REPORT on the Council position on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2023

MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

on the Council position on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2023 (12108/2022 - C9-0306/2022 - 2022/0212(BUD))

The European Parliament,

- having regard to Article 314 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU),

- having regard to Article 106a of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community,

- having regard to Council Decision (EU, Euratom) 2020/2053 of 14 December 2020 on the system of own resources of the European Union and repealing Decision 2014/335/EU, Euratom[1],

- having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014 and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012[2](the 'Financial Regulation'),

- having regard to Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2093 of 17 December 2020 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2021 to 20272 (the 'MFF Regulation'), and to the joint declarations agreed between Parliament, the Council and the Commission in this context[3], as well as to the related unilateral declarations[4],

- having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 16 December 2020 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management, as well as on new own resources, including a roadmap towards the introduction of new own resources[5],

- having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 June 2021 establishing the framework for achieving climate neutrality and amending Regulations (EC) No 401/2009 and (EU) 2018/1999 (European Climate Law)[6],

- having regard to its resolution of 19 May 2022 on the social and economic consequences for the EU of the Russian war in Ukraine - reinforcing the EU's capacity to act[7],

- having regard to the Communication from the Commission of 11 December 2019 on "The European Green Deal" (COM(2019)0640), and its resolution thereon of 15 January 2020[8],

- having regard to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) special report on global warming of 1,5°C, its special report on climate change and land, and its special report on the ocean and cryosphere in a changing climate,

- having regard to the Agreement adopted at the 21st Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP21) in Paris on 12 December 2015 (the Paris Agreement),

- having regard to Special Report 22/2021 of the European Court of Auditors: "Sustainable finance. More consistent EU action needed to redirect finance towards sustainable investment",

- having regard to Special Report 09/2022 of the European Court of Auditors: "Climate spending in the 2014-2020 EU budget - Not as high as reported",

- having regard to Special Report 10/2021 of the European Court of Auditors: "Gender mainstreaming in the EU budget: time to turn words into action",

- having regard to the UN Sustainable Development Goals,

- having regard to its resolution of 8 July 2021 on the Annual Report on the Functioning of the Schengen Area[9],

- having regard to the proposal of 22 April 2022 for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union (COM(2022)0184), and the report A9-0230/2022 thereon, adopted on 8 September 2022 by the Committee on Budgets and by the Committee on Budgetary Control and endorsed at Parliament's part-session of 12 to 15 September 2022,

- having regard to the European Pillar of Social Rights and its resolution of 19 January 2017 thereon[10],

- having regard to the EU Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025,

- having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2092 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2020 on a general regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget[11],

- having regard to its resolution of 5 April 2022 on general guidelines for the preparation of the 2023 budget, Section III - Commission[12],

- having regard to its resolution of 7 April 2022 on Parliament's estimates of revenue and expenditure for the financial year 2023[13],

- having regard to the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2023, which the Commission adopted on 1 July 2022 (COM(2022)0400) (the 'DB'),

- having regard to the position on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2023, which the Council adopted on 9 September 2022 and forwarded to Parliament on 9 September 2022 (12108/2022 - C9-0306/2022),

- having regard to Rule 94 of its Rules of Procedure,

- having regard to the opinions of the committees concerned,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets (A9-0241/2022),

General overview of Section III

1. Recalls that, in its resolution of 5 April 2022 on general guidelines for the preparation of the 2023 budget, Parliament set clear political priorities for the 2023 budget; reaffirms its strong commitment to those priorities and sets out the following position to ensure an appropriate level of financing to deliver on them; believes that the Union must be equipped with all possible budgetary means to respond to current crises and focus on people's needs;

2. Stresses that the Union faces an extraordinarily complex set of challenges, including the direct and indirect repercussions of the war in Ukraine, high inflation, increasing poverty, high energy prices and security of supply risks, a worsening economic outlook, in particular for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and the most vulnerable households, the need to secure a just, inclusive and sustainable recovery from the pandemic, crises in many other parts of the world, technological change, including increasing digitalisation, gender inequality, as well as the growing urgency to tackle climate change and the biodiversity crisis and their consequences and the need to accelerate the just transition, including through investments in energy efficiency; considers that the Union budget should contribute to tackling those challenges and provide adequate support for all, while expressing concern at the exceptionally limited margins, which are about one third of last year's, or, in the case of Heading 6, the lack of margin, and the limited flexibility and crisis response capacity built into the budget; considers that it is indispensable, especially in a time of war, to boost investments and tackle unemployment and to lay the foundations for a more resilient and sustainable Union, while focusing on concrete actions to deal with the consequences of the war in the world as well; deplores the fact that the draft budget is an insufficient response to the current challenges; recalls that the multiannual financial framework (MFF) was not established to address a pandemic, a war, high inflation, high energy prices, high numbers of refugees, new accessions, food insecurity, and a humanitarian crises;

3. Regrets the Council's position on the DB, which cuts EUR 1,64 billion in commitment appropriations and EUR 530 million in payment appropriations for the MFF headings compared to the Commission's proposal; considers that the cuts proposed by the Council neither reflect the seriousness of the above-mentioned challenges facing the Union and its citizens nor are driven by an objective assessment of either implementation trends or absorption capacities and run counter to core shared policy priorities putting at risk the ability of the Union to successfully implement its key political objectives and priorities; considers that the Council should not target programmes that benefit from the adjustment provided for in Article 5 of the MFF regulation for "rebalancing and stabilisation", since that would contradict the objective of that MFF provision, which was to strengthen specific political priorities; recalls in particular that Article 5 of the MFF regulation does not provide "top ups", as suggested by the Council; concludes that the Council's position is far from Parliament's expectations; decides therefore, as a general rule, to restore appropriations on lines cut by the Council to the level of the DB, for both operational and administrative expenditure, and to take the DB as the starting point for Parliament's position;

4. Maintains the appropriations entered in the DB for the thematic special instruments, namely the Solidarity and Emergency Aid Reserve, the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund and the Brexit Adjustment Reserve; considers that, bearing in mind the unforeseen, extraordinary and unprecedented challenges faced by the Union, the full amount of the Flexibility Instrument should be used; considers, given the current grave interlocking crises, that it is necessary to mobilise the 2021 margins under compartment (a) of the Single Margin Instrument and additional appropriations under compartment (c) of that Instrument;

5. Recalls its long-standing position that new policy priorities or tasks should be accompanied by fresh resources; intends to follow that approach for the Chips Act and the proposal for a Union Secure Connectivity Programme; welcomes in that sense the fact that the Commission proposal establishing the European defence industry reinforcement through common procurement act does not entail redeployments from, or earmarking within, other programmes;

6. Considers that the Union budget, on account of its size, structure and rules, has a very limited capacity to respond appropriately in 2023 to the challenges facing the Union or to adequately finance and implement new shared Union policy ambitions or initiatives announced in the Commission's President's 2022 State of the Union address; recalls in particular that the Heads of State or Government have described the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine as a 'tectonic shift in European history' and that the Commission has stated that the 'unforeseen needs created by war in Europe are well beyond the means available in the current multiannual financial framework', necessitating new financing sources; underlines that the Union should take a leading role in making available sufficient, timely and reliable support to Ukraine together with international partners; is of the view that this is a further demonstration of the urgent need for a substantial revision of the MFF, to be submitted as soon as possible and no later than the first quarter of 2023, including to make it more flexible, raise the ceilings where necessary to reflect emerging needs and new priorities and to address the problems generated by including the European Union Recovery Instrument (EURI) financing costs in Heading 2b;

7. Underlines the fact that real progress on new own resources is essential both for EURI repayments for NGEU implementation and for the financial robustness and implementation of the current and future multiannual financial frameworks; calls on the Commission to ensure timely introduction of new own resources, in line with the roadmap set out in the Interinstitutional agreement of 16 December 2020, and to accelerate the proposal for the second basket; urges the Council to respect the agreed timing and to make necessary progress on the own resources contained in the first basket proposed by the Commission on 22 December 2021, with a view to their prompt implementation;

