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Proċedura : 2015/2256(INI)
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A8-0017/2016

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PV 24/02/2016 - 14
CRE 24/02/2016 - 14

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P8_TA(2016)0060

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L-Erbgħa, 24 ta' Frar 2016 - Brussell

14. Is-Semestru Ewropew għall-koordinazzjoni tal-politika ekonomika: Stħarriġ Annwali dwar it-Tkabbir 2016 - Semestru Ewropew għall-koordinazzjoni tal-politika ekonomika: Aspetti soċjali u tal-impjieg fl-Istħarriġ Annwali dwar it-Tkabbir 2016 - Governanza tas-suq uniku fl-ambitu tas-Semestru Ewropew 2016 (dibattitu)
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Minuti
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  Die Präsidentin. – Als nächster Punkt der Tagesordnung folgt die gemeinsame Aussprache über

– den Bericht von Maria João Rodrigues im Namen des Ausschusses für Wirtschaft und Währung über das Europäische Semester für die Koordinierung der Wirtschaftspolitik: Jahreswachstumsbericht 2016 (2015/2285(INI)) (A8-0030/2016),

– den Bericht von Sofia Ribeiro im Namen des Ausschusses für Beschäftigung und soziale Angelegenheiten über das Europäische Semester für die Koordinierung der Wirtschaftspolitik: Beschäftigungspolitische und soziale Aspekte im Jahreswachstumsbericht 2016 (2015/2330(INI)) (A8-0031/2016) und

– den Bericht von Catherine Stihler im Namen des Ausschusses für Binnenmarkt und Verbraucherschutz über die Binnenmarktsteuerung im Rahmen des Europäischen Semesters 2016 (2015/2256(INI)) (A8-0017/2016).

 
  
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  Sofia Ribeiro, relatora. Senhora Presidente, o relatório sobre os aspetos sociais e de emprego do Semestre Europeu visa transformar a União Europeia numa Europa social moderna, atendendo às potencialidades e aos desafios atuais, e salienta as medidas concretas que é necessário implementar para equilibrar as dimensões económica e social e para impulsionar um desenvolvimento social sustentável. Foca o facto de os sistemas económico e financeiro visarem a melhoria das condições de vida dos cidadãos, e essa é a principal razão pela qual precisamos de prosseguir com a consolidação desses sistemas.

Apresentando como objetivo o desenvolvimento social, que se deve apresentar de forma transversal a todas as políticas da União, propõe a monitorização dessas mesmas políticas e salienta que os Estados—Membros e as instituições europeias precisam de garantir, de forma responsável, a estabilidade a longo prazo das suas escolhas políticas e orçamentais para podermos prosseguir rumo a um crescimento sustentável.

Neste sentido, este relatório centra-se na necessidade de consolidar as finanças públicas e os sistemas fiscais, dada a frágil situação económica atual de muitos Estados-Membros, e reforça a importância dessa consolidação no sentido de garantir a estabilidade social, não apenas nos tempos atuais, mas preparando o futuro das gerações mais jovens.

Como temos visto nos últimos anos, a resiliência dos Estados-Membros à crise financeira está ligada à capacitação das suas finanças públicas, e os que têm os piores resultados são aqueles com economias mais instáveis e com défices maiores. Esta consolidação financeira tem de ser acompanhada de políticas de crescimento, que se traduzam num conjunto de reformas estruturais que visem a competitividade e a defesa do papel social dos Estados face aos problemas – também eles estruturais – que enfrentamos atualmente.

A sustentabilidade dos sistemas de segurança social e de previdência social e dos regimes de pensões são, talvez, o exemplo mais paradigmático deste desafio, face à tendência de envelhecimento da população europeia prevista para os próximos anos. A educação assume-se igualmente como um pilar fundamental para o desenvolvimento, competindo—nos garantir que os sistemas educativos conferem aos jovens as competências necessárias, especialmente nas novas áreas laborais, de que são exemplos a economia digital, verde e azul. É igualmente uma área essencial para suprir as necessidades das empresas, que constituem o primeiro motor de desenvolvimento.

Defendemos que as políticas europeias devem ainda potenciar o investimento público e privado a nível europeu, mas esse investimento tem de ser orientado para projetos que garantam o retorno económico e/ou social e deve potenciar o crescimento, não podendo nunca constituir um mecanismo de mero aproveitamento de fundos públicos.

Finalmente, gostaria de salientar a abordagem inteiramente nova proposta neste processo, que consiste na introdução, sem precedentes, de indicadores sociais, nomeadamente a taxa de atividade, o emprego dos jovens e o emprego a longo prazo, na análise de desenvolvimento global dos Estados-Membros. Caso este relatório seja aprovado, o Parlamento estará a dar à Comissão e ao Conselho uma forte mensagem de que, a par de outros indicadores já existentes, como os do domínio económico e financeiro, devemos ter mecanismos para aferir em que medida as nossas políticas estão a repercutir-se na vida diária dos nossos concidadãos. Esta será uma forma de garantir que os desequilíbrios internos nos Estados-Membros sejam ainda avaliados de forma a podermos redesenhar as respetivas reformas económicas e sociais, sempre que necessário. Este é um grande passo que nos permite reforçar o pilar social.

Para concluir, Senhora Presidente, quero agradecer aos colegas relatores-sombra dos restantes grupos políticos, que, com grande empenho, me acompanharam num esforço conjunto para chegarmos a uma posição comum.

 
  
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  Maria João Rodrigues, rapporteur. Madam President, we are at an important moment for the European Semester because Parliament can deliver today three important reports which deal with a situation that is quite unique in the European Union. We are dealing with overlapping crises and, if you want to cope with these overlapping crises, it is certain that we need to strengthen the internal cohesion of the European Union. This will depend a lot on delivering a much stronger and more balanced recovery. I have the pleasure to present today the report adopted by the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs. I am very grateful to my colleagues, because I believe that it was possible to reach a very useful compromise with real added value for the situation in the European Union.

The starting point of our report is to say that the European Semester should be used to pursue the rebalancing of our budgets and relevant reforms, but also to implement the Europe 2020 strategy for growth and jobs, because we believe that, in the end, the future of Europe will depend on this kind of competitiveness geared to the future, based on energy transition, digital solutions and bringing about more and better jobs.

But if this is the case, the policy mix should be fully supported for this ambition. This means that in the policy mix to be implemented in the coming year, pushing for investment should be a top priority. This means making the best of the available tools, starting with the European investment plan, but also completing the banking union to make access to credit much easier for small and medium-sized enterprises.

We do, of course, also need reforms, but we believe that we need a second generation of reforms pushing for education, innovation and good public administration and ensuring sustainable welfare systems. And, of course, we need to pursue the fiscal rebalancing of our budgets, but in such a way that we do not undermine this pro-growth move and the strategic investment we need to address. We should also take into account the fact that Europe is confronted with new challenges, security issues and, in particular, the refugee crisis.

I believe that the most important value in our report is the way to manage the euro area, because we recognise that the euro area is an economic entity deserving an appropriate policy mix. That is why we recommend that the investment gap which is there in the euro area should be addressed by sharing the contributions from different countries, particularly those with more fiscal space. The same should happen when it comes to reducing macroeconomic imbalances because, on the one hand, we need more-competitive countries to expand internal demand and, on the other, we need less-competitive countries to increase their competitiveness – not by reducing wages and social conditions but rather by investing in the future.

These are important conclusions. We believe that it is crucial to organise upward convergence in the eurozone, assuming that economic and social objectives should be treated in the same way. This can only be delivered if we complete economic and monetary union with a fiscal capacity and the banking union.

 
  
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  Catherine Stihler, rapporteur. Madam President, I would like to thank the Council – in the person of our former colleague from Parliament – for being here with us on this important debate.

The single market is a precious resource which the European Union’s current and future economic prosperity depends upon. The untapped potential of the single market, estimated at EUR 1 trillion in value, is both an opportunity and a wake-up call to ensuring the single market works to benefit us all. I think it is a great pity that we have continued to miss out on these advances for over 20 years, especially in the light of the ever-growing internationalisation and global competition that we face. The single market has great potential to boost jobs and growth, and this prospect has been widely acknowledged at an EU level.

However, despite repeated calls to strengthen the single market in the Council and in annual growth surveys and country-specific recommendations, not enough progress has been achieved so far. In order to effectively deliver on jobs and growth and competitiveness, the progress of integration of the single market and Member States must be accompanied with better governance and greater transparency of the process. Including the single market under the European Semester could help us achieve this goal. Regular, structured compliance dialogue with Member States, proper involvement of the European Parliament, inclusive and non-discriminatory approaches to all EU Member States, euro and non-eurozone, Member States’ national parliaments and all stakeholders, is crucial for transparency, governance and ownership, and ultimately for the success of the process.

I also believe it is the enforcement and implementation of already existing EU legislation by all 28 Member States that is key to unlocking the full potential of the single market: overcoming unnecessary non-tariff obstacles, proper implementation of the Services Directive, proper and timely transposition and implementation of public procurement and concessions legislation, modernising public administrations, providing more and better accessible digital services for citizens and businesses – and these are just a few examples where already-existing EU legislation is not yet properly implemented. They are stalling the development of the single market across the European Union. Change cannot and should not only come from the top. All players need to embrace a single market compliance culture and work in a cooperative partnership. Such multi-level ownership needs to be supported by adequate training, assistance and dedicated resources and accessible information at all levels.

I have tried to address these features in my report, and overall I am pleased with the final text. I would like to thank the shadows for their contributions; although we did not always agree on everything, I think we managed to reach an agreement in the end. I would also note that it is my firm belief – and hopefully that of many of my colleagues – that one of the reasons we are here as Members of the European Parliament is to ensure that we pass and adopt transparent, appropriate and fair laws. Since the Treaty of Lisbon entered into force, Parliament has more say over what and how legislation is adopted at EU level, and we need to use this influence as the only democratically-elected EU institution to ensure we adopt better regulations and better regulatory principles. That is why on behalf of my Group, I am asking for a slight change of wording in paragraph 46, via an amendment. This is to ensure that the better regulation principle is duly referred to in this report, as better governance and greater transparency of the process equates to an enhanced functioning of the single market for consumers and businesses alike.

I hope I can count on your support, colleagues, to support the amendment and the text as a whole, and I thank you for your cooperation.

 
  
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  Jean Arthuis, rapporteur pour avis de la commission des budgets. Madame la Présidente, je salue la présidence du Conseil et le commissaire. Je voudrais insister sur le caractère un peu formel de notre exercice, déplorer la faible dimension parlementaire du Semestre européen et regretter le manque d'ambition du rapport des cinq présidents à cet égard.

Cela dit – et je reprends les termes de Mme Rodrigues – l'Union européenne n'a pas de politique économique. La politique économique est une addition de politiques nationales et la coordination reste trop souvent quelque peu incantatoire. C'est la raison pour laquelle il nous semble nécessaire de renforcer la zone euro, qui ne peut que s'élargir dès lors que les pays qui n'en sont pas encore membres en manifesteront la volonté. La zone euro a besoin d'un budget qui nous permettrait de lutter contre les chocs asymétriques et de récompenser les réformes qui sont faites par les États membres.

Je veux souligner que le mécanisme européen de stabilité financière est en quelque sorte une mutualisation du surendettement de certains États membres de la zone euro et que ce que nous souhaitons, grâce à ce budget, c'est le policy mix: une mise en synergie de la politique budgétaire et de la politique monétaire.

 
  
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  Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, President-in-Office of the Council. Madam President, first of all, many thanks for the opportunity to discuss the European Semester. In times of crisis, when pressing issues abound, I am grateful to Parliament for dedicating time to the subject. Yes, it is a complex issue but one that deserves our full attention, for if we are to make Europe relevant to people’s daily lives, we need to achieve concrete results on growth and jobs. We need to create opportunities for young people, for the long-term unemployed, for small businesses. Yes, it is a long journey, for sure, but things are looking up. Europe is experiencing a recovery. Slowly but surely we are emerging from the crisis.

So which priority should guide our actions at this juncture? Reading your reports on the European Semester, I was pleased to see that we share a common assessment of the challenges before us. Obviously, relaunching investments remains a vital condition to strengthen the still fragile recovery and, as stated by rapporteur Rodrigues, investments are crucial. So yes, the Commission’s investment plan is central to our efforts in this respect. The European Fund for Strategic Investment, on which the European Parliament and the Council have worked hand in hand, is in place, but more needs to be done. So let us continue to work together with the same sense of urgency to lift the remaining barriers and to foster a truly favourable investment climate.

Clearly, sound responsible public finances are another essential part of our growth strategy, for the recovery can only be sustained if it is based on solid ground. This means making our tax systems more growth-friendly as well as developing modern social protection systems. We also need to embrace structural reforms to strengthen our economies, to ensure that our economies are resilient and fit for the future. Member States, especially those hardest hit by the crisis, have over the past few years undertaken ambitious reform agendas which are starting to bear fruit. However, as the pressure eases, the temptation to go back to ‘business as usual’ emerges. This is, obviously, understandable, but standing still in a fast-changing world is not an option. We have to move from rebalancing our economies and reforming our pension systems to ensuring that the younger generation have the skills they need for the future challenges. In other words, the reforms we carry out today will shape the competitive Europe of tomorrow.

In our endeavours to promote long-term growth, we can rely on the EU’s most valuable asset: tapping the potential of the single market. This was also stated by Ms Stihler. You have underlined in your report a single market dimension of the European Semester, and I very much welcome this. As you know, deepening the single market is an issue dear to the Netherlands Presidency, and we have planned to report on the issue ahead of the European Council meeting in March. At the core of our approach lies the conviction that, in the midst of global uncertainty and the crisis that Europe is facing today, we need to lay the ground for tomorrow. It is about designing and implementing future-proof policies.

How do we make sure that our policies withstand the test of time? First, we need to constantly review our work, for good recommendations are by no means a guarantee of success unless they are fully implemented. This is perhaps the single most important challenge of the European Semester: making sure that we actually deliver on reform. Member States’ responsibility is central here. The European Parliament has been active in pushing us to do better, and rightly so.

As the Presidency, we believe that much can be done in the Council to provide the right peer pressure to undertake the necessary but sometimes painful reforms. More political discussions on the implementation of reforms and sharing best practices between ministers will help keep the momentum for reform ongoing. This is why, in the coming two weeks, in addition to the usual discussions on the Annual Growth Survey, we have scheduled specific debates in the Council on the implementation of country-specific recommendations in the run-up to the March European Council. But let me be clear at the same time: there is no quick fix to address the implementation gap, and deeper discussions within the Council will not be sufficient. We need to involve all stakeholders, national parliaments, social partners and, of course, the European Parliament. This is not just about democratic oversight; it is vital for the process to be effective, as ownership is the foundation of meaningful reforms, and today’s debate is important for that very reason.

Progress has been made. Shorter, more focused recommendations do make it easier to concentrate our efforts on the key issues. The new timing of the Semester gives more time for work at expert level to exert a truly multilateral surveillance, and the early adoption of the euro area recommendation means that our discussions on national recommendations from now on will take into account euro area challenges. More attention is also being given to the social dimension of the Semester, and taken together these are meaningful changes, obviously. We will continue to strengthen our cooperation in order to reap the full benefits of the European Semester with just one goal in mind: delivering on a stronger Europe for all citizens.

 
  
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  Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice-President of the Commission. Madam President, honourable Members, this morning the College of Commissioners held an orientation debate on the European semester, including country reports and developments in the macroeconomic imbalances procedure.

