devastating impact of the global pandemic; underlines the crucial importance that timely and innovative policy interventions have played and will continue to play in mitigating the impact of the pandemic on the European economy;

Amendment 64 #

Marco ZANNI, Antonio Maria RINALDI, Valentino GRANT, Gunnar BECK, Jörg MEUTHEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Notes that the European economy is recovering ~~faster than expected~~ from the devastating impact of the global pandemic, although uncertainties remain; underlines the crucial importance that timely policy interventions have played and will continue to play in mitigating the impact of the pandemic on the European economy;

Amendment 65 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Notes that the European economy is recovering faster than expected from the devastating impact of the ongoing global pandemic; underlines the crucial importance that timely policy interventions have played and will continue to play in mitigating the impact of the pandemic on the European economy;

Amendment 66 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

Amendment 67 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Is concerned about emerging new variants, localised pandemic lockdowns, increased energy prices, inflationary pressure, supply-side disruptions and emerging labour shortages; notes that these risks could ~~hamper economic growth prospect~~further increase inequalities and deteriorate life conditions in the coming months and delay the transition to a more sustainable and future-proof economy; notes that these variants emerge due to the stark inequalities in the distribution of vaccines among the different regions of the world, in which the EU plays a role;

Amendment 68 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Is concerned about emerging new variants, localised pandemic lockdowns, increased energy prices, inflationary pressure and the interest rate increases by the ECB to be expected as a result, supply-side disruptions and emerging labour shortages; notes that these risks could hamper economic growth prospects in the coming months and delay the transition to a more sustainable and future- proof economy;

Amendment 69 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Is concerned about emerging new variants, localised pandemic lockdowns, increased energy prices, inflationary pressures, supply-side disruptions and emerging labour shortages; notes that these risks create a significant level of uncertainty and could hamper economic growth prospects in the coming months and delay the transition to a more sustainable and future-proof economy;

Amendment 7 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 17 a (new)

— having regard to the Commission Staff Working Document of 27 May 2020 ‘Identifying Europe’s recovery needs’,

Amendment 70 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Is concerned about emerging new variants, localised pandemic lockdowns, increased energy prices, inflationary pressure, supply-side disruptions, supply crises and emerging labour shortages; notes that these risks could hamper economic growth prospects in the coming months and delay the transition to a more sustainable, competitive and future-proof economy;

Amendment 71 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. ~~Is concerned~~remains vigilant about emerging new variants, and localised pandemic lockdowns,; is deeply concerned about increased energy prices, inflationary pressure, supply-side disruptions and emerging labour shortages; notes that these risks could hamper economic growth prospects in the coming months and delay the transition to a more sustainable and future-proof economy;

Amendment 72 #

Stéphanie YON-COURTIN, Gilles BOYER, Olivier CHASTEL, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Billy KELLEHER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Is concerned about emerging new variants, localised pandemic lockdowns, increased energy prices, education lockdowns, inflationary pressure, supply- side disruptions and emerging labour shortages; notes that these risks could hamper economic growth prospects in the coming months and delay the transition to a more sustainable and future-proof economy;

Amendment 73 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Is concerned about emerging new variants, localised pandemic lockdowns, increased energy prices, inflationary pressure, supply-side disruptions and emerging labour shortages; notes that these risks could hamper economic growth prospects in the coming months and delay the transition to a more sustainable, digital and future-proof economy;

Amendment 74 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Is concerned about emerging new variants, localised pandemic lockdowns, increased energy prices, inflationary pressure, supply-side disruptions and emerging labour shortages; notes that these risks could hamper economic growth prospects in the coming months and delay the transition to a more ~~sustainabl~~competitive and future-proof economy;

Amendment 75 #

Marco ZANNI, Antonio Maria RINALDI, Valentino GRANT, Gunnar BECK, Jörg MEUTHEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Is concerned about emerging new variants, the impact on prices of the European Commission’s Green Deal, localised pandemic lockdowns, increased energy prices, inflationary pressure, supply-side disruptions and emerging labour shortages; notes that these risks could hamper economic growth prospects in the coming months ~~and delay the transition to a more sustainable and future-proof economy~~;

Amendment 76 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Stresses that both public and private sector investment were already clearly insufficient before the crisis, and that the projections reveal the need for additional annual public investment in the three digit billion rang to address the challenges of digital transformation, green and just transition and social recovery; underlines that an increased level of investment must be stabilised and upward convergence in the EU enhanced for many years to come;

Amendment 77 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Is specifically worried about the increased energy prices and the ripple effect it could have on the European economy, its external competitiveness, as well as the socioeconomic impact the rise of prices of energy bills and final goods could have on European citizens;

Amendment 78 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Points out that restoring the growth potential will be a key element for the structural transformations needed to adapt to current and future challenges and to achieve the EU’s policy objectives;

Amendment 79 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Is alerted by the fact that the speed of the recovery varies across Member States and regions, with significant differences and a disparity of between 2.7 % and 14.6 % between the Member States in 2021, according to the Commission’s autumn economic forecast; urges the European Commission to support the Member States in their economic recovery process; calls on Member States to step up their efforts in making sure the recovery is inclusive and no one is left behind;

Amendment 8 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 19 a (new)

— having regard to its resolution of 6 June 2021 entitled ‘European Parliament’s Scrutiny on the ongoing assessment by the Commission and the Council of the national recovery and resilience plans’,

