MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the European Parliament’s priorities for the Commission Work Programme for 2013
27.6.2012 - (2012/2688(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 35(3) of the Rules of Procedure and the Framework Agreement on relations between the European Parliament and the Commission
Malcolm Harbour on behalf of the ECR Group
B7‑0345/2012
European Parliament resolution on the European Parliament’s priorities for the Commission Work Programme for 2013
The European Parliament,
– having regard to the Framework Agreement on relations between the European Parliament and the Commission[1], in particular Annex IV thereto,
– having regard to the conclusions of the March European Council and the letter by twelve Heads of Government entitled ‘A Plan for Growth in Europe’,
– having regard to the Europe 2020 Strategy,
– having regard to Rule 35(3) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas the eurozone crisis continues to threaten the economic future of all members of the European Union and that this crisis is both a sovereign debt crisis and a banking crisis;
B. whereas the European Union faces a profound competitiveness crisis; whereas most other regions of the world are growing more quickly, with increasing levels of productivity and innovation, and will leave the European Union trailing behind unless decisive action is taken;
C. whereas the Commission should seek as a priority to devote its energies and resources in supporting the member states in dealing effectively with these crises whilst avoiding bureaucracy and centralisation; whereas the 2013 work programme for the last full year of the current Commission’s term of office must prioritise initiatives that will stimulate growth and improve competiveness;
1. Calls on the European Commission to use its work programme for 2013:
– to set out a detailed growth agenda for the European Union which focuses on encouraging business and entrepreneurs to develop the industries and services that will deliver long-term jobs and prosperity,
– to pursue action to modernise the design and implementation of the budget to allow the European Union to deliver added value at a reasonable cost;
– to take steps to modernise internal policies to meet the demands of the new century not the last and to respect the principle of subsidiarity;
I. Releasing the Energy of Free Enterprise to Generate Growth, Jobs, and Prosperity
2. Notes that a Plan for Growth in Europe was submitted to the European Council meeting in March 2012 to reinvigorate the European economy by:
– bringing the single market to the next stage of development, extending it fully to the services sector,
– creating a truly digital single market by 2015,
– establishing a genuine efficient and effective internal market in energy by 2014, and making progress towards a Single European Transport Area,
– establishing the European Research area,
– delivering open global markets,
– reducing the burden of EU regulation,
– promoting well-functioning labour markets, and
– building a robust, dynamic and competitive financial services sector;
Bringing the single market to the next stage of development, extending it fully to the services sector
3. Takes the view that the Single Market is one of the European Union’s top priorities since it is the most important vehicle for growth and job creation;
4. Welcomes the commitment of the March European Council to track progress on the proposals presented under the Single Market Act and to press for increased momentum on standardisation, public procurement and alternative dispute resolution so that the deadlines for agreement by the end of the year can be met;
5. Welcomes the publication of the 2012 report of the President of the European Council on the occasion of the June European Council setting out on the state of play of all dossiers relevant to the Union’s growth agenda and emphasises that the focus should be on smart regulation to reduce unnecessary administrative burden;
6. Looks forward to the publication of the Single Market Act II, which should focus on growth and job boosting measures; strongly supports the Single Market week in October 2012, which should enhance the promotion of the benefits of the Single Market to citizens; Calls on Member States and the Commission to strongly endorse and to commit to allocating sufficient resources to promoting the 20th anniversary of the Single Market to citizens;
7. Urges the Commission to establish the Single Market Act as a rolling programme to be continually reviewed and updated in order to ensure completion of the Single Market;
8. Calls on Council and Commission to further strengthen of implementation and enforcement of existing Single Market legislation, in particular in relation to the goods market and simplification of the standardisation sector;
9. Considers that there should be a clear presumption of compliance by Member States with all Single Market proposals; stresses that it is now high time that a presumption be introduced in the legislation of the Member States that the default position is that each Member State will comply with Single Market legislation unless it can demonstrate acceptable reasons for failing to meet their obligations;
10. Deplores the approach taken by the Commission on Common European Sales Law, which proposes a highly complex, costly and ambitious regulation; advances the concept of a model contract instead, which would be supported by the co-legislators, easily understood by consumers and based on codifying existing consumer legislation and existing minimum harmonisation directives, would be a much more logical, practical and effective solution;
11. Encourages present actions in the area of alternative dispute resolution, particularly for online cross-border transactions, as increased access to redress will increase consumer confidence in transactions across the Single Market to a much greater extent than the introduction of an untried, untested and alien European contract law regime;