We will publish the country reports on Friday, and decisions in the context of the Macroeconomic Imbalances Procedure will be taken in the next few weeks. The country reports follow the policy guidance provided by the 2016 Annual Growth Survey and the recommendation on the euro area last November. The 2016 European Semester is more streamlined than in the past: it integrates the euro area and national dimension and puts stronger emphasis on employment and social performance, convergence and support from the European structural investment funds and technical assistance to the implementation of reforms.

This year we decided to streamline the Macroeconomic Imbalances Procedure, moving from six to four categories, namely: no imbalances; imbalances; excessive imbalances; and excessive imbalances within the corrective arm of the Macroeconomic Imbalances Procedure. To put country reports in a broader economic context: the EU economic recovery is still ongoing but risks have visibly increased over the past few months, with negative external developments starting to feed into European financial markets and confidence indicators. Unemployment has been falling, but it remains high in a number of countries, particularly unemployment among young people and long-term unemployment. The adjustment of macroeconomic imbalances has advanced but is far from complete. In particular, high levels of private and public debt still act as a drag on growth in many Member States. This situation must be seen as an incentive to redouble the efforts to implement policies that support growth and stability.

In this respect we have many good examples of reforms in our Member States but also see that progress is uneven across Member States and different sectors. Further progress can be made with the close involvement of national parliaments, social partners and other stakeholders in the design and implementation of reforms. It is necessary to strengthen the effectiveness and ownership of reform efforts in the Member States. Publication of the country reports earlier than in the past serves this goal. It provides more time to engage in an in-depth dialogue with Member States and key stakeholders before the Commission publishes country-specific recommendations.

The role of the European Parliament in the European Semester has evolved over time. Ways to strengthen it further are being explored in line with the Five Presidents’ Report on completing economic and monetary union and the communication of October 2015 on steps towards completing the EMU.

I am convinced that it is of the utmost importance to have an exchange of governance milestones like the country reports, and I am very much looking forward to discussing these with you. The findings of the country reports, the outcome of the Commission’s analysis of our exchanges as well as the stability and convergence programmes and national reform programmes will pave the way for the 2016 country-specific recommendations, which the Commission will issue in May.

Now to come specifically to the three reports we are discussing today, to start with the Stihler report. I would like to thank the rapporteur, Ms Stihler, and welcome the contribution of the European Parliament on single market governance as part of 2016 European Semester. Structural reforms are needed to facilitate the reallocation of resources across companies, sectors and regions in order to increase productivity and competitiveness. It is necessary to go further in the process of reform, setting the foundations for a more competitive and resilient European economy. This can be achieved through reforms such as opening the product and services markets that would boost the EU internal market, and through structural reforms to eliminate barriers to the free circulation of goods and services. The Commission is working to reduce the high number of restrictions in product and services markets in many EU Member States. Improving the functioning of these markets is essential to renew the economic fabric of the EU and to ensure that EU companies adopt and successfully integrate into the increasingly global value chains.

Now to move the Rodrigues report. I would like to thank Ms Rodrigues for this report and it concurs with the views of the Commission on a wide range of issues. The Commission welcomes the support for the 2016 Annual Growth Survey and for the priorities it identifies, as well as for the advanced timing and content of the recommendation of the euro area. The Commission shares the importance of making more effort at national level to implement structural reforms effectively. It also shares the need for close coordination to achieve more robust economic recovery, to support sound public finances and address macroeconomic imbalances. The emphasis on promoting convergence towards the best performers in the euro area is also at the core of the Commission’s work.

Finally to the Ribeiro report: once again, thank you to the rapporteur. The European labour market is showing some positive signs. Unemployment is still high in many Member States, but it is gradually decreasing. Employment is growing in most sectors and for all age groups. More young people are back in jobs or taking part in education and training. Our efforts to fight against youth unemployment are beginning to bear fruit. We are also seeing the first signs of divergences among the Member States starting to decrease. Because of the crisis, more people have fallen into poverty, but also we see some first signs of progress. The promotion of better social standards and upward social convergence within the EU is a priority. The European Pillar of Social Rights will be an important vehicle to restore social convergence.

The Commission is paying more attention to employment and social developments in the European Semester. First, the 2016 Annual Growth Survey package puts social fairness at the heart of economic recovery. Second, in line with a new start for a social dialogue, the involvement of social partners in the European Semester is strengthened throughout the consultations at EU and national level, and in addition, the new employment guidelines call on Member States to involve social partners in the design and implementation of the reforms. Third, the analysis of new employment indicators in the Macroeconomic Imbalances Procedure allows for a better understanding of the employment and social consequences of imbalances in some Member States.

Several Member States have pursued reforms in the labour market and there are visibly positive effects, not least through increasing employment rates. However, these reforms should be continued, to stimulate growth and to create a positive environment for the creation of quality jobs.

Once again Madam President, Madam Minister, honourable Members, thank you and I am looking forward to a productive debate.

 
  
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  Андрей Ковачев, докладчик по становището на комисията по околна среда, обществено здраве и безопасност на храните. През последните години две цели постоянно присъстват в дневния ред на този парламент – икономически растеж и заетост. Нито една от тези цели не би била постижима, ако нямаме здрави европейски граждани. Всички знаем, че основната отговорност в тази сфера е на страните членки, но европейският семестър може и трябва да се използва като инструмент за постигане на модерни здравни системи, които отговарят на очакванията и нуждите на гражданите. Затова смятам за изключително важно в неговите рамки да има оценка на функционирането на системите за здравеопазване. Призовавам Комисията да разработи инструменти за наблюдаване на здравните резултати и измерване на достъпа до висококачествени здравни услуги, за да се намалят неравенствата в тази област.

Европейският съюз трябва да потвърди ангажимента си към изпълнението на Стратегията 2020. Трябва да демонстрираме на европейските граждани, че имаме план за бъдещето на нашия континент. Затова смятам, че преразглеждането на Стратегията 2020 трябва да бъде интегрирана много силно в европейския семестър. В сферата на околната среда и здравеопазването има големи перспективи за растеж, инвестиции и запазване на работните места. Европейският семестър има ключова роля за насърчаването на необходимите структурни реформи.

 
  
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  Искра Михайлова, докладчик по становището на комисията по регионално развитие. В своето становище по годишния обзор на растежа комисията по регионално развитие призовава Европейската комисия към по-добро отчитане на целите на стратегията „Европа 2020“ чрез подобряване на нейното изпълнение и извършване на допълнителен преглед, както и чрез предлагане на мерки и методология за по-добро наблюдение на разходите на фондовете на Европейски съюз, свързани с целите на стратегията „Европа 2020“. В тази връзка предстоящото преразглеждане на многогодишната финансова рамка дава възможност да се анализира и повиши добавената стойност от финансирането от Европейския съюз.

Комисията REGI посочва съществуващите връзки между целите на процеса на европейския семестър и програмирането на европейските структурни и инвестиционни фондове и счита, че инвестициите на политиката на сближаване могат да играят много важна роля в подкрепа на структурните реформи и изпълнението на стратегическите цели на Европейския съюз чрез проследяване на съответните специфични препоръки по държави членки.

 
  
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  Markus Ferber, im Namen der PPE-Fraktion. – Frau Präsidentin, Herr Kommissar! Meine lieben Kolleginnen, liebe Kollegen! Der Jahreswachstumsbericht der Kommission nennt drei Prioritäten: Investitionen ankurbeln, Strukturreformen umsetzen und eine verantwortungsvolle Haushaltspolitik.

Aus der Sicht der EVP-Fraktion ist das ein sehr kluger, sinnvoller Dreiklang, das ist vernünftig. Ich glaube, wir tun uns keinen Gefallen, wenn wir das Europäische Semester dazu missbrauchen – ich will es in der Deutlichkeit sagen –, jedes Jahr neue Indikatoren zu erfinden, die wenig mit Wettbewerbsfähigkeit, wenig mit guter Haushaltspolitik oder mit Strukturreformen zu tun haben, die aber nur ein Ziel haben: schlechte Zahlen schönzurechnen. Die wirtschaftlichen Rahmenbedingungen werden nicht dadurch besser, dass man neue Indikatoren erfindet. Deswegen waren wir als EVP-Fraktion da sehr zurückhaltend.

Uns geht es darum, auch nicht die Starken zu schwächen, sondern die Schwachen zu stärken. Das heißt ganz konkret: Wenn es Länder gibt, die zum Beispiel einen Exportüberschuss haben, dann profitieren andere Mitgliedstaaten in der Europäischen Union genauso davon, weil wir intern ja auch sehr intensive Handelsbeziehungen haben. Man wird nicht dadurch besser, dass man versucht dies abzubauen, sondern man sollte andere in die Lage versetzen, ähnlich gute Zahlen vorzulegen.

Das Dritte, was uns als EVP besonders bewegt, ist, dass wir uns mehr konzentrieren auf wenige Vorgaben an länderspezifischen Empfehlungen für die Mitgliedstaaten, die dann auch wirklich umgesetzt werden. Ich will mich noch kurz bedanken bei der Frau Berichterstatterin, dass Sie da an vielen Punkten auf uns eingegangen ist, sodass wir jetzt über einen ausgewogenen Bericht abstimmen können.

 
  
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  Elisa Ferreira, em nome do Grupo S&D. Senhora Presidente, Senhor Comissário Dombrovskis, Conselho, bem-vindos. Começo por agradecer a toda a equipa de colegas que foram relatores e, em particular, a Maria João Rodrigues, pelo ECON, este excelente relatório.

A mensagem que o relatório traz é muito clara: diz que é altura de alterar a agenda económica da Europa. Hoje, nos Estados Unidos, a crise de 2008 pertence aos manuais de História. Na União Europeia, no entanto, continuamos a «patinar» (desculpem o plebeísmo) numa recuperação excessivamente débil e no desemprego. As expectativas, hoje, para a indústria alemã estão, infelizmente, ao nível de 2008-2009. A banca e os seguros começaram de novo a dar sinais de tensão, porque não há bons negócios se não houver boas empresas rentáveis, e não há empresas rentáveis sem procura interna e sem investimento, por mais baixa que seja a taxa de juro. Na economia, não pode só ver a oferta, tem de haver procura, e a política económica que temos seguido tem extinguido essa procura, através de uma austeridade excessiva. Hoje, qualquer oscilação na economia dos Estados Unidos ou da China perturba a União.

É preciso reajustar a política orçamental e introduzir simetria no ajustamento entre países deficitários e países excedentários. É preciso proteger o investimento estratégico – e parece que, sobre isso, há um consenso. E é preciso completar a união bancária, ou a União Europeia perderá o controlo sobre o seu próprio destino.

Portugal é, neste aspeto, um bom exemplo de que é possível cumprir as regras europeias e assumir uma política mais estimulante do crescimento económico e do emprego. Mas é preciso que a União e a Comissão, em particular, bem como o Conselho, estejam disponíveis para apoiar alternativas como estas e também para mudarem a dominante que, até agora, tem existido na política geral da própria união monetária. Com tantos problemas a ameaçarem a União, tenhamos a inteligência resolver a componente económica, porque essa está nas nossas mãos. Espero que assim aconteça.

 
  
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  Ulrike Trebesius, im Namen der ECR-Fraktion. Frau Präsidentin, Herr Kommissar! Die wirtschaftliche Situation der EU bleibt von großen Ungleichgewichten geprägt, die Massenarbeitslosigkeit in Südeuropa ist persistent, und ohne die niedrigen Ölpreise wären die aktuellen Wachstumswerte kaum vorstellbar. Ganze Länder und Regionen sind weiterhin vom Aufschwung abgekoppelt. Das Europäische Semester soll einerseits länderspezifische Empfehlungen zu Wirtschaftsreformen aussprechen, andererseits makroökonomische Ungleichgewichte angehen. Der Aufwand, der dafür betrieben wird, ist erheblich. Der Erfolg – also die Umsetzung durch die Mitgliedstaaten in konkrete Politik – ist mit rund 25 % im Jahr 2014 eher gering.

Die Umsetzung ist freiwillig und sollte das im Sinne der Subsidiarität auch bleiben. In den Nicht-Euro-Staaten ist das kein Problem. Sie müssen mit ihrem eigenen Wohlstand und ihren Zukunftsperspektiven für die Qualität der eigenen Politiker haften. Im Euro-Währungsgebiet dagegen werden die Kosten der unzureichenden Reformen weitergegeben, beispielsweise über Targetsalden, über künstliche Niedrigzinsen oder gleich über die Druckerpresse.

Die Ungleichheit in der EU nimmt zu, und der Traum der wirtschaftlichen Konvergenz – einst Ziel bei der Euro-Einführung – liegt weiter entfernt denn je. Da keine Abwertung der eigenen Währung stattfinden kann, muss weiterhin intern abgewertet werden. Als Konsequenz soll eine Wirtschaftsregierung etabliert werden, um die Wirtschaftspolitik des Euro-Währungsgebiets kontrollieren zu können. Das ist der falsche Weg, denn die Menschen haben sowohl die Transfers als auch die Bevormundung durch die EU satt. Die Stärke von Europa liegt in seiner Innovationskraft mit …

(Die Präsidentin entzieht der Rednerin das Wort.)

 
  
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  Ramon Tremosa i Balcells, on behalf of the ALDE Group. Madam President, the ALDE Group is of the opinion that this report could be improved. That is why we are presenting some amendments for tomorrow. If they receive the votes of the big coalition, we could reconsider our final negative vote on this dossier.

In our opinion, the current version of this report calls for increasing flexibility in public deficit spending, forcing the legal framework. The text also has the wrong view and implications on current account surpluses, which are more critical than current account deficit countries. The dossier does not recommend EFSI projects to be economically viable and falls short, introducing bureaucracy, modernising economies and removing barriers to entry to the labour market.

Our amendments tried to make the report more balanced. Fiscal expansion is not the panacea for the current economic situation. We point out the importance of structural reforms. Only if the business environment improves will private investment be mobilised. China is slowing, and even the Federal Reserve in America is afraid that another crisis is around the corner. So it is time for Member States to do their reform homework.

 
  
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  Gabriele Zimmer, im Namen der GUE/NGL-Fraktion. – Frau Präsidentin! Ich möchte mich auf den sozial- und beschäftigungspolitischen Aspekt konzentrieren und möchte darauf verweisen, dass es zwar durchaus positiv zu nennen ist, dass jetzt über soziale Infrastrukturinvestitionen gesprochen wird, dass aber nach wie vor wirklich konkrete Kriterien dafür fehlen.

Was bedeutet das eigentlich? Nach wie vor erscheint mir der Ansatz, dass über das Europäische Semester tatsächlich Wachstum in Beschäftigung – und zwar auf der Basis von guter Arbeit – und auch in sozialer Sicherheit nicht gegeben ist. Hier beißt sich aus meiner Sicht die Katze in den Schwanz. Wenn zum Beispiel der Aspekt der Flexicurity aus dem Verlies oder aus dem Grab wieder hochgeholt wird und behauptet wird, es hat ja nur in der Vergangenheit einige Überziehung gegeben, dann muss ich sagen: Nein, Flexicurity ist genau der Ansatz gewesen, warum wir heute mehr prekäre Beschäftigung haben.

Hier gibt es also sehr viel gemeinsam zu diskutieren, aufzuklären, zu verändern. Wenn eine soziale Säule geschaffen werden soll, dann muss geklärt sein: Was wird der Inhalt sein? Wird gesichert, dass diese Mindestnormen, um die es dort gehen soll, keine Norm zur Herabsenkung von sozialen Standards werden?

 
  
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  Bas Eickhout, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. Madam President, first of all I would like to thank the rapporteur for the good cooperation in this report and also to thank my shadow rapporteur.