8. Stresses the need to respond to the consequences of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic, rising inflation and increasing energy and food insecurity at Union level; stresses in particular the need for sufficient green investments to strengthen the EU's energy independence and implement the Green Deal; recalls that cohesion and agriculture policy cannot be the main source of the financing of urgent priorities, jeopardising the implementation of long-term objectives and highlights the need for support for regions badly hit by the pandemic and the energy crisis; calls, on the Commission, in light of limited resources from the Union budget to respond to high energy prices, to analyse potential flexibilities and additional resources, including any unused funds including from the 2014-2020 MFF, in order to support SMEs and vulnerable households;

9. Considers that the Union should take concerted action to tackle the energy crisis and proposes very substantial additional investments in that field; recalls that further financial resources will be needed beyond the 2023 budget to achieve that objective; recalls, therefore, the importance of providing additional financial support through RepowerEU; calls for a prompt agreement on, and implementation of, RepowerEU so that funds can be released as soon as possible with a view to swiftly increasing Union's energy independence through strategic investments, including support for SMEs and vulnerable households;

10. Welcomes the Commission's work on a new classification to measure the gender impact of Union spending; calls on the Commission to ensure that this classification focuses an accurate and comprehensive representation of the impact of programmes on gender equality, with a view to getting the best gender equality impact from programmes that are currently categorized as zero (star) and to learning lessons for the design of the programmes; moreover calls for an extension of that classification to all MFF programmes in order to demonstrate results for the 2023 budget; stresses, in this regard, the need for systematic collection and analysis of gender-disaggregated data; expects all gender-relevant reporting to be done on the basis of volumes and not number of actions;

11. Expects climate and biodiversity mainstreaming targets to be achieved; in this regard welcomes efforts towards more transparent and comprehensive reporting and emphasises the need carry out sufficient ex-post evaluations and to work on the granularity of the data available; calls again on the Commission to address the conclusions of the European Court of Auditors regarding overstated climate spending; welcomes as well the reporting on biodiversity-related expenditure; nevertheless expresses concern that the 2026 and 2027 targets might not be reached and calls on the Commission to enhance its efforts to reach the targets; calls on the Commission to publish the amounts and shares of expenditure that will contribute to both targets per programme when presenting the draft budget; calls on the Commission to monitor the implementation of the DNSH and to take necessary corrective measures if and when needed;

12. Reiterates the need for the 2023 budget to reflect the implementation of the recommendations endorsed by the Conference on the Future of Europe;

13. Sets, therefore, the overall level of appropriations for the 2023 budget (all sections) at EUR 187 293 119 206 in commitment appropriations, representing an increase of EUR 1 702 055 778 compared to the DB; decides in addition to make available an amount of EUR 836 090 000 in commitment appropriations further to decommitments under Article 15(3) of the Financial Regulation; sets the overall level of appropriations for the 2023 budget (all sections) at EUR 167 612 834 087 in payment appropriations;

Heading 1 - Single market, Innovation and Digital

14. Underlines the significant contribution of Heading 1 to addressing the consequences of the war in Ukraine as well as to reaching the Union's climate and energy targets, inter alia to reduce Union dependence on fossil fuels, including from Russia, by supporting research and investment in sustainable energy and transport sectors; reiterates the potential of the programmes of this heading in anchoring Ukraine in the Single Market, infrastructure network and research area;

15. Supports the proposal in the DB to make EUR 78,8 million available in decommitments for the three clusters referred to in the relevant Joint political statement attached to the Horizon Europe regulation[14]; notes, however, that the remaining 2021 and 2020 research decommitments amount to EUR 836,09 million; insists, against the backdrop of limited available resources and considerable needs, that this unexpectedly high amount of research decommitments, which was not forecast by the Commission during the MFF negotiations, should be made available in full for Horizon Europe, in compliance with Article 15(3) of the Financial Regulation; recalls the very high Union added value and excellent implementation rate of that programme; believes strongly, therefore, that the remaining amounts should provide significant increases for key research priorities, such as health (including Long Covid and Post Covid, such as for clinical trials), climate, mobility and energy, culture and creativity, including for the further development of the New European Bauhaus, and food, bioeconomy, natural resources and the environment, in order to tackle the pressing challenges faced by the Union and to provide additional support to researchers through the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions, including researchers from Ukraine, with a specific focus on the European Green Deal, the Digital Agenda and making Europe stronger in the world;

16. Underlines deep concern about the proposed management mode of the European Innovation Council Fund and calls on the Commission to engage in an open dialogue with Parliament on the management mode of the Fund to ensure proper budgetary implementation;

17. Reverses the redeployments proposed by the Commission to fund the Chips Act and the Secure Connectivity Programme, in line with its position that new initiatives should be funded using fresh money, and deletes the relevant Council reserves, thereby ensuring a proper level of funding for priorities in Horizon Europe, the Digital Europe Programme and the Union Space Programme; makes research decommitments available again to compensate for earmarking under Horizon Europe for the Chips Act and the Secure Connectivity Programme, so that those new proposals do not detract from existing research priorities; emphasises that the absorption of funds from NGEU cannot be used to justify not implementing Article 15(3) of the Financial Regulation and not using substantial amounts of decommitments in a time of crises;

18. Recalls that the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) is key to spurring investment in the development of high performance and sustainable trans-European networks; stresses that CEF must play a crucial role in decarbonising the Union economy by supporting alternative fuel infrastructure and renewable energy, thereby accelerating the green transition and increasing the Union's energy independence and security, and promotes interconnectivity across the Union territory, including with the Iberian peninsula and with remote, sparsely populated regions; underlines that Russia's unprecedented and unprovoked military attack against Ukraine calls for urgent support to transport infrastructure in and towards Ukraine ("solidarity lanes"), to enable the transport of critical goods in both directions; proposes, therefore, to increase the funding of the Transport and Energy strands of CEF by a total amount of EUR 90 million in commitment appropriations above the level of the DB;

19. Stresses that a well-functioning Single Market is at the heart of Union's recovery and long-term competitiveness; underlines the importance of preserving and adapting it in a context of numerous challenges; calls on the Commission to make the necessary proposals, including in the frame of the amending letter, to bridge any possible gap between the entry into force of the Digital Services Act and the recovery of the supervisory fees;

20. Emphasises that businesses and, in particular, SMEs, which constitute the backbone of the European economy, have been severely hit by the current crises, including businesses in the tourism and cultural and creative sectors, which have suffered a severe contraction, and by the consequences of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, in particular high energy prices; supports an increase of EUR 10 million above the DB for the SME strand of the Single Market Cluster; proposes also an increase of EUR 1 million above the DB to support the ongoing work of the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) in designing high-quality reporting standards, on the condition that EFRAG adopts a work plan outlining the measures to ensure a proper transparent due process and public oversight as well as a balanced representation of stakeholders;

21. Increases therefore the level of commitment appropriations for Heading 1 by EUR 663 650 000 above the DB (excluding pilot projects and preparatory actions), to be financed using the available margin and mobilising the special instruments; moreover, makes available to the heading an overall amount of EUR 836 090 000 in commitment appropriations corresponding to de-commitments made under Article 15(3) of the Financial Regulation, thereby increasing by EUR 677 278 157 the decommitments made available again compared to the DB;

Sub-heading 2a - Economic, social and territorial cohesion

22. Underlines the pivotal role of cohesion policy as an essential Union investment policy and convergence instrument to promote sustainable growth and support the overall harmonious development of the Member States and their regions, including between and within regions; anticipates that, after a delayed start to the programming process in the first two years of the 2021-2027 MFF, implementation should gather pace in 2022; calls on the Member States and the Commission to accelerate the process of programming in order to allow 2023 to be the start of the implementation of the cohesion funds, which will help adress social, economic and territorial inequalities and boost the Union economy and help the public and private sectors, SMEs, and citizens during these difficult times; underlines the risk for projects to be delayed due to the pandemic and the war in Ukraine; asks the Commission to assess and, where relevant, to propose the necessary policy adjustments and support measures to ensure continuation and full implementation of all projects;

