Die Präsidentin. – Als nächster Punkt der Tagesordnung folgt die Aussprache über die Erklärung der Kommission zur Strategie Europa 2020: Perspektiven und Bilanz (2015/2904(RSP)).
Valdis Dombrovskis,Vice-President of the Commission.– Madam President, honourable Members of Parliament, the Europe 2020 Strategy was launched in 2010 as an EU strategy to deliver smart, sustainable and inclusive growth for Europe. It set out five ambitious targets for the EU to achieve by 2020 in the fields of employment, research and development, climate change and energy, education, and the fight against poverty and social exclusion.
More than that, the Europe 2020 Strategy has guided the strategic choices of the Commission’s work. The Strategy announced the creation of the European Semester, which has become a powerful instrument to provide guidance for the Member States in their structural reforms and sustainable fiscal policies.
The Strategy also guides EU spending. It has set the direction when preparing the 2014-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework, when programing European structural and investment funds and when launching new funding programmes at EU level. A clear example is the creation of the Horizon 2020 Programme, with substantial increases in research, development and innovation funding.
However, Europe 2020 has not always been successful in giving Member States the tools to achieve their objectives. Europe 2020 should not be a process imposed by the EU, but a method for common prosperity. Therefore, full ownership at EU and national level is key to its implementation. This requires the Commission to work more closely with Member States. The European Council needs to be fully involved and to share ownership of Europe’s long-term growth strategy. The European Parliament and the national parliaments are vital partners. Engagement with, and ownership by, civil society and businesses is also important.
The reflection on the Europe 2020 Strategy is ongoing and we are looking into making the best use of the existing Strategy – improving its implementation and monitoring in the context of the European Semester. At the same time we need to reflect on, and develop, a longer-term vision. Therefore, we will present next year a new long-term strategy for jobs and growth, looking beyond the 2020 horizon. With this approach we are ensuring economic growth and social and environmental sustainability beyond the 2020 framework. In this work we are taking into account the Europe 2020 review and the internal and external implementation of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
Die Präsidentin. – Bevor ich nun dem ersten Redner für die EVP-Fraktion das Wort erteile, möchte ich darauf hinweisen, dass ich jetzt aufgrund der fortgeschrittenen Zeit keine „blauen Karten“ mehr akzeptieren werde, weil die Sitzung sonst viel länger als bis 23 Uhr dauern wird und das wollen wir doch nicht.
Andreas Schwab, im Namen der PPE-Fraktion.– Frau Präsidentin, Herr Vizepräsident Dombrovskis, liebe Kolleginnen und Kollegen! Frau Präsidentin, ich hatte schon befürchtet, Sie wollten die Sitzung erneut unterbrechen. Aber wenn es nur darum geht, keine weiteren Redner auf die Liste zu nehmen, habe ich überhaupt kein Problem damit.
Herr Vizepräsident, lieber Valdis Dombrovskis! Die Ziele für die Europa-2020-Strategie waren breit, sie waren langfristig, und wir sehen doch immer wieder, dass sie im täglichen Kleinklein der Arbeiten bei der Gesetzgebung in allen Bereichen ein Stück weit in Vergessenheit geraten. Teilweise waren die Ziele auch deshalb bisher schwer zu erreichen, weil sie natürlich die notwendige Flexibilität aufgewiesen haben, die solche längerfristigen Strategien generell kennzeichnen. Deswegen müssen wir uns vor allem an den Zielen entlanghangeln, die tatsächlich auch messbar für den Erfolg der Europäischen Union sind und im europäischen Binnenmarkt herangezogen werden können. Das Drei-Prozent-Ziel für die Investitionen in Forschung und Entwicklung ist ein häufig unterschätztes Element für die Steigerung der Wettbewerbsfähigkeit und für die Stärkung der sozialen Marktwirtschaft in der Europäischen Union, weil wir sehen, dass weltweit Volkswirtschaften, die in hohem Maße in Forschung und Entwicklung investieren, deutlich besser dastehen als andere. Deswegen, lieber Vizepräsident, lieber Valdis Dombrovskis, müssen wir, wenn wir am Ende tatsächlich die Europa—2020—Strategie in den nächsten Monaten neu beleben wollen, wenn wir ihr wieder einen weiteren Baustein hinzufügen wollen mit den Vorschlägen von Kollegin Marianne Thyssen, Forschung und Entwicklung zur Steigerung der Wettbewerbsfähigkeit in den Mittelpunkt stellen.
Maria João Rodrigues, on behalf of the S&D Group.– Madam President, I would say to Vice-President Dombrovskis that it is really important for us that the European Strategy for growth and jobs be relaunched. It has disappeared from our radars, but Europe really needs a bolder strategy for growth and jobs.
Europe 2020 should be updated to take into account the new challenges. We believe that what is at stake now is not only energy transition but also promoting a circular economy and providing new kinds of jobs because of that; what is at stake is not only to promote digital telecommunications but the full range of new services, products and the new jobs connected with this; what is at stake is not only to strengthen R&D but to turn R&D into real innovative services and products, and finally, in the social dimension, we believe that beyond quality jobs we also need to tackle social inequalities.