Mr Tremosa i Balcells, I am a bit surprised: you say that you are voting against this report because we are using the flexibilities for more investment. Have you been listening to the chief economist of the OECD, who this year joined the ranks saying that Europe needs more investments? It seems that more and more economic institutions in Central Europe, and even outside Europe, are saying that more investments are needed, but ALDE, the Liberals, are keeping up their old strategy of saying ‘no, we should not invest’. This is a very strange attitude, and I am happy that this report gives more room for investment and also more room for investment in human capital, and that we are saying that the euro area’s aggregate fiscal stance is a good thing to look at and that the structural reforms should be more geared to resource efficiency. All these aspects are good aspects in this report, and that is why we as a Group can vote in favour and give once more consideration to the Liberals to really change their strategy, because the world is moving on.

(The speaker agreed to take a blue-card question under Rule 162(8))

 
  
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  Ramon Tremosa i Balcells (ALDE), blue-card question. This is an irony in itself, because in the Juncker plan, the D66 – our liberals – voted against, and the Greens from the Netherlands voted in favour, and now it seems that the same is happening. But we think that one of the main reasons we are voting against this report is that we wanted to have the word ‘investment’ – the investment that we all agree that we need to be economically viable. Because we have to ensure that no more investment will go to airports without planes, trains without passengers and highways without traffic. We want to ensure this, and we do not want to let Member States [...]

(The President cut off the speaker)

 
  
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  President. – Mr Tremosa i Balcells, that was not a question. I let you speak a bit longer but I will nevertheless give the floor to Mr Eickhout.

 
  
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  Bas Eickhout (Verts/ALE), blue-card answer. [...] like a question, because I have to get back to your first contribution, when you said ‘I’m voting against because there is more flexibility and stability growth backed in the report, and there’s also negative language about surplus countries like the Netherlands and Germany’. That is a good thing indeed, and I think we should do so. And on investments: only if really viable; if that is the reason why you would vote against, then just look at the fact that on structural reform and investment we say that the sustainable transition of Member States’ economies towards greater resource efficiency is crucial. That has your point in it, so if that is really your key vote, you can still change and make it a plus.

 
  
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  Marco Valli, a nome del gruppo EFDD. Signora Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, la ricetta economica della Commissione nasce per l'ennesimo anno da tre principi sbagliati: l'austerità, con le parole disciplina, rigore e stabilità messe ovunque; riforme sconsiderate, senza valutazioni d'impatto adeguate; e i famosi investimenti privati, che però senza lo stimolo pubblico rimangono inconsistenti. Una ricetta economica fallimentare, senza senso comunitario, che impone ancora fortemente il volere tedesco.

Per opporsi a questa ricetta non basta dire "no" all'austerità, ma bisogna essere onesti intellettualmente e mettere in discussione lo strumento monetario attraverso il quale si obbligano gli Stati ad applicare queste politiche sbagliate, calpestando continuamente le Costituzioni nazionali. La cessione di sovranità monetaria è il peccato originario e riprendersela è l'unico modo concreto per lottare a testa alta contro l'austerità e riportare sui principi fondanti l'Unione e salvare l'Europa.

Ad oggi abbiamo due esempi chiari di potere contrattuale: quello forte di chi non ha l'euro, come l'Inghilterra, che potendo autodeterminarsi economicamente viene a Bruxelles a trattare da protagonista, ponendo le condizioni, e quello debole di chi ha ceduto le politiche economiche adottando l'euro e quindi è obbligato a fare quello che dicono Bruxelles e Francoforte, elemosinando flessibilità e subendo schiaffi ed ingiustizie nell'applicazione delle regole. Grecia ed Italia sono i due esempi più concreti e lampanti.

Parlo di ingiustizia perché da quasi vent'anni abbiamo una moneta che è espressione non di una vera area valutaria, ma di un vincolo di cambi fissi tra 19 Stati con profonde e radicate differenze economiche e sociali. Lo diciamo in ogni relazione sui temi economici da quando siamo entrati in questo Parlamento: ogni giorno, da troppi anni, tedeschi e olandesi sfruttano il cambio fisso sottovalutato per le loro economie e si arricchiscono registrando record di surplus sulle partite correnti nella bilancia dei pagamenti.

La Commissione temporeggia e non fa nulla di concreto, applicando in modo troppo soft, lento e progressivo la procedura per gli squilibri macroeconomici. La Commissione si è mossa negli anni solo per bacchettare i paesi mediterranei già in difficoltà, i quali sono costretti a svalutazioni interne, intrappolati nell'impossibilità di far fluttuare i cambi per colmare il divario. Lo ha dovuto ammettere anche qualche settimana fa il ministro delle Finanze italiano Padoan. In più ci sono decenni di studi economici che dicono quello che sto dicendo adesso.

Purtroppo ancora una volta il tema del surplus tedesco non sarà chiaramente affrontato di petto nel testo che voteremo, anzi, per alcuni versi possiamo dire che verrà esaltato positivamente. C'è la speranza di un nostro emendamento per inchiodare la Germania, l'Olanda e la Commissione; vedremo chi voterà o chi continuerà a sostenere un compromesso al ribasso con il PPE e a nascondere l'evidente irrazionalità e disparità di trattamenti di questa Unione monetaria.

 
  
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  Bernard Monot, au nom du groupe ENF. Madame la Présidente, Monsieur le commissaire, encore une fois, nous constatons l'inefficacité totale du Semestre européen. Ce programme, qui consiste à mettre au pas les économies nationales pour mieux construire l'Union économique et monétaire, ne marche pas. L'OCDE revoit à la baisse ses prévisions de taux de croissance et d'inflation dans la zone euro. Pourtant, les conditions sont très porteuses: les taux de la BCE sont faibles, le prix du pétrole est bas, l'euro-dollar s'est déprécié de 20 % depuis deux ans, mais l'économie européenne ne redécolle pas.

En 1992, vos slogans publicitaires européistes vantaient le plein emploi et la prospérité européenne, mais vingt-cinq ans plus tard, votre bilan socioéconomique est lamentable. L'euro et votre Europe, c'est le chômage massif, la stagnation, la montagne de dettes, l'austérité et, surtout, un totalitarisme financier et bancaire. Votre utopie européenne ne marche pas et, d'ailleurs, le Royaume-Uni l'a bien compris et veut quitter cette galère. Les mêmes causes produisant les mêmes effets, aucune des réformes du Semestre européen ne fonctionnera. Malheureusement, dans un an, la situation sera encore pire qu'aujourd'hui. C'est pourquoi nous ne voterons pas pour ce rapport.

 
  
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  Adam Szejnfeld (PPE). Pani Przewodnicząca! Ocena europejskiego semestru musi wiązać się z oceną stanu zarządzania jednolitym rynkiem. Trzeba niestety powiedzieć, że w tym zakresie ciągle jest bardzo dużo do zrobienia.

Szanowni Państwo! Żyjemy w XXI wieku, a obecne czasy charakteryzują się między innymi: skokowym postępem cyfrowym i technologicznym, powszechną globalizacją i konkurencją międzynarodową, zmianami w mentalności społecznej i wzorcach konsumenckich, a także powstawaniem zupełnie nowych, nieznanych wcześniej form działalności gospodarczej. Tak więc żeby utrzymać dotychczasową konkurencję na wspólnym rynku, europejskim rynku, ale co ważniejsze – żeby utrzymać i rozwijać konkurencję europejskiego rynku na światowym rynku – potrzebna nam jest deregulacja warunków działalności gospodarczej, wzmocnienie pozycji małych i średnich przedsiębiorstw, w tym start-upów, rozwój innowacyjności, w tym postępu technicznego i technologicznego, upowszechnianie e-administracji, zmniejszenie kosztów biurokratycznych i finansowych działalności gospodarczej, pełne wdrożenie prawa europejskiego we wszystkich państwach członkowskich, likwidacja pozataryfowych barier oraz protekcjonizmu w państwach członkowskich.

De facto jest nam koniecznie potrzebne udoskonalenie zarządzania jednolitym rynkiem. I to jest puenta do dzisiejszej pracy.

 
  
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  Sergio Gutiérrez Prieto (S&D). Señora Presidenta, hemos presentado desde la Comisión de Empleo y Asuntos Sociales un buen informe, un muy buen informe que contrasta, señor Comisario, señores del Consejo, con la realidad que ustedes describen, con una realidad muy complaciente con lo que viven los ciudadanos en la inmensa mayoría de los países de la Unión Europea. La verdad es que llevamos dos años de recuperación, pero es verdad que es una recuperación lenta, es una recuperación débil y, sobre todo, es una recuperación profundamente desigual. Nos lo dicen todos los informes internacionales.

Por ejemplo, la OCDE —no me canso de decirlo— nos está afirmando que las diferencias entre el 10 % más pobre y el 10 % que más tiene desde el inicio de la crisis se han multiplicado, en algunos países como el mío, hasta por siete. Y ustedes nos dibujan, como digo, un panorama demasiado complaciente, incluso con la realidad que estamos viendo, con las nuevas incertidumbres económicas y sociales que nos están azotando.

Y para eso, desde la Comisión de Empleo y Asuntos Sociales, desde el Grupo socialista, les pedimos fundamentalmente tres cosas. Primero, que impulsen las inversiones. Segundo, que corrijan los excesos de la política de austeridad excesiva que se han llevado tanto en las reformas laborales como en las reformas estructurales, y sobre todo, que han atacado el modelo social europeo. Y tercero, que construyan y refuercen la zona del euro, la dimensión social de nuestra moneda común.

Tenemos que reforzar las inversiones. Si no invertimos, si no conseguimos crear una política contracíclica en este nuevo clima de incertidumbre económica, no habremos aprendido de los errores del pasado. Tenemos el plan Juncker, pero el plan Juncker no está produciendo el efecto de aumentar las inversiones en la zona del euro. ¿Ustedes saben que con respecto, por ejemplo, al Reino Unido o, por ejemplo, a los Estados Unidos, que han aumentado la inversión en los dos últimos años, el año pasado en la zona del euro seguimos disminuyendo las inversiones globales con respecto, por ejemplo, al periodo 2013-2014?

No lo podemos permitir. Necesitamos más inversiones para impulsar el crecimiento económico y no podemos permitir que lo poco que sepamos hoy del plan Juncker sea a consecuencia de un efecto sustitutivo en el conjunto de los Estados miembros sobre las inversiones ya programadas y no ejecutadas. Tenemos que corregir los excesos de las reformas laborales, porque se está creando empleo, pero empleo precario, subempleo, jornadas laborales de muy pocas horas. Estamos con contratos parciales totalmente involuntarios. Estamos viendo cómo se sustituyen contratos indefinidos por contratos precarios, a veces por horas. Y estamos generalizando y no combatiendo un fenómeno de pobreza laboral que hoy es, en todo el conjunto de la Unión Europea, trabajar por menos de lo que permite llenar la cesta de la compra o pagar el recibo de la luz, es decir, en definitiva, vivir con dignidad.

Y tenemos que recuperar el modelo social, porque es la política más justa, pero sobre todo es la política económica más eficiente. Con pensiones dignas, con prestaciones por desempleo suficientes, con becas no solo estamos creando una sociedad más justa, sino que estamos creando estabilizadores automáticos que nos protegen contra los shocks económicos que vienen de fuera. Si no recuperamos los modelos sociales no estaremos aprendiendo de los errores del pasado.

Y, por último, tenemos que construir una mejor zona del euro, con una dimensión social. No podemos permitirnos, como digo, que en la próxima crisis económica las devaluaciones salariales ...

(La Presidenta retira la palabra al orador)

 
  
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  Stanisław Ożóg (ECR). Pani Przewodnicząca! Po pierwsze, chciałbym poprosić Panią o wyjaśnienie kwestii dostępności sprawozdań poddawanych dzisiejszej debacie w językach ojczystych posłów do Parlamentu Europejskiego. Na przykład sprawozdanie pana Rodrigueza dotyczące europejskiego semestru jeszcze dzisiaj było dostępne tylko w języku angielskim.

Jeśli chodzi o semestr europejski, to na szczęście mogę powiedzieć, że nie jest to temat nowy. Z mojego punktu widzenia mam kilka uwag; dwie charakterystyczne chciałbym przedstawić. Po pierwsze – reformy strukturalne w państwach członkowskich. Regularnie debatujemy nad tym, na ile wiążące są zalecenia dla poszczególnych państw. Postawmy sprawę jasno – zalecenia przecież są wiążące, ponieważ zatwierdzane są przez samych szefów rządów i bardzo często uderzają w samo sedno problemu w poszczególnych krajach. Kolejna kwestia, niejako łącząca się z wcześniejszą, to to, że nie wyobrażam sobie, jak i po co zwiększać koordynację gospodarczą na szczeblu Unii Europejskiej, jeśli na chwilę obecną nie jesteśmy w stanie koordynować odpowiednio ESMS. Wiele państw nie wdraża zalecanych im reform, więc uważam osobiście, że raczej powinniśmy koncentrować się na tym, co robić, żeby zachęcić rządy do przeprowadzania reform na szczeblu krajowym, szczególnie teraz, kiedy widmo kolejnego kryzysu finansowego i gospodarczego realnie nam zagraża.

 
  
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  Ulla Tørnæs (ALDE). Madam President, first of all I would like to thank the rapporteur from the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, Ms Ribeiro, for a very good and a very constructive process and work on this report. I understand that finding compromises in this matter is not easy, and I understand that many concerns have been taken into consideration. I also have to say, however, that in my opinion the Employment Committee’s position on the annual growth survey could have a more forward-looking approach, recognising the achievements made and pointing to reforms needed in the European labour market to size up the full potential and contribute to strengthening the growth that is now slowly returning to Europe.

The economic situation is improving. Unemployment continued to fall in December 2015 by 0.1% compared to November 2015. Unemployment is still too high, standing at 10.4%, but the situation is, however, improving. The number and proportion of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion stabilised in 2013 and 2014. We should not neglect the fact that the social situation is still severe for many and that more efforts need to be made to create growth and new jobs and thereby a way out of poverty and social exclusion, but we should…

(The President cut off the speaker)

 
  
  

PRÉSIDENCE DE MME SYLVIE GUILLAUME
Vice-présidente

 
  
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  Miguel Viegas (GUE/NGL). Senhora Presidente, As perspetivas de crescimento para 2016 representam o ponto de partida de um processo ao qual nos opomos firmemente. O Semestre Europeu e a governação económica estão no centro de uma estratégia de domínio neoliberal das políticas orçamentais dos Estados nacionais. As orientações constantes do relatório, que deverão ser seguidas pelos governos, insistem nas mesmas receitas que semearam a pobreza e o desemprego em toda a Europa, impedindo, na prática, qualquer estratégia alternativa para fazer face à crise com políticas de estímulo ao crescimento baseado em investimento público e no aumento da procura agregada.

Não há manobras de cosmética, sejam elas do ponto de vista social ou passando pelo maior envolvimento deste Parlamento, que apaguem o caráter profundamente antidemocrático da União Económica e Monetária, que impõe, à revelia do interesse das populações e dos trabalhadores, as suas políticas neoliberais de concentração da riqueza. Continuamos convictos de que só o fim da união económica e monetária e do euro poderá abrir caminho a políticas alternativas de desenvolvimento.

 
  
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  Jean Lambert (Verts/ALE). Madam President, like others, I would like to thank the rapporteur of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs for her openness. Within this process many of us have been arguing for quite some time that the social dimension –social fairness – has to be fully recognised. We really hope that what we are seeing here is a genuine shift in the Commission – but I think many of us wait to be convinced.