12. Highlights the role of public procurement in enhancing innovation and crucial access to markets;
13. Supports fast action and strong political will on the proposal on collective management of copyright; Calls for simplification of multi-territorial licensing in order to protect copyright, enhance consumer choice and generate growth;
14. Notes the proposals in relation to fair compensation and encourages the European Commission to maintain the existing flexible system which permits Member States the freedom to appropriately design their copyright law in this area, in order to foster creativity and provide economic growth;
15. Calls on the Commission to tackle barriers faced by SMEs which hinder their growth including the cost of building brand awareness in multiple countries, high market entry costs, higher risk of fraud / non-payment, difficulty in handling returns and shipping infrastructure problems, IT system limitations (handling multiple languages) and higher costs involved in resolving complaints and conflicts cross-border;
16. Looks forward to the results of the Commission’s ‘performance checks’ regarding the Services Directive, which should evaluate how Member States could make better use of the existing tools for improving and monitoring implementation of the Single Market and could be used in other areas of Single Market legislation;
17. Calls on the Commission to develop a proportionality test, linked to the mutual evaluation process, to identify disproportionate regulations that inhibit the provision of services and to repeal them, if deemed necessary by a significant number of Member States;
18. Suggests that the ‘mutual justification’ process should be extended to the Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications to ensure that professions are not regulated without due justification;
19. Urges the Commission to enhance the role of the Points of Single Contact so that they can assist service providers with any queries they may have when establishing themselves in another Member State, not only those covered by the Services Directive, including information about the tax system;
20. Calls for the abolition of the ‘economic needs test’, which can be used to restrict access to markets;
21. Eagerly awaits the results of the Commission’s forthcoming report on the economic and legal assessment of the Services Directive to establish whether further liberalisation of services by means of a sector-specific approach should be pursued;
Creating a truly digital single market by 2015
22. Underlines the importance of the digital economy to improving growth and competitiveness, and urges the Commission to continue driving the development and uptake of broadband to meet the targets set in the ‘Digital Agenda for Europe’;
23. Supports the European Council’s call for strengthened governance of the Single Market and the opening of new areas for growth, such as the digital single market; Calls on the Commission to present all proposals in this regard, including the e-signatures proposal, by the end of the year;
24. Stresses the importance of prioritising growth measures to complete the digital single market, including investment in high speed Internet and the proposal for cross-border payments; believes that radio spectrum will be a key driver in widening access to broadband, particularly in rural areas, and calls on the Commission to ensure that the recently adopted ‘Radio Spectrum Policy Programme’ is fully implemented by Member States;
25. Considers cyber-security to be a fundamental part of our long term prosperity, calls on the Commission to ensure that secure and resilient critical infrastructures are in place throughout the EU and believes that our concept of what it means to be ‘secure’ must also be able to adapt to continuously evolving threats; believes that cloud computing offers significant benefits to governments, businesses and consumers and urges the Commission to find the right balance between legislation, privacy and opportunities for growth in the sector;
Establishing a genuine efficient and effective internal market in energy and making progress towards a Single European Transport Area
26. Welcomes the Commission’s proposals on the Connecting Europe Facility covering TEN-T, TEN-E and ICT guidelines as this financial instrument will play an important role in developing better connectivity between all component parts of integrated Single Market - transport, energy and broadband networks; stresses the importance of developing comprehensive multimodal EU transport infrastructure network, inter alia, addressing the issues of lack of appropriate infrastructure, accessibility and low interoperability between various parts of the EU; stresses a need to help Member States to meet core energy objectives concerning supply, competitiveness and sustainability; also stresses a need to help Member States to meet the targets set in the ‘Digital Agenda for Europe’ and believes that investment in energy and telecom infrastructure should be market driven with public finance provided only in cases where there is a genuine market failure;
27. Believes that a liberalised, interconnected and fully competitive energy market will increase energy security by stimulating market participation and further diversification into our own energy supplies, particularly clean and sustainable sources; in this regard calls on the commission to rigorously uphold the ‘third party access’ principle as set out in the third energy package as a key driver towards a liberalised internal energy market;