Amendment 80 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Is positive that all Member States have either already reached their pre- pandemic output levels or are expected to do so in 2022; is alerted by the fact that the speed of the recovery varies across Member States and regions, with significant differences and a disparity of between 2.7 % and 14.6 % between the Member States in 2021, according to the Commission’s autumn economic forecast;

Amendment 81 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Is alerted by the fact that the speed of the recovery varies across Member States and regions, with significant differences and a disparity of between 2.7 % and 14.6 % between the Member States in 2021, according to the Commission’s autumn economic forecast; notes, however, that the recovery is expected to be more even in 2022 and 2023;

Amendment 82 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Is alerted by the fact that the speed of the recovery varies across Member States and regions, with significant differences and a disparity of between 2.7 % and 14.6 % ~~between~~in GDP growth among the Member States in 2021, according to the Commission’s autumn economic forecast;

Amendment 83 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Recognises that the crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic has been especially severe for enterprises, mostly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in tourism, hospitality and culture; recognises the notion of European solidarity underpinning the establishment of the RRF, which is the best funded programme in the NextGenerationEU package; takes the view, therefore, that these funds should be mainly targeted at revitalising the EU’s productive fabric and encouraging job creation;

Amendment 84 #

Nicola BEER, Caroline NAGTEGAAL, Engin EROGLU, Ivars IJABS, Linea SØGAARD-LIDELL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Recognises that the crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic has been especially severe for enterprises, mostly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in tourism, hospitality and culture; furthermore recognises the n~~otion of European solidarity underpinning the establishment of the RRF~~eed for a decentralised approach to crisis management, rather than a centralised procedure based on increased redistribution of resources within the union;

Amendment 85 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Recognises that the crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic has been especially severe for enterprises, mostly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in tourism, hospitality and culture; ~~recognises the notion of European solidarity underpinning the establishment of the RRF~~this must be taken into account by the Member States while spending the funds to truly alleviate the impact on citizens of the pandemic-induced economic crisis;

Amendment 86 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Recognises that the crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic has been especially severe for enterprises, mostly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in tourism, hospitality and culture; recognises the notion of European solidarity underpinning the establishment of the RRF as a one-off instrument to address the economic fallout of the pandemic;

Amendment 87 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Recognises that the crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic has been especially severe for enterprises, mostly start-ups, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in tourism, hospitality, education and learning, agriculture and culture; recognises the notion of European solidarity underpinning the establishment of the RRF;

Amendment 88 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Recognises that the crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic has been especially severe for enterprises, mostly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in tourism, hospitality and culture, not least those based in EU island regions; recognises the notion of European solidarity underpinning the establishment of the RRF;

Amendment 89 #

Stéphanie YON-COURTIN, Gilles BOYER, Olivier CHASTEL, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Billy KELLEHER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Recognises that the crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic has been especially severe for enterprises, mostly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), inas well as tourism, hospitality and culture enterprises; recognises the notion of European solidarity underpinning the establishment of the RRF;

Amendment 9 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 19 a (new)

— having regard to its resolution of 13 November 2020 on the Sustainable Europe Investment Plan - How to finance the Green Deal,

Amendment 90 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Recognises that the crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic has been especially severe for enterprises, mostly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in tourism, hospitality and culture; ~~recognises the notion of European solidarity underpinning the establishment of the RRF~~Stresses that Member States which were more dependent on such services suffered a harshest economic impact;

Amendment 91 #

Stéphanie YON-COURTIN, Gilles BOYER, Olivier CHASTEL, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Billy KELLEHER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

Amendment 92 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

Amendment 93 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Believes that the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic coupled with the energy crisis is widening the socioeconomic rift between EU member states and their regions; therefore emphasizes that this is particularly not the time for one-size-fits- all strategies as regards structural reforms and state aid policies;

Amendment 94 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Calls for the need to highlight in a specific analysis, for each member states, the measures implemented and the budgetary resources allocated to deal with the COVID-19 crisis and the share of EU funding in supporting those measures;

Amendment 95 #

Aurore LALUCQ, Pedro MARQUES, Marc ANGEL, Alfred SANT

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Points out that the successful roll- out of the RRF will help to make EU economies and societies more sustainable, inclusive, resilient and better prepared for the green and digital transitions; considers that, in light of the success of the RRF and the existing needs for massive investments in the ecological and social transition, the European Commission should propose a new investment plan to continue the transformation of our societies towards a greener and more inclusive model;

Amendment 96 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Points out that the successful roll- out of the RRF will help to make EU economies and societies more ~~sustainable, inclusiv~~competitive, sustainable, resilient and better prepared for the green and digital transitions; points out that this success will come from encouraging job creation, modernising the EU’s productive fabric, helping enterprises and SMEs, committing to innovation, and providing skills training as the cornerstones of this economic and social stimulus programme;

Amendment 97 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Points out that the successful roll- out of the RRF will help to make EU economies and societies more sustainable, inclusive, resilient and better prepared for the green and digital transitions. Highlights however, that the EU should always seek to favour all member states equally, rather than selectively. Demands that moving forward, the EU's policy should be oriented around the principle of Pareto optimality, and thus regulate with a primum non nocere approach;

Amendment 98 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Points out that the successful roll- out of the RRF will help to make EU economies and societies more sustainable, inclusive, resilient and better prepared for the just, green and digital transitions; as well as to foster economic, social and territorial cohesion, bring convergence and help the Member States to mitigate the economic and social impact of the crisis;

Amendment 99 #