We welcome the additional social indicators, but we think they have got to have a real meaning and a real impact on policy and that social fairness means that we have to tackle the inequalities, both within and between our countries. We recognise that it is not a by-product of economic activity but requires considered action. So we welcome the report’s call for investment in services such as healthcare, child care and housing. Social fairness will be helped by decent wages, and it really is time that we closed the gender pay gap and tackled in—work poverty. We really hope that social dialogue is seriously back on the agenda, having been so badly damaged.

 
  
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  Patrick O’Flynn (EFDD). Madam President, so we reach this point every year, the moment when supporters of the eurozone predict that happier days are just around the corner – strong growth, major job creation, all the things that never actually come to pass. Euro supporters talk about the potential of further structural reforms, and almost everyone agrees with Mr Draghi about the euro being a success. That is, of course, a complete load of rubbish. The euro area has barely grown at all in the relatively benign conditions of the past year. Take things back to the euro’s inception: an index placing economies at 100 back in the first quarter of 1999 would have just crawled to 123 for the eurozone 17 years later. Even in the UK, where we have had our share of stops and starts, we have reached 137 in the same timeframe. Your politically-inspired currency does not work and as a result many of your young people do not work either. That is not going to change until you put the euro out of its misery.

(The speaker agreed to take a blue-card question under Rule 162(8))

 
  
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  Andreas Schwab (PPE), blue-card question. I have been listening to you and I would just like to understand – maybe you can explain to me – why the pound sterling has gone down in the last few days.

 
  
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  Patrick O’Flynn (EFDD), blue-card answer. Well, as you know, currencies tend to go down and they go up as well. In fact, after the 2008 crash, the pound sterling went down and we saved something like a million jobs in our country, while you were losing millions of jobs in the eurozone because the individual nation states could not run their own currencies. It is actually quite benign that sterling has gone down at the moment because investors across the world have finally woken up to the eurozone weaknesses. So, if we can get a temporary corrective out of a temporary decline in sterling, I do not mind that at all.

 
  
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  Mylène Troszczynski (ENF). Madame la Présidente, l'Europe souffre. Tous les indicateurs sont au rouge: chômage de masse, manque de compétitivité, récession et austérité.

Chers collègues, vous demandez plus d'intégration du marché unique, mais y croyez-vous vraiment? Ce processus répond à un agenda politique puissant dont le but est la disparition de l'État-nation. Vous continuez à présenter le marché unique comme un remède au chômage de masse, alors que chaque jour apporte son lot de mauvais résultats: fermetures d'entreprises, délocalisations, précarisation de pans entiers de l'économie réelle. L'autosatisfaction obstinée sur l'intégration du marché unique est étonnante, compte tenu de ce maigre bilan, qui doit être analysé avec pragmatisme. En commission IMCO, certains collègues ont fait des déclarations stupéfiantes. Affirmer que les migrants qui arrivent par millions doivent être intégrés dans le marché unique et qu'ils sont une chance pour l'Europe est irresponsable. Il est pourtant simple d'anticiper les conséquences de l'intégration de ces populations sur le marché du travail et sur les salaires moyens. À qui profite le crime, peut-on se demander.

Chers collègues, les économies européennes ont besoin d'oxygène, elles étouffent en raison des règles centralisatrices imposées par la Commission et ses experts. La gouvernance du marché est un concept démodé auquel mon groupe s'opposera demain.

 
  
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  David Casa (PPE). Madam President, first of all I would like to thank our rapporteur, Ms Sofia Ribeiro, for her excellent work on this dossier.

It has to be acknowledged that the European Semester has clearly shown that it provided the necessary tools that helped Member States get out of the financial crisis, but the crisis has left its scars on the European social model. The challenge lies in strengthening the social dimension of the EU. It is encouraging to note that three new employment indicators have been added to the main scoreboard. In order to strengthen the recovery and foster upward economic and social convergence across Member States, it is necessary to reform our economies and invest in human capital to create more jobs at all levels.

Europe has a number of tools at its disposal to achieve this: essentially the Europe 2020 strategy and the implementation of the Investment Plan for Europe. On both counts, we need to look carefully at improving its implementation and monitoring in order to ensure smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

Finally, I believe that Member States need to take a holistic approach to implementing effective labour market policies, targeting both jobseekers and employers. It is important to facilitate job-seeking in the European Union through education, training and reskilling.

 
  
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  Evelyne Gebhardt (S&D). Frau Präsidentin! Es freut mich sehr, Herr Casa, Ihnen zuzuhören. Der Binnenmarkt ist einer der Grundpfeiler der Europäischen Union. Das wird immer wieder gesagt, und davon bin ich auch absolut überzeugt. Ich bin aber immer wieder erstaunt, was für altmodische Ideen immer noch in vielen Köpfen bleiben, bei denen gesagt wird: Ja, da geht es nur um Wirtschaft, da geht es nur um das Business, am besten die ganz großen Unternehmen, und dann wird schon alles geregelt sein. Nein! Wir brauchen einen holistischen Ansatz – genauso, wie Sie es gerade auch gesagt haben –, in dem nicht nur die Wirtschaft, nicht nur die Unternehmen, sondern hochwertige Arbeitsplätze, Innovation, Verbraucherschutz auf bestmöglichem Niveau gestaltet werden. Nur dann, wenn wir das insgesamt zusammenbringen, werden wir auch die Wirtschaft in der Europäischen Union voranbringen können und dafür sorgen, dass nicht nur Arbeitsplätze geschaffen werden, sondern auch Wirtschaftswachstum geschaffen wird, was wir in unseren Wirtschaften auch brauchen.

Wir müssen dafür sorgen! Deswegen freue ich mich, dass jetzt endlich auch einmal der Binnenmarkt in den Mittelpunkt des Europäischen Semesters gerückt worden ist, um genau diese Aspekte voranbringen zu können. Und ich freue mich schon, dass wir, wenn es uns gelingt, ein kleines Problem mit Ziffer 46 in dem Bericht Stihler zu lösen, in unserer Fraktion auch wirklich allen Berichten zustimmen können.

 
  
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  Bernd Lucke (ECR). Frau Präsidentin! Das Europäische Semester ist ja ein Teil des Versuchs der wirtschaftspolitischen Steuerung in der Europäischen Union. Wirtschaftliche Steuerung kann man dann machen, wenn man ein klares Ziel vor Augen hat, was es ursprünglich im Rahmen der wirtschaftspolitischen Steuerung ja auch einmal gegeben hat: ein Ziel der Stabilität der Staatsfinanzen, der Solidität der öffentlichen Finanzierung. Dieses Ziel allerdings haben wir nie erreicht. Dieses Ziel hat katastrophal Schiffbruch erlitten in der Staatsschuldenkrise der Jahre 2010 und 2011. Deshalb ist die neue Philosophie offenbar die, dass wir den Zielkatalog ein wenig erweitern, dass wir in unseren scoreboards jede Menge andere Indikatoren noch hinzufügen, und Kollegin Gebhardt hat das jetzt gerade sozusagen noch ausgebaut hin zu einem holistischen Ansatz. Wenn wir nur genügend Ziele haben, meine Damen und Herren, dann werden wir wahrscheinlich ein Ziel zufälligerweise möglicherweise auch irgendwie erreichen. Aber damit wird die Steuerung doch letzten Endes völlig zwecklos.

Wenn wir uns anschauen, was heutzutage im Euro-Währungsgebiet passiert, dann stellen wir fest, dass die Ziele weidlich ignoriert werden: Portugal soll also sparen, sagen wir. Aber die Portugiesen verabschieden einen Haushalt, der eben gerade kein Sparhaushalt ist. Die Italiener sollen ebenfalls sparen. Sie sagen, sie brauchen aber mehr fiskalischen Raum, und fragen, ob sie nicht das Defizit dann doch einfach wieder höher ansetzen dürfen, als es eigentlich erforderlich ist. Die Franzosen verabschieden Gesetze, die bedingen, dass sie im dritten Jahr hintereinander erneut das Defizit überziehen. Griechenland tanzt allen auf der Nase herum und verabschiedet nicht die notwendigen Reformen. Meine Damen und Herren, geben wir die Steuerung auf und lassen wir einfach die Länder selbst ihre Wirtschaftspolitik durchführen!

 
  
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  Antanas Guoga (ALDE). Madam President, the single market is actually the biggest and most successful achievement that we have in the European Union, and we should be proud of it. In the last 50 years it has generated opportunities, created jobs and offered greater choice at lower prices for consumers. But the work is far from finished and a lot of challenges are still ahead. Single market governance is a top priority, and the European Semester is a wonderful tool for that. I strongly believe that the EU should use the momentum of the collaborative economy. The Commission and Member States should encourage the development of new business models by ensuring the best possible conditions for them to develop and thrive. The Commission and Member States should work better to enforce the mutual recognition principle as this is crucial for the better functioning of the single market. Furthermore, the single market needs new market surveillance and product safety legislation at European level. I strongly encourage the Commission to take the lead there.

 
  
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  Joao Pimenta Lopes (GUE/NGL). Senhora Presidente, estamos perante um conjunto de documentos que prosseguem o aprofundamento do Semestre Europeu e das políticas de governação económica, numa postura de maquilhagem e branqueamento dos seus objetivos e das suas consequências. Vende-se a mentira destes instrumentos como a via para o desenvolvimento, o crescimento económico e a convergência quando, ao invés, são instrumentos que comprometem a soberania dos Estados, que promovem as assimetrias desenvolvimento, a concentração de capital, as desigualdades sociais, o ataque aos direitos dos trabalhadores e a precarização do trabalho.

Rejeitamos o Semestre Europeu e as políticas de governação económica, contrariando qualquer tentativa de branqueamento ou legitimação das políticas de empobrecimento e de austeridade. Afirmamos a necessidade de romper com estas políticas e de, em oposição, reforçar a soberania dos Estados e fazer suportar o desenvolvimento e o crescimento económico e sustentável por via do controlo público de setores estratégicos, no trabalho com direitos e salários dignos.

(O orador recusa responder a uma pergunta "cartão azul" do Deputado Nuno Melo)

 
  
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  Pascal Durand (Verts/ALE). Madame la Présidente, le Semestre européen est le tableau de bord que se fixe l'Union pour garantir une cohérence des politiques publiques européennes. Au-delà du mantra "compétitivité, croissance, fardeau administratif", ce contrôle devrait intégrer les vrais outils sociaux et économiques de durabilité. Malheureusement, dans le rapport, nulle mention n'est faite ni à la question de l'économie circulaire, ni à celle de la gestion et de l'utilisation efficace des ressources, alors que cela avait été demandé expressément par le Parlement européen en juillet 2015.

Par ailleurs, comment comprendre, dans un rapport qui vise la gouvernance du marché unique, l'absence, après le scandale Volkswagen et le Dieselgate, d'outils de surveillance du marché? Comment comprendre également, après le LuxLeaks, l'absence d'une convergence fiscale et sociale pour équilibrer les politiques publiques? Par conséquent, Madame Stihler – et je le regrette, eu égard au travail que vous avez accompli –, en raison de ces absences, nous serons malheureusement obligés de voter contre ce rapport.

 
  
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  Andreas Schwab (PPE). Frau Präsidentin! Liebe Kolleginnen und Kollegen! In der Tat ist es so, dass wir jedes Jahr in dieser Debatte wieder viel über Haushaltszahlen, über angebliche Ungleichgewichte und Vorwürfe untereinander diskutieren, aber leider aus dem Blickfeld verlieren, dass natürlich die 28 Mitgliedstaaten der Europäischen Union, die Mitgliedstaaten des Euro-Währungsgebiets auch eine Eigenverantwortung dafür tragen, dass die Verantwortung für die Wachstumskräfte, die tatsächlich die Europäische Union bereitstellen kann, nämlich einen einheitlichen Binnenmarkt mit einheitlichen Standards und einheitlich angewendeten Umsetzungsgesetzen, häufig aus dem Fokus fällt.

Das ist schade, denn nur dann, wenn tatsächlich alle Mitgliedstaaten sich die Mühe machen, den Binnenmarkt als die Herzensangelegenheit des Europäischen Semesters anzusehen, kann es uns gelingen, dass tatsächlich das Wohlstandsgefälle geringer wird und der Binnenmarkt die wirtschaftsfördernde Wirkung entfaltet, die er braucht.

Ich sage das jedes Jahr an dieser Stelle und ich weiß, dass es im Europäischen Semester leider nicht genug Gehör findet. Trotzdem habe ich gedacht, es ist sinnvoll, wenn ich es nochmal wiederhole.

 
  
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  Joachim Schuster (S&D). Frau Präsidentin! Im neuen Europäischen Semester gibt es viel Licht und viel Schatten. So ist positiv hervorzuheben, dass neue Impulse für Wachstum durch mehr Investitionen gefordert werden. Das ist wichtig, denn nach wie vor ist die Arbeitslosigkeit in Europa unerträglich hoch und das zentrale Problem.

Zu beklagen ist aber, dass letztlich keine Abkehr von der schädlichen Austeritätspolitik vorgenommen wird. Die Haushaltskonsolidierung steht in vielen Mitgliedstaaten immer noch höher als die Bekämpfung der Arbeitslosigkeit.

Wer wirklich Beschäftigung fördern will, muss deutlicher umsteuern. Wir brauchen eine konsequente Wachstumspolitik durch die massive Ausweitung öffentlicher Investitionen. Wir brauchen endlich eine europäische Steuerpolitik, die durch die Bekämpfung von Steuervermeidung und Steuerhinterziehung die ganzen Sachen finanziert. Wir brauchen eine Stärkung der Binnennachfrage, unter anderem durch eine expansive Lohnpolitik in den Überschussländern, und wir brauchen eine stärkere Berücksichtigung sozialer Indikatoren bei den Politikempfehlungen. Erste Kurskorrekturen werden im Europäischen Semester angedeutet. Es kommt darauf an, diese auszubauen.

 
  
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  Mark Demesmaeker (ECR). We beginnen met het goede nieuws in deze verslagen. Het lijkt me inderdaad verstandig om de regels en bemoeienissen voor ondernemingen en vooral kmo's te verminderen.

Maar als het gaat over de sociaal-economische aspecten slaan jullie de bal mis! Om onze economie weer te laten groeien moet de overheid namelijk niet méér geld uitgeven, maar eerder krimpen. Jullie wijzen met de vinger naar landen die hun begroting op orde brengen, maar het zijn degenen die de begrotingsregels niet respecteren, die we op de vingers moeten tikken. Flexibele arbeidsmarkten moeten niet worden weggezet als asociaal, maar zijn net een medicijn tegen werkloosheid. Mijn aanbeveling is om dit Europees semester wat minder Paul Krugman en Paul De Grauwe te lezen.

 
  
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  Marisa Matias (GUE/NGL). Senhora Presidente, Senhor Drombovskis, dirijo-me diretamente a si. As instituições europeias foram responsáveis pelo fracasso resultante da austeridade e entraram em estado de negação.

Há persistência no desastre económico e social, mascararam-na e chamaram-lhe o cumprimento ou o incumprimento das regras. Mas, quando vamos a ver o comportamento da Comissão, encontramos tudo menos regras e critérios. Diferentes países merecem diferente tratamento, consoante o tamanho, consoante reajam ou não às reformas estruturais, mas, sobretudo, consoante aquilo que é a agenda ideológica da Comissão Europeia, que tem a ver com a flexibilização do mercado de trabalho, com privatizações e com o desmantelamento do Estado social.

Nós olhamos para as deliberações da Comissão Europeia, por exemplo, relativamente a Portugal, Espanha, Itália, França e à Áustria: critério, nenhum; igualdade, nenhuma; arbitrariedade total.

E, portanto, quero perguntar-lhe, Senhor Comissário, se quer mesmo continuar neste caminho, porque aqueles que mais cumpriram – os chamados bons alunos – foram os que tiveram piores resultados.