23. Accepts the Council position with respect to Heading 2a;

Sub-heading 2b - Resilience and values

24. Reiterates that, despite Parliament's demands to place the EURI over and above the ceilings, the refinancing costs are paid from within Heading 2b; notes that, in the light of the unforeseen situation on financial markets due to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, which continues to negatively affect the Union's economy, setting it on a path of lower growth, higher inflation and rising interest rates, the line dedicated to the EURI financing costs is likely to be needed in full and needs may well exceed the budgeted amount; deplores the fact that this has a de facto impact on programmes under the same heading by constraining the Commission's ability to propose above-financial programming reinforcements where they are needed; notes that EURI financing costs should not be taken from special instruments, which are intended to tackle unforeseen challenges, such as the consequences of the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis;

25. Proposes, therefore, EUR 200 million above the DB for the flagship Erasmus+ programme - focused on learning mobility in education and training - in line with the need identified by the Commission to provide support to Ukrainian students and teaching staff, as well as to all students to cope with high inflation; underlines that these appropriations will also help to flatten the heavily backloaded financial profile of Erasmus+, providing more consistent annual financing for a programme with stable year-on-year demand; stresses, furthermore, that increased resources will contribute to ongoing efforts to make the programme greener and more inclusive and enable legacy work following the 2022 European Year of Youth; points to the announcement made by President von der Leyen in her State of the Union address that 2023 should be the European Year of Skills, which would require support in the 2023 budget;

26. Recalls that, under the 'sport' strand, Erasmus+ supports not-for-profit sport events aimed at further developing the European dimension of sport and promoting issues of relevance to grassroots sport; underlines the vital role that sport plays in tackling discrimination and promoting social inclusion; supports, therefore, a necessary and targeted reinforcement of EUR 10 million for the 'sport' line to enable the programme to support the Special Olympics taking place in Berlin in 2023;

27. Underlines that the European Solidarity Corps (ESC) helps young people gain practical experience in another Member State, thereby increasing their employability and life chances; stresses, further, that the ESC finances voluntary humanitarian work carried out through the Humanitarian Aid Corps, which can provide important humanitarian assistance outside conflict zones; decides, therefore, to increase appropriations for the ESC by EUR 8 million above the DB;

28. Stresses that the Covid-19 pandemic is not yet over and emphasises the need to maintain support for health systems to improve their resilience and bolster preparedness through the EU4Health programme; underlines, further, the key role that the programme plays in supporting the Beating Cancer Plan, the Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe and the newly created Health and Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority; reverses, therefore, the disproportionate and unjustified cut proposed by Council and reinforces the programme by EUR 25 million above the DB, including to support actions to achieve universal health coverage across the Union, encompassing quality access to sexual and reproductive health services;

29. Highlights the increasingly numerous and severe natural disasters in Europe, as evidenced most recently by the record wild fires in the summer of 2022; regrets that, owing to climate change, such extreme weather events resulting often in emergencies are going to intensify and multiply; decides, therefore and in line with the Commission President's pledge in her 2022 State of the Union address, to reinforce the Union Civil Protection Mechanism by EUR 20 million in order to enhance the Union's response capacity and better protect its citizens, including capacities for the mobilisation of medical units in emergencies, and underlines the need to invest in climate mitigation and adaptation for particularly vulnerable regions;

30. Recalls that the cultural and creative sectors, often small businesses, individual artists and nor for-profit community organisations, have been badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and the related public health measures; emphasises the key role that Creative Europe plays in supporting European creations and Union values as well as the recovery of the cultural and creative sectors, fostering media literacy and combatting disinformation; decides, therefore, to increase the programme's 2023 appropriations by EUR 12 million above the DB;

31. Underlines the need to promote respect for the rule of law and fundamental rights; stresses the crucial role of the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme in strengthening Union values, European citizenship and democracy, equality and gender equality and the rule of law in the Union, and in supporting victims of gender-based violence; reverses, therefore, the Council's cuts to the programme; decides, further, to increase the Daphne strand by EUR 2 million above the DB to tackle gender-based violence, which has worsened since the pandemic, as well as all forms of violence perpetrated against refugees, children, young persons and other groups at risk, and the 'citizens' engagement and participation' strand by EUR 1.5 million above the DB, in particular to ensure proper follow-up to the Conference on the Future of Europe;

32. Recalls the importance of supporting social dialogue and workers' training and ensuring stable funding therefor; calls on the Commission to ensure good absorption of the related budgets;

33. Considers that there should be sufficient appropriations for the Turkish Cypriot Community budget line for the purpose of contributing decisively to the continuation and intensification of the mission of the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus, and of supporting the bicommunal Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage;

34. Underlines the importance of protecting the Union budget against fraud, corruption and other prohibited conduct, which adversely affect the Union and national budgets; stresses, in this regard, the central role that the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) plays in protecting the Union's financial interests, including with respect to the use of NextGenerationEU funds, and ensuring compliance with the rule of law; decides, therefore, to apply targeted reinforcements to the EPPO and increase its staffing levels to allow the body to fulfil its mandate, thereby reinforcing efforts against fraud, corruption, money laundering and organised crime; calls on all the Member States to join the EPPO and ensure a better protection of the Union financial interests; recalls the importance of compliance with the general regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget;

35. Considers it necessary to ensure adequate and stable funding for institutional communication, to enable the Union to engage with citizens, including at local level, counter disinformation and facilitate citizen's participation in democratic life, which is even more urgent in the light of Russia's war against Ukraine; restores, therefore, the level of the DB on the relevant lines;

36. Reinforces Sub-heading 2b overall by EUR 272 821 707 above the DB in commitment appropriations (excluding pilot projects and preparatory actions), to be financed by using the available margin and mobilising the special instruments;

Heading 3 - Natural Resources and Environment

37. Expresses its grave concerns about the impact of Russia's war against Ukraine and its economic fallout as well as of the extreme weather events, including severe and prolonged droughts, on production and distribution in the agricultural sector and food markets; underlines the strategic role that agriculture plays in avoiding a food crisis by providing safe, high-quality food at affordable prices all over Europe; recalls that 2023 is the first year of the new common agricultural policy that will support Union farmers, who play a fundamental role in maintaining the economic resilience of rural areas, by easing the debt burden of young farmers and helping them with rising loan interest rates and higher input costs; believes that the crisis situation justifies the partial mobilisation of the new agricultural reserve by a minimum of EUR 10 million for young farmers; calls on the Commission to prepare pertinent exceptional measures in line with the relevant provisions in the basic act and to increase, as relevant, the amount to be mobilised;

38. Reiterates the importance of the LIFE programme in supporting climate action and environmental protection and its key role in designing exemplary intervention and catalysing measures towards climate mitigation and climate adaptation as well as towards halting biodiversity loss; calls for the level of budgetary support for LIFE to be increased across the various programme strands; highlights that any annual reinforcement for the LIFE programme will imply progress towards the mainstreaming targets and ambitions in the areas of climate and biodiversity; considers the present circumstances to justify a particular emphasis on the article covering the Clean Energy Transition;

39. Stresses the need to significantly increase the budget of the European Environment Agency to provide sufficient financial and staff resources to enable full implementation of the European Green Deal and its related policies as one of the main pillars for the transformation of the Union economy to a fair, inclusive, sustainable, resilient and carbon-neutral economy; believes that the Commission should at all costs avoid putting at risk the implementation and enforcement of environmental policies and legislation;