So Europe 2020 should be updated like that. But then we are concerned with the means to implement this, because the lesson of the past is that bold visions were not matched by the proper means. So we believe that the European investment plan should be made a central engine to implement the Europe 2020 Strategy, and we also believe that the European Semester should provide the coordination of economic and social policies which we need to deliver the Europe 2020 Strategy properly.
So my question for you, Mr Vice-President, is the following: so far, we have a kind of divorce between the Europe 2020 Strategy on the one hand and the European Semester on the other, and we need to marry them again, I would say, so this means that the next European Semester cycle should take fully on board the Europe 2020 targets, should take fully on board Europe 2020 goals when encouraging Member States to prepare their national reform programmes, and then the country-specific recommendations should push in the same direction. We believe this is a central problem to be solved, to reconnect the European Semester with the Europe 2020 Strategy.
Richard Sulík, za skupinu ECR– Základný cieľ stratégie 2020, ktorá teda už platí od roku 2010, tak medzi tieto základné ciele patrí zvýšenie zamestnanosti zo 70 na 75 %, realita je 68. Zníženie počtu chudobných zo 116 miliónov na 96, realita je 121. Takisto zvýšenie počtu vysokoškolských vzdelaných ľudí na 40 %, výsledok je, že dnes môžete s nimi zametať ulice pomaly. Stratégia Európa 2020 zlyhala. Európa by dnes nebola o nič horšie na tom, keby žiadna stratégia neexistovala. Je to aj preto, lebo stratégia má protichodné ciele – chcete znižovať nezamestnanosť, zároveň zvyšovať klimatické ciele a podobne. Pán komisár, navrhujem, odpustite si celú stratégiu, venujte sa dôležitejším veciam. Toto divadlo Európa nepotrebuje.
Pavel Telička, on behalf of the ALDE Group.– Madam President, when we went to launch the Europe 2020 Strategy I saw it as a chance. To be honest, I think that we missed the opportunity, and I will tell you why. For me, the Strategy is a document that really focuses on absolutely key issues, provides the necessary means, provides tools and monitors, creates benchmarks and has some kind of internal review. In fact, what we got out of Europe 2020 was, if not shopping list, a Christmas tree. Everyone had to be happy. Everyone contributed, and we again created a compromise.
I really appreciate what you have said, that the strategy has met certain objectives, and that it did help. You mentioned guiding EU spending: I think if we look at EFSI it also reflects that. But I would also like to emphasise what you have said, and that is that you will be preparing a longer-term vision for next year. This is once again an opportunity, but I think that this time we cannot afford to miss the opportunity. We should be looking for absolutely key priorities – a limited range – create the resources, have the right tools and have the courage. Also, when you speak of ownership on behalf of the European Council, I could not agree more. But what we have today is a Strategy which was too much owned by the European Council. I know that the Commission missed out on the opportunity to be a little bit more pushy, courageous and address the topical issues, but then the European Council created a document about which, shortly after it was approved, colleagues both from the Commission and the Council kept telling me ‘We did not want that! This is not a good document’, and we need to avoid that situation. So my plea would be to focus on the key issues, both on growth and creating jobs, adjusted to the needs of this year – post-recession, post-crisis – to tackle exactly the areas that will contribute to growth. Some of them were mentioned by colleagues; some of them might not have been mentioned. I would invite you to enter into a real dialogue with us in preparing it, because I think that it does not have to be just ownership of the European Council, it has to be a co-ownership by the European Parliament, and we will come to you with concrete ideas.
PRZEWODNICTWO: RYSZARD CZARNECKI Wiceprzewodniczący
Νεοκλής Συλικιώτης, εξ ονόματος της ομάδας GUE/NGL.– Κύριε Επίτροπε, για ποια στρατηγική μιλούμε, όταν οι λαοί της Ευρώπης βιώνουν σήμερα αυτή την κατάσταση; Η οικονομική κρίση εμβάθυνε τις ανισότητες στην Ένωση, ενώ τα σκληρά μέτρα απορρύθμισαν τις εργασιακές σχέσεις, ξήλωσαν το κοινωνικό κράτος και ξεπούλησαν τον δημόσιο πλούτο. Το ποσοστό της φτώχειας αυξάνεται συνεχώς, οι αριθμοί φωνάζουν την πραγματικότητα: 123 εκατομμύρια Ευρωπαίοι ζουν κάτω από το όριο της φτώχειας, εκ των οποίων 26 εκατομμύρια είναι παιδιά και νέοι.
Μονάχα στην Κύπρο, παρ’ όλο που εφαρμόζονται σκληρές μνημονιακές πολιτικές, ένας στους τέσσερις ανθρώπους είναι αντιμέτωπος με τη φτώχεια και η παιδική φτώχεια βρίσκεται στο 27% . Τα ίδια προβλήματα αντιμετωπίζει και η Ελλάδα και η Ισπανία και η Πορτογαλία και η Ιρλανδία, παρ’ όλο που οι δύο τελευταίες χώρες θεωρητικά βγήκαν από τα μνημόνια, ενώ συνεχίζονται οι ίδιες πολιτικές .