28. Reiterates that indigenous sources of oil and gas are crucial to ensuring energy security and energy diversity; is concerned that as drafted, the Commission’s proposals ‘on the safety of offshore oil and gas prospection, exploration and production activities’, could lead to a reduction in safety standards and impose a de facto moratorium on all offshore operations; demands that the proposals are changed from a regulation to a directive so that established and proven safety regimes can remain in place and be improved upon continuously to ensure widespread use of best practices;
29. Repeatedly emphasizes the necessity to complete a free, liberalised single market for all modes of transport, with a special focus on the further liberalisation of the rail sector and road freight market, so that free movement of goods and services are guaranteed, with clear and easily enforceable rules for free and fair competition and reduced administrative burdens on SMEs;
30. Underlines the need to speed up the implementation of Single European Sky legislation, the development of the Joint Undertaking to develop the new generation European air traffic management system (SESAR) and the Clean Sky initiative, in order to ensure considerable economic and environmental savings through greater air transport efficiency and to avoid increased congestion with ever heavier air traffic flows and outdated technologies; expresses its concern that the creation of Functional Airspace Blocks (FABs) across Europe is delaying and stresses the importance of political action to progress with the FABs;
31. Emphasizes the economic benefits brought about by the development of regional air services and calls on the Commission to address the specific needs of regional airports and air services when proposing new legislation, as well as to incorporate major regional airports into the TEN-T programme;
32. Encourages the Commission to ensure effective implementation and enforcement of the existing air passenger rights legislation and to come up with a proposal to curtail the ‘one bag rule’ and to ensure price transparency and fair commercial practices in the purchase of air tickets (in payment by credit/debit card, only to the real cost of their services shall be charged by airlines);
33. Notes a need to move forward with the creation of an integrated pan-European online electronic booking and payment systems in order to promote multi-modality; urges the Commission to come forward with a communication that encourage industry to develop multi-modal through-ticketing systems between the rail and air sector;
Establishing the European Research area and creating opportunities for research and innovation
34. Believes that investment in research and innovation must account for a larger proportion of total EU spending within the context of a smaller overall European Union budget; urges the Commission to reduce allocations under budget headings that repeatedly under spend and allocate these amounts to budget lines on research and innovation and other priority areas, such as boosting financing facilities for SMEs;
35. Welcomes the steps taken by the Commission to date, and urges continued action, concerning the simplification of the EU’s research and innovation programmes; believes that reducing time to grant and time to pay as well as reporting and auditing requirements should be a matter of priority, particularly for academic institutions and SMEs;
36. Believes that excellence should be the prime criterion for awarding funding as part of Horizon 2020 and that any geographical preconditions would significantly reduce both the quality and EU added value of the programmes; believes that widening participation can be achieved through more targeted used of structural funds to develop research infrastructures in the less developed regions of the EU;
37. Calls for improved access to capital for innovative start ups and fast growing companies and in this regards welcomes the Commission’s proposals on the Competitiveness of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (COSME) and Horizon 2020, particularly the financial facilities that will improve SME’s access to finance; strongly urges the commission to ensure that the transition from the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) to COSME and Horizon 2020 does not unnecessary hinder participation or applications for the programmes;
38. Believes that venture capital funds should be enabled to operate on a cross border or pan European basis to fund research and innovation, building on the EIF and other financial institutions and also in cooperation with other national operators;
39. Believes that pre commercial public procurement can be used as a driver of research and innovation and welcomes the initiative taken by some Member States to adapt the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) model to the EU context; calls for the development of an EU wide programme that would boost both the single market and the ERA;
Delivering open global markets
40. Reaffirms that the promotion of open and fair trade and the fight against protectionism at the multilateral level and through all trade agreements with third countries must be a permanent objective;
41. Stresses that the rule-based multilateral trading system, established through the World Trade Organisation (WTO), is the most suitable framework for regulating and promoting open and fair trade; recalls that it is essential to understand multilateral, plurilateral and bilateral agreements as parts of a common toolbox of international affairs, and thus standard features of balanced and complementary political and trade relations;
42. Stresses that the EU should remain committed to strengthening open and fair trade relations as part of negotiations on free trade agreements with all its strategic trade partners, in particular major growth markets where the EU maintains key offensive interests, including but is not limited to North America, BRICS, ASEAN and Central and Latin American regions, as well as Economic Partnership Agreements with developing countries. Stresses the importance of focussing on the removal of non-tariff barriers to trade and investment, including numerous restrictive rules and regulatory measures for EU companies entering foreign markets;
