The European Parliament,

–     having regard to the forthcoming Communication on the Commission Work Programme for 2013,

–     having regard to the existing Framework Agreement on relations between the European Parliament and the Commission, in particular Annex IV thereto,

–     having regard to the outcome of the regular dialogue between all the Commissioners and the parliamentary committees and the summary report of the Conference of Committee Chairs of 12 June 2012 forwarded to the Conference of Presidents,

–     having regard to Rule 35(3) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.   whereas the financial and economic crisis is acute, and the top priority of the Commission must be to return the Union to stability and to begin the process of economic recovery;

B.    whereas the European Commission is bound to promote the general interest of the Union, to take appropriate initiatives to that end, to ensure the application of the Treaties, to oversee the implementation of Union law, to exercise coordinating, executive and management functions, and to initiate legislation;

C.   whereas the eurozone crisis will not be overcome without a significant deepening of integration in terms of banking supervision, fiscal policy and economic governance;

1.    Calls on the Commission to exploit all its powers to the full and to provide the political leadership required to meet the numerous challenges thrown up by the continuing sovereign debt crisis, in particular to come forward with legislative initiatives designed to integrate the EU’s financial, budgetary and economic policy framework, and to propose a roadmap towards a political union;

2.    Urges the Commission to improve the coherence of its legislative programme, to raise the quality of its legislative drafting, to strengthen its impact assessment of draft laws, to propose wherever appropriate the use of correlation tables for the better transposition of EU law, and to back the Parliament in its negotiations with the Council on the use of delegated and implementing acts; welcomes the Commission’s support of its position on the legal basis of the Schengen rules;

BUILDING A EUROPE OF STABILITY AND RESPONSIBILITY

Financial Sector Reform

3.    Calls on the Commission to urgently put forward proposals for crisis mitigation, including a European redemption fund, a European banking union based on a European supervisory authority for systemic financial institutions, a European-wide deposit guarantee scheme and a mechanism for bank resolution and recapitalisation;

4.    Invites the Commission to develop a system for sovereign default that allows insolvent countries to regain competitiveness within the eurozone;

5.    Urges the Commission to develop rules to further strengthen the stability and growth pact through the introduction of full automaticity and the inclusion of additional measures to reinforce compliance;

6.    Calls on the Commission to come forward with proposals facilitating investing in the EU;

7.    Takes note of the ambitious reform agenda for financial markets and services in the recent and past work programme but points out that the Commission is behind schedule; calls on the Commission to speed up and complete financial market reform;

MFF

8.    Recalls that the EU budget needs to reflect the EU’s policy priorities; reiterates the need to introduce own resources and to increase investment at EU level to help achieve the objectives of the EU2020 Strategy;

9.    Welcomes, therefore, the Commission’s proposals for a new MFF (2014-2020) and for an in-depth reform of the system of own resources of the European Union;

10.  Reiterates the need for open and constructive dialogue and cooperation at EU level on the purpose, scope and direction of the Union’s multiannual financial framework (MFF) and the reform of its revenue system; in this regard, welcomes the outcome of the high-level Conference on the second EU Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2020 and own resources, on 22 March 2012, involving Members of the European Parliament and of the national parliaments and welcomes the commitment of Cyprus to organise a third and similar Conference during its EU Presidency;

11.  Recalls its guidelines for the MFF after 2013, as adopted in the report by its Special Committee on the budgetary challenges and budgetary resources for a sustainable Union after 2013 entitled ‘Investing in the future: a new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for a competitive, sustainable and inclusive Europe’ as well as its resolution of 13 June 2012; recalls that Parliament’s consent, given on the basis of a report of the Committee on Budgets, is compulsory for the adoption of the MFF by the Council; recalls that, in accordance with Articles 312(5) and 324 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), the European Parliament must be properly involved in the process of negotiating the next MFF;

12.  Recalls that according to the provisions of the Treaty of Lisbon, it is necessary to ensure mutual cooperation between the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission before the Parliament gives its consent on the MFF regulation and the regulation laying down implementing measures for the system of own resources of the European Union, as well as its opinion on all others own resources related legislative texts;