Δεν είναι βέβαια καθόλου τυχαίο που το 1% του πληθυσμού της Ευρώπης κατέχει σήμερα το 1/3 του πλούτου της. Όσο ο πλούτος συγκεντρώνεται στα χέρια των λίγων, το χάσμα και οι ανισότητες αυξάνονται. Γι' αυτό η πολιτική συνοχής δεν πρέπει να αποτελέσει εργαλείο της στρατηγικής «ΕΕ 2020», η οποία προβλέπει ενίσχυση της ανταγωνιστικότητας, των ευέλικτων μορφών απασχόλησης και των ιδιωτικοποιήσεων. Είναι σημαντικό να μην υπάρχει ευθυγράμμιση της πολιτικής συνοχής με το πλαίσιο της ενιαίας οικονομικής διακυβέρνησης, διαφορετικά τα κράτη θα εκβιάζονται να ακολουθούν τα σκληρά μέτρα λιτότητας που προβλέπει το ευρωπαϊκό εξάμηνο, ώστε να μη διακόπτεται η χρηματοδοτική τους στήριξη. Σε τέτοια περίπτωση η πολιτικής συνοχής θα εξουδετερωθεί εντελώς.
Χρειάζεται, κύριε Επίτροπε, να προωθήσουμε μια νέα κοινωνική αναπτυξιακή πολιτική, να στηριχτούν οι δημόσιες επενδύσεις, να χρηματοδοτηθούν έργα τα οποία να ανταποκρίνονται στις ανάγκες της κοινωνίας και να συμβάλλουν στη δημιουργία νέων ποιοτικών θέσεων εργασίας. Μονάχα έτσι θα καταπολεμήσουμε τις οικονομικές, κοινωνικές και τις εδαφικές ανισότητες που υπάρχουν στην Ευρώπη. Γι' αυτό, κύριε Επίτροπε, θεωρούμε ότι πρέπει να αλλάξουμε ρότα, μια στρατηγική πρέπει να έχει στόχους για την κοινωνική ευημερία, πρέπει να έχει στόχους για περισσότερες δημόσιες επενδύσεις, πρέπει και να έχει στόχους για οικονομική συνοχή και ανάπτυξη.
Jean Lambert, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group.– Mr President, I welcome the review of the 2020 Strategy. The very fact that we are even having a debate ahead of it is an improvement on where it came from, where Parliament had to fight to find a way into have any sort of sense of ownership with it – let alone wider civil society, social partners and others that were supposed to be engaged – so I hope that we manage a very good and broad consultation on this.
I also very much welcome the linking with the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), because I think that gives us some new sets of dimensions, not least a more global one. The SDG on sustainable consumption and production, which links to the proposals coming up on the circular economy, will be important in terms of how this fits with sustainability within the European Union and really develops the ideas on new skills for new jobs, issues around just transition, and indeed the investment that others have spoken of.
However, I would say that I think that targets are important. One of the things that we have learned in this process is that, if there is not a target and if it is not measured, it is not visible. The anti-poverty target has been very important and should not be forgotten, even if we want to consider framing that now more in terms of reducing inequalities and looking at what we are doing there to improve our societies overall.
Jane Collins, on behalf of the EFDD Group.– Mr President, here we are again in Strasbourg, having travelled to this building that we occupy only 50 days a year, at a cost of millions to the taxpayer, discussing another strategy for growth and jobs – when it is EU legislation from this building that has cost my constituents in Scunthorpe and Rotherham their jobs.
The obsessive green agenda has led to increased energy prices. Even the outgoing boss at Tata Steel in Scunthorpe has said those levies cost them 130 million a year. Thanks to our EU membership the British Government’s hand is well and truly shoved up its back. Now we are even using Swedish steel to make British military equipment: steel that defeated Hitler is no longer good enough for our armed forces.
I say we should ignore the Commission and put our own people first. If Brussels does not want us to have a steel industry, it is something we can talk about after the referendum in 2017. I imagine that conversation is going to be very brief, as polls keep showing us a win for ‘leave’.
Przewodniczący. – Przewodnicząca Lunacek– moja poprzedniczka – stwierdziła, że nie będzie procedury niebieskiej kartki, ponieważ jest bardzo późno. Nie wypada mi tego zmieniać.
Σωτήριος Ζαριανόπουλος (NI).– Κύριε Πρόεδρε, η «Ευρώπη 2020» αντανακλά τις προτεραιότητες του ευρωπαϊκού κεφαλαίου για ακόμα ευνοϊκότερο πλαίσιο αύξησης της κερδοφορίας και της ανταγωνιστικότητάς του με αξιοποίηση της καινοτομίας· ενεργειακή ένωση, κλιματική αλλαγή, ενοποίηση ψηφιακής και τραπεζικής αγοράς, περαιτέρω παράδοση της παιδείας και της υγείας στο μεγάλο κεφάλαιο.
