Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists & Democrats
In the Plenary reports
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European statistics on demography
Thursday 18 April 2013
This report on the proposed regulation on European demographic statistics is a technical but highly controversial issue due to its link to qualified majority voting in the Council. This is a technical proposal, which harmonises the collection of population data. If there is an issue with regard to the method of qualified majority voting, the Treaty should be amended. The S&D Group believes we should not jeopardise the collection of statistical data by changing definitions and international practices in the context of this regulation so we support the approach of Commission and Council. Our goal is to create a sound basis for the harmonised collection of reliable and comparable population data.
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Amendment of the EC-Ukraine Agreement on the facilitation of the issuance of visas
Wednesday 17 April 2013
The Parliament gives its consent to the amended Visa Facilitation Agreement with Ukraine, signed by the Commission, allowing people to move more easily and strengthening ties between the citizens of Ukraine and the European Union.
These changes will enable easier freedom of movement for, amongst others, representatives of civil society, non-governmental organisations and journalists.
It is a positive signal to the people of Ukraine that the EU is firmly committed to strengthening relations between the citizens of EU and Ukraine.
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2012 comprehensive monitoring report on Croatia
Wednesday 17 April 2013
The S&D’s rapporteur was very satisfied with result of the vote on the Croatia report in the foreign affairs committee. The vote in the plenary session follows the publication of the European Commission’s March 2013 Report, which gives the green light for Croatia to join the EU in July.
The Socialists and Democrats are looking forward to welcoming Croatia as the 28th member of the EU on July 1, 2013. As the Croatian government has fulfilled the 10 specific tasks identified in the Commission's comprehensive monitoring report of October 2012, the S&D rapporteur is confident in the strength and maturity of Croatia's democracy and social market, its adherence to European values, and its ability to meet the obligations of membership.
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2012 progress report on Turkey
Wednesday 17 April 2013
This report reflects the S&Ds’ support for the Commission's positive approach to relations with Turkey – as a complementary context for the accession negotiations. It also welcomes peace talks between the government and the leader of the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) Abdullah Öcalan. The report also makes clear that an inclusive process for drafting the new constitution is vital – it should consolidate Turkish democracy and reflect the pluralism and diversity of Turkish society.
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2012 progress report on the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Wednesday 17 April 2013
Both the S&D Group and the rapporteur reiterated their call for the Council to set a date to start accession negotiations, without further delay.
In view of the recent political stalemate, the S&D Group supports a political agreement which is capable of ending the deadlock reflected in current domestic political developments. The S&D Group calls on all parties to continue political dialogue and stresses the need for broad cross-party support and engagement with the EU agenda.
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Groundhandling services at European Union airports
Tuesday 16 April 2013
The core of the Commission's proposal aims to raise the minimum number of groundhandling service providers from two to three for those airports with a minimum of 5 million passengers per year.
The adopted text includes important steps forward for our Group as it contains a:
- representative collective agreement, including a definition in Article 8 (qualification procedure) and Article 9 (award procedure) which entails that all suppliers, self-handlers and subcontractors comply with the agreement; and a
- limitation on subcontracting by defining a subcontractor as an approved handler (according to Articles 16 & 17). This requires them to apply the collective agreement and ensure decent working conditions in order to obtain the approval. Article 40 gives member states the right to withdraw or suspend approvals if the standards are not met.
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European Central Bank annual report (2011)
Tuesday 16 April 2013
This annual report assesses the European Central Bank (ECB) actions in 2011 in the context of the economic and social crisis, in which it plays a crucial role. The report specifically analyses the ECB’s action on monetary policy; the exceptional measures taken in response to the financial crisis; the central role of ECB within the banking union; and the institutional issues related to the Bank in the context of the current discussion on the future of European Monetary Union (EMU).
Our Group supports the measures taken by the ECB to lower the cost of borrowing for member states and to stabilise the financial market. However, we are concerned about the lack of impact these policies have had on the real economy and the ability of the banking system to lend to small and medium enterprises and households. Monetary policy should be complemented by additional fiscal instruments – including a fiscal capacity – at EMU level to create an adequate policy mix for growth and jobs. The increasing role of European Central Bank within the Troika and the banking union calls for new governance rules to increase both the transparency and accountability of the European Monetary Union.
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EU/ACP countries' Economic Partnership Agreements: exclusion of certain countries from trade preferences
Tuesday 16 April 2013
Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries have been underway for over a decade. The current system for ACP countries’ preferential access to the EU market was due to expire in 2007. However, for numerous reasons, many ACP states have still not signed up to such agreements.
This regulation governs the EU import regime for the 36 ACP countries that initialled EPAs in 2007. It is a bridging solution for those countries which were not in a position to apply EPAs, but were awaiting their ratification.
The European Commission therefore proposed that, as of 1 January 2014, those countries which have not signed or ratified the agreements should be removed from the list of beneficiaries to the EU market.
Our group is of the belief that a cut-off date of 1 January 2014 is too short a deadline and puts too much pressure on ACP countries to conclude such deals. We therefore believe that 1 Jan 2016 is a more suitable date.
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2011 discharge: EU general budget, European Parliament
Tuesday 16 April 2013
The EPP rapporteur, Ms Ortiz, focused the discharge report for 2011 on the budget implementation for that specific year, as far as possible – as our S&D rapporteur did last year. Previous rapporteurs had tried to expand the scope of the discharge report far beyond budget implementation for the year in question.
At a time when national and European budgets are under huge pressure, scrutiny of the Parliament's budget implementation is just as necessary as scrutinising other European bodies. The report examines all areas of the Parliament's expenditure. Debate about the discharge of the Parliament is now included in the plenary agenda as a separate item, immediately before the debate on the other discharges. This was requested in last year's plenary resolution and, as in the report on the 2011 discharge, as voted in committee.
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Timing of auctions of greenhouse gas allowances
Monday 15 April 2013
The European emission trading system (EU ETS) has created the world's first major carbon market, with an EU-wide carbon price being a key tool for reducing the EU’s industrial emissions in a cost-effective way. The original policy intention was to create a market-based measure that would stimulate the carbon price and positively influence investment in low-carbon technologies, which in turn would result in emission reductions. Despite a reduction in emissions since the start of the trading system, it currently faces serious challenges.
The economic crisis, combined with an over allocation of credits in the first two rounds of the trading system and a significant influx of external emission reduction credits from the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), have led to a significant surplus of allowances resulting in a carbon price of around 4 €/tnCO2 (compared to the envisaged 30 €/tnCO2 when the Climate and Energy package was adopted).
In order to address the current imbalances in the EU emission trading system, the Commission’s proposal aims to clarify the legislative provisions on the timing of auctions of allowances, as laid down in Directive 87/2003/EC, in order to adapt the auction timetable..
The proposal is to 'back-load' the system, meaning reducing the number of allowances auctioned over the next couple of years (2013-2015) and increasing the amount later auctioned in phase 3, which ends in 2020. In this way, fewer allowances will be on the market while demand remains very low and more allowances will be offered late in phase 3, when demand should have recovered. 'Back-loading' is not about permanently withholding or 'setting aside' allowances. Any permanent reduction would require a more substantial amendment of the EU ETS Directive to be agreed in a further co-decision procedure.
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