13.  Reiterates its deep concern about the level of details of the MFF discussion in the European Council which could not only encroach on Parliament’s prerogatives but also heavily constrain the negotiations on the legislative proposals under the ordinary legislative procedure; Awaits the full support of the Commission, in its capacity of guardian of the Treaties, in ensuring the full respect of the new legislative provisions enshrined in the Lisbon Treaty;

14.  Recalls the link between a reform of revenue and a reform of expenditure, and calls, accordingly, for a firm commitment to discuss, in the context of the next MFF negotiations, the proposals on own resources;

Ensuring correct use of EU funds

15.  Emphasises the crucial importance of the proper and timely implementation of EU law through Member States’ national legislation, and urges the Commission to use its executive power and, if necessary, open infringement proceedings to ensure proper transposition and effective enforcement;

16.  Welcomes the Commission’s enforced use of interruptions when Member States show continued difficulties in assuring correct payments of EU funds; however, takes note of the consistent pattern of abuse within a small number of Member States; therefore asks the Commission to make use of the instrument of payment suspension as well as to take permanent and repeated sinners to the European Court of Justice;

17.  Encourages the Commission to present a proposal introducing compulsory National Management declarations signed at the appropriate political level covering EU funds under shared management;

18.  Calls on the Commission to put forward proposals for making the EU2020 objectives legally binding and for a convergence code for Member States with minimum and maximum standards to be applied to the main pillars of their economies;

BUILDING A UNION OF SUSTAINABLE GROWTH AND SOLIDARITY

A Single Market for Growth

19.  Calls on the Commission to continue to focus on improving the governance of the single market and where appropriate to propose regulations rather than directives as the preferred legal instrument for regulating the single market;

20.  Looks forward to the Commission’s Single Market Act II proposals for priority actions to boost growth, employment and confidence in the single market;

21.  Calls on the Commission to be more systematic when applying the ‘SME test’, which has not been applied properly and consistently in all new legislative proposals, particularly at national level; calls therefore on the Commission to put forward minimum standards and requirements, based on best practice, for the SME test to be applied at EU and national level. In this regard also urges the Commission to draw up a ‘gold-plating’ monitoring mechanism to prevent member states from overly implementing EU legislation distorting the level playing field in the internal market;

22.  Calls on the Commission to propose new initiatives to improve SME access to finance and develop the concept of the Second Chance to entrepreneurs to encourage small businessmen to go back into business;

23.  Welcomes the new programme for the competitiveness of SMEs (COSME); notes the successful actions of the CIP that should be continued and further expanded under the new programme, such as the High Level Group of Independent Stakeholders for Administrative Burden Reduction and the Enterprise Europe Network; stresses the need to ensure the COSME programme is sufficiently well financed and delivered efficiently;

24.  Welcomes the achievement of the 2012 target on minimising administrative burdens, but believes that there is a great deal more that should be done to reduce red tape for small and medium sized businesses; urges the Commission to review existing legislation and to come up with a new and ambitious reduction target in accordance with the ‘SBA’ and the Think Small First’ principle;

Consumer protection

25.  Urges the Commission to follow up on the Consumer Agenda with measures that empowers consumers by increasing information and facilitating the enforcement of their rights in the Internal Market;

26.  Recalls the necessity of a solid revision of the General Product Safety Directive that guarantees consumers’ health and safety but also facilitates trade in goods especially for SMEs; calls on the Commission to propose a new, cross-cutting regulation on market surveillance for all products, which should also provide the legal base for a central coordination body, assisting the Member States with market surveillance cooperation;

27.  Stresses the need for developing synergies between competition and consumer protection policies, including creating a European form of collective redress for individual victims of competition law violations, based on the opt-in principle and taking into account the criteria laid down in the European Parliament resolution of 26 March 2009, namely stipulating that compensation should be paid to the identified group of people or their nominee only for the damage actually suffered; calls on the Commission to consider the ways in which such a mechanism could be incorporated into existing national legal system;

28.  Calls on the Commission to deliver a ‘justice for growth’ programme, improving access to justice for businesses and consumers;