Τα αντεργατικά μέτρα και τα μνημόνια που προωθούνται από Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση και κυβερνήσεις δεν αποτελούν μια πρόσκαιρη παρέκκλιση. Είναι εργαλείο διάρκειας για να ικανοποιηθούν οι ανάγκες του κεφαλαίου για κερδοφορία. Η ανισομετρία είναι όπως και οι οξυμένοι ανταγωνισμοί συνυφασμένοι με τον καπιταλιστικό δρόμο ανάπτυξης. Η εμβάθυνση της ΟΝΕ με το κείμενο των πέντε προέδρων σημαίνει την ισχυροποίηση των μηχανισμών της αντιλαϊκής στρατηγικής κεφαλαίου-Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης με μέτρα όπως το δημοσιονομικό συμβούλιο, την ενίσχυση του Εurogroup, την ενίσχυση της εποπτείας και την κλιμάκωση της αντεργατικής επίθεσης.
Το παράδειγμα της Ελλάδας με το τρίτο αριστερό μνημόνιο του ΣΥΡΙΖΑ αποδεικνύει ότι η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση και ο καπιταλισμός μόνο χειρότεροι μπορούν να γίνουν. Μόνος δρόμος για τον λαό είναι να γίνει ιδιοκτήτης του πλούτου που παράγει. Σε αυτό τον δρόμο θα αποδεσμευτεί από την Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση, θα διαγράψει μονομερώς το χρέος.
Krišjānis Kariņš (PPE).– Priekšsēdētāja kungs, komisāra kungs! Pirms pieciem gadiem mēs Eiropas Savienībā izvirzījām ļoti lielus mērķus, ko gribam sasniegt līdz 2020. gadam.
Es šobrīd runāšu tikai par vienu no šiem mērķiem. Par to, ka mēs gribam palielināt investīcijas zinātnei un attīstībai līdz 3 % no Eiropas iekšzemes kopprodukta. Kur mēs šobrīd esam? Mēs esam tikai pie apmēram 2 % no iekšzemes kopprodukta ieguldījumiem zinātnei un attīstībai. Un es uzskatu, ka šī mums ir problēma.
Kāpēc tā ir problēma? Eiropā mēs neatrodamies vakuumā. Mēs neesam pašpietiekami, arī visiem gandrīz 550 miljoniem, kas mums ir. Eiropas Savienība konkurē ar Amerikas Savienotajām Valstīm, ar Ķīnu un ar visu pārējo pasauli. Un kur notiek šī konkurence, un kā viņa notiek visasākā veidā? Tieši ar precēm, produktiem, kas ir ražoti ar augstu pievienoto vērtību jeb balstīti uz augstajām tehnoloģijām. Un lai šīs tehnoloģijas būtu, ir jābūt tai zinātnes bāzei.
Tātad, lai palielinātu savu konkurenci, mums ir nopietni jāpievērš uzmanība tam, ka šai naudai zinātnei un attīstībai ir jābūt, izmantojot tādas programmas kā "Apvārsnis 2020".
Carlos Zorrinho (S&D).– Senhora Vice-presidente, é evidente, e a comissão reconhece, que os primeiros cinco anos da aplicação das Estratégia Europa 2020 falharam, a estratégia para o crescimento perdeu influência e viu-se submersa pelo foco dado à política orçamental. Verificou-se um excesso de foco financeiro e uma enorme falta de foco económico. Corrigir este desequilíbrio tem que ser a prioridade da revisão da Estratégia Europa 2020 e, para o fazer, temos que ser ambiciosos e audazes.
A combinação da União da Energia e da União Digital é um desses caminhos. A combinação inteligente da União da Energia e da União Digital é um caminho de desenvolvimento sustentável em que a União Europeia pode liderar. Essa liderança significa uma nova visão sobre o futuro do mundo, baseado na aposta na investigação científica, na inovação, no emprego qualificado e nos novos modelos de organização social e de mobilidade.
Não ouso, nos breves segundos desta intervenção, descrever essa visão. Sintetizo-a numa ideia que gostava que inspirasse a revisão da Estratégia 2020. Temos que concretizar uma estratégia para as pessoas e, para começar, devemos pôr as pessoas a discutir a estratégia. Façamos deste processo um processo inspirador para o futuro da União Europeia.
David Casa (PPE).– Irrid nibda billi nirringrazzja l-Kummissarju tal-ħsibijiet u l-analiżi tiegħu.