40. Stresses the important role of the just transition plans and the need for their timely approval in the current economic and geopolitical situation to secure necessary investments and growth in the Union; emphasises the need to ensure the smooth implementation of the Just Transition Fund as an essential tool for increasing the Union's energy independence and innovative capacity and addressing socio-economic challenges and the energy transition in response to climate targets;

41. Reinforces Heading 3 by EUR 61 240 000 commitment appropriations above the DB levels (excluding pilot projects and preparatory actions), to be financed using part of the available margin;

42. Recalls that traditionally, an Amending Letter will still complete the picture regarding the availabilities for the EAGF and that the approach to amendments in Heading 3 can be adjusted accordingly in the course of the conciliation;

Heading 4 - Migration and Border Management

43. Notes that, in 2022, as a result of the war against Ukraine, it was necessary to provide additional financing of EUR 150 million to the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) to support Member States receiving people fleeing the conflict; welcomes the decision to trigger the Temporary Protection Directive, which, owing to the nature of the conflict and the efforts of Member States to protect women and children from human trafficking, including trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation, will entail a longer-term financial commitment and necessitate ongoing budgetary support to Member States; decides, therefore, to reinforce the AMIF by EUR 100 million above the DB in 2023;

44. Recalls that, in 2022, it was also necessary to provide top-up funding to the Border Management and Visa Instrument (BMVI) to enable additional support to be provided to frontline Member States in the context of the war, as well as support the further integration of Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia in the Schengen area; regrets, further, that the Commission has repeatedly proposed to erode the agreed financial envelope for the BMVI so as to find resources for justice and home affairs agencies with expanded mandates, including Europol in the DB; decides, on the basis of the above considerations, to increase the BMVI by EUR 25 million above the DB in 2023;

45. Recalls the vital role that the European Union Asylum Agency plays in supporting Member States with respect to asylum and international protection procedures and notes that the agency's workload has increased, both as a result of the war against Ukraine and owing to the new tasks entrusted to it under its enhanced mandate; decides, therefore, to increase the agency's staffing;

46. Highlights the need for a further increase in commitment appropriations and staff for eu-LISA in line with the agency's identified needs, thus enabling it to continue implementing a number of critical Union projects for internal security and border management in 2023;

47. Highlights the importance of an effective European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) to assist Member States in managing the common external borders of the Union and to ensure integrated border management in full compliance with fundamental rights; notes that Frontex continues to have difficulty in absorbing the steep year-on-year increase in appropriations and recruiting the additional operational staff required; calls on the Commission to conduct an in-depth analysis of the matter to improve implementation under Parliament's scrutiny; decides therefore to support Council's proposed cut of EUR 50 million for Frontex in 2023; underlines nevertheless the need to ensure that Frontex has the necessary budgetary means to fulfil its mandate and obligations;

48. Reinforces Heading 4 overall by EUR 130 430 664 above the Council position and EUR 80 430 664 above the DB, to be financed by using part of the available margin;

Heading 5 - Security and Defence

49. Underlines the importance of enhancing European cooperation in defence matters taking into account the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and the highly unstable international environment; considers that such cooperation not only makes Europe and its citizens safer but also leads to greater efficiency and potential savings; calls in that connection for increased funding for the capability development strand of the European Defence Fund in order to foster an innovative and competitive defence industrial base that will contribute to the strategic autonomy of the Union;

50. Proposes also to increase funding for military mobility with the aim of helping Member States act faster and more effectively; notes that sufficient funding is needed to support missions and operations under the common security and defence policy, including by measures such as funding dual-use transport infrastructure and simplifying diplomatic clearances and customs rules; notes that military mobility could also be boosted by the urgent accession to the Schengen Area of Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia; recalls that the failure to resolve that matter has a detrimental economic and geostrategic impact; underlines, the need to restore the level of the DB of the Internal Security Fund to ensure sufficient funding for the fight against serious and organised crime with a cross border dimension and cybercrime;

51. Reinforces Heading 5 overall by EUR 81 192 700 above the DB, to be financed using the available margin and mobilising special instruments;

Heading 6 - Neighbourhood and the World

52. Notes with deep concern that the Russian aggression against Ukraine and its worldwide effects have dramatically increased humanitarian assistance needs, which were already under pressure because of funding gaps and the multiplication of crises and conflicts in the world; asks to significantly increase humanitarian aid to address the unprecedented gap between needs and available resources; deplores the fact that Heading 6 has no margin and is therefore not fit for the current situation or for tackling possible new emergencies; considers that the Heading 6 ceiling should be increased as a matter of urgency; regrets that the DB is not able to at least sustain the current level of response while humanitarian needs and emergencies are steeply increasing around the globe, notably worsening food insecurity on account of the impact of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, intensifying the impacts of climate change and increasingly severe climate-induced disasters and newly emerging conflicts; is deeply concerned that, even with the increases proposed by Parliament, there would be insufficient resources to address the humanitarian aid needs in 2023;

53. Calls for continued and substantial support for the Eastern Neighbourhood, especially for countries helping refugees that are fleeing Ukraine and facing inflation and high energy and food prices; considers it necessary to support political, economic and social reforms and civil society actors, in particular human rights and democracy activists, civil society organisations defending women's rights and the rights of the LGBTIQ+ community or providing assistance to persecuted persons and political prisoners, together with Ukrainian and Moldovan organisations which have been forced to restructure their activities as a result of Russia's war of aggression, organisations contributing to the fight against corruption, and independent media which help expose disinformation and propaganda;

54. Asks for additional resources to be allocated to the Southern Neighbourhood in order to support political, economic and social reforms; welcomes the recent announcement of the Union's continued commitment to multiannual funding to UNRWA; underlines that the increase in appropriations for the Southern Neighbourhood is notably intended to provide predictable funding for UNRWA, in the light of the crucial role it plays in protecting and ensuring the essential needs of Palestinian refugees as well as contributing to their human development;

55. Reinforces thematic programmes and rapid response actions of the NDICI-Global Europe (NDICI-GE), in particular through the "People" programme, to address the consequences of the war in Ukraine, develop more robust health systems and close access gaps to essential health services as well as to finance climate change adaptation and mitigation measures through the "Planet" programme, and through the use of the Resilience line to foster synergies between humanitarian, development, public investments and peace actions, especially in countries that are candidate for Accession but do not benefit yet from the Instrument for Pre-Accession;

56. Emphasises the need to increase funding for Western Balkan countries in the framework of the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance to support economic growth and employment and also as a geopolitical priority, especially in the context of Russia's unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine, which resonated strongly across the region, but insists on the conditionality requirements regarding rule of law for every euro committed in the 2023 budget; in this context, calls on the Commission to use a share of the additional funding for the Erasmus+ programming for increased funding to institutions of higher education for the purpose of a new scholarship programme for students of Western Balkan countries;

57. Calls for Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova to be included as soon as possible within the scope of the Instrument for Pre-Accession and for the financial envelope of the programme to be increased accordingly; considers that it is necessary to provide support to Ukraine and Moldova, as new EU candidate countries, and to Georgia, as an aspiring applicant, on their path to EU membership; calls for the provision of further financial assistance under IPA III in order to promote the international dimension of the Erasmus+ programme;

58. Decides to increase support for strategic communication, especially to measures aimed at countering global disinformation through the systematic tracking and exposing of disinformation spread by state and other actors;

59. Underlines the key role of the EU Macro-Financial Assistance to Moldova, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Ukraine to promote investments, support recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and the consequences of the war;

60. Reinforces Heading 6 overall by EUR 465 000 000 above the DB, to be financed by mobilisation of special instruments;

Heading 7 - European Public Administration

61. Considers that the Council's cuts in this heading - which are designed to obviate recourse to the Flexibility Instrument, as proposed in the DB - are unjustified and would not allow the Commission to fulfil its tasks; restores therefore the DB for the Commission administrative expenditure, including with respect to its Offices;