 
  
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  Pablo Zalba Bidegain (PPE). Señora Presidenta, Señorías, la coordinación de las políticas económicas y presupuestarias dentro de la zona del euro son las claves del Semestre Europeo. Debemos asegurarnos de que contribuimos a garantizar la convergencia y la estabilidad de la zona del euro. Debemos asegurarnos también de que contribuimos a garantizar unas finanzas públicas saneadas. Y debemos asegurarnos también de que fomentamos el crecimiento económico y la creación de empleo. Porque el camino para consolidar la recuperación económica, sin duda alguna, son las reformas a nivel nacional y también los avances en la tan ansiada y necesaria unión económica y, en definitiva, unión política. Porque, Señorías, reformas significa crecimiento, y España, a pesar de lo que dice la señora Matias, es un ejemplo de ello. Es uno de los países que más reformas ha hecho y es el país que crece tres veces más que la media de la zona del euro y además, creó, el año pasado, seiscientos mil nuevos puestos de trabajo.

 
  
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  Vilija Blinkevičiūtė (S&D). Ekonomikos augimo ir darbo vietų kūrimo naudą pirmiausiai turi pajusti mūsų žmonės. Taip, atsigavimas yra juntamas, tą tenka pripažinti: didėja šiek tiek užimtumas, mažėja nedarbas. Bet, mieli kolegos, pirmiausiai aš noriu atkreipti jūsų dėmesį į didžiulę problemą mūsų Europos Sąjungos valstybėse, t. y. į vaikų skurdą. Net 27 proc. vaikų Europos bendrijoje skursta. Todėl raginu Komisiją ir valstybes nares sukurti vaikų garantiją, t. y. tokią priemonę su tam tikru specialiu biudžetu, pagal kurią mūsų vaikai galėtų gauti nemokamas sveikatos priežiūros, ugdymo, deramo apgyvendinimo, tinkamos mitybos paslaugas. Antra, noriu atkreipti dėmesį ir į moterų skurdą. Vis tiktai noriu paraginti Komisiją ir valstybes nares nustatyti konkrečias rekomendacijas ir priemones, siekiant sumažinti vyrų ir moterų darbo užmokesčio ir pensijų skirtumą.

 
  
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  Pirkko Ruohonen-Lerner (ECR). – Arvoisa puhemies, mene Euroopassa itään, mene länteen. Kysy pohjoisessa, kysy etelässä, saat aina saman vastauksen. Kaikki haluavat talouskasvua. Tästä ei parlamentissa ole erimielisyyttä. Löytyvätkö talouskasvun avaimet Brysselistä vai jäsenvaltioista. Tästä on erimielisyyttä. Kuten tiedämme, Euroopan unioni on nyt toipumassa historiansa pahimmasta talouskriisistä. Matka takaisin kasvu-uralle on alkanut, toisilla jäsenvaltioilla paremmin, toisilla huonommin.

Mielestäni rouva Rodriguesin esittelemästä kasvuselvityksestä löytyy hyviä eväitä eurooppalaisen talouskasvun vahvistamiseksi. Julkisten investointien lisääminen ja kotimaisen kysynnän vahvistaminen ovat avainroolissa, kun halutaan saada talouden pyörät uudelleen pyörimään. Näitä asioita ei kuitenkaan tulisi päättää Brysselissä. Kaikista parhaiten kasvua tuetaan tekemällä oikeat päätökset jäsenvaltioiden omissa parlamenteissa.

 
  
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  Nuno Melo (PPE). Senhora Presidente, estamos de acordo quanto aos inconvenientes das políticas de austeridade. Mas, a começar, é preciso que alguns dos que apelam à solidariedade dos que cumprem regras não tornem inevitável a austeridade, como sucedeu em Portugal, governando mal os socialistas até 2009.

Um país que gasta mais do que pode pagar condena-se intoleravelmente e endivida as gerações futuras. Foi por isso que as opções de despesa absurdas até 2009 significaram – condição necessária – défice, dívida, desemprego, recessão, incapacidade de financiamento nos mercados e a troica.

Agora, em 2016, os mesmos socialistas que governam, tendo perdido as eleições, insistem de novo em orçamentos fantasistas, onde preveem crescimento acima – veja-se lá – da própria média da União Europeia. Já vimos esse filme. Temo bem que saiba como isto vai acabar.

(O orador aceita responder a uma pergunta ao abrigo do procedimento "cartão azul" (artigo 162.º, n.º 8, do Regimento).)

 
  
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  Sofia Ribeiro, Relatora, pergunta "cartão azul". Caro Colega Nuno Melo, assistimos, neste debate, a uma intervenção por parte da colega Maria João Rodrigues, com um discurso europeísta, que defendeu o reforço da zona euro, e, por outro lado, assistimos a um discurso por parte dos nossos colegas comunistas, com um discurso totalmente eurocético. Ora, nós verificamos que há, aqui, um desfasamento entre os discursos e queria saber se o colega Nuno Melo me acompanha na incompreensão relativamente a esta coligação que, em Portugal, tem um discurso e, aqui na Europa, está a ter outro completamente diferente.

 
  
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  Nuno Melo (PPE), Resposta segundo o procedimento "cartão azul". Não podia estar mais de acordo e, não por coincidência, o deputado comunista que quis interpelar com o cartão azul não respondeu e fugiu – já nem sequer está na sala. Mas as coisas são mesmo assim. De facto, em Portugal, temos um partido que governa, tendo perdido as eleições, que não aprendeu nada com os erros do passado e que persiste na ilusão orçamental de quem quer fazer da fé uma ciência.

A fé em previsões de crescimento, que quem faz contas não concebe, infelizmente não tem, por norma, tradução na realidade e, por isso, estou muito de acordo com a senhora deputada, muito obrigado pela sua pergunta.

(O orador aceita responder a uma pergunta ao abrigo do procedimento "cartão azul" (artigo 162.º, n.º 8, do Regimento).)

 
  
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  Maria João Rodrigues, relatora, pergunta "cartão azul". Senhor Deputado Nuno Melo, de facto é fantástico como o senhor e outros colegas insistem em fazer deste Parlamento um anfiteatro para discutir política portuguesa – não é realmente o caso.

No entanto, o que está aqui em causa é saber se é possível ou não combinar responsabilidade orçamental com retoma do crescimento, criação de emprego e redução das desigualdades sociais. O governo do partido de que o senhor faz parte não conseguiu fazer isso nos últimos anos, e o que se trata de saber é se o Governo que está agora em funções vai conseguir fazer, e eu penso que vai.

 
  
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  Nuno Melo (PPE), Resposta segundo o procedimento "cartão azul". Senhora Deputada, a dado passo na sua intervenção fez referência à vantagem da solidariedade dos países em melhor condição orçamental relativamente aos países em dificuldade, designadamente na zona euro.

O que eu gostava de lhe dizer é que com isso também dá um sinal errado, porque não teve uma palavra em relação à necessidade das reformas estruturais daqueles que, governando mal, por erro próprio, em certa medida condenam, no futuro, o seu próprio desenvolvimento – ou seja, não podemos apelar à ajuda dos outros quando temos responsabilidades próprias e não fazemos nada também para as superar. E o que eu acho é que, na sua intervenção, devia ter um discurso temperado entre a solidariedade alheia e a responsabilidade interna – e, em relação a essa responsabilidade, o Partido Socialista português tem muito a dizer, infelizmente.

 
  
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  Alfred Sant (S&D). Madam President, the real problem with the current economic performance in Europe is investment. There is not enough of it, so growth is limited. The improvement – indeed the preservation – of social conditions for workers in employment, young people looking for a job, working families and pensioners is not in sight. These people claim that Europe is failing them. The social compact on which it was established is no longer there. It is not populist to agree with those who make such claims, as they are right. The problem is not about agreeing or disagreeing with them. The problem is how to get economic growth back on track so that full—time, secure jobs are generated for young people and the old do not fear for their pensions.

We do not need complex technocratic tools to solve this problem. We just need the political will to think outside the box into which we have squared ourselves, supposedly in order to satisfy the Stability and Growth Pact. We need simple, decisive action that goes to the root of the problem: public and private investment. The record shows that private investment follows from public investment, not the other way round. Public investment has been lagging. The Juncker fund, worthwhile though it is, cannot cover the problem. Moreover, public investment is more effective when deployed at national level when it does not have to depend on the delays of bureaucracy.

If we can find ways and means of promoting national public investment that will in turn stimulate national and Europe-wide private investment, would this breach the current rules of the Stability and Growth Pact? Possibly, yes. Should we care much? In my view, no, so long as we make sure that added public spending on a national basis is really being dedicated to investment, not recurrent outlays.

 
  
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  Morten Messerschmidt (ECR). Fru formand! Der er noget paradoksalt over at have denne debat kun få timer efter, at vi diskuterede den aftale, som David Cameron har indgået i Det Europæiske Råd, netop fordi man jo i den aftale adskiller eurozonen fra ikkeeurozonelande. Det er et forhold, som overhovedet ikke er reflekteret i denne betænkning. Man kan sige, denne betænkning allerede nu, hvor vi diskuterer den her i Parlamentet, er gammeldags. Den reflekterer ikke den nye realitet, som vi har i EU, nemlig at de lande, der er i eurozonen, naturligvis må have mere suverænitet deponeret i fællesskabet i Bruxelles, mere central styring for at lade denne valuta overleve, mens vi, der heldigvis står udenfor, ikke skal være en del af den centralisering. Det er en fuldstændig central præmis – ikke mindst, når man ser på, hvordan den økonomiske udvikling i verden er i disse år, hvor man må sige, det ikke er prangende, hvad der foregår i eurozonen. Jeg mindes debatten igennem de sidste femten år om, hvorvidt euroen skulle være det, der reddede EU’s økonomi. Indtil videre er det faktisk kun det modsatte, der er hændt. Og det kommer intet i det europæiske semester til at ændre på.

(Taleren accepterede at besvare et blåt kort-spørgsmål, jf. forretningsordenens artikel 162, stk. 8)

 
  
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  Tibor Szanyi (S&D), Kékkártyás kérdés. Tisztelt Képviselő Úr! Én magam úgy gondolom, hogy semmilyen gazdasági növekedés vagy költségvetési egyensúly nem érhet annyit, hogy az a szociális jogok súlyos visszaesésével járjon. Kérdezem Önt, hogy Ön szerint megérte-e ez az ügylet, hogy Anglia bent maradásáért Európa beáldozott egy halom szociális jogot?

 
  
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  Morten Messerschmidt (ECR), Blåt-kort-svar. Jeg ser ikke Storbritannien "sacrificing social rights", som det blev oversat for mig. Tværtimod mener jeg, at Storbritannien med den aftale, der er indgået, faktisk sikrer opbakningen til et fællesskab, som jeg tror, både De og mit land har en fælles interesse i overlever. For hvis ikke vi sikrer rimelighed i f.eks. adgangen til sociale ydelser, så vil den offentlige støtte til EU’s arbejde ikke stige, nej, den vil falde yderligere. Det kan godt være, der er nogen her, der tror, den ikke kan komme længere ned, men det kan den. Det kan jeg forsikre jer allesammen om. Det, som David Cameron har gang i, er den største gave til samarbejdet i Europa, for hvis ikke man lytter til kritikken i medlemslande som mit, eller i Storbritannien, så vil opbakningen falde stadig mere. Det betyder, at selv de enheder og områder, som vi er enige om er gode – den fri bevægelighed, at man kan skabe vækst i fællesskab – også vil forsvinde. Reflekter over det, hr. kollega.

 
  
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  Lara Comi (PPE). Signora Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, ringrazio anche il commissario per tutto l'aiuto che ci sta dando in questo momento.

Mi scuso se non parlerò di massimi sistemi, ma penso che sia giunto il momento che anche il Consiglio si prenda le sue responsabilità per l'applicazione del pacchetto sulla sorveglianza dei prodotti, anche per quanto riguarda la sicurezza, in merito a questo.

Noi abbiamo bisogno di un mercato sicuro, abbiamo bisogno che i cittadini sappiano effettivamente che cosa indossano, come si vestono, che cosa mangiano. Questo per noi si chiama tracciabilità, e ci dispiace che questo pacchetto sia ancora una volta bloccato. Noi abbiamo bisogno di un "made in": sì, difendo il "made in Italy", ma difendo anche il "made in Europe", e per questo ritengo che ci sia bisogno di una svolta da parte del Consiglio, proprio per andare avanti, altrimenti non siamo competitivi.

 
  
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  Nicola Danti (S&D). Signora Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, signor commissario, il mercato unico rappresenta senza dubbio il miglior risultato del processo di integrazione europeo. Il suo valore è testimoniato proprio dal dibattito di questi giorni sulla Brexit: esso rappresenta infatti il vero argomento di chi a Londra sostiene l'inopportunità di un'uscita dall'Unione europea.

I tanti studi sui costi della "non-Europa" dimostrano come il mercato unico oggi sia ancora incompleto e dall'ampio potenziale inutilizzato. Ma oggi si ammassano anche altre nubi all'orizzonte: interessi ed egoismi nazionali e la messa in discussione del principio della libera circolazione nell'area Schengen possono non solo frenare ulteriormente il suo completamento, ma anche compromettere i traguardi sinora raggiunti.

Proprio in questo momento difficile per l'unità europea dobbiamo invece tornare a considerare il mercato unico quale motore di crescita e di innovazione per un'Europa di nuovo competitiva.

 
  
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  Zdzisław Krasnodębski (ECR). – Pani Przewodnicząca! Zgadzam się, że w zarządzaniu polityką gospodarczą Unii Europejskiej należy brać pod uwagę zasady polityki socjalnej. Jak daleko jednak może pójść koordynacja polityki socjalnej przez Unię? Unia Europejska ma pomagać wskazywać kierunki, a nie nadużywać swojej roli, wchodząc w uprawnienia państw Unii. Państwa członkowskie powinny same prowadzić swoją politykę społeczną, dlatego trudno zgodzić się z pewnymi zapisami w sprawozdaniu pani Ribeiro, na przykład tym mówiącym, że Europejski Fundusz Społeczny powinien przeznaczać 20% funduszy na walkę z ubóstwem i wykluczeniem społecznym.

Nie można się zgodzić też na propozycję, by Komisja Europejska była uprawniona do monitorowania i kontroli umów o pracę zawieranych w poszczególnych państwach członkowskich. Takie regulacje są zbyt dużym wejściem w uprawnienia państw Unii. To rządy państw członkowskich wiedzą najlepiej, jak rozwiązywać problemy społeczne swoich krajów, i to do wyborców danego państwa, do narodu, należy decyzja, jaki rząd, o jakim stanowisku w kwestiach społecznych chcą wybrać.

 
  
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  Sven Schulze (PPE). Frau Präsidentin, sehr geehrte Kollegen! Das Europäische Semester wurde als Reaktion auf die schwere Wirtschafts- und Finanzkrise eingeführt. Volkswirtschaftliche Ungleichgewichte sollten damit rechtzeitig erkannt werden, um neue Krisen zu verhindern.

Zwei Punkte sind mir bei der Diskussion besonders wichtig: Das Europäische Semester muss einerseits besser werden, es hat nicht immer die gewünschten Erfolge gebracht. Es gab zu viele und zu oft oberflächliche Empfehlungen, und die Mitgliedstaaten haben sich auch nicht immer an die Empfehlungen gehalten.