29.  Welcomes, therefore, the Commission’s draft legislative proposals on alternative dispute resolution for consumer disputes, which will provide a lever to boost growth and strengthen consumer confidence; further welcomes the Commission’s intention to bring forth a legislative instrument for alternative dispute resolution for B2B disputes in order to facilitate access to justice and increase businesses’ confidence in trading cross-border, particularly SMEs;

30.  Welcomes the Commission’s draft proposal on a Common European Sales Law which will assist to remove a major obstacle to cross-border transactions, increase confidence for consumers and businesses alike and improve the smooth running of the internal market;

31.  Welcomes the announced follow-up to the Green paper on on-line gambling; in particular calls on the Commission to urgently pursue all pending infringement procedures and to propose a legislative instrument with binding minimum standards for consumer protection;

32.  Stresses the importance of consumer protection within the retail investment market, and in this perspective calls on the Commission to put forward a proposal on Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) and a proposal on Packaged Retailed Investment Products (PRIPS), in order to ensure that consumers always receive the right information and treatment;

33.  Calls on the Commission to prevent any budgetary cuts in the budget of the ESAs and to properly address the needs in human resources within its directorates dealing with economic and financial matters arising from the current situation and the consequences taken by the legislators;

Legal framework

34.  Calls on the Commission to present its proposal on the Revision of the Community Trademark Regulation and Directive as soon as possible;

35.  Requests that the Commission puts forward a legislative proposal on Rome II, in line with the initiative report adopted by the Parliament and to ensure the inclusion of defamation into the Rome II regulation;

36.  Looks forward to the Communication setting out the future priorities in the areas of company law and corporate governance and calls on the Commission to include legislative proposals in the 2013 Work Programme including an initiative on a 14th Company Law Directive on the cross-border transfer of company seats;

37.  Urges improvement in the functioning of Public Private Partnerships is required as they are currently not working properly due to the inflexible financial set up of programmes;

38.  Urges the Commission to implement a more risk-tolerant and trust-based approach to its R&D programmes in order to reduce red tape and increase the participation of innovative firms and SMEs in projects;

39.  Calls for the EIB to play a major role in financing research and innovation activities of enterprises, especially industrial innovation projects and clean technologies;

40.  Welcomes the planned adoption of the legal framework for cross-border recognition and interoperability of secure e-Authentication and e-Identification systems, and for e-Invoicing, and stresses the importance of these proposals for the completion of the EU Digital Single Market;

41.  Regrets the delay in adopting a proposal on collective rights management, encourages a comprehensive and ambitious proposal in order to facilitate the development of a functioning single European Market for digital content and provide more cross-border services to consumers across the European Union;

42.  Recalls the growing importance of intellectual property rights (IPR) for the economic growth and creative potential of Europe and stresses that adequate protection of those rights must be guaranteed without compromising personal rights and freedoms; calls on the Commission to provide prompt follow up with concrete review proposals in this field including the enforcement of intellectual property rights directive; stresses the importance of IPR for the cultural and creative industries and for access to cultural goods and services;

Empowering people in inclusive societies

43.  Expects the Commission to continue its work on the negotiations for a strong, EU-wide cohesion policy with adequate financial resources, based on multi-level governance and for improvement of the absorption capacity of Structural and Cohesion Funds; calls for a simpler architecture for the Funds after 2013, the same rules applicable to all the member states and a unique audit system along with a proportionate, efficient and constant monitoring and control system from the Commission in order to improve governance and effectiveness of the delivery system of the Structural Funds;

44.  Calls for a strong EU-wide cohesion policy post 2013 and for the preparations for that future cohesion policy to streamline existing funds and programmes, ensure adequate financial resources and align the policy with the objectives of the EU2020 Strategy, while creating added value via synergies with other internal policies;

45.  Expects the Commission to play a constructive mediating role throughout the procedures relating to the adoption of regulations covering cohesion policy, respecting the principle of co decision, with a view to reaching an agreement in the legislative procedure as early as possible in order to prevent unfortunate delays and effectively overcome inherent start-up difficulties that might arise in the implementation of cohesion policy operational programmes for the next programming period; calls on the Commission to reconsider its proposal that the Common Strategic Framework be adopted by a delegated act and to accept that it is adopted through the ordinary legislative procedure instead;