62. Highlights the risks to the internal security of the Union stemming from Russia's invasion of Ukraine; in this context, welcomes the launch of the Support Hub for Internal Security and Border Management in Moldova and calls the Commission to facilitate and accelerate the full operability of the Hub by providing logistical and financial support through cooperation with DG Home and DG Just, as well as with Union's experts from relevant EU JHA Agencies deployed in Moldova;

63. Emphasises the importance of ensuring that the Commission has sufficient staff to fulfil its tasks, including those relating to new initiatives and newly adopted legislation; calls, therefore on the Commission to ensure that it has the additional staff necessary for efficient and effective implementation; highlights in that context the impact of the legislative proposals under the EU Green Deal, the Digital Market Act and the Digital Services Act, and increased Union spending owing to NGEU and the Recovery and Resilience Facility, on staff needs in certain services, in particular the Commission's Directorate-General for Environment (DG ENV), the Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP), the Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CNECT) and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF); expresses concern that the Commission does not have the staff necessary for the work required; asks the Commission to take account of those staff needs, without undermining staff levels in other parts of the Institution;

64. Calls for the swift adoption of the targeted revision of the Financial Regulation proposed by the Commission in relation to the handling of default interest for the late repayment of cancelled or reduced competition fines, so as to avoid pressure on spending under Heading 7;

Pilot projects and preparatory actions (PP-PAs)

65. Recalls the importance of pilot projects and preparatory actions (PP-PAs) as tools for the formulation of political priorities and the introduction of new initiatives that have the potential to turn into standing Union activities and programmes; adopts, following a careful analysis of all the proposals submitted and taking fully into account the Commission's assessment of their respect of legal requirements and implementability, a balanced package of PP-PAs that reflects Parliament's political priorities; calls on the Commission to swiftly implement PP-PAs and provide feedback on their performance and results delivered on the ground;

Payments

66. Underlines the need to provide a sufficient level of payment appropriations in the 2023 budget and decides, as a general rule, to reverse Council's cuts and to reinforce payment appropriations on those lines which are amended in commitment appropriations; emphasises that it is necessary to accelerate programme implementation to avoid a backlog of payments in the second half of the MFF period;

Other Sections

Section I - European Parliament

67. Maintains unchanged the overall level of its budget for 2023 set at EUR 2 268 777 642, in line with its estimates of revenue and expenditure adopted by the Plenary on 7 April 2022 and updated on 3 May 2022 at the request of the Commission due to a change in the estimated indexation rate; decides to include artificially and in a budgetary neutral way 98 posts in its establishment chart for one year only in order to allow for the integration of the laureates of an internal competition in the light of the application of article 29(4) of the Staff Regulations, similarly to what has been done in the 2020 budget; updates the remarks of five budgetary lines, also to add the possibility to reimburse the costs of participation of petitioners, including travel, subsistence and incidental expenses, during the official missions of the committee on Petitions outside of the European Parliament premises;

68. Acknowledges the important role that the Authority for European political parties and European political foundations (EPP/Fs) plays for the transparency, sound financial management and diversity of the political system by ensuring the application of common rules by the EPP/Fs; notes that, while its budget is included under Section I - European Parliament, the Authority is an independent Union body; decides therefore to create a separate item for the remunerations and allowances of the staff working for the Authority and a separate line in the organisation chart of the European Parliament covering its posts, without additional appropriations to the DB;

69. Asks the Bureau for sufficient means to be provided to the article 3 2 3 - Support for democracy and capacity-building for the parliaments of third countries in order for the European Parliament to contribute efficiently to the organisation of the third edition of the high-level conference of the Global Campus of Human Rights, if needed and possible, including by way of a transfer request from the Parliament's administration during the budget execution year;

70. In line with its resolution of 7 April 2022 on its estimates of revenue and expenditure for the financial year 2023 and taking into account the answers provided by the Secretary-General on 20 July 2022:

(a) recalls that weaknesses in the fight against cyber and hybrid security in one institution can impact all; reiterates therefore the importance of Parliament's budget to be adequately equipped to strengthen its capabilities against cyber and hybrid threats for the benefit of all institutions, especially in light of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the increasing amount of attacks in recent years and the upcoming 2024 European elections;

(b) takes note of the on-going measures taken by the administration to counter disinformation or any actions aimed at misrepresenting positions of the Members of the European Parliament, in particular in view of the 2024 European elections; reiterates its calls for enhanced cooperation between all the players involved at inter-institutional level;

(c) notes the support given to the Democracy Support and Coordination Group and its Lead Members in carrying out democracy support activities; welcomes the enhanced activities and calls for continuing support on communication with the citizens by providing information also in the languages of linguistic minorities, regions and communities where appropriate and fighting disinformation with special emphasis on the new priority countries;

(d) underlines the need for Parliament's Committee on Budgets to receive all relevant information relating to Parliament's budget in a timely and intelligible manner to be able to take informed decisions; while recognising the importance of the establishment of Europa Experiences in all Member States as a way to bring the Union closer to the people, requests an update of the running costs of the Europa Experience centres, given the context of high inflation; requests also an update on the EUR 37,9 million loan proposed to finance the purchase of the building of the Europa Experience in Dublin as required by Article 266(6) of the Financial Regulation;

(e) recalls the importance of a transparent and fair decision-making process in the field of building policy, having due regard to Article 266 of the Financial Regulation, in relation to Parliament's building policy;

(f) reminds the Bureau that proper information and consultation with BUDG committee before adopting any major decision on building related issues is needed due to their important budgetary implications;

(g) considers that in times where EU citizens face dramatic rises on their daily life cost, the Union institutions without exception should demonstrate solidarity and lead by example, notably in relation with energy consumption and reduction; notes that inflation and increasing energy prices have put immense pressure on Parliament's budget; takes note of the Bureau decisions on 2 May 2022 and 3 October 2022 on short-term measures aiming at lowering Parliaments' energy consumption; asks users to be able to fine tune themselves the temperature in the offices and meeting rooms while remaining in the agreed frame to perform savings; calls on Parliament to take all the necessary steps to decrease medium and long-term energy consumption in order to reduce the energy bills in the upcoming revision of the current approach on energy saving activities; given the energy crisis and geopolitical context, welcomes and encourages the investments in renewable energy and for phasing-out of fossil fuels and in particular the installation of heat pumps; calls to upscale on sight energy production, in particular by installing of state of the art rooftop photovoltaics for the maximum potential in Brussels and Strasbourg as soon as possible, and welcomes the new study on the more cost efficient photovoltaic panels which is currently underway; welcomes the building energy management system established in EMAS and calls for the yearly audit to be part of the draft estimates presented by the services; requests the Bureau to trigger the launch of an exchange of good practices between governing bodies of Union institutions in revising their multi annual spending strategies in order to find ways to make further savings; encourages further exchange of views on best practices of energy consumption policies beyond the Union institutions, for example with local authorities;

(h) welcomes the preliminary steps taken towards formulating a carbon neutrality target; reminds and calls on Members and political groups to contribute to the ongoing reduction of trunks' shipping between Brussels and Strasbourg at plenary sessions, as committed by the Bureau; calls for the relevant investments to be planned in the forthcoming budgets on the recovery and reuse of rainwater and a more rational use of water;

71. Calls on the Parliament to continue conducting regular assessments of the organisation of its personnel needs, to reallocate posts between directorates in accordance with evolving priorities in order to carry out new tasks as much as possible at constant staffing levels and to assess the risks related to employing growing numbers of contract agents, including the danger of creating a two-tier staffing structure within Parliament; considering Parliament's legal obligations, underlines that reprioritisation of resources becomes increasingly important in an inflationary environment;

Other Sections (Sections IV-X)