Zweitens: Wir diskutieren derzeit viel darüber, wie man Europa sozialer machen kann. Zur Bestimmung der volkswirtschaftlichen Situation werden dabei oft Sozialindikatoren genannt. Im Bericht finden wir drei Sozialindikatoren: Jugend- und Langzeitarbeitslosigkeit sowie die Beschäftigungsquote. Diese drei Indikatoren gehören meines Erachtens in den Betrachtungsprozess des Europäischen Semesters hinein. Allerdings fordere ich dann auch, dass alle anderen makroökonomischen Indikatoren weiterhin in derselben Anzahl und derselben Gewichtung erhalten bleiben. Auch hier müssen wir eine Balance der verschiedenen Indikatorengruppen halten.

 
  
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  Maria Grapini (S&D). Doamnă președintă, vreau să încep prin a mulțumi raportoarelor și raportorilor din umbră și tuturor colegilor care au adus amendamente la aceste rapoarte. Nu sunt perfecte, dar eu cred că aici sunt lucruri foarte bine formulate și care pot să ducă, într-adevăr, la o guvernanță a pieței unice și care să își atingă scopul până la urmă. Contează foarte mult calitatea acestei guvernanțe – și cu adevărat să ajungem la o Uniune Europeană atractivă și vom avea, evident, și rezultate concrete privind creșterea locurilor de muncă, coeziunea socială și îmbunătățirea calității vieții. Este nevoie de o dezvoltare transfrontalieră și acest lucru este cuprins în raport, de dezvoltarea locurilor de muncă în zone sărace. Este nevoie de elaborarea unor politici comune în domeniul competitivității și, iată, există un amendament privind rețeaua consiliilor naționale pentru competitivitate. Trebuie să își crească rolul în ceea ce privește politicile comune de competitivitate.

Achizițiile publice și sectorul public sunt vectori importanți dar, domnule comisar, stimați membri ai Consiliului, trebuie să fie mai multă transparență și mai multă concurență etică. IMM-urile trebuie să fie în atenția guvernanței și cred că raportul merită votat.

 
  
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  Kazimierz Michał Ujazdowski (ECR). Pani Przewodnicząca! Koleżanki i koledzy! Jestem wielkim zwolennikiem stosowania tego narzędzia w sposób elastyczny z szacunkiem dla państw i dla ich odpowiedzialności, bez centralizmu – o tym mówił pan poseł Krasnodębski przed chwilą, ale chcę zwrócić uwagę na rzecz, która formalnie nie należy może do kręgu naszej debaty, ale bardzo rzutuje na solidarność europejską, na równowagę ekonomiczną i budżetową w poszczególnych państwach i na ponoszenie wysiłków na rzecz Europy. To są wydatki na obronę. Jedynie pięć państw europejskich (Polska, Francja, Wielka Brytania, Estonia i Grecja) ponoszą wydatki na obronę na poziomie 2% PKB. Reszta państw tego nie czyni. Skala tych ciężarów musi być uwzględniona przez Komisję Europejską, dlatego że ona potężnie wpływa na zobowiązania budżetowe tych państw, a są to wydatki na rzecz bezpieczeństwa wszystkich Europejczyków. Bardzo zachęcam do tego, by brać to pod uwagę.

 
  
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  Verónica Lope Fontagné (PPE). Señora Presidenta, comparto los objetivos prioritarios y las recomendaciones específicas para la zona del euro, pero quisiera recalcar el apartado sobre la necesidad de invertir en las personas. Los ciudadanos europeos han atravesado grandes dificultades. Por ello, la consolidación de la recuperación económica tiene que extrapolarse al conjunto de la sociedad, y su mayor exponente debe ser el empleo.

A la problemática del desempleo juvenil se le ha unido el desempleo de larga duración, lo que incrementa el riesgo de pobreza y exclusión social y dificulta la reincorporación al mercado laboral, especialmente entre los trabajadores mayores. Hay que adecuar los sistemas educativos de aprendizaje permanente a las necesidades actuales y futuras del mercado laboral con una mayor cooperación del sistema educativo con el mundo empresarial, ya que es inconcebible que estas tasas de desempleo coexistan con cerca de dos millones de puestos de trabajo vacantes a lo largo de la Unión Europea, o que el 39 % de las empresas que buscan personal cualificado en el ámbito digital tenga dificultades para encontrarlo.

 
  
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  Ruža Tomašić (ECR). Gospođo predsjednice, jedinstveno tržište nije samo temelj Europske unije, već predstavlja i jedinu stvarnu i mjerljivu korist za države članice. Danas samo najveći ekstremisti s lijeva i desna spore vrijednost jedinstvenog tržišta za naše države i to je pokazatelj da je njegova uspostava u svim područjima nešto na čemu ozbiljno moramo poraditi.

Jasno je da to tržište nije i ne može biti izolirano od ekonomskih i socijalnih politika država članica. Često se u tom kontekstu priča o poreznim oazama i njihovim štetnim učincima. Dok s druge strane, mislim da malo, zapravo premalo, govorimo o lošim politikama koje stvaraju ono što ja volim reći i nazivati zonom sumraka.

Zona sumraka nastaje zbog nerazumnih poreza i nepotrebnih propisa i procedura kojima se izravno udara na poduzetnike te ograničava njihov rast i daljnje zapošljavanje, što osiromašuje naša društva. Jedinstveno tržište nema pretjeranog smisla ako je prekomjerno regulirano, a sudjelovanje na njemu previše opterećuje europske tvrtke.

 
  
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  Dariusz Rosati (PPE). Pani Przewodnicząca! Szanowni Państwo! Debata dzisiejsza na temat koordynacji polityki gospodarczej w Unii Europejskiej jest bardzo ważna, ponieważ mam wrażenie, że wszyscy nie jesteśmy w pełni zadowoleni ze skutków tej polityki gospodarczej. W ciągu ostatnich dziesięciu lat, w latach 2005–2014, produkt krajowy brutto w całej Unii Europejskiej wzrósł zaledwie o 7,5%, a w strefie euro tylko 5%. To nie są rezultaty, które zadowalają nasze społeczeństwa. Rozczarowanie społeczne jest tak duże, że wszyscy, którzy szukają winnych, wskazują również palcem na Brukselę, mimo że to właśnie państwa członkowskie mają największy udział i ponoszą największą odpowiedzialność za wyniki gospodarcze poszczególnych państw.

Chciałbym zaapelować do Komisji Europejskiej, aby zwiększyć aktywność, stanowczość i skuteczność oddziaływania na państwa członkowskie, tak aby potencjalne tempo wzrostu w Unii Europejskiej uległo wyraźnemu zwiększeniu. Mówiliśmy tu wiele o inwestycjach, ale nie tylko o inwestycje chodzi. Również ważne jest zatrudnienie i postęp technologiczny. Dlatego apeluję, aby w ramach zaleceń dla poszczególnych krajów, które będą przygotowywane, skierować jeszcze większą uwagę na sprawy związane z reformą rynku pracy i zwiększaniem aktywności zawodowej ludności, a także na poprawę innowacyjności i przyspieszenie postępu technologicznego, bo bez tego Europa będzie traciła dystans do pozostałej części świata.

 
  
 

Interventions à la demande

 
  
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  Ivana Maletić (PPE). Gospođo predsjednice, pozdravljam potpredsjednika i predstavnike Vijeća. Za uspjeh Europskog semestra potrebno je jako puno koordinacije, i to: koordinacije između lokalnih, regionalnih, nacionalnih ciljeva i potreba s ciljevima na razini Europske unije; koordinacije između kohezijske politike i preporuka državama članicama; koordinacije različitih izvora financiranja i postizanja sinergije; koordinacije različitih europskih politika, poput zaštite okoliša, prometne politike, energetske, digitalne politike, urbane, ruralne, politike inovacija, istraživanja i razvoja i naravno kohezijske i ekonomske te usmjeravanje na njihovu provedbu.

Upravo je kvalitetna i efikasna koordinacija jedan od najvećih izazova, posebno imajući u vidu broj država članica te broj različitih institucija nadležnih za različite politike, ali isto tako različite ustroje unutar država članica. Zbog toga nam je jako važno raditi na koordinaciji, jer bez toga nećemo postići ni implementaciju.

 
  
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  Νότης Μαριάς ( ECR). Κυρία Πρόεδρε, ξανά στο ίδιο έργο θεατές καθώς η Επιτροπή προτείνει την ίδια γνωστή αποτυχημένη συνταγή: μερκελική λιτότητα, βίαιη δημοσιονομική προσαρμογή και εφαρμογή του αντικοινωνικού Συμφώνου Σταθερότητας.

Όμως έτσι δεν πρόκειται να μειωθεί η φτώχεια, η ανεργία και η υπανάπτυξη που πλήττει τους λαούς του ευρωπαϊκού Νότου καθώς και τον ελληνικό λαό. Μέσα από το ευρωπαϊκό εξάμηνο η Ευρωπαϊκή γραφειοκρατία και η τραπεζοκρατία επεμβαίνουν στην άσκηση της οικονομικής πολιτικής των κρατών της Ένωσης, καταργούν τη βούληση των ευρωπαϊκών λαών και εκμηδενίζουν τα κυριαρχικά δικαιώματα των Κοινοβουλίων, να διαμορφώνουν ελεύθερα τους εθνικούς προϋπολογισμούς.

Κυρία πρόεδρε, η Ελλάδα συνεχίζει να στενάζει κάτω από τη μπότα της τρόικας που διαλύει το ασφαλιστικό, βγάζει στο σφυρί τα σπίτια των Ελλήνων, κάνει φορομπηχτικό ρεσάλτο στις τσέπες του ελληνικού λαού, μειώνει τις συντάξεις των απόμαχων της ζωής και διαλύει τους Έλληνες αγρότες.

Αυτό όμως δεν μπορεί να συνεχιστεί για πολύ κύριε Dombrovskis, καθώς ο ελληνικός λαός εντείνει τον αγώνα του για να πετάξει την τρόικα, επιτέλους, έξω από την Ελλάδα.

 
  
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  Ivan Jakovčić (ALDE). Gospođo predsjednice, nezaposlenost i nedovoljni ekonomski rast definitivno ostaju glavni problemi u mnogim zemljama članicama. Jesmo li spremni suočiti se s tim izazovom, a pogotovo s izazovom koji dolazi, jer mnogi nagovješćuju nove godine novih kriza. Europska unija s Europskim semestrom želi spojiti niz politika, i to naravno apsolutno nije jednostavno.

Naročito ako želimo spojiti obrazovni sustav, ako želimo spojiti sustav zaštite okoliša, ako želimo spojiti socijalni sustav s našim ekonomskim rastom. Zato ja prihvaćam mnoge teze iz ovog izvješća, ali pozivam gospođu Rodrigues da prihvati i amandmane ALDE-a, kako bismo svi zajedno mogli glasati za Vaše izvješće.

 
  
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  Νεοκλής Συλικιώτης ( GUE/NGL). Κυρία Πρόεδρε, το Ευρωπαϊκού Εξάμηνο αποτελεί τη θεσμοθέτηση του νεοφιλελευθερισμού. Και φέτος στις εκθέσεις για το Ευρωπαϊκό Εξάμηνο διαβάζω πόσο αυτό βοηθά την ενιαία αγορά και την ανταγωνιστικότητα και πως αυτό προωθεί την απασχόληση και την ανάπτυξη.

Κύριοι συνάδελφοι, η απασχόληση και η ανάπτυξη δεν είναι οι ιστορικά ψηλοί αριθμοί ανεργίας και η κατακόρυφη μείωση του εργατικού δυναμικού στις χώρες με μνημόνια, ούτε είναι η φτωχοποίηση του πληθυσμού, αλλά ούτε και η απορρύθμιση της αγοράς εργασίας και η διάλυση του κοινωνικού κράτους.

Στις εκθέσεις για το Ευρωπαϊκό Εξάμηνο διαβάζουμε για τα πλεονεκτήματα του συντονισμού των οικονομικών πολιτικών της Ένωσης. Ποιού συντονισμού; Παραγνωρίζουμε ότι το Ευρωπαϊκό Εξάμηνο έχει μόνο στόχο την προώθηση των συμφερόντων των μεγάλων πολυεθνικών εταιρειών και τη μείωση προς τα κάτω των μισθών και των κοινωνικών δικαιωμάτων; Εμείς, ως αριστερά, απορρίπτουμε το Ευρωπαϊκό Εξάμηνο γι αυτό θα καταψηφίσουμε και τις εκθέσεις, αλλά και τη λογική του νεοφιλελευθερισμού, της λιτότητας των μνημονίων και της δημοσιονομικής πειθαρχίας εις βάρος των λαών.

Η Πρόεδρος διακόπτει τον ομιλητή

 
  
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  Bronis Ropė (Verts/ALE). Gerbiami kolegos, p. Rodriguez pranešimui greta pagiriamųjų žodžių noriu pateikti vieną pastabą. Tai yra Komisijos peršama ir, mano nuomone, iš esmės klaidinga mintis, kad už sanglaudos valdymo klaidas ar trūkumus valstybės narės turi būti baudžiamos ribojant sanglaudos paramą joms arba keliant išankstines ex ante sąlygas. Aš nematau teigiamo ryšio tarp ekonomikos valdymo ir sanglaudos politikos. Abu klausimai yra labai svarbūs, tačiau negalime nusileisti iki grubiai instrumentinio požiūrio, kaip tai siūlo daryti Komisija. Šiuos klausimus reikia spręsti atskirai, o ne vieną padarant kito sąlyga. Labai apgailestauju ir dėl to, kad pranešėjai nepavyko tokios nuostatos įtvirtinti pranešime. Sanglaudos politikos srityje taikydama sankcijas valstybėms narėms Europos Sąjunga ne tik kad nepasieks gero valdymo, bet ir apsunkins ekonomikos augimą.

 
  
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  Ελευθέριος Συναδινός ( NI). Κυρία Πρόεδρε, σύμφωνα με την Επιτροπή, η υπεράριθμη εισροή μεταναστών, λαθραίων ή μη, θα έχει βραχυπρόθεσμες δυσμενείς οικονομικές επιπτώσεις, ενώ μεσοπρόθεσμα και μακροπρόθεσμα θα βοηθήσει την οικονομία λόγω αυξημένης προσφοράς φθηνού εργατικού δυναμικού.

Κάνετε λάθος. Αν όχι, εγκληματείτε! Μέχρι τώρα ένα εκατομμύριο περίπου φθηνά εργατικά χέρια, όπως τα ονομάζετε, περιμένουν στην Ελλάδα να βρουν εργασία στην Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση. Απατάσθε αν νομίζετε ότι βγάζοντας την Ελλάδα από τη ζώνη Σένγκεν, επιβάλλοντας αβάσταχτα μνημόνια και καταδικάζοντάς την σε θάνατο θα σταματήσετε και την αθρόα εισροή λαθρομεταναστών, τζιχαντιστών και εγκληματικών ισλαμικών εξτρεμιστών που εκμεταλλεύονται τις προσφυγικές εισροές για την είσοδό τους στην Ευρώπη.

Όλοι αυτοί, αργά ή γρήγορα, θα καταλήξουν στις χώρες σας. Πώς θα ανακαλύψετε και θα σταματήστε έγκαιρα τα εγκληματικά στοιχεία; Πώς θα εκπαιδεύσετε, συντηρήσετε, περιθάλψετε και εντάξετε στις τοπικές κοινωνίες , τα εκατομμύρια των μεταναστών;

Ήδη, πολλοί από αυτούς επιθυμούν να επιβάλουν δια της βίας το νόμο του Ισλάμ.

Το πρόβλημα δεν είναι οικονομικό, αλλά κοινωνικό, θρησκευτικό, εθνοτικό, πολύ δε περισσότερο ευρωπαϊκό.