46.  Expects the Commission to negotiate and define the Partnership agreements with Member States, in accordance with the future General Regulation which is currently under negotiation; stresses that the Parliament should be regularly and thoroughly informed of the outcomes and of contents of such agreements, as they are crucially linked to the implementation of the objectives of the EU 2020 Strategy for Cohesion Policy;

47.  Calls on the Commission to propose new initiatives to improve SME access to finance and export markets, to develop the concept of the Second Chance to entrepreneurs to encourage small businessmen to go back into business;

48.  Stresses that there is an urgent necessity to simplify and mainstream the implementing rules of EU funds, increasing investments in innovation and R&D, support for SMEs and improving the capacity of European regions in order to improve their competitiveness and generate economic growth;

49.  Encourages the Commission to present a legislative proposal to adjust the current regulation regarding the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF);

50.  Supports initiatives aimed at reconciling work and family life and believes that the Commission should establish a European strategy based on best practices in the Member States aimed at creating the conditions for achieving the employment rate targets set in the EU2020 Strategy; welcomes the initiatives taken by the Commission to close the gender pay gap; nevertheless considers that the existing legislation has been ineffective and calls for a Review of the Directive on equal pay by February 2013 in line with the Parliament Resolution of 24 May 2012;

Paving a path to a sustainable future

51.  Calls on the Commission to come forward with draft legislative proposals in the following fields:

–     reform of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) in order to modify from 2020 the 1.74 % annual linear reduction requirement to a value sufficient to meet the requirements of the 2050 CO2 reduction target and ensure a stable carbon price that incentivises investment into sustainable low-carbon technologies;

–     a legislative proposal for the proportion of final energy consumption that each Member State must derive from renewable energy sources by 2030 building on the success of the 2020 targets and the Renewable Energy Directive;

–     inclusion by 2014 at the latest of international maritime emissions in the Community reduction commitment as agreed between Council and Parliament in the Climate and Energy Package;

52.  Calls on the Commission to bring forward without delay proposals to address the weaknesses in the current Emission Trading System to prevent a collapse of the system;

53.  Calls on the Commission to bring forward a revision of the Labelling Directive (1999/94/EC) in order to provide consumers with accurate up-to-date information about emissions and fuel consumption from passenger cars;

54.  Urges the Commission to come forward with more concrete proposals to ensure a better implementation of EU environmental legislation;

55.  Insists on the need to take concrete measures to implement the Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe in order to create incentives for sustainable economic growth; calls on the Commission to present relevant proposals including on Green Public Procurement and a revision and extension of scope of the Ecodesign Directive; considers that resource efficiency considerations should be mainstreamed in all relevant policy proposals; stresses the importance of fully integrating resource efficiency measures into the European Semester as foreseen in the EU2020 strategy and to address these in the Annual Growth Survey;

56.  Calls on the Commission to propose a comprehensive plan for the identification and phasing out of environmentally harmful subsidies in line with EU’s and G20 commitments;

57.  Supports the Commission’s intention to modernise the legislation on the food chain; underlines that the high level of food safety must be ensured and that a more harmonised implementation across the internal market must be achieved; calls on the Commission to execute efficient monitoring of the controls performed by the Member States;

Energy

58.  Calls on the Commission to present an action plan containing the detailed measures to be taken in order to achieve a fully integrated and interconnected European single market in energy, in view of the 2014 target and beyond, to monitor the implementation of EU Third Energy Package and launch infringement procedures where necessary;

59.  Calls on the Commission to monitor the transposition and implementation by Member States of the Energy Efficiency Directive and to assess what additional guidance and measures may be necessary to ensure that the European Union achieves, or if possible exceeds, its ambition to increase energy efficiency to save 20 % of EU energy consumption by 2020;

60.  Highlights the importance of the revision of the Nuclear Safety Directive, both in terms of substantial new safety provisions and institutional aspects, based on the lessons learned from the Fukushima accident and the European nuclear stress tests;