Ir-reviżjoni ta’ nofs it-terminu hija importanti ferm sabiex nanalizzaw is-sitwazzjoni u l-qagħda tal-miri li ttina l-Ewropa 2020 u li din suppost kellha tilħaq. Naħseb li l-konsultazzjoni pubblika li kien hemm is-sena l-oħra wriet li hemm bżonn li nagħmlu iktar biex titjieb is-sitwazzjoni u li nieħdu l-messaġġi illi aħna rċevejna. Fil-każ tal-partit tiegħi, il-Partit Popolari Ewropew, it-tkabbir u l-impjiegi huma prijorità fuq l-aġenda tagħna. Aħna qegħdin naħdmu sabiex nilħqu l-objettivi tagħna b’mod sostenibbli u responsabbli. Aħna wkoll, b’dan il-mod, qegħdin insostnu l-ambjent illi jkun iktar soċjalment ġust, u għalhekk adattajna għal modi ġodda li saru disponibbli bl-avvanz tat-teknoloġija.
Sfortunatament, il-kriżi finanzjarja ta' dan l-aħħar snin kienet daqqa ta’ ħarta fejn jidħlu l-impjiegi u l-objettivi ta’ tkabbir speċjalment fit-tnaqqis tal-faqar u l-esklużjoni soċjali. Fost il-ħames objettivi ambizzjużi li għandna quddiemna, attenzjoni speċjali għandha tingħata fuq it-tkabbir tax-xogħol, l-edukazzjoni u l-inklużjoni soċjali. Ma sarx biżżejjed f’dawn l-oqsma u nemmen li mingħajr governanza ekonomika b’saħħitha, li tgħin biex tmexxi 'l quddiem l-ekonomiji tagħna, ma jkunx possibbli li nilħqu l-objettivi li kienu ppjanati permezz ta’ din l-istrateġija.
Sergio Gaetano Cofferati (S&D).– Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, io credo che l'idea di riproporre una strategia di lungo periodo sia condivisibile. Però non si può parlare del futuro senza trarre qualche insegnamento dal passato e bisogna dire con franchezza che l'esperienza fatta in questi cinque anni che abbiamo alle spalle, relativa alla strategia Europa 2020, è stata fallimentare. Gli obiettivi ambiziosi indicati non sono stati realizzati, perché nel frattempo la crisi penalizzava tutte le economie dei paesi europei e faceva aumentare la disoccupazione e la sofferenza delle persone. Dunque bisogna immaginare la possibilità di correggere cammin facendo anche il punto di vista che si è definito inizialmente.
E poi vanno individuate le priorità. Non a caso, i miei colleghi hanno parlato ripetutamente di ricerca, sviluppo e innovazione, che erano il cuore della proposta di Lisbona del 2000. Pensi quanto tempo è passato senza risultati concreti. La crescita e la competitività si devono basare sulla ricerca e l'innovazione, e dall'altra parte bisogna proteggere i cittadini. Le protezioni sociali danno coesione e la coesione è uno straordinario fattore di competitività, come ci hanno insegnato gli anni che abbiamo alle spalle e nei quali molti paesi, usando la coesione, hanno fatto forte la loro economia.
Lambert van Nistelrooij (PPE).– Commissioner, today in a long, long vote – we have already voted on the Ruas report on the Europe 2020 Strategy and the Structural and Investment Funds and the European Semester, which concerns about one third of our European EU budget.
We have concluded that this investment in the real economy forms the main investment budget for attaining the Europe 2020 objectives. Up until 2020 we have some EUR 460 billion, including co-financing, available for growth and jobs, and, as I said before about research and development, there will, for the first time, be EUR 43 billion available for that goal under the Structural Funds.
But for all that the Europe 2020 Strategy is, like the Lisbon Strategy, in danger of missing its objectives. The Europe 2020 strategy needs to change from a highly top-down approach to a bottom-up approach. This will be discussed at the Seventh Knowledge and Innovation Summit in December, innovation, that is, leading to a pact, a pact on innovation, an approach to which Commissioners Moedas and Katainen have already committed themselves. This will really connect industrial regions and cities and education and knowledge institutes with citizens and provide a platform for specific projects.
The EU project being pursued by this Juncker Commission hardly reaches citizens. That is why this approach is needed and I think that we can introduce it into the upcoming debate.
Simona Bonafè (S&D).– Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, a metà percorso della strategia Europa 2020, in occasione della sua revisione, ha fatto bene, Vicepresidente, ad ammettere che non proprio tutto ha funzionato. È giusto porci degli obiettivi di lungo termine, di lungo periodo: a noi è chiesta "visione". Però dobbiamo anche mettere in campo azioni coerenti per raggiungere gli obiettivi che ci diamo. Per esempio se vogliamo una crescita, come abbiamo detto, intelligente, sostenibile e inclusiva e se vogliamo aumentare l'occupazione al 75%, non possiamo poi attuare per anni, in una fase economica recessiva, solo politiche di austerity che di fatto hanno bloccato la competitività e lo sviluppo del nostro sistema.
Come ha detto molto bene l'onorevole Rodriguez, il semestre europeo era stato concepito come il motore di questa strategia per la crescita economica e l'occupazione e oggi invece è diventato soprattutto il mezzo per verificare se gli Stati hanno fatto bene i compiti a casa sugli obiettivi di consolidamento fiscale e di bilancio.