72. Stresses the pressure that the high inflationary context has on the expenditure for the other institutions; highlights that the largest part of their budgets is fixed by statutory or contractual obligations impacted by inflation and that they have no control over inflation rates and increasing energy prices; points out the need for the institutions to have sufficient staff in order to fulfil their mandate; welcomes the continuous efforts made by the institutions to redeploy staff and find additional efficiency gains but recognises the limits of this approach in the current context when paired simultaneously with increasing responsibilities; regrets that the Commission did not grant any of the additional posts requested by the other institutions, irrespective of their new tasks; condemns the horizontal approach taken by the Council to increase the abatement rate by 1,8 percentage points in each institution and considers that it is not justified; recalls that increasing the abatement rate would oblige the other institutions to keep a higher number of posts vacant, hence decreasing their workforce, their capabilities to answer to citizens' concerns and fulfil their mandate;

73. Decides therefore to restore the level of the DB for the European Committee of the Regions; in line with the gentlemen's agreement, does not modify the Council's reading concerning the Council and the European Council;

74. Increases, for the following duly justified cases, the level of appropriations or staff above the DB in order to give the institutions enough resources to perform adequately, efficiently and effectively the growing number of tasks from their mandate and be equipped for the upcoming challenges, in particular as regards cybersecurity; underlines in that respect that the Union is not prepared enough to fight cyber threats that are, over the years, increasing in frequency and complexity; believes that appropriate means and staff should be granted to all Union institutions in order to tackle those threats both internally and in the context of inter-institutional cooperation; proposes therefore to:

(a) restore the level of appropriations in line with the estimates of the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Ombudsman, by increasing the level of appropriations above the DB for budgetary lines that cover appropriations in relation to the new staff, as well as the number of posts in their establishment plans;

(b) restore the level of appropriations partially in line with the estimates of the European Court of Auditors, the European Economic and Social Committee, the European Data Protection Supervisor and the European External Action Service by increasing the appropriations above the DB for budgetary lines that cover appropriations in relation to the new staff as well as the number of posts in their establishment plans;

(c) reinforce several operational lines, in line with the European Data Protection Supervisor's request, in order for the 2023 budget to reflect the unexpected high costs of living that were not taken in account when preparing their estimates.

o

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75. Instructs its President to forward this resolution, together with the amendments to the draft general budget, to the Council, the Commission, the other institutions and bodies concerned and the national parliaments.

OPINION OF THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS(15.9.2022)

for the Committee on Budgets

on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2023

(2022/0212(BUD))

Rapporteur for opinion: Michael Gahler

SUGGESTIONS

The Committee on Foreign Affairs calls on the Committee on Budgets, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions into its motion for a resolution:

A. whereas the growing instability and the rise in unprecedented challenges in the international environment increases the demands on the Union to act and pursue a feminist foreign policy with a flexible budget fit for purpose;

B. whereas the stepping up of the Union's financial support to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in 2023 is necessary in order to help the UNRWA to fulfil its mandate and to ensure the uninterrupted delivery of vital services, including education and humanitarian assistance, to one of the most vulnerable populations in the Middle East;

C. whereas the Union must both continue to strengthen its support to Ukraine and respond quickly to other urgent global needs as they evolve; whereas, in particular, the provision of aid to Ukraine should not result in the diversion of Union funds earmarked to address humanitarian situations that are growing ever worse in the rest of the Union's neighbourhood;

1. Highlights the necessity of adapting financial instruments in order to provide the geopolitical Union with a sound financial foundation and enable it to fulfil expectations as a credible and reliable geopolitical actor; stresses the need to increase the humanitarian aid budget line (HUMA) meaningfully to address the unprecedented level of humanitarian needs worldwide, aggravated by the Russian aggression in Ukraine and its global economics repercussions, notably in terms of food insecurity worldwide;

2. Is concerned about the mounting challenges to our multilateral systems and recalls the importance of those systems, as they constitute the vehicle to ensure peace and stability globally;

3. Underlines its undivided solidarity with the people of Ukraine; welcomes therefore the mobilisation of the EUR 4,2 billion already proposed and asks for additional funds, also for reconstruction;

4. Notes that the purpose of European cooperation in defence matters is to make Europe and its citizens safer and reduce costs by creating synergies; highlights that the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) has been deeply impacted by Russia's war; notes that the European Peace Facility (EPF) has enabled unprecedented support from Member States, including weapons, amounting to EUR 2 billion by the end of May 2022, but regrets that this is off-budget which does not allow for parliamentary scrutiny;

5. Calls on the Commission to present proposals on how to integrate into the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA III) funding for the 2024 budgetary cycle the new candidate countries, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, as well as the aspiring applicant Georgia, on their path to Union membership;

6. Stresses the urgent need to increase the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument - Global Europe (NDICI-Global Europe) funds that are available for the thematic programme on Peace, Stability and Conflict Prevention in light of the spread of armed conflict and instability in the Union's neighbourhood and beyond;

7. Calls for continued and substantial support for civil society organisations in the Eastern Partnership countries, in particular those advocating and defending the rights of the LGBTIQ+ community, for civil society organisations in Belarus and abroad providing assistance to persecuted persons and political prisoners, for Ukrainian organisations which have been forced to restructure their activities as a result of Russia's war of aggression, and which will have to acquire the skills necessary for Ukraine's reconstruction, for organisations contributing to the fight against corruption, and for independent media which help to expose disinformation and propaganda;

8. Notes that the majority of external action spending is concentrated under NDICI-Global Europe and IPA III, which has ring-fenced budget allocations per geographical region providing flexibility but due to the unprecedented pressure sees the urgent need for new initiatives and proposals to be put forward;

9. Asks for additional resources to be allocated to the Southern Neighbourhood in order to support political, economic and social reforms; welcomes the recent announcement of the Union's continued commitment to multiannual funding to UNRWA, in light of the crucial role it plays in protecting and ensuring the essential needs of Palestine refugees as well as contributing to their human development; therefore calls on the Commission to meet UNRWA's request for an increase in the Union's annual contribution by EUR 60 million in commitments and payments for 2023;

10. Underlines the importance of continued support to allies, among others in the Rojava region in Syria, in the fight against the terrorist organisation ISIS;

11. Continues to see the merit-based integration of the Western Balkans as a geopolitical priority, especially in the context of Russia's unprovoked aggression against Ukraine, which resonated strongly across the region, but insists on the conditionality requirements regarding rule of law for every euro committed in the 2023 budget;

12. Asks that the budget for election observation missions be increased, given their role in consolidating democratic institutions and bringing stability in fragile countries, as well as to reinforce the budgets for the preservation of human rights, including by supporting women activists, and the assistance to civil society organisations, including the ones committed to women's empowerment;

13. Calls for additional support for actions to promote fundamental rights, human rights and democracy, in particular to promote gender equality and to ensure women's and girls' access to education, public life and the labour market, and calls for tangible results to be achieved in terms of providing educational opportunities for girls and women in Afghanistan;

14. Calls for the securing of adequate resources for timely and effective implementation of the new agenda for the Mediterranean, based on the stated priorities dealing with human development, good governance and the rule of law for the benefit of both the Union and Southern Neighbourhood countries and their populations;

15. Stresses that the humanitarian aid budget for Afghanistan and neighbouring countries should be strongly increased to support and protect vulnerable Afghans and their families, including internally displaced people and refugees, and to enhance resettlement; demands that, unless the respect for human rights and especially the rights of women and girls can be guaranteed, development assistance to the Afghan regime remains suspended and is redirected towards and limited to independent development and humanitarian organisations in line with Union external action objectives;

16. Calls for additional funding to address both the fragility of supply chains and agri-food systems and the eroded macro-economic stability of many countries; notes that Russia's unjustifiable, unprovoked and illegal war of aggression against Ukraine has further stressed the global system already impacted by the COVID-19 crisis; calls for the strengthening of the European Endowment for Democracy (EED), including the support for local women's organisations active in the Afghanistan crisis;