61.  Calls on the Commission to accelerate the work on setting and updating eco-design and eco-labelling requirements for all energy-using and energy-related products, including IT equipment; to take measures to facilitate the development of energy storage and balancing capacities, in view of the variable nature of some renewable energy sources; to adopt a plan on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in view of improvement of LNG technology and investments in LNG vessel transportation capacity and LNG re-gasification terminals; to adopt proposals on the binding biomass sustainability criteria and indirect land use change;

62.  Stresses the importance of the transition to an eco-efficient low carbon economy with binding targets by 2050 including mid-term targets for 2030 and 2040. The Union must strive to make sustainable low carbon technologies, and renewable energy in particular, available to all countries by enhanced cooperation between universities, the Commission and the business community. With over 40 % of CO2 emissions coming from inefficient buildings, thorough renovation of the existing building stock and zero-emitting new buildings must be a priority;

63.  Calls on the Commission to move ahead with actions to implement the 2050 Roadmap to a low-carbon economy 2050;

64.  Stresses that the EU strategy on resource efficiency needs to be kept high on the EU agenda and be reflected in all policy decisions; highlights that the EU must be put on track to resource efficiency and a low-carbon economy in the ongoing reforms of EU’s finances, in particular through the fisheries policy, agriculture policy, regional policies and Horizon 2020, and also through the LIFE programme;

65.  Urges the Commission and the Member States to remove the obstacles to a functioning European market in recycling and reuse, and to stimulate such a market by fostering the demand for and availability of recycled materials and by-products by 2013;

66.  Urges the Commission and the Member States to agree, by 2013, on clear, robust and measurable indicators for economic activity that take account of climate change, biodiversity and resource efficiency from a life-cycle perspective and to use these indicators as a basis for legislative initiatives and concrete reduction targets; underlines that this process has to be transparent and include key stakeholders;

67.  Calls for the promotion of the ‘internal market for green products’;

68.  Recalls the importance of following up of environmental objectives in the EU Semester;

Transport

69.  Calls for better cooperation between the transport and energy sector; urges the Commission to facilitate the swift adoption of common interoperable standards for electric vehicles;

70.  Calls on the Commission to come up with an ambitious proposal on road transport, mode which remains vital for the completion of the internal market especially for the last kilometres, to remove the remaining barriers; the proposal should lift the restrictions for cabotage of domestic market, free competition and harmonisation of sanctions in order to reduce distortion of competition; recalls its support to an integrated and interoperable European railway market, therefore calls on the Commission to stick to its commitments on the railway sector and on the extension of the competences of the European Railway Agency in the field of certification and safety;

71.  Regrets the lack of political will in the implementation of the Single European Sky by establishing the Functional Airspace Blocks, meaning that the deadline of December 2012 will not be met, ask the Commission to ensure that the benefits in terms of cost, environmental and time are delivered, with a clear financial framework; deeply deplores the constant failure to ensure the gradual lifting of restrictions on liquids, aerosols and gels in air passenger transport, which should remain a priority for the Commission;

72.  Insists in a time of economical crisis, where the tourism sector is one of the main resources for some European regions, on the need of having an ambitious roadmap;

73.  Welcomes the strategy on alternative fuel, regrets however the lack of concrete proposals on CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions, therefore calls on the Commission to deliver legislative proposals on the internalisation of external costs in all transport modes with specific targets and timetable of reduction of life-cycle CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions;

Agriculture

74.  Considers that the CAP reform should be further aligned with the EU 2020 Strategy, placing innovation at its heart to drive both sustainability and competitiveness of the EU agriculture sector; in particular, the setting up of the European Innovation Partnership in agriculture should encourage better and faster transfer of innovative approaches from research to farming practices and the other way around, thus resulting in enhanced resource and production efficiency;

75.  Considers moreover that the CAP reform should provide for a better integration of the farmers with the markets, in order to boost the competitiveness of European agriculture. Calls on the Commission to analyse solutions on how to better provide loans to farmers under the CAP, as many farmers are experiencing problems in getting access to credit in the context of the financial crisis. Believes furthermore that CAP money should be better targeted in order to provide maximum EU added-value and that more coherence between the EU funds should be ensured under the Common Strategic Framework, together with a more output-oriented approach in the granting, spending and evaluation of EU funds;