Dobbiamo imparare dal passato e dagli errori che abbiamo commesso in passato. Oggi abbiamo davanti nuovi strumenti per la crescita e gli investimenti pubblici, a partire dal piano Juncker, ma anche nuove sfide. Mi riferisco a quella migratoria, ma anche alla transizione verso un'economia circolare. Ecco, mi auguro che nella revisione e nell'aggiornamento della strategia si tenga conto di tutto questo.
Krystyna Łybacka (S&D).– Panie Przewodniczący! W strategii „Europa 2020” zostały wyodrębnione dwa cele edukacyjne. Pierwszy z nich to zmniejszenie odsetka młodzieży, która przedwcześnie kończy edukację, do poziomu poniżej 10%. I to jest cel, który nie budzi żadnych wątpliwości. Drugi z tych celów to zwiększenie do 40% odsetka młodzieży z wyższym wykształceniem do 2020 r. i w zakresie w tego celu jesteśmy bardzo blisko osiągnięcia formalnego poziomu, ponieważ w 2014 r. średnia unijna wynosiła prawie 38%.
Jednak problem polega na tym, że ci młodzi ludzie nie znajdują pracy zgodnie ze swoim akademickim wykształceniem. To oczywiście rodzi ich frustrację. Stąd pytanie do pana komisarza: czy nie uważa pan, że formalne osiągnięcie celu będzie bezużyteczne, jeśli nie zadbamy o wysoką jakość edukacji, o jej spójność z potrzebami rynku pracy, a przede wszystkim o tworzenie miejsc pracy?
Agnes Jongerius (S&D).– De sociale kloof in Europa neemt toe, tussen jong en oud, tussen de zuidelijke en de noordelijke lidstaten. Ook worden 26 miljoen kinderen en jongeren in de Europese Unie bedreigd door armoede en sociale uitsluiting. Dat staat in de socialerechtvaardigheidsindex die gisteren is gepresenteerd. Armoedebestrijding is eigenlijk, net zoals de Europa 2020-strategie, een verwaarloosd kind geworden. We liggen ver achter op schema en door de bezuinigingsmaatregelen is de situatie eigenlijk alleen maar erger geworden. Dat is voor kinderen des te erger omdat armoede een leven lang doorwerkt.
Daarom wil ik weten wat de Commissie gaat doen om de vernieuwde Europa 2020-strategie in te zetten als een middel om mensen weerbaarder te maken. Hoe worden die doelstellingen onderdeel van de sociale pijler en welke concrete acties gaat de Commissie ondernemen om de armoededoelstelling te halen en de vicieuze cirkel van armoede voor gezinnen te doorbreken?
Tibor Szanyi (S&D).– Az európai polgárok szemében a lisszaboni stratégia kudarcának lényege a hatékony és szociálisan igazságos válságkezelés, ezen belül a tömeges és érdemi munkahelyteremtés elmaradása volt. Az elmúlt öt év tapasztalatai azt bizonyítják, hogy az EU versenyképességét és gazdasági fellendülését leginkább – tagállamonként persze eltérő súllyal – a korrupció és az adócsalás és az adóelkerülés egymással összefonódó gyakorlata veszélyezteti. Az EU egésze számára súlyos kihívást jelent, hogy ez némelyik tagállamban kormányzati szinten is érvényesül, sőt szinte intézményesült, és jelentős uniós és nemzeti eszközöket vontak el fontos társadalmi céloktól. Ezért is elengedhetetlen, hogy az EU-2020 követelményrendszere keretében a kormányok hatékony fellépése kiemelten jelenjen meg a korrupció és az adóelkerülés minden formája és szintje ellen.
Neena Gill (S&D).– Mr President, ‘history will judge us by the difference we make in the everyday lives of children’, to quote Nelson Mandela and, let me add, ‘young people’. They are still paying the price of the economic and debt crises. The study already referred to yesterday underscores the point. In the EU, 26 million children and young people are threatened by poverty and social exclusion. This is a reality that we are painfully aware of in the UK, in the same way as elsewhere in Europe.
We have 750 000 young people out of a job and they are three times more likely to be unemployed than the rest of the population, the largest gap in more than 20 years. So let this review should be a wake-up call to get our priorities right. Yes, we do have a Youth Guarantee, but more needs to be done.
If the Commission had a more ambitious reform of economic governance rules that gave employment and the social agenda a higher priority, at least one that put them on par with economic and fiscal governance, then we might get some progress. The same goes for the migration crisis, which has to be one of our EU 2020 goals, because only an ambitious humanistic approach can resolve this and make a difference.
Siôn Simon (S&D).– Mr President, 1 700 jobs in my constituency in the West Midlands are seriously threatened by the collapse of Caparo Steel. Are these naturally threatened, outdated jobs in a declining industry? No, there are actually lots and lots – dozens, we hear – of potential buyers for these businesses, because these are very competitive, often high-tech, good businesses. So why has Caparo Steel collapsed, we ask? Well, not because the businesses are not competitive: it has collapsed because of price, because of dumping on the international market that the UK Government and our institutions here are not doing anything about.