43. Stresses that the Commission and where appropriate the EU Member States should foster the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the global markets by putting in place appropriate measures enabling the internationalization of SMEs, including easier access to capital and regularly updated information on business opportunities abroad as well as relevant trade defence instruments to protect them against unfair dumping and subsidies and to safeguard lawful production in the EU and EU businesses market share in third countries;
44. Commands in this regard the Commission to actively defend the Union’s industries including SMEs, whenever necessary, against violations of agreed rules , WTO standards and principles by its trading partners, using all available means, including multilateral and bilateral dispute settlement mechanisms and WTO-compatible trade defence instruments;
45. Emphasises that the EU should remain committed to achieving a balanced outcome of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) as its preferred approach, which would support developing countries’ integration into the international trading system, while progressing in parallel with bilateral and plurilateral trade agreements with other industrialised countries where mutual benefits and economic growth can be realistically delivered in a shorter timeframe;
46. Considers also that it is necessary, in light of the persistent deadlock in the original architecture and objectives of the DDA, to resume as soon as possible the debate on how to strengthen the WTO and how to prepare it for the upcoming challenges and asks for the Commission to make proposals to this effect;
47. Expresses strong concern for the Commission’s approach regarding the reciprocity of third country access to public procurement markets, which promotes a damaging and protectionist, rather than an open market message to third countries;
48. Urges the Commission to ensure that the High-Level Working Group on Jobs and Growth, led by U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht, looks at tackling, among other issues, not only conventional barriers to trade in goods, such as tariffs and tariff rate quotas but the reduction, elimination and prevention of technical and regulatory barriers to trade on both sides of the Atlantic with a view to ensuring that trade is not hindered by excessive regulatory burdens on business;
49. Calls on the Commission to consider the EU-US relationship as the most important strategic partnership for the EU; urges, therefore, to intensify the EU-US strategic dialogue in 2013, in order to fulfil commitments in both bilateral and multilateral for a to fight the global trend towards protectionism;
50. Calls on the Commission to shift its focus from a prevailing input orientated development policy to an output orientated development policy, with annual specific figures on development achievements in line with the figures showing how much of citizens taxpayers money has been spent; Notes that in order to increase efficiency it is also crucial to guarantee greater policy coherence and grater donor coordination on national, EU and global level;
51. Stresses that any increases in or changes to the European Development Fund should not be automatic and should be based on a comprehensive results led approach focusing on outcomes rather than on inputs alone;
52. Calls on the EU to revitalise its aid policy and delivery using existing structures more effectively and working in conjunction with emerging global development players such as China, India and Brazil, in order to respond more efficiently and flexibly to new development challenges, including in conflict and fragile states;
53. Recognises that EU aid represents 56% of global ODA and that greater EU action on transparency would generate significant benefits for both donor and recipient countries alike; Calls therefore for the EU to consider the advantages of adopting an EU wide guarantee on aid transparency that would commit both the European Commission and Member States to providing timely, accurate, comparable and detailed data on aid flows based on the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI);
54. Notes that a key precondition for economic development and wealth creation is to integrate existing capital and businesses in developing countries to effective legal structures and formal economies; calls for the Commission to prioritise resources for the mapping and registration of land and intellectual property;
55. Welcomes the work and efficiency of the ECHO in most emergency and vulnerable regions faced with hunger, food insecurity and refugees; appreciates especially coordination of activities with Member States, neighbouring countries and the UN; calls on the Commission to develop prevention approach at all levels - rather than current ad-hoc system of assistance management - which should consist in monitoring, detecting and preventing upcoming disasters and quicker mobilisation of voluntary assets;
Reducing the burden of EU regulation
56. Welcomes steps already taken by the Commission to reduce regulatory burdens on SMEs and micro-enterprises arising from EU legislation, such as through the introduction of the micro-entities dimension in the ‘SME test’ and exemptions for SMEs from certain legislative provisions; urges the Commission to ensure that they continue to improve their regulatory behaviour towards SMEs and micro-enterprises, by focussing on tailoring specific legislation to SME needs and also furthering the introduction of appropriate exemptions;
57. Calls on the Commission to ensure that the SME test is consistently and coherently applied across all relevant policy areas and is incorporated into the overall impact assessment of a proposal, not simply published as a stand alone piece of additional information, in order to ensure disproportionate burdens are not placed on SMEs;