 
  
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  Danuta Jazłowiecka (PPE). Pani Przewodnicząca! Państwa członkowskie nadal odnotowują wysokie bezrobocie wśród osób młodych: z dostępnych danych widać wyraźnie, iż poziom realizacji programu gwarancji dla młodzieży jest zdecydowanie niezadowalający. Powinniśmy położyć większy nacisk na stwarzanie szans młodym osobom na zatrudnienie w dużej mierze poprzez uczenie przedsiębiorczości. Wówczas nie będą nam potrzebne żadne gwarancje.

Budzą nasz niepokój także dane o wzroście ilości osób zaliczanych do kategorii biednych pracujących. Dodatkowo w wielu krajach dochodzi do nadużywania niestandardowych form zatrudnienia. Chciałabym podkreślić, iż zapewnienie elastyczności zatrudnienia jest konieczne dla odpowiedniego funkcjonowania zarówno europejskich firm, jak i pracowników. Nie zmienia to faktu, iż każdy pracownik bez względu na formę zatrudnienia powinien być objęty systemem zabezpieczenia społecznego. W tej sytuacji wydaje się, że dobrym krokiem jest wprowadzenie do rocznej analizy wzrostu gospodarczego trzech nowych wskaźników w zakresie zatrudnienia oraz położenie większego nacisku na kwestię pracy i polityki społecznej. Ważne jest, byśmy nie znaleźli się w takiej sytuacji, gdy mimo poprawy wskaźników makroekonomicznych życie zwykłych ludzi będzie się pogarszało. Gratuluję Sofii Ribeiro bardzo dobrej pracy nad sprawozdaniem.

 
  
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  Tania González Peñas (GUE/NGL). Señora Presidenta, las prioridades del informe del Semestre tratan aspectos vitales relacionados con los derechos sociales y laborales. Estamos ante un texto engañoso que presenta como nuevas las mismas recetas de austeridad que tanto daño han causado al sur de Europa. La rigidez con la que se mantienen políticas de austeridad, la consolidación fiscal y el estrangulamiento de la inversión pública hacen que este marco sea injusto e ineficiente para la mejora de la situación europea.

En este sentido, es preciso que el Banco Central Europeo renegocie el Pacto de Estabilidad y que se contemplen nuevos instrumentos más flexibles en los plazos. Debemos quitar este lastre que dificulta el crecimiento de las economías del sur. Un país como España, que tiene más de un 20 % de desempleo, donde el 12,3 % de los trabajadores son pobres y donde un tercio de la población vive en riesgo de exclusión social, necesita un plan que no siga incrementando esas cifras.

La Comisión sigue proponiendo parches en vez de soluciones, pensando que al cambiar las palabras se eliminan los problemas. Los problemas hay que abordarlos sabiendo a quién ponemos en primer lugar, y en este sentido para nosotros siempre será la ciudadanía.

 
  
 

(Fin des interventions à la demande)

 
  
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  Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice-President of the Commission. Madam President, first of all I would like to thank you for this very stimulating and productive debate today. The European Parliament has an important role to play in progress on European economic policies, and I have carefully taken note of the remarks made today by Members of Parliament.

The European economy has come out of the recession, but still it remains on a path of very modest recovery, and unfortunately today there are more reasons for concern than a few months ago. The external environment has deteriorated and we have seen a marked increase in financial market volatility and risk aversion. In order to nurture this recovery we need to ensure that this is supported by the measures and policies needed to unlock further growth.

While different views and opinions were expressed today during the debate, I am pleased to see that many of you largely share our integrated strategy based on investment, structural reforms and responsible fiscal policy. We are committed to bringing economic and social levels across Europe closer and closer to the best performers. The Commission welcomes the European Parliament’s contribution to the European Semester by way of its regular and timely reports such as the ones we are discussing today. We also welcome the strengthened cooperation between the European Parliament and the national parliaments such as in the European Parliamentary Week in which I took part last week. I believe we share the same goals – to promote economic growth and job creation in Europe – and I look forward to continued good cooperation with Parliament and those involved with this topic also in the future.

 
  
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  Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, President-in-Office of the Council. Madam President, let me start by saying that the internal market is a key asset of the EU through which the EU can deliver directly to its citizens – growth, jobs, prosperity – and therefore the work towards the further deepening of the internal market is a main priority for our Presidency. I would like to underline the importance both of new proposals in fields where the internal market is not completed yet and of the full implementation of existing legislation.

Many of you also stressed the importance of strengthening the social dimension in the Semester, and I understand. But as you know, Member States have different opinions on strengthening the European Semester on the social dimension and employment. A number of Member States made it very clear that social policy matters fall within the competence of Member States. They do not wish to give in on national sovereignty through the Semester process. However, all Member States – and this is the good news – stress that a revamped European Semester should continue to ensure that necessary structural reforms are implemented to address social and employment challenges and continually improve social and employment outcomes, taking into account the targets set in the Europe 2020 Strategy with regard to increasing employment, fighting poverty and social inclusion.

Many of you also emphasised the importance of the implementation of the country-specific recommendations (CSRs), and I could not agree more. CSRs are the key to structural reforms in Member States. Sometimes it is not easy – sometimes it is even painful – as I said it at the beginning, and let’s face it, reforming Europe’s pension system or labour market is difficult. But it is the best way to kick-start growth and jobs, so yes, I agree with you, implementation is therefore crucial.

Many important points were raised today. I will need to keep them in mind in the coming months. Soon the Commission will adopt country reports analysing Member States’ economic situations, their reform agendas and possible imbalances, and this will mark the beginning of the groundwork by experts and should lead to the adoption of the upcoming country-specific recommendations in the summer.

In other words, and in closing, this is an important phase of the European Semester where we can take stock of how much has been achieved in each Member State and set out the main challenges ahead. Many are long—standing issues, from reforming our social protection systems to ensuring well-functioning housing markets. Others are new, such as setting up the right policies to deal, for example, with the recent influx of refugees and migrants. All require our full attention in the year to come. In order to face up to all these challenges, our continued cooperation will be of the greatest importance.

 
  
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  Maria João Rodrigues, rapporteur. Madam President, it is now my pleasure to intervene in the conclusion of this debate. I also found the debate extremely useful. I would also like to thank the Commission and the Presidency for the statements they made.

With these three good reports, we can see a new compromise emerging for a stronger recovery – to implement the Europe 2020 strategy with the right combination of investments and reforms, but also to tackle imbalances and social inequalities. We need to do so. You can be sure that Parliament stands ready to go on working, together with the Commission and the Presidency, to deliver on the next phases of the European Semester. That is why I would like to use my last minutes to propose that, by building precisely on our very positive experience over the last months, we can open negotiations on the interinstitutional agreement in order to improve the European Semester. In practice, we could already get some of these improvements, because we could have a good discussion with the Commission before the adoption of the Annual Growth Survey and immediately afterwards.

A second important improvement was the euro area discussion in plenary, which was also an opportunity to interact with the President of the Eurogroup. Finally, as we can see now, we in Parliament can deliver three reports well in advance, to be taken into account for the preparation of the upcoming spring European Council, thus improving the interface we have between Parliament and the Council. We can build on this progress and consider the possibility of an interinstitutional agreement to have a European Semester with more democratic legitimacy, but also with more relevance and impact on the ground regarding our citizens.

 
  
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  Sofia Ribeiro, relatora. Senhora Presidente, queria agradecer aos colegas, à Comissão e à presidência do Conselho a riqueza do debate que tivemos esta tarde.

Há aqui uma linha que é comum, segundo a qual devemos apostar no investimento a nível da União Europeia. A questão é saber que tipo de investimentos é que pretendemos e com que condições é que lançamos esse investimento.

Esta é uma responsabilidade de todos nós, enquanto União Europeia, mas é uma responsabilidade que, em muitos casos, é também exclusiva dos Estados-Membros, e os Estados-Membros não se podem arredar dessa responsabilidade. Precisamos de estabilidade nas nossas políticas públicas e precisamos de ganhar a confiança dos nossos investidores.

E já que falamos na confiança – e falámos, há pouco, na situação portuguesa, em que foi dado o exemplo por colegas do Partido Socialista da questão portuguesa, em que foi pedido um voto de confiança ao Governo português, que foi dado pelas instituições europeias – deixem-me só dizer que não podemos ter incertezas.

A colega Maria João Rodrigues referiu que pensa que temos condições para crescer. Nós não podemos pensar, não podemos continuar a usar de demagogias e não podemos dar—nos ao luxo de fazermos mais experiências na Europa – temos de ter certezas, temos de ter políticas responsáveis e temos de ter políticas devidamente orientadas.

Nos últimos dois anos, assistimos, quer a nível do meu país, quer a nível da União Europeia, a uma recuperação económica e social, que é verdade que foi tímida, mas que nos apontou um caminho que devemos prosseguir. Se é verdade – e foi reconhecido – que há inúmeros fatores que podem ser revistos e que devem ser revistos – e nós temos essa responsabilidade –, não podemos pôr tudo a perder e não podemos fazer a mudança só pela mudança.

É neste sentido que estou disposta a continuar a cooperar com a Comissão para que possamos, de facto, em articulação com os parlamentos nacionais e com os parceiros sociais, perceber como é que, de uma forma global e a nível local, podemos construir, de facto, a Europa dos cidadãos.

 
  
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  Catherine Stihler, rapporteur. Madam President, thank you to colleagues, the shadows, the Council and the Commission. The importance of the single market has been heard today and we know that we have the beauty of the single market, but balancing that with social rights is some strength that we have within this European Union. Many colleagues have spoken about the issue of digital, and I would like to touch on the importance of the digital single market in my final remarks.

We are experiencing this Fourth Industrial Revolution. You just need to look across at colleagues while this debate has been going on, with everyone on their smartphones. In fact, by 2021, 70% of all handsets will be smartphones. By 2020 there will be 14 billion network devices and 3.2 billion people using the internet. Mobile traffic alone has grown by 65% from Quarter 4 in 2014 to Quarter 4 in 2015. We are truly experiencing this revolution, and this links into the Semester and the single market.

There are three points I want to make: accessibility when it comes to the digital single market strategy; accessibility to superfast broadband and infrastructure; and accessibility to ensure that those who have the least also have access to this revolution. We do not want the digital divide to become a digital chasm. On skills, we look at the range from just switching on a computer right through to becoming a software developer. In fact, while we have been speaking in this Chamber, one of the great initiatives called CodeClan has been happening in Scotland. This allows people who want to be software engineers to be able to do that within a three- to four-month period. This is about lifelong learning and about mindset – a mindset that, no matter if you are a small business or a multinational, we all have to get real about digital. Therefore I think we have an opportunity through the Semester, and through the single market, to make the European Union one of the most digitally-savvy spaces in the planet, and this is the opportunity we have now.

 
  
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  La Présidente. – La discussion commune est close.

Le vote aura lieu jeudi, le 25 février 2016, à 11 h 30.

Déclarations écrites (article 162)

 
  
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  Hugues Bayet (S&D), par écrit. Depuis la crise économique de 2008, la droite européenne nous impose des mesures d'austérité drastique. Cela fait maintenant près de 8 ans que ces mesures sont en place et que rien ne bouge! La dette des États continue d'augmenter, le taux de chômage reste à un plafond historiquement haut et l'écart entre riches et pauvres s'accentue de jour en jour.

Cependant, depuis le début de cette année, nous voyons des signes encouragement de changement et ce rapport en est encore une fois la preuve. En effet, pour la première fois, le rapport sur le semestre européen qui donne les lignes directrices des politiques à mener durant l'année appelle à plus d'investissement et à une politique fiscalité équilibré en parallèle aux mesures d'austérité. Il prend également en compte les problèmes sociaux et amène des pistes de solutions pour les résoudre.

Un souffle nouveau souffle, donc, sur la politique économique. L'investissement commence à être au centre des priorités et nous ne pouvons que nous en satisfaire. Je ne peux que me réjouir de ce changement de cap en Europe et j'espère que cela permettra de relancer l'économie européenne et avec elle la croissance et l'emploi.

 
  
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  Fabio Massimo Castaldo (EFDD), per iscritto. La relazione in questione supporta la strategia, a mio avviso fallimentare, riproposta dalla Commissione europea, insistendo sulla necessità di proseguire con consolidamento fiscale, riforme strutturali, investimenti privati, piena applicazione del Patto di stabilità e crescita. Pur presentando alcuni punti condivisibili, che noi del Movimento 5 Stelle abbiamo sostenuto, come l'importanza di stimolare la domanda interna e aumentare gli investimenti pubblici e una maggiore attenzione alle problematiche ambientali, al problema della disoccupazione e alle diseguaglianze crescenti, si tratta tuttavia di riferimenti che, se non accompagnati da proposte di politiche alternative e di revisione delle regole e meccanismi di governance economica, risultano vuoti e insufficienti. Quello che ritengo manchi veramente nella relazione è una riflessione critica sulla necessità di un vero e proprio cambio di rotta delle politiche adottate finora. Mi rammarico di non aver ritrovato nel testo un'analisi adeguata del ruolo dell'euro, degli squilibri macroeconomici, dei vincoli di bilancio e dell'impatto delle ricette della Commissione sull'economia. In generale, non ritengo che quanto espresso nella presente relazione sia quello di cui l'Europa ha bisogno.

 
  
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  Λευτέρης Χριστοφόρου ( PPE), γραπτώς. Πιστεύουμε ότι τα ζητήματα της απασχόλησης και της κοινωνικής ένταξης πρέπει να βρίσκονται ψηλά στην ατζέντα της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης και να αναληφθούν αποτελεσματικές δράσεις σε συντονισμό και συνεργασία του Ευρωκοινοβουλίου ,της Ευρωπαϊκής Επιτροπής και του Ευρωπαϊκού Συμβουλίου, με ένα και μοναδικό στόχο: να αυξάνουν τις θέσεις απασχόλησης και να μειώνουν τους ανέργους και τους κοινωνικά αποκλεισμένους. Αυτή πρέπει να είναι η κυρίαρχη προτεραιότητα της Ε.Ε. και οφείλει αυτή να επικεντρωθεί και να απαντήσει έμπρακτα με πολιτικές, σχέδια και ισχυρές χρηματοδοτήσεις προς την κατεύθυνση της αναχαίτισης της ανεργίας και του κοινωνικού αποκλεισμού.

Τα τελευταία χρόνια η Ε.Ε. δοκιμάζεται σκληρά από τον κοινωνικό και αδυσώπητο εφιάλτη της ανεργίας που πλήττει ανεπανόρθωτα σχεδόν όλες τις ευρωπαϊκές χώρες και κοινωνίες. Οι χιλιάδες των ευρωπαίων ανέργων και ιδιαίτερα των νέων ανθρώπων δεν πρέπει να μας αφήνουν ήσυχους ούτε στιγμή. Στο όραμα για την Ενωμένη Ευρώπη και για την Κοινωνική Ευρώπη δεν χωρούν άνεργοι, κοινωνικά αποκλεισμένοι, άνθρωποι κάτω από το όριο της φτώχειας. Οι επιπτώσεις της ανεργίας, και ιδιαίτερα των νέων, έχει τεράστιες κοινωνικές και οικονομικές επιπτώσεις.

Αναφέρω, χαρακτηριστικά, ότι η απώλεια ανθρώπινου κεφαλαίου λόγω της ανεργίας είναι τεράστια και ότι το συνολικό κόστος της ανεργίας έχει υπολογιστεί σε 153 δισεκατομμύρια ευρώ ετησίως.