76.  Calls on the Commission to take concrete legal action in the fields of animal welfare and health with a proper attention given to the important matter of antimicrobial resistance;

77.  Calls on the Commission to present its Report on the situation of the dairy sector and the conditions pertaining to the progressive end of milk quotas by the end of 2012 and to better analyse and manage the sugar market in order to avoid structural supply gaps and develop a viable soft-landing strategy for the sugar sector;

Fisheries

78.  Stresses that the European Parliament is currently trying to turn the Commission proposal on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy into an even more ambitious text in order to strengthen the regionalisation approach, to achieve more sustainable and healthier fish stocks, to overcome the regrettable practice of discarding and to end misplaced funding aiming at reducing fleet capacity; the introduction of an ecosystem approach, a new impetus for the European aquaculture sector and the protection of small-scale fisheries will be imminent; further urges the Commission to support the European Parliament in its endeavours to find a solution regarding the inter-institutional dispute on the establishment of multiannual recovery plans; believes that multiannual plans for even more fish stocks will be key to reach maximum sustainable yield;

79.  Calls on the European Commission to tackle without delay the overfishing of mackerel in the North East Atlantic by non-EU-countries and if necessary make use of the trade measures’ instruments which will soon be at hand;

TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE JOBS AND SOCIAL PROTECTION

80.  Considers that greater emphasis should be placed on combating youth unemployment, which is alarmingly high, and on the problem of early school leaving, e.g. by promoting measures such as Youth Guarantee in view of helping young people into job or education four months after leaving school;

81.  Supports initiatives at Union level to complement national efforts in making micro-credit accessible and social entrepreneurship possible, offering sustainable jobs and meeting needs for services that are not sufficiently provided by the public or private sector;

82.  Calls on the Commission to adopt remaining proposals in the area of occupational pension schemes, e.g. an amended proposal on the portability of supplementary pension rights (if not adopted by the Commission by end of 2012) in order to remove the obstacles related to the mobility of workers in the European Union;

83.  Calls on the Commission to conduct a review of the relationship between the current regulations on social security coordination and free movement, covering both economically inactive citizens and workers, accompanied if necessary by legislative amendments;

84.  Reminds the Commission that in the context of the current economic crisis, education, training and creativity are essential for creating innovation, productivity and growth in Europe; stresses therefore the importance that the new multiannual programmes, Erasmus for All and Creative Europe, obtain the budgetary increase needed to achieve the Europe 2020 strategy and its education targets and flagship initiatives, while recognising the importance of education and culture in a broader sense, not only for prosperity but for its own value to the wellbeing of humanity and our society; encourages the Commission to address the discrepancy in education standards between EU countries and the full recognition of diplomas across the EU, thereby removing obstacles to student and job seeker mobility;

85.  Notes that the importance of the horizontal anti-discrimination directive on equal treatment between persons irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation; calls on the Commission to continue to support the overcoming of technical difficulties within the Council in order to ensure a swift agreement is reached; notes that anti-discrimination policy plays a key role in promoting social inclusion and employment for people with disabilities;

86.  Supports initiatives aimed at reconciling work and family life and believes that the Commission should establish a European strategy based on best practices in the Member States aimed at creating the conditions for achieving the employment rate targets set in the EU2020 Strategy; welcomes the initiatives taken by the Commission to close the gender pay gap;

INSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

87.  Stresses that in light of the forthcoming European elections, the revision of the statute and funding of European political parties and of Directive 93/109/EC on the right to vote and stand in European elections must be completed in 2013;

88.  Considers that a constitutional Convention starting no later than 2015 is needed to codify the emergency measures taken in the heat of the crisis and enhance the democratic accountability and political legitimacy of the Union as a whole and encourages the Commission to lay the groundwork for this;

89.  Reiterates that the Commission should present a roadmap on the follow-up to the common approach on decentralised agencies; urges the Commission to communicate the progress on the implementation of the roadmap by the end of 2013;