17. Calls for additional funding to address the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic in vulnerable countries, especially in the Latin America and the Caribbean region, to contribute to fostering a green, digital and sustainable international economic recovery as well as the Union's resilience and strategic autonomy;

18. Calls for a discussion on Heading 6 to be urgently launched, with a view to proposing further measures; notes that the funding for external action has been lagging behind the geopolitical necessities;

19. Increases therefore the level of commitment appropriations for Heading 6 by EUR 1 349 866 376 above the levels set out in the draft budget (excluding pilot projects and preparatory actions), to be financed by using the available margin and mobilising the special instruments;

20. Calls for the extension of the pilot project 'Towards a European Diplomatic Academy' by one year in order to provide a more solid basis, thereby ensuring the sustainability of the project, through the extension of the study for the creation of a European Diplomatic Academy, which should also focus on target groups of a future academy, including the possibility for those who are not Member States' diplomats to become Union diplomats in the future, as well as by organising a second pilot academic year;

21. Calls for the provision of sufficient and sustainable funding for civil society organisations and their protection, with particular attention for those working on environmental and climate protection, gender equality, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), as well as with the LGBTIQ+ community;

22. Underlines the urgent need for reinforcing and speeding up the Union's financial contribution to the global action against the climate crisis and biodiversity loss in view of calamitous consequences of ongoing climate change;

23. Welcomes the Union's readiness to tackle most pressing global challenges by investing in the sustainable development of the global infrastructure, in particular in green technologies and digital connectivity through the Union Global Gateway, while fully respecting the sustainable development goals, the Paris Agreement and the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities; calls on the Commission to work on an effective governance of the Global Gateway strategy which has to be taken forward under the overall steer of the President of the Commission, and to coordinate closely in this regard with the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the European External Action Service (EEAS), the Council and the European Parliament, making sure that active ownership is given to the Union institutions and to Member States under the Team Europe approach;

24. Highlights the importance of an increase in funding for including and streamlining the fight against malicious interference and disinformation within the Union policy approach, Union external action and Union countermeasures, in particular in light of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and its repercussions; welcomes the increase of EUR 1,7 million proposed for the information policy and strategic communication for external action line; emphasises the relevance of coordination among the Union institutions and sufficient funding for a structure that serves as a focal point for civil society organisations, research organisations and other relevant actors; stresses the need for the EEAS StratCom Task Forces to have a stable funding source and for an increase of funding to address emerging challenges of foreign interference, especially from Russia and China;

25. In order to strengthen the Union's strategic sovereignty, strategic solidarity with like-minded countries, and the Union's ability to contribute to international stability, security and peace, in particular as regards the promotion and respect for international law, in close cooperation with the United Nations, NATO, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, African Union and partner countries, or if needed, alone and to promote the Union's values through its partnerships;

26. Stresses the need for regular monitoring of the impact of the Union budget on gender equality and for effectively implementing gender budgeting in Union external action; calls to increase funding to seek to reduce inequalities, particularly for women and young people, and promoting SRHR worldwide; calls for an increase in the budget to effectively implement the Union institutions' commitment to EU Gender Action Plan (GAP) III in their structures, including by ensuring sufficient resources for the EEAS' Gender and Diversity Adviser, the presence of dedicated gender advisers across the institutions, and to implement mandatory trainings on gender equality across the EEAS, Union delegations and CSDP missions and operations, including on harassment.

INFORMATION ON ADOPTION IN COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL IN COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

Key to symbols:

+ : in favour

- : against

0 : abstention

OPINION OF THE COMMITTEE ON DEVELOPMENT(27.9.2022)

for the Committee on Budgets

on the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2023 - all sections

(2022/0212(BUD))

Rapporteur for opinion: Antoni Comín i Oliveres

SUGGESTIONS

The Committee on Development calls on the Committee on Budgets, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions into its motion for a resolution:

1. Notes with deep concern that the brutal Russian aggression against Ukraine and its worldwide effects, including rising food and energy prices, have dramatically increased humanitarian assistance needs, which were already under pressure because of funding gaps and the multiplication of crises in the world; underlines that the numerous and consistent top-ups of the Union's annual humanitarian budget over the past years have proven the initially allocated funding not to be sufficient to cover the humanitarian needs for the entire year; recalls that as of mid-July 2022, 95 % of the Union's humanitarian resources had already been committed; insists that humanitarian aid is life-saving, with many millions of lives dependent on the Union's assistance; calls to significantly increase humanitarian aid by at least EUR 900 million to address the unprecedented gap between needs and available resources, which currently stands at $36,9 billion- the highest ever[15]; calls on the Member States to live up to the commitment to dedicate 0,7 % of their gross national income (GNI) to development and aid;

2. Reminds that to meet the additional needs caused by the war in Ukraine, resources should not be diverted from other geographic regions or thematic priorities; calls for an increase of EUR 20 million in commitments for each of the following geographic programmes: West Africa as well as East and Central Africa, to help implement anticipatory and medium to long-term locally led climate adaptation actions to increase the resilience of small-scale local food production and compensate for climate-change induced loss and damage; asks for additional resources to be allocated to the Southern Neighbourhood in order to support peace and stability through political, economic and social reforms as well as gender equality in the relevant countries; underlines the importance of continued support for allies, among other in the Rojava region, in the fight against terrorism;

3. Is extremely alarmed by the deepening food insecurity, with up to 345 million people across 82 countries estimated to be acutely food insecure in 2022[16]; points out that the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations expects that the consequences of the war in Ukraine will raise the number of undernourished people by between 7,6 million and 13,1 million in 2022 and 2023, in addition to the 811 million people who were already facing chronic hunger in 2020; calls for additional funding for the "Prosperity" thematic programme of the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument - Global Europe (NDICI-Global Europe) to help partner countries develop resilient sustainable agri-food systems, enhance local food production including agroecological practices, promote small-scale producers and local communities, invest in interventions for food security to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and reduce partner countries' dependence on food imports; calls on the Union to increase its contribution to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and to encourage other international partners to fairly contribute as well, as WFP suffers from an EUR 8 billion shortfall;

4. Calls for an increase in the thematic programmes of the NDICI-Global Europe and to focus on human development investments as required by the 20 % budgetary target set in Regulation (EU) 2021/947 of the European Parliament and of the Council[17], and in particular through the "People" thematic programme, to address growing inequalities and support women's, girls' and children's rights and needs, including preventing their exposure to gender-based violence, and their participation in building peace; underlines that that programme should also focus on education and social protection with a gender-responsive approach; reiterates the importance of cultural heritage and encourages the Union and its Member States to facilitate dialogue and share best practices on the protection, conservation and restoration of cultural heritage in the framework of that instrument, in particular of indigenous peoples and local communities, and support agreements for the return of cultural property to its country of origin;

5. Underlines the need to support partner countries to buy and eventually produce vaccines and treatments against COVID-19 and other serious endemic diseases, such as AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, to support the waiving of intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines and to increase support for global programmes and initiatives, as well as to develop more robust health systems and close access gaps to essential health services, including sexual and reproductive health and care; points out that 52 countries are unlikely to achieve pre-COVID government health spending over the next five years; underlines that development aid should primarily be dedicated to deliver "horizontal" universal health care system coverage through a holistic and rights-based approach, which entails, inter alia, addressing fully the multidimensional nature of health (with close links to gender, food security and nutrition, water and sanitation, education and poverty); stresses that universal public health coverage must be associated with the expansion of the coverage of social health protection mechanisms during and beyond crises;