Let the Commission have strength in this matter. Let us not confuse competitiveness with price, and let us not compete on price, because we cannot. Let us compete on the competitiveness that we should pride ourselves on.
Pytania z sali
Seán Kelly (PPE).– Mr President, there is nothing wrong with the 2020 targets. In fact, in the general sense, we are not doing too badly in trying to reach them, especially in the areas of employment, R&D, greenhouse gas emissions and education. I think they are all reachable by 2020.
Two areas where we are not doing too well, and some have referred to this, are, firstly, poverty and social exclusion – that certainly has to be looked at and we have to redouble our efforts to reach our targets in that area – and, secondly, an area of importance to me particularly, energy efficiency. This is a win—win. But we are not doing enough, particularly in the area of housing. I think we need to incentivise customers, householders, young people and, of course, developers to build energy-efficient houses. That is a win-win for everybody in the long term.
One other target which I think we should add – as the Commission was talking about reducing bureaucracy and red tape – is a target to reduce it by 20% by 2020. That would also be a very good idea.
Νότης Μαριάς (ECR).– Κύριε Πρόεδρε, παρά τους φιλόδοξους στόχους της στρατηγικής «ΕΕ 2020» για απασχόληση, έρευνα & ανάπτυξη και χτύπημα του κοινωνικού αποκλεισμού και της φτώχειας, μέχρι στιγμής η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση αντί να πλησιάζει τους στόχους αυτούς απομακρύνεται.
Συγκεκριμένα, στις χώρες του ευρωπαϊκού Νότου και κυρίως στην Ελλάδα, τη στιγμή που η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση κάνει λόγο για οικονομική ανάπτυξη, επιβάλλει ακόμη πιο αυστηρά μέτρα λιτότητας στον ελληνικό λαό. Ταυτόχρονα, στην Ελλάδα το ποσοστό ανεργίας αγγίζει το 25% σημειώνοντας ραγδαία αύξηση από το 2012, ενώ το ποσοστό ανεργίας των νέων ξεπερνά το 50%. Βλέπουμε επομένως ότι η μερκελική λιτότητα αντί για ανάπτυξη έχει φέρει ακόμη υψηλότερα ποσοστά ανεργίας στην Ελλάδα και δεν έχει προωθήσει στο ελάχιστο την ανάπτυξη σε τομείς όπως η υγεία, η εκπαίδευση και η έρευνα, που υποτίθεται ότι αποτελούν στόχους της στρατηγικής «ΕΕ 2020».
Για να υπάρξει ανάπτυξη στις χώρες του υπερχρεωμένου ευρωπαϊκού Νότου και στην Ελλάδα, πρέπει να εγκαταλειφθεί η πολιτική της λιτότητας και να διαγραφεί το υπέρογκο επονείδιστο χρέος, και αυτό το μήνυμα στέλνει σύσσωμος ο ελληνικός λαός στην τρόικα και στους τοκογλύφους δανειστές.
João Ferreira (GUE/NGL).– Senhor Presidente, a Estratégia UE 2020, na linha do que já antes sucedera com a Estratégia de Lisboa, não respondeu aos graves problemas que enfrentamos. Pelo contrário, as políticas contidas nestas estratégias são responsáveis por esses mesmos problemas. Abandonou-se o objetivo do pleno emprego e o da erradicação da pobreza. A prioridade foi para os interesses dos grandes grupos económicos e financeiros. Degradou-se a situação social e laboral, a pobreza e a exclusão social atingiram níveis inaceitáveis, a precariedade o desemprego generalizaram-se, aumentou a exploração, as liberalizações e privatizações de setores estratégicos e de serviços públicos – serviços financeiros, energia, transportes, serviços postais e outros.
É tempo de mudar de políticas, é tempo de resolver seriamente os problemas sociais que a Europa enfrenta, é tempo de acabar com o garrote da dívida, da governação económica, do Semestre Europeu, do Tratado Orçamental.
É tempo de recuperar o controlo público, democrático, sobre empresas de setores estratégicos da economia.
É tempo de ressuscitar o investimento público produtivo, criar emprego, criar riqueza, distribuir, de uma forma socialmente justa, a riqueza criada.
Barbara Kappel (ENF).– Herr Präsident, Herr Vizepräsident der Kommission! Europa 2020 ist eine Strategie aus dem Jahr 2010, die nachhaltiges, integratives und intelligentes Wachstum schaffen sollte.
Rechtzeitig zur Zwischenbilanz wurde im letzten Jahr, im Rahmen einer öffentlichen Konsultation eine Evaluierung der fünf Kernpunkte Beschäftigung, Forschung und Entwicklung, Klima und Energie, Bildung und Armutsbekämpfung vorgenommen. Leider müssen wir feststellen, dass diese Evaluierung zu einem nicht wirklich guten Ergebnis kam, denn bei einigen Kernpunkten liegt Europa im Moment zur Halbzeit nicht besonders gut. Es herrscht allerhöchster Handlungsbedarf, wenn man hier aufholen will.