58. Requests the Commission enforces the agreement by the three institutions to carry out their better lawmaking commitments, including Member States, who should all be encouraged by the Commission to carry out their own SME tests and the Council should set up an impact assessment unit to produce impact assessments on its own amendments; stresses the importance of fitness checks in the Smart Regulation agenda;
59. Believes that the Commission should apply certain principles of the Small Business Act within their own dealings with SMEs;
60. Welcomes the bottom up approach taken by a number of Member States to identify burdensome legislation and believes that the Commission’s burden reduction programme should continue beyond 2012 with a more ambitious and expanded scope and the introduction of regulatory burden offsetting;
61. Strongly endorses the Commission’s proposal of the presumption that micro-enterprises should be exempted from burdensome rules unless a case for their inclusion is explicitly made, in order to encourage growth;
62. Recalls the Parliament’s position in favour of extending and expanding the scope of the Administrative Burden Reduction Programme, and urges the Commission to introduce, in its 2013 Work Programme, a programme which addresses the need to reduce the overall regulatory burden and introduces regulatory burden offsetting;
63. Proposes that the Commission restates its targets for administrative simplification and strengthens its commitment to assessing if there is real added value of action at EU level before work on draft proposals begins;
64. Cautiously welcomes the Commission’s review process for the REACH Regulation, ahead of the second registration deadline in 2013; urges the Commission to ensure greater clarification and consistency of approach in risk management procedures, and encourage stakeholder engagement;
65. Takes the view that the proposed EU Adaptation Strategy on climate change should focus on actions with significant EU added value; underlines in this regard that while such a strategy should be unquestionably ecologically sound, proposed measures should be proportionate, consider the consequences of carbon leakage, and take full account of the potentially harmful impacts on job-creating industries;
Promoting well-functioning labour markets
66. Calls on the Commission to take appropriate measures to eradicate existing labour market rigidities across the EU, to support and develop conditions for more flexible working arrangements especially for older and younger workers, to promote workers mobility and stresses the importance of systemic reforms in order to fight structural unemployment and to face ageing societies and rapid technologic change;
67. Calls for a comprehensive review of existing EU labour legislation with cost and benefit approach resulting in a clear conclusion of which legislation is ineffective or counterproductive and which legislation should be withdrawn or could be better implemented;
68. Calls on the Commission to present a realistic review of the Working Time Directive and to seek to find a pragmatic solution that will give businesses and workers more flexibility without adding any unnecessary administrative burdens for enterprises while protecting workers’ health and safety and improving work life balance;
69. Welcomes the Employment Package aimed at creating a dynamic environment for job creation by reducing labour costs, bureaucracy, supporting business start-ups, self employment schemes, driving innovation, competitiveness and the creation of new job opportunities; Notes that this package must not be interpreted as an opportunity to further centralise employment policies at an EU level including any attempts to establish an EU minimum wage; stresses the importance of investment in human capital and R&D, adequate education and training which would facilitate professional mobility;
70. Calls for more efficient use of the ESF and to limit its scope to active employment policies; Stresses the importance of ensuring that the ESF adds value to member states policies and provides value for money; Urges the Commission to guarantee the necessary flexibility for member states to decide and choose if these funds will be spent through ESF or ERDF programmes in order to address their own EU 2020 ‘bottlenecks’ to growth;
71. Opposes the Commissions proposal on the new EGF format; Notes that the functioning of the fund has proved to be highly problematic, bureaucratic and inefficient in returning people to sustainable employment; stresses that the EGF offers little value for money, does not add sufficient value to Member State policies, disincentives Member States efforts aimed at reform, tries to fix long term structural problems with short term solutions and raises concerns regarding its use to subsidise large companies who relocate within the EU;
72. Welcomes the Commissions White Paper on Pensions, however, is concerned with a number of proposed initiatives within the text which would have the potential to go against growth and the Commission’s own objective of sustainable and adequate pensions provision, of which occupational pensions play a large part;
73. Stresses the importance of ensuring that any future initiatives or revisions proposed by the Commission in the area of health and safety must be based on robust scientific evidence; Calls on the Commission to consider the long term benefits of taking a non-legislative approach which focuses on improving guidance, educating employers and involving workers in bringing about sustainable change;
74. 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, to be accompanied if necessary by legislative amendments;
75. Is convinced that the number of regulated professions should be reduced and the scope for automatic recognition of qualifications relating to new professions should be expanded with special attention being given to innovative sectors and digital industries;