PURSUING THE CITIZENS’ AGENDA

Freedom, Security and Justice

90.  Calls the Commission to fully take responsibility for the protection of fundamental rights in the EU and in its Member States instead of minimising the duties of the EU and of the Commission in this field; calls for a review of the Fundamental Rights Agency Regulation to strengthen its powers, mandate and independence, and to attribute to it the task to monitor media freedom and pluralism in the EU; calls on the Commission to issue a proposal on the creation of an early warning system on fundamental rights violations in the EU and its Member States, as requested by the EP; supports the work of the Commission in the negotiations for the EU accession to the ECHR and calls those Member States blocking EU accession to urgently review their position; calls the Commission to issue a proposal for the revision of the Framework Directive on Racism and Xenophobia to cover also anti-semitism, homophobia, anti-gypsism, and to issue a roadmap on equality for LGBTI persons;

91.  Calls on the Commission to ensure that freedom of movement is strengthened, that obstacles and discriminations are finally removed and that the Schengen acquis is fully respected; stresses the necessity for a better management of Schengen though the creation of an EU mechanism for assessing its functioning to replace inadequate the peer review system; believes that freedom of movement is a common good and decisions affecting the whole area should therefore be taken with the involvement of all the EU institutions;

92.  Regrets the absence of a legislative proposal on enhanced intra-EU solidarity in the field of asylum; stresses that work should continue on the asylum package in order to establish by 2012 a common European asylum system combining both responsibility and solidarity; reminds that the asylum legislation cannot be instrumentalised in order to meet other objectives;

93.  Calls on the Commission to increase the EU competitiveness and its attractiveness for researchers and skilled workers; reminds that the conditions of entry, residence and intra-mobility of third country nationals should be clear and effective and should avoid red tape;

94.  Welcomes the Commission proposal for a Regulation on data protection; insists that the adoption of a Directive on data protection in the former third pillar is a precondition for the adoption an EU PNR scheme and counter-terrorism measures (including legal definitions of profiling, behavioural analysis and data-mining); underlines that these proposals should set high standards in the privacy and data protection regime; calls on the Commission to bring forward its review of the Data Retention Directive;

95.  Calls on the Commission to respect EU data protection legislation when negotiating with third countries; calls on the Commission to issue the EU-US terrorist financing tracking programme agreement; stresses the importance of addressing in law and in practice key cyber security risks and privacy issues, including cloud computing;

96.  Welcomes the announced review of the Europol and Eurojust decisions and calls for full scrutiny of Europol, including the publication of the 2012 report of its joint supervisory body; expects a proposal for the development of Eurojust into an European Public Prosecutor office;

97.  Calls on the Commission to follow closely the work of Parliament’s temporary committee on organised crime which has significant potential to improve security and boost tax revenue;

98.  Calls on the Commission to issue an ambitious proposal on the mutual recognition of civil status documents, as well as on simplification of legalisation;

99.  Regrets the lack of commitment by the Commission and Council to ensure full openness, transparency and access to documents; insists that transparency standards laid down in EU law cannot be overruled at the request of a third country;

100. Welcomes the Commission’s legislative proposals on the European Protection Order, the mutual recognition of protection measures in civil matters, and the rights, protection and support of victims of crime; considers nevertheless that the Commission should put forward specific proposals on the issue of violence against women as promised in the Stockholm Action Programme;

101. Calls on the Commission to present a strategy to achieve better gender balance at all levels of decision making and to propose a legislative instrument to improve gender balance in the boards of companies listed on stock exchanges;

Culture

102. Calls on an ambitious ‘Europe for Citizens’ programme 2014-2020 and stresses the importance of securing a co-decision procedure for the proposal so that the European Parliament can influence the content of the programme which is aimed at strengthening remembrance and enhancing capacity for civic participation at the Union level;

103. Calls on the Commission to swiftly establish a European single market for the cultural and creative industries, alongside a European single digital market, in order to fully benefit from the immense potential that these industries host in terms of job creation, culture, regional and social cohesion, technical development, entrepreneurship and economic growth generally;

104. Recalls the importance of strengthening the links between education, research and business to achieve excellence and innovation and to make progress towards the EU 2020 targets of reducing early school leavers to less than 10 % and of increasing to at least 40 % the number of young people attaining a tertiary degree;

