MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the Commission work programme for 2011
8.12.2010
pursuant to Rule 110(2) of the Rules of Procedure
Guy Verhofstadt on behalf of the ALDE Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B7-0688/2010
B7‑0697/2010
European Parliament resolution on the Commission work programme for 2011
The European Parliament,
– having regard to Rule 110(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas the forthcoming year 2011 is going to be of crucial importance to the future success of the Union and a significant challenge for the European Commission and the Union as a whole,
B. whereas the financial crisis is still having significant effects on the economies of the Member States and major adjustments must be made both at the national and the Union level,
C. whereas the Commission Work Programme set out some of the important initiatives that the Commission must undertake in the coming months,
D. whereas the Commission must act to the fullest extent of its legal powers and political authority; notes that the European Union cannot function effectively unless the Commission identifies, articulates and promotes the general interest of its states and citizens, and efficiently performs its duty to oversee the application of the Treaties and EU law,
Responding to the financial crisis
1. Notes that the efforts made so far to solve the financial crisis and to sustain the economic recovery of Europe have fallen way below what is necessary; warns that unless the EU can develop a credible economic governance with the power to impose fiscal discipline and the capability to formulate a common programme designed to raise the level of investment in productive jobs the future of the euro will be in jeopardy; insists on a radical reform of the EU budget and own resources system as an essential contribution to the negotiations on the new multi-annual financial framework; requires the Commission to take the initiative to promote a budgetary conference with a broad agenda to engage the three institutions in purposeful negotiations on the reform of EU finances and on the shape of fundamental change aimed at the installation of an functioning economic governance for a political union;
2. Urges the Commission to consider Treaty change to introduce greater automaticity in both the preventive and corrective arm of the stability and growth pact procedure and put forward as soon as possible proposals for a permanent crisis mechanism (e.g. European Monetary Fund), as well as proposals to fully integrate the EU2020 strategy into the stability framework and for a single external representation of the Eurozone;
3. Calls on the Commission to come forward with proposals on the recast of the Market Abuse Directive and Market in Financial Instruments Directive as soon as possible; notes, however, that the European Commission must bear in mind the possible cumulative impact of the proposals that it is introducing and the potential effect on the financial markets and the real economy in terms of growth and jobs;
A strong and autonomous EU budget
4. Urges the Commission in its proposal on the Multiannual Financial Framework to come forward with an ambitious framework that will enable the Union to face up to its increased responsibilities; finds that flexibility within this framework will be essential and favours a MFF that stems from the political priorities jointly agreed by the Parliament, Commission and Council following the parliamentary elections; the impact of the EU budget should be maximise and allow for the mobilising of alternative financing sources (earmarking, project bonds,...);
5. Strongly urges the Commission to make bold and innovative proposals on the increase of own resources so as to provide the Union with real and autonomous financial resources;
6. Invites the Commission to rapidly present proposals amending the OLAF Regulations;
7. Stresses that Commission should contribute more openly to a positive attitude towards National Management Declarations (NMD) signed by finance ministers; emphasizes that the Commission should urge Members States to issue NMDs; welcomes in this light the initiatives already taken by the Netherlands and Sweden;
The single market – future investments
8. Strongly support greater market integration, targeting the significant persistent gaps, as identified by Professor Monti; whilst welcoming the publication of the Single Market Act, believes that the proposals should be more ambitious and concrete; calls on the Commission to come quickly forwards with legislative proposals;
9. 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 in the projects; the Commission should further promote public private partnerships to foster European research, development and innovation;
10. Calls on a final resolution to the problems surrounding the establishment of a European patent, and if necessary, calls on the Commission to come forwards with a proposal for enhanced cooperation; stresses also the importance of completing the European Digital Market to unlocking the potential of among others the cultural and creative industries;
11. Calls in the preparation of the future cohesion policy post 2013 for a strong EU-wide cohesion policy with adequate financial resources and aligned with the objectives of Europe 2020 Strategy; is strongly opposed to any renationalisation. Furthermore, calls for proposals to improve the absorption capacity of Structural and Cohesion Funds through innovation investment and facilitating access to finance for SMEs; believes that better application of the partnership principle and multi level governance would improve absorption rate;
12. Strongly regrets the lack of legislative initiative on cabotage and the delay to 2012 of the rail market access including the opening of the market for domestic passengers; notes that whilst the TEN-T guidelines and the priority projects are due before summer 2011, the Work Programme contains no clear commitment;
13. Welcomes the Commission’s proposal to improve the implementation and enforcement of the Posting of Workers Directive and supports its proposal to adapt the Working Time Directive taking into account the realities of different sectors and having regards to differing traditions across the Union;
14. Calls for more attention to be paid by the Commission to the effective implementation of existing health and safety legislation;
15. Calls on the Commission to further continue its work and cooperation with the Parliament and Council on improving the quality of legislation; in this context, also calls on the Commission and Council to ensure that correlation tables are systematically included in all legislative acts;
A citizens’ Europe
16. Reminds the Commission that the Common European Asylum System must become a reality by 2012. Calls the Commission to develop a strategy that facilitates the adoption of the asylum package while respecting the EP key demands;
17. Welcomes the launch in 2011 of a new comprehensive legal framework for the protection of personal data in the EU: underlines that it will carefully scrutinise all proposals, including EU-PNR and EU-TFTP, for there compliance with fundamental rights;
18. Calls the Commission to adopt a more ambitious and concrete strategy for the protection of fundamental rights in the Union and in Member States by strengthening the capabilities for monitoring, blocking and sanctioning violations of the Charter of fundamental rights; invites the Commission to take initiatives to guarantee media freedom and pluralism; urges the Commission to bring to Court Member States that violate the free movement directive; calls for a strong European Roma Strategy, for the anticipation of the foreseen initiatives on mutual recognition of civil documents, and for an EU roadmap against homophobia and for LGBT rights;