Building a robust, dynamic and competitive financial services sector
76. Notes that the financial crisis has now been ongoing for almost five years, yet the European Union risks being the last significant economic region to emerge from it; therefore urges the Commission to focus on measures that enhance the European Union’s competitiveness and to refrain from policies which risk encouraging wealth-creating activity to locate in other jurisdictions;
77. Notes the risk of regulatory arbitrage in legislating the financial services industry, and urges the prioritisation of those measures which have been agreed at a global level (such as the Basel 3 rules) over those which are being pursued at the discretion of the Commission;
78. Notes the fine balance between fiscal responsibility and the need for growth; believes in the context of ongoing debate that the two are not mutually exclusive, and stresses that lowering the regulatory burdens and enhancing the growth potential of SMEs are the most fruitful means of returning confidence to the economy; in particular, calls for improving the means for SMEs to grow through access to the capital markets;
79. Notes that financial regulation has a serious and unintended effect on business end users, pension funds and other elements of the real economy; calls for increased vigilance to ensure that financial regulation is targeted in such a way as to minimise the cost consequences on those who rely on the financial services industry to enable their businesses to run efficiently and competitively;
80. Notes the Commission’s proposals of 6 June on bank resolution frameworks; stresses that while it is essential for every banking jurisdiction to have such a framework, any European Union proposal must respect the role and discretion of national regulators, who are the best equipped to judge the state of banks operating within their jurisdiction, and the sovereignty of Member States, who must ultimately represent their taxpayers’ interests;
81. Notes that the defects of the Financial Transaction Tax proposed by the Commission, such as the unbalanced burden on different Member States, the threat it poses to the competitiveness of the financial services sector and the squabbles as to whom it might benefit only serve to increase the opposition to it and need for the proposal to be withdrawn;
II. Towards a modernised budget that allows the Union to deliver added value at a reasonable cost
82. Deplores the Commissions proposed a 6.8% increase in the annual budget for 2013 at a time when, more than ever demands are being made of Member States, and notably, by the Union, to tackle deficit and debt; maintains that the most judicious course for the foreseeable future is the reorientation of funds away from areas with little to no added value and towards growth policies under the level of an overall budget freeze;
83. Is convinced that for long term growth, the EU Budget should focus more on research and innovation and the development of the internal market, areas which should be protected with additional financing being found from areas of the budget with little or no added value;
84. Urges the Commission to prioritise initiative that promote growth and jobs which are crucial for Europe’s economic recovery; Calls for enhanced budgetary efforts to support competitiveness, innovation and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), since most of the EU economic potential lies in its 23 million SMEs, which, are the backbone of our economy; considers that strengthening the European Investment Bank (EIB) support for SMEs and infrastructure should be considered a key priority;
85. Calls for greater efforts to ensure the proper functioning of the Single Market which are key to enhancing conditions for innovation, growth and job creation; Stresses in this context the need for the EU Budget to prioritise initiatives that support the development of the Single Market in order to lift Europe out of recession including:
• Deregulation of ineffective or obsolete regulations, such as the Working Time Directive,
• Liberalisation of services across the Single Market,
• Promotion of the digital economy ICT,
• Ensuring access to capital;
86. Stresses that such support would be instrumental in preventing SMEs from cutting down their investments, in particular on research and development, while at the same time promoting employment and ensuring that skills are conserved, thus helping to unleash SMEs’ innovative potential, which is essential to the EU’s prosperity and to the creation of a knowledge-based society deploying the full potential of the digital dimension;
87. Calls on the Commission to budget realistically and insists that the utmost done to examine the European added value of all current EU programmes, calls for systematic, regular and independent evaluations, ensuring that all spending is achieving the desired outcomes in a cost effective manner while contributing to the EU2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and respecting the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality;
88. Believes, moreover that the 2013 appropriations should be based on a careful analysis of payment appropriation outturn in 2011 as well 2012, with a view to making savings on lines where problems have arisen in implementation, considers that real savings can be made by identifying overlaps, inconsistencies, ineffective measures and inefficiencies across budgetary lines;
89. Calls on the President of the Commission, when he re-organises Commission portfolios on the accession of Croatia in July 2013, to establish the post of Commissioner for Budgetary Control along the lines of the European Parliament resolution of 10 May 2012; recalls that this resolution calls for a dedicated Commissioner to have responsibility for the following items:
– internal audit,
– anti-fraud,