Da ist zum einen die Beschäftigungsquote: Da will man 75 % erreichen. Hier ist Handlungsbedarf geboten, es wird eher schlechter als besser, hier müssen wir nachlegen.
Nicht so schlecht sieht es bei Forschung und Entwicklung aus, schlecht allerdings schaut es aus bei den Klimazielen, Treibhausgasemissionen, erneuerbare Energie und Energieeffizienz. Auch hier sind höchste Anstrengungen geboten. Vielleicht schafft man es jetzt in Paris bei der COP21, verbindliche Ziele festzulegen.
Ebenso ist im Bereich der Armutsbekämpfung wenig passiert. Auch im Bereich der Hochschulabschlüsse: Die Zahl von 40 % Prozent wurde nicht erreicht. Wir haben Handlungsbedarf – lassen Sie uns handeln.
Stanislav Polčák (PPE).– Pane předsedající, já chci na začátku svého vystoupení pouze vyjádřit údiv nad tím, že pan komisař je zde po celou dobu, a zatímco někteří poslanci na něj vznáší dotazy a kritické poznámky a pak po svém příspěvku odejdou. To mně připadá trochu neuctivé, že ani nevyčkají na reakci pana komisaře.
Já bych chtěl říci, že samozřejmě evropská strategie pro růst a zaměstnanost potřebuje svojí aktualizaci. Ty cíle jsou stanoveny správně, ale je zjevné, že je potřeba je aktualizovat vzhledem ke změněné situaci. Já se domnívám, že potřebujeme propojovat hybatele růstu. Potřebujeme posilovat jejich partnerství, abychom skutečně dosáhli těch cílů, které jsou uvedeny ve strategii, a chci upozornit na to, že i zpráva pana Blanco Lópeze, kterou jsme dnes schvalovali, obsahuje právě i odvolání na neustálou platnost této strategie EU 2020.
Koniec pytań z sali
Valdis Dombrovskis,Vice-President of the Commission.– Mr President, I wish to thank Members for this debate. The European Commission’s political guidance provides a clear roadmap and a guide for action that is perfectly consistent and compatible with the Europe 2020 Strategy, which remains fully valid as our long-term strategy for jobs and growth.
The Commission will therefore implement the 2020 Strategy focusing on concrete tools and deliveries, which underpin the current multiannual financial framework and the European Structural and Investment Funds, with the European Semester as an implementation and monitoring tool.
The Europe 2020 Strategy and the political guidelines are two sides of the same coin. The first sets out the medium to long-term vision and the latter provides a clear roadmap to guide the way. It is evident that these two must be coherent and interact well with each other. The political guidelines are constantly complemented and updated to meet new challenges as the Five Presidents’ Report and the Commission’s responses to new challenges, such as the current migration crisis, show. The Strategy, however, provides strategic guidance when the EU enters uncharted waters beyond the priorities of the coming year.
At the same time, reflection will continue on the vision beyond 2020 and the results will be presented next summer.
Przewodniczący. – Zamykam debatę.
Oświadczenia pisemne (art. 162)
Vilija Blinkevičiūtė (S&D), raštu.– Europos pažangaus, tvaraus ir integracinio augimo strategija „Europa 2020“ yra pagrįsta penkiais vienodos svarbos pagrindiniais tikslais. Tačiau pažanga, pasiekta įgyvendinant tikslus, yra nevienoda, ypač skurdo mažinimo tikslas toli gražu nėra pasiektas. Todėl strategijos „Europa 2020“ laikotarpio vidurio peržiūra mums visiems, atsakingiems už ES politikos formavimą, suteikia puikią progą dar kartą sutelkti dėmesį į Europos modelį, kuris būtų pritaikytas visiems jos gyventojams. Europos Sąjungos šalys kartu spręsdamos neatidėliotinus jos iššūkius neabejotinai pasieks daugiau ir geresnių rezultatų, nei veikdamos atskirai. Jei tai nebus padaryta, išaugęs skurdas ir socialinė atskirtis nulems mūsų regione dar didesnį žmonių atitolimą bei susiskaldymą ir dar labiau pakenks vieningos Europos idėjai. Todėl labai norėčiau Komisijos paklausti, ar ji ketina „Europa 2020“ strategijos peržiūroje išsaugoti ES skurdo mažinimo tikslą ir jį klasifikuoti pagal amžių ir lytį, ar ketina nustatyti papildomus tikslus, pvz., mažinti vaikų skurdą? Naujausia UNICEF ataskaita atskleidžia šokiruojančius skaičius, kiek vaikų skursta Europoje ir visame pasaulyje. Deja, bet didžiausią poveikį skurdo pokyčiui padarė beatodairiškas taupymas ir pirmiausia – vaikų sąskaita. Todėl, ar Komisija nemano, kad per beprasidedančią strategijos „Europa 2020“ laikotarpio vidurio peržiūrą būtina nustatyti papildomą tikslą sumažinti vaikų skurdą, nes tik taip išeisime iš užburto skurdo rato mūsų Europoje?