19. Welcomes the Commission announcement that a Communication on Modernisation of Higher Education will be submitted in 2011 but notes that further action is needed to ensure that European universities regain their position as centres of excellence and poles of innovation; emphasises in this regard that stronger cooperation between universities and business should be promoted;
20. Greatly supports the Commission in its initiative on the Alternative Dispute Resolution methods and mediation and welcomes the forthcoming proposal for a mechanism to facilitate ADR in the resolution of consumer problems; also calls for a speedy follow-up on the implementation of the Mediation Directive;
21. Encourages the Commission to continue to strengthen citizens’ rights particularly through its forthcoming proposal on legal instrument for European Contract Law;
22. Calls for the elimination of gender based violence by supporting existing legislation on the protection of victims and calling for a new concrete framework to end gender based violence;
23. Supports initiatives aimed at reconciling work and family life by inter alia measures on minimum parental leave and the promotion of flexible working arrangements for women and men and help for carers to combine employment with caring responsibilities;
24. Requests the Commission to submit a new proposal for revision of Council Directive 93/109/EC laying down detailed arrangements for the exercise of the right to vote and stand as a candidate in elections to the European Parliament for citizens of the Union residing in a Member State of which they are not nationals;
A sustainable future
25. Underlines the strategic importance of the flagship initiative on resource efficiency and urges the Commission to work swiftly on an ambitious proposal aimed at achieving binding targets and concrete benchmarks within the framework of the EU2020 European Semester of policy coordination;
26. Calls for a clear strategy to improve the implementation of EU environmental law which emphasises the obligation placed on Member States to explain how EU law is being transposed into national law and to demonstrate that it is being applied effectively;
27. Stresses that the preparation of the CAP reform must provide for a fundamentally renewed policy that combines an efficient and more market-based production of common goods with support for the fight against climate change. The future financing of the CAP must be sufficient to meet the new challenges of climate change and innovation; it must also ensure that sustainability is placed at the heart of the CAP to secure long-term viability of European food production while enhancing farmers’ competitiveness and innovation capacity;
28. Calls for a comprehensive and ambitious reform of the Common Fisheries Policy which includes the integration of an ecosystem approach, regionalisation, a clearly defined exemption for small-scale fisheries, a new impetus for the European Aquaculture sector and a serious fight against illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing as well as discards;
29. Calls on the Commission to come forward with legislation to reduce EU emissions by 30% by 2020 especially given that such a move would provide a great and much needed stimulus to low carbon investment, innovation and energy efficiency; calls on the Commission to meet its commitment to propose an indirect land use change factor in order to ensure that biofuels lead to a net decrease in greenhouse gas emissions;
30. Calls on the Commission to adopt the Energy Efficiency Action Plan in good time for the February European Council on energy, which should include binding energy savings targets;
31. Awaits the publication of the white paper on the future of transport that was already planned in the WP 2010 ands regrets the lack of concrete proposal aiming at promoting intermodality between all modes of transport;
Europe in the world
32. Stresses that the Commission must fully cooperate with the External Action Service, not only concerning enlargement, development, trade and humanitarian aid, but also on external aspects of internal policies thereby ensuring that the EEAS can deliver a united and coherent EU vision in external policies; stresses the importance of the Union speaking with one single voice within international fora, such as the UN and the G20;
33. Calls on the Commission to actively promote tangible progress in the ongoing WTO negotiations in order conclude the Doha Round as soon as possible; insists that the strengthening of existing and the conclusion of new bilateral and regional Free Trade Agreements is of great importance, but shall be considered as a complementary strategy and not as an alternative to the multilateral framework;
34. Welcomes the Commission’s review of the European Neighbourhood Policy and expects concrete proposals during 2011 on how to further develop the two multilateral dimensions of the ENP; the Eastern Partnership and the Union for the Mediterranean, underlines that that a new impetus is necessary;
35. Expects the Commission to continue its work in the accession negotiations; particular attention should be given to the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova and to the efforts to find a solution to the name dispute of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; underlines that whether or not the on-going talks on Cyprus lead to a comprehensive settlement, the European Union will be expected to play a more substantial role;
36. Supports the establishment of the European Framework Cooperation for Security and Defence Research to ensure complementarity and synergy so as to provide a cost-effective way of increasing capabilities; calls also for the implementation of the European defence procurement directive to enhance transparency and improve the competitivity of the European defence industry;
37. Notes that the current General System of Preference regulation will expire on 31 December 2011 and therefore calls on the Commission to propose a revised GSP regulation by April 2011 that will provide for the preferences granted under the GSP to be aimed at developing countries that need them the most;
38. Reiterates the importance of greater access to markets for European companies including the Commission’s forthcoming proposal to support SMEs in third country markets; Recognises the value of international rules that guarantee an efficient and balanced legal framework in the field of international public procurement; welcomes the Commission proposal to grant access to European public procurement procedures to the external operators in respect of multilateral standards in the field of public procurement;
39. Particular attention has to be given to the follow-up of the Green Paper on budget support. Improvement of predictability and accountability is of great importance; greater involvement of recipient national parliaments and enhanced monitoring of European Parliament at this regard;
40. In order to improve EU’s reactivity in humanitarian crisis situations set up an EU rapid response capability and implement the recommendations made by the Commission in its recent communication;
41. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.