– liaison with the Court of Auditors and the relevant committee of Parliament;
– contact with the relevant budgetary and audit authorities in the member states, and the development of a comprehensive internal control framework,
– overseeing and improving the utility of the annual synthesis report, including a review of the Member States’ management and control systems,
– commissioning and assessing independent programme evaluations, and developing the Evaluation Report, provided for by Article 318 of the TFEU, into a valuable tool for performance improvement;
90. Asks the Commission to prepare a report reviewing the effectiveness of its system of evaluations and specifically the relationship between ongoing evaluation work and the Evaluation Report required under Article 318 of the TFEU; calls on the Commission to publish a review of the implementation of Article 318 since it came into force;
91. Calls on the Commission to re-invigorate the dialogue with the member states over ‘shared management’ as a priority in 2013 and to submit proposals to the European Council for improving national management of EU budget funds, including the introduction of mandatory national management declarations and the establishment of a common model for national management declarations;
92. Reiterates Parliament’s demand that the Commission should create a single, comprehensive, user-friendly online system so the public can have access to full and complete information about the expenditure of the European Union by budget line and by beneficiary; calls therefore for the Commission to include the completion of this system in the 2013Work Programme;
93. Calls on the Commission to initiate an internal programme to ensure that all its staff are fully conversant with ‘Title II: Rights and Obligations of officials’ of the Staff Regulation and particularly with the obligations under article 22a(96); calls on the Commission to publish a detailed plan on how to encourage the public to report any irregular or illegal payments;
94. Urges the Commission to refrain from submitting any proposals for the establishment of a European Public Prosecutor given that sufficient opposition has already been declared to make any such effort futile;
III. Modernising policies
Towards an effective European Area of Freedom, Security, and Justice
95. Believes that in order to create an effective European Area of Freedom, Security, and Justice, the European Union must devise a system which is nuanced and considerate of each member state’s individual legal and political personality and that therefore tools must be created only where needed, and must respect the sovereignty of each member state; and calls for any legislation to focus on ways for member states to cooperate smoothly and efficiently, whilst not imposing harmonised policy which neglects the differences in member states’ criminal justice systems;
96. Recognises that the European Union can play a strong and vital role in the fight against terrorism and organised crime and urges the Commission to continue working on issues essential to the security of European citizens, and that in doing so rights and freedoms of EU citizens should be fully respected and that data protection and the right to legal redress are essential in creating a credible and effective security policy;
97. Insists that all JHA agencies must be cost effective, efficient, and accountable to the European Parliament, Commission and National Governments;
98. States that the ECR Group strongly supports the principle of gender equality and reiterates the importance of promoting equal rights for men and women and female and male children;
99. Welcomes the adoption of the Directive to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings and stresses the urgent need to address Human Trafficking; eagerly awaits the Strategy on Trafficking in Human Beings from the anti- trafficking coordinator expected in May 2013 and urges her to address the following areas;
100. States that incidents of domestic violence are increasingly in Europe, year on year and urges the Commission to continue its work in tackling this problem through the adoption of a non- legislative strategy; reiterates support for the Daphne Programme but stresses that the Commission needs to better ensure that funding is given to grassroots campaigns and not on academic studies on the issue;
101. Supports the Commission in its work on child protection and asks that the Commission ensures full and proper implementation, by November 2013, by all Member States of the Directive to Combat Child Exploitation, Child Abuse and Child Pornography;
102. Stresses that women Europe still suffer from ‘hidden’ harmful practices and urges the Commission to assist member states in eradicating female genital mutilation and forced marriage of girl children and young women;
103. Urges the Commission to heed the concerns of member states with regards to the Health and Safety at Work of Pregnant Workers Directive and stresses that this proposed directive does not have the support or approval from Council;
104. States that the proposals for a directive on targets and quotas for women in company boardrooms is patronising to women and unhelpful to businesses in the current economic climate; strongly urges the Commission to revise and suspend these proposals and focus on working with member states within a non- legislative framework;
105. Urges the Commission to revise and suspend proposals for a directive on equal pay for men and women and instead asks that the Commission works with member states to investigate effective, non- legislative ways of tackling unequal pay which should be addressed at member state level;
Environment policy
106. Welcomes steps already taken by the Commission towards a greater focus on the implementation of existing environmental and climate policies, rather than merely adding to the legislative burden;
