Home Barry ANDREWS

. – The purpose of the SEIP is to contribute to financing a sustainable transition to a greener economy, while supporting the regions and communities most exposed to its impact. I strongly support this initiative, and believe that a proper financing plan is essential to move the European Green Deal from being an aspiration to a reality. I supported amendments to this report that make it even stronger on environmental issues, including insisting that only projects that are compatible with the EU’s climate objectives are eligible for InvestEU funding, and that all EU-supported investments be subject to the EU Taxonomy Regulation. Overall, this is an ambitious plan for delivering on the goals of the Green Deal. However, also included in this report is a call for the Commission to make use of Article 116 of the Treaty on the European Union to avoid tax distortions in the single-market. This is unnecessary in the context of this report. I also believe that this is fundamentally at odds with promoting European competitiveness and that taxation is, and should remain, a Member State competence. Therefore, while I support most of the content of this plan, I abstained on the final vote.