105. Calls on the Commission to develop a comprehensive EU-strategy on communication as stated in the joint declaration ‘Communicating Europe in Partnership’

GIVING THE EU AN EFFECTIVE VOICE IN THE WIDER WORLD

106. Expects the Commission to play a pivotal role in the work on the revision of the legal bases for the next generation of external financial assistance instruments, with the aim of strengthening a united foreign policy, built on the values, principles and commitments upon which the EU itself has been built;

107. Underlines that the Commission must fully cooperate with the European External Action Service, not only concerning enlargement, development, trade and humanitarian aid, but also on external aspects of internal policies, ensuring greater policy coherence in the EU’s action, notably between trade policy and industrial policy, in order to use trade as a genuine instrument for growth and job creation in Europe; emphasises the importance of the interim report on the EEAS foreseen for the second part of 2013; calls on the Commission to support the work of the European Endowment for Democracy;

European Neighbourhood Policy

108. Emphasises that the revision of the external financial assistance instruments should be seen as an opportunity to focus and strengthen European external policy, calls for more flexibility and rapidity in disbursing financial assistance to eligible countries in crisis situations; stresses the need for the Commission to strengthen the capacities of the beneficiary countries to assume ownership of the assistance and in this way maximise its impact; asks the Commission to build on lessons learnt from the previous generation of external financial instruments;

109. Commends the Commission for its emphasis on Neighbourhood Policy and on implementing the measures committed to the Southern Neighbours and to the countries affected by the ‘Arab Spring’; underlines that hat the EU’s commitment to closer links with its neighbours will be made up by a combination of increased financial assistance, reinforced democracy support, market access and improved mobility;

EU enlargement

110. Expects the Commission to continue its work on the accession negotiation and looks forward to the launch of negotiations with Serbia and Montenegro; calls for attention to be given to the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and to the efforts to find a solution to the name dispute of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia;

A comprehensive trade policy

111. Considers that, in light of the EU’s poor growth projections and high unemployment rates, it is crucial to find new sources of economic development through the deepening of our trade and investment relations with major developed and emerging economies;

112. Calls on the Commission to rapidly complete its current free trade negotiations with India, Singapore, Malaysia and Canada;

113. Furthermore, urges the Commission to take advantage of the current momentum in trade relations with the USA and Japan by launching free trade negotiations with both partners as soon as possible;

114. Believes that the greatest economic advantages for the EU can be gained through a multilateral or plurilateral approach; therefore, demands that the Commission takes a proactive role in supporting current WTO initiatives such an ‘early harvest’ agreement on trade facilitation, the plurilateral agreement on services and a potential plurilateral Sustainable Energy Trade Agreement (SETA); calls on the Commission to do its upmost to facilitate the accession of China to the Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA);

Human rights

115. Calls for the mainstreaming of human rights with particular focus on international agreements, in areas related to trade, energy, readmission, security, technical cooperation and development; Proposes that human rights impact assessments with benchmarks be undertaken prior to the launching of the negotiations of such agreements, as well as during the negotiation stage, and that they be followed up by regular progress reports; Stresses that whenever a gross breach of human rights is committed by partner countries, that the EU should take bolder steps in carrying out the appropriate sanctions as stipulated in the human rights clauses of the agreement, including possible temporary suspension of the agreement;

116. Calls for proper implementation, across all areas of EU competence, of the human rights review package and for a commitment to an inter-institutional declaration on human rights, to be drawn up as soon as practicable;

Development policies and humanitarian aid

117. Invites the Commission to negotiate a roadmap for the gradual reduction of Official Development Assistance (ODA) with middle-income countries, to limit itself in time to granting only technical assistance to these countries and to involve them progressively in North–South–South triangular cooperation;

118. Calls for proposals to implement Policy Coherence for Development in practice by linking development aid with other EU policy areas, such as agriculture, fisheries, trade, climate change, investment and access to raw materials;

119. Calls on the Commission and the EEAS to live up to their pledge of a ‘Human Rights based approach’ across the entire development cooperation process;

120. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.