107. Notes the Commission’s proposals for a review of current air quality and waste policies; stresses that any revisions to the Air Quality, National Emissions Ceilings, and Waste Framework Directives should focus on targets which are practical and which could be feasibly achieved by Member States;
Agriculture and Fisheries
108. Notes with concern the proposals already submitted by the Commission on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy; affirms that these proposals do not address the main challenges that European Agriculture faces and will inhibit the development of a competitive and efficient farm sector which is vital if the European Union is to properly address the challenge of food security against a background of rising global population and increasing demand for food;
109. Calls on the Commission to show flexibility during the negotiation process for the future of the CAP and be prepared to withdraw or substantially amend the many aspects of the proposal which threaten competitive and efficient agriculture in Europe, in particular the proposals concerning the greening of direct payments and the capping of direct payments; notes further that the Commission has still failed to propose a framework which will allow for a fair distribution of direct payments across all EU Member States;
110. Calls upon the Commission to help tackle the current impasse between the European Parliament and the Council over the legal basis for multi-annual plans for the fisheries sector including, among others, the proposals for a multi-annual plan for the stock of herring distributed to the west of Scotland and the fisheries exploiting that stock and a multi-annual plan for the western stock of Atlantic horse mackerel and the fisheries exploiting that stock;
111. Recalls the package of proposals for the Reform of the Common Fisheries Policy and, in this respect, expresses its disappointment over the limited legislative initiatives taken for greater decentralisation of fisheries policy; urges the Commission to demonstrate flexibility over the CFP reform package and support the European Parliament and Council in seeking greater decentralisation of fisheries policy;
Regional Policy
112. Notes the anticipated adoption of Partnership contracts between the Commission, Member States and the competent regional and local authorities, which should support the Europe 2020 strategy’s aim for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, whilst concentrating on building economic capacity in the EU’s poorest regions;
113. Is concerned about the extent of the binding nature of these proposed contracts and stresses the necessity of granting the competent national, regional and local authorities maximum flexibility in the elaboration of the partnership agreement, thereby allowing Member States to tailor Cohesion policy tools to their specific goals and to regions and territories with particular needs and problems;
114. Believes that whilst accepting the necessity of a bilateral partnership agreement between the Commission and the Member States in order to provide an overarching framework, any future marginal changes to the orientation of these partnership agreements should not be subject to adoption by the Commission, but rather to a less lengthy and more flexible adoption process;
115. Underlines that local and regional authorities, particularly elected representatives, should be fully involved in the preparation of the partnership agreements and programming, as well as in all phases of cohesion policy implementation;
Culture
116. Calls on the Commission to ensure that any legislation proposed in the field of culture properly respects the principle of subsidiarity and in view of austerity measures being taken by many EU member states, encourages the Commission to refrain from proposing new cultural programmes which would entail new or increased expenditure; stresses further that Commission action in this field should be limited only to areas that can truly add value;
117. Calls on the Commission to support the development of cooperation with European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) countries in the field of education and culture on the basis of the ‘less for less, more for more’ rule; urges the Commission to maintain a balance between the southern and eastern dimension of European Neighbourhood Policy in all activities in the field of education and culture;
118. Calls on the Commission to increase activities aimed at the development of the Eastern Partnership, especially in the field of mobility and educational cooperation;
119. Urges the Commission to support programs which show the variety of EU member states and which stress the importance of EU national identities;
IV. Framework Agreement on relations between the European Parliament and the European Commission
120. Notes that the structured dialogue between the Commission and the European Parliament, as set out in Annex 4 of the Framework Agreement, is not working effectively; notes further that the process of drafting Committee contributions for the Parliament’s position on the Work Programme is not given the attention it merits; believes that the Summary Report produced by the Conference of Committee Chairs is currently an exercise in futility;
121. Calls for a revision of Annex 4 of the Framework Agreement; proposes the Conference of Committee Chairs invite Committees to take their contributions more seriously, adopting positions according to the same procedures as for an opinion to a report; calls for the Committee of Conference Chairs to adopt a Summary Report in a format that could be of practical use to the political groups in drafting their motions for plenary and in particularly by asking for proposals to be made in the form of draft paragraphs for such motions;
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122. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.
- [1] OJ L 304, 20.11.2010, p. 47.