 
  
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  Κώστας Χρυσόγονος ( GUE/NGL), γραπτώς. Η συζητούμενη σήμερα έρευνα της Ευρωπαϊκής Επιτροπής για την ετήσια ανάπτυξη στην Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση το 2016, με υπότιτλο που κάνει λόγο για ενίσχυση της ανάκαμψης και την προώθηση της σύγκλισης των οικονομιών των κρατών μελών της, ηχεί τουλάχιστον παράδοξα. Η πραγματικότητα είναι ότι αντί για σύγκλιση έχουμε διαρκή απόκλιση, με τα κράτη μέλη του μεσογειακού νότου να είναι εγκλωβισμένα σε έναν φαύλο κύκλο λιτότητας-ύφεσης-νέας λιτότητας.

Εξάλλου ολόκληρη η Ένωση και ιδίως η ευρωζώνη παρουσιάζουν αναιμική ανάπτυξη σε σχέση με τις ΗΠΑ και την Κίνα, ενώ τα πραγματικά εισοδήματα των νοικοκυριών μειώνονται, μέσω της διαρκώς χειρότερης συμπίεσης των αμοιβών της εργασίας, στο όνομα της δήθεν ενίσχυσης της ανταγωνιστικότητας. Χρειαζόμαστε σε πανευρωπαϊκό επίπεδο πολιτικές τόνωσης της ζήτησης και μεγαλύτερη αλληλεγγύη μεταξύ των κρατών μελών. Και χρειαζόμαστε επίσης ένα αυθεντικό πανευρωπαϊκό σύστημα εγγύησης των καταθέσεων, ώστε να ενισχυθεί η εμπιστοσύνη των καταθετών στα τραπεζικά συστήματα των χωρών της ευρωπεριφέρειας και να χρηματοδοτηθεί η οικονομία τους με υγιείς νέους πόρους. Όταν το κόστος του δανεισμού στην Ελλάδα ξεπερνά το 10% και στη Γερμανία βρίσκεται κοντά στο 1%, ο ανταγωνισμός γίνεται αθέμιτος και η απόκλιση των οικονομιών μεγαλώνει διαρκώς. Πρέπει να τερματισθεί η υποκρισία και να υπάρξει αλλαγή οικονομικής πολιτικής πριν να είναι πολύ αργά.

 
  
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  Neena Gill (S&D), in writing. This report concerns the European Parliament’s contribution to the definition of economic policy priorities for the 2016 European Semester process of policy coordination, responding to the Commission’s Annual Growth Survey and related documents, including a draft recommendation for the economic policy of the euro area.

In parallel, reports on the employment and social aspects and the single market aspects of the European Semester are also being drawn up. These reports are discussed with the Commission and the Council in preparation for the Spring European Council meeting. The present report aims to stimulate debate at European level, also with the involvement of national parliamentarians, social partners and civil society. It is my view that in the current economic circumstances the ‘virtuous triangle’ of fiscal responsibility and structural reform, promoted by the European Commission, should be enlarged into a ‘solid square’, with domestic demand as the fourth component.

There is also a clear need for higher investment. Furthermore, there is an excess of savings not channelled towards the real economy.

 
  
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  Barbara Kappel (ENF), schriftlich. Der zur Debatte vorliegende Jahreswachstumsbericht 2016, mit dem die Kommission den jährlichen Zyklus der wirtschaftspolitischen Steuerung einleitet, weist auch dieses Jahr – zur großen Enttäuschung aller Beteiligten – bedeutende Schwächen auf. Ausgehend von den Daten der Winterprognose der Kommission, auf welche sich das Programm stützt, sind die Prioritäten des Jahreswachstumsberichts 2016 die Förderung der Investitionstätigkeit, die Umsetzung von Strukturreformen und eine nachhaltige Haushaltskonsolidierung. Es ist deutlich zu erkennen, dass Europa immer noch in einer wirtschaftlich schwierigen Situation ist, ein Faktum, das die Entwicklung der Haushalte der einzelnen Mitgliedstaaten negativ beeinflusst. So ist die durchschnittliche Staatsverschuldung in Relation zum Bruttoinlandsprodukt in vielen Mitgliedstaaten nach wie vor viel zu hoch. Gleiches gilt für die durchschnittliche Arbeitslosenrate, die mit 9,2 bzw. 10,6 Prozent höher liegt als beispielsweise in den USA mit nur knapp fünf Prozent. Negative Ausreißer nach oben gibt es hier insbesondere in Griechenland, Spanien, Zypern und Kroatien. Trotz Milliardeninvestitionen der EZB und einer Vielzahl von koordinierenden und regulatorischen Maßnahmen der Kommission springt die Konjunktur in Europa nicht wirklich an. Viele Mitgliedstaaten bleiben von den Vorgaben des Stabilitäts- und Wachstumspakts weit entfernt.

 
  
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  Paloma López Bermejo (GUE/NGL), por escrito. La UE presenta la gobernanza económica como el marco adecuado en el que fijar las prioridades de política económica. Si ésta no da los resultados esperados, se debería a que habría que «complementar» la gobernanza con elementos sociales que permitieran la mejora de las condiciones de vida de las clases populares europeas. Es este un juego de palabras perverso con el que se intenta negar la oposición fundamental entre liberalización, mercantilización y desregulación de la economía europea mediante mandatos tecnocráticos y la posibilidad de mantener un Estado y una negociación colectiva fuertes sobre los que basar la defensa de los derechos sociales. Una estrategia de legitimación con la que se excusan los efectos de las políticas neoliberales mientras se desarrolla un futuro (e inconcreto) pilar social para el mercado único, mientras se continúa institucionalizando la gobernanza europea al margen de cualquier control democrático. La base para una política social europea está en otro lugar: en la obligación de incorporarse a la Carta Europa de Derechos Humanos, las referencias a la Carta Social Europea, el diálogo social europeo o el establecimiento de normas europeas contra el dumping social, ámbitos todos en los que la UE mantiene su inmovilismo.

 
  
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  Victor Negrescu (S&D), in writing. The European Semester should be a moment of reflexion on what does not work in the European Union and what we have to pursue in the coming period to resolve it. We see a Europe that is having difficulties recovering from the crisis. The slow economic growth is still affecting employment, and the lack of investment is affecting the entrepreneurial potential in a lot of European countries. Europe is even more unequal than ever before, the future of young Europeans is affected for ever, and no solutions seem to be found. The promised leverage mechanism of the European Fund for Strategic Investment is not there. With only a five-point multiplication effect we are far from the target. Europe needs a new hope, a new dynamism. We are acting as fixers, not as solution makers, we are not doing prevention at all and we are incapable of delivering quality results. Our solution, as social democrats, is to start reconnecting with our citizens, with our SMEs, with our town/villages, to find there the resources that can make Europe great again. We have the strength, we simply need the will.

 
  
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  Eva Paunova (PPE), in writing. A strong and stable EU economy has at its heart active citizens with access to opportunities for employing their professional and creative potential. I therefore welcome the inclusion of employment indicators in this year’s Annual Growth Survey. Activity rate, long-term unemployment and youth unemployment are very much needed as integral elements of the scoreboard, as they would allow us to track progress on key elements of employment.

We are currently observing a positive trend of increasing employment and activity, whereby the overall EU employment rate has even reached its pre-crisis level. However, regional disparities remain and much more progress is needed to reach the employment target of 75% that the EU set itself for 2020. The means for achieving this goal are also anchored in the AGS, which underlined the importance of the use of funds under Horizon 2020 and the newly-created EFSI. Unfortunately, these instruments are not sufficiently understandable and applicable for the European citizens. If we are to fulfil our ambitions for a growing and thriving Europe, we must really enable people with professional drive to engage in employment and self-employment. EFSI and Horizon 2020 must therefore really serve the interests of the economy and be made more accessible to citizens. This is how we will start creating employment.

 
  
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  Pavel Poc (S&D), písemně. Ačkoliv se nezaměstnanost v Evropě postupně snižuje, bez práce stále zůstává až 23 milionů aktivních obyvatel. Existuje jedno číslo, které považuji za ještě děsivější, a to 123 milionů Evropanů ohrožených nebo postižených chudobou a sociálním vyloučením. Je proto potřeba, aby členské státy nepřehlížely tento problém. Nesmí nadále docházet k bezhlavému čerpání každého eura z unijního rozpočtu. Naopak musíme především zajistit, aby investice mířily do oblastí, které si je nejvíce vyžadují a kde přinesou největší přidanou hodnotu. Jako příklad v tomto ohledu může sloužit Iniciativa na podporu zaměstnanosti mladých. Nechci dále tolerovat, aby se propast mezi obyvateli nejchudších a nejbohatších regionů prohlubovala, protože ta dlouhodobě přinese evropskému kontinentu jen další nestabilitu. Problém evropské nezaměstnanosti je však daleko hlubší než jen volba správných investic z evropského či státních rozpočtů. Je nutné politiku správně koordinovat nejen v rámci národních vyjednávání, ale také na nejvyšším evropském stupni. Proto bych rád prosadil, aby docházelo ke společným setkáním Rady pro zaměstnanost, sociální politiku, zdraví a ochranu spotřebitele s Radou pro hospodářské a finanční věci. Zboření zdi mezi těmito dvěma formacemi může napomoci tvorbě kvalitních pracovních míst a spravedlivějšímu rozdělení bohatství.

 
  
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  Laurențiu Rebega (ENF), în scris. Europa nu a ieșit încă din criza economică, iar situația dezastruoasă din prezent se datorează deopotrivă crizei, cât și deciziilor din trecut la nivelul UE. Acestea nu au oferit un grad suficient de protecție economică a pieței comune. Cheia revenirii economice este piața internă, iar cererea pe aceasta piață există și este suficient de mare, numai că nu suntem noi, europenii, cei care satisfacem această cerere. În spațiul european sunt importate produse de pe toate continentele lumii iar, în paralel, toate statele europene își diminuează propriile rezerve monetare plătind aceste achiziții, bineînțeles, în detrimentul producției comunitare. Să nu uităm acele industrii din țările europene care acum nu mai există și care au dispărut ca urmare a unui mediu economic ostil în Europa. Sintagma cheie pentru creșterea economică intracomunitară este protecția, și anume Protecția Economică Europeană. Această protecție trebuie să asigure în primul rând conservarea resurselor și valorilor pe care Uniunea le mai are încă, iar, ca obiect secundar, să asigure acele mixuri de politici economice și sociale care să acorde statelor membre suficientă suveranitate pentru a se putea apăra singure în fața unor amenințări de natură economică sau socială.

 
  
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  Claude Rolin (PPE), par écrit. Je vous invite à voter en faveur de ce rapport sur le semestre européen pour la coordination des politiques économiques qui porte une attention particulière sur l'emploi et les aspects sociaux dans le cadre de l'examen annuel de la croissance 2016.

Si les prévisions économiques pour 2016 sont encourageantes, force est de constater que les niveaux de chômage sont encore très élevés dans l'Union européenne, et notamment chez les jeunes. Si je suis en faveur d'une coordination des politiques économiques en Europe, je défends l'idée que les objectifs sociaux de la Stratégie Europe 2020 soient mieux intégrés dans le Semestre européen. C'est sur cette base que nous devons coordonner les politiques économiques en Europe.

Je vous invite notamment à appeler via ce rapport à "un renforcement du rôle de la stratégie Europe 2020" et en demandant à ce que "les objectifs sociaux se reflètent de manière égale dans tous les instruments du Semestre, y compris les recommandations par pays". Plus que jamais, nous devons coordonner nos politiques économiques en vue d'améliorer les conditions sociales de tous les citoyens européens.

 
  
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  Jutta Steinruck (S&D), schriftlich. Jedes Jahr, wenn es um das Europäische Semester geht, gibt es hier die gleiche Diskussion. Wir Sozialdemokraten wollen, dass die Richtung geändert wird. Wir wollen weg von der einseitigen Kürzungspolitik hin zu einer ausgeglichenen Wirtschafts- und Finanzpolitik. Es ist einseitig zu sagen, dass Europa ein Wettbewerbsproblem hat und erhöhte Wettbewerbsfähigkeit automatisch zu mehr Wachstum führt. Flexibilität ja, aber keine einseitige, die nur zulasten der ArbeitnehmerInnen geht. Noch mehr sogenannte Null-Stunden-Verträge oder andere prekäre Beschäftigungsformen lösen das Problem nicht. Es führt nur zu steigender Armut trotz Arbeit. Es führt dazu, dass die Menschen sich von Europa abwenden. Im Europäischen Semester fehlen soziale Indikatoren, zum Beispiel zur Bekämpfung von Armut und sozialer Ausgrenzung. Kurzum: Wir brauchen den Richtungswechsel jetzt. Wenn nicht allmählich gezeigt wird, dass das Social Triple A für Europa ernst gemeint ist, dann verlieren wir gegen Europaskeptiker, Anti-Europäer und Faschisten. Daher noch einmal das Mantra, das wir Sozialdemokraten seit Jahren wiederholen: Sozial- und Beschäftigungspolitik muss genauso verbindlich sein wie die Wirtschafts- und Finanzpolitik.

 
  
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  Patricija Šulin (PPE), pisno. Podpiram poudarek iz poročila, da potreba po vlaganju v socialni razvoj ni samo sredstvo za zagotavljanje trajnostnega in vključujočega gospodarskega razvoja in konvergence, temveč mora predstavljati tudi poseben cilj sam po sebi.

Potrebujemo namreč naložbe v stanovanjsko podporo, zdravstveno varstvo, otroško varstvo in rehabilitacijske storitve. Kot je v poročilu pravilno zajeto, so kakovostna in vključujoča delovna mesta bistveni steber socialne pravičnosti, ki spodbuja človekovo dostojanstvo za vse.

 
  
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  Mihai Țurcanu (PPE), în scris. Uniunea Europeană se află, în prezent, în cel de-al treilea an de redresare economică, cu o scădere a ratei șomajului, însă nu suficient de semnificativă pentru a limita sărăcia și șomajul, având în vedere că, în continuare, 23 de milioane de europeni, reprezentând 9,9 % din cetățenii activi, nu au un loc de muncă. Previziunea de creștere economică în Uniunea Europeană pentru 2016 este de 2 % însă aceasta rămâne inegală între statele membre. În acest sens, este nevoie de o strategie pentru a asigura o creștere sustenabilă, în special în contextul turbulențelor economice și financiare din unele economii emergente, ce conduc la apariția de noi provocări strategice la adresa Uniunii Europene.

Mai mult, o mare parte din statele membre se confruntă cu probleme structurale. Prin urmare, este necesar să se acorde în continuare importanță investițiilor publice și private, precum și reformelor echilibrate din punct de vedere social și economic. În plus, statele membre trebuie să crească aria de acoperire și eficiența politicilor active în domeniul stimulării pieței forței de muncă.

Țin să subliniez, totodată, necesitatea unei mai mari atenții acordate regiunilor periferice ale UE, în special celor mai puțin dezvoltate, în vederea reducerii decalajelor și întăririi coeziunii la nivel european.

 
  
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  Carlos Zorrinho (S&D), por escrito. O Relatório do PE sobre a análise anual de crescimento e o Semestre Europeu 2016 marca um ponto de viragem no pensamento predominante no fórum europeu de representação dos cidadãos europeus. O relatório recusa o modelo de austeridade e aposta numa coordenação das políticas económicas e sociais que tenha por referência a Estratégia Europa 2020 para o Crescimento e o Emprego. Defende o reforço do investimento e da procura interna. Defende reformas estruturais de «segunda geração» para reforçar o potencial de crescimento, apostando na educação e na inovação, na sustentabilidade do modelo social, na modernização da administração pública e num sistema fiscal justo e equitativo. Apoia também um novo modelo de gestão da Zona Euro que a aproxime duma zona monetária ótima, dotando-a de instrumentos próprios no quadro da União Económica e Monetária. É um relatório histórico cujas recomendações importa concretizar.

 
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