6. Points out the need to finance climate change adaptation and mitigation measures as well as actions for the protection of biodiversity in partner countries through the "Planet" thematic programme, which should receive adequate funding in view of making a decisive contribution to the goal of dedicating USD 100 billion yearly to climate change adaptation in developing countries, as agreed in the COP 2009 in Copenhagen; calls for an increase in appropriations for the protection of biodiversity under NDICI-Global Europe given the fact that reaching the 2026 and 2027 multiannual financial framework (MFF) biodiversity targets remains insufficient; underlines that the effects of climate change are intersectional and affect vulnerable groups the most, which must be accounted for when designing interventions; calls on scaling up investments to better track, reform and phase-out subsidies harmful for biodiversity and channelling them towards biodiversity-friendly activities, in line with the 2030Agenda for Sustainable Development; points out the need to coherently address the targeted promotion of renewable energy partnerships and expansion, including renewable hydrogen, while respecting energy sovereignty and natural resources of partner countries and the prioritisation of their energy needs;

7. Reiterates the need to increase support for civil society organisations and human rights defenders who are facing growing legal and administrative harassment and criminalisation and to ensure adequate support to sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender equality and the empowerment of women, girls, LGBTIQ+ people, human right defenders, minorities and other marginalised populations; calls on the Union to act and pursue an intersectional development policy that empowers women, including the full implementation of the EU Gender Action Plan III;

8. Welcomes the additional contribution provided to United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in 2022 and encourages the Commission to increase the Union's financial support to UNRWA also in 2023, for a total Union contribution of 142 million, to meet urgent needs; welcomes the resumption of financial support to al-Haq and other Palestinian NGOs, after the accusations of terrorism made by Israel resulted to be unsubstantiated;

9. Notes that the Union provides institutional support to the Organisation of African Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) from several NDICI-Global Europe budget lines; stresses that this support needs to include and ensure a more adequate support to the Joint Parliamentary Assembly in order to properly reflect Parliament's priorities; calls therefore on the European Commission to ensure that the Union's financial support to OACPS henceforth will be designed in a way that more adequately incorporates the parliamentary dimension of the EU-OACPS partnership, namely in terms of human resources being dedicated specifically to the joint parliamentary and regional assemblies set up under the Cotonou Agreement and the future partnership agreement with OACPS countries respectively.

10. Recalls that Article 4(2), third subparagraph, of Regulation (UE) 2021/947 provides for the creation of geographic programmes of continental or trans-regional scope, including a programme covering African, Caribbean and Pacific countries; considers that such programme will complement Union programming at regional and country level in those parts of the world;

11. Asks for continued support for capacity building in the African Union and the African Continental Free Trade Area as a common market provides best for the supply of goods and services, the free movement of people as well as competitive prices;

12. Is alarmed that there is no margin under Heading 6 in the 2023 draft budget, which underscores that the multiannual financial framework does not provide sufficient means for the Union's external action and needs to be revised; urges Member States to agree to a significant increase in Heading 6 to an extent that is ambitious enough to address the current challenges of the Union's external action; calls for an urgent comprehensive revision of the MFF to increase overall ceilings under Heading 6 and to improve the functioning of the Solidarity and Emergency Aid Reserve (SEAR); insists that the SEAR cushion (amounting to 25 % of the instrument) be allocated strictly on a needs basis and notes with concern the uneven mobilisation of the SEAR; calls for particular attention to be paid to third countries' needs to ensure that funds from the SEAR be mobilised for humanitarian crises outside the Union; underlines the need to ensure predictability of humanitarian aid by guaranteeing appropriate level of commitment appropriations;

13. Is deeply concerned with the stalling implementation of the SDGs and the estimated annual SDG financing gap of USD 3,7 trillion; reiterates its call to urgently come up with a designated plan to finance the SDGs, including clearly defined quantifiable targets allowing for the monitoring of SDG-related spending under the Union budget and calls to enhance financial support by the Union and its international partners to multilateral systems and international partner organisations in order to ensure contributions are made in core resources.

INFORMATION ON ADOPTION IN COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL IN COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

Key to symbols:

+ : in favour

- : against

0 : abstention

LETTER OF THE COMMITTEE ON BUDGETARY CONTROL(13.9.2022)

Mr Johan Van Overtveldt

Chair

Committee on Budgets

BRUSSELS

Subject: Opinion of the Committee on Budgetary Control for the Committee on Budgets on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2023 (2022/0212(BUD))

Dear Chair,

The Committee on Budgetary Control (CONT) calls on the Committee on Budgets, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions into its motion for a resolution:

1. Underlines that the Union's financial interests are to be protected in accordance with the general principles embedded in the Union Treaties, in particular the values in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), and with the principle of sound financial management enshrined in Article 317 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and in Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union (the Financial Regulation);

2. Highlights that the principles of the rule of law such as the proper functioning of the authorities implementing the Union budget, the effective judicial review by independent courts, the proper functioning of investigation and public prosecution of fraud or corruption relating to the budget, equal access of all parts of society to EU subsidies and their fair and impartial distribution are essential preconditions for compliance with the principle of sound financial management and for the protection of the Union's financial interests; recalls as well the importance of public scrutiny of the functioning of the rule of law by safeguarding transparency, media freedom and pluralism and protection of whistleblowers; emphasises the importance of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2092 on a general regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget including in particular its preventive effect given a strict application by the Commission;

3. Stresses that EU funds should benefit men and women equally and promote equal opportunities as a horizontal principle throughout all areas financed by the EU budget; welcomes that the Commission is developing a methodology to track relevant expenditure related to gender equality across the EU budget; welcomes that in the 2023 Budget the Commission plans to apply this methodology for the first time in a test phase across all programmes;

New challenges

4. Emphasises the particular importance of EU and national anti-fraud and audit institutions and bodies in the context of increased EU resources through the Recovery and Resilience Facility; recalls the importance of incentivising, supporting and strengthening cooperation among the EU institutions, the EPPO, OLAF, EU agencies - notably Europol and Eurojust - and national authorities in order to detect and tackle fraud and corruption more effectively, while ensuring that roles do not overlap and promoting the exchange of relevant, consistent and complete information; recalls the need to ensure greater, more suitable resources for the ECA, EPPO, OLAF, the European Parliament and the relevant EU agencies in future budgets; welcomes the set-up of the Anti-money laundering Authority (AMLA) and calls on the Commission to provide the necessary financial, technical, and administrational resources to allow a smooth start of the Authority;

European Court of Auditors (ECA)

5. Highlights in particular the new tasks and need of the ECA to fulfil its mandate and perform its new audit tasks with appropriate resources, considering the challenges of auditing both the NGEU and the MFF; underlines its strong support for the proposed change to the ECA's establishment plan with an increase of staff by 20 additional temporary auditors for the period 2023-2027 with a corresponding increase of the institution's budget by EUR 2 589 000;

European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO)

6. Regrets that the funding proposed for 2023 is only a marginal improvement over the 2022 budget allocation; remarks that a substantial increase is needed, including additional staff, in order for EPPO to carry out its mission adequately and ensure the protection of the Union's financial interests; supports the EPPO's request to convert some contract agent posts into temporary posts to allow the proper reflection of management posts in the establishment plan;

European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)

7. Strongly believes that in order to ensure an adequate supervision and control, OLAF needs to be reinforced with budgetary means and personnel in order to be fully capable of carrying out its duties on prevention and investigation, not least in the Member States not participating in the EPPO; reiterates Parliament´s opposition towards the reductions of OLAF's staff as a result of posts transferred to EPPO; welcomes the seven extra external staff for OLAF in 2022 and notes the proposal for a reallocation of six additional posts to OLAF from other parts of the Commission, but considers that more resources are needed, in order to match the tasks the institution is facing;

European Council and Council

8. Regrets the difficulties repeatedly encountered in the discharge procedures for the Council to date which were caused by a lack of cooperation by the Council; reiterates the need to improve cooperation between the institutions in the framework of the discharge procedure through a Memorandum of Understanding; points out that the current position of the Council sends a negative signal to the citizens of the Union with regards to the transparency and democratic accountability of the budget of the Union;

Financial management

9. Highlights that the payments over the next five years of the MFF are expected to reach EUR 1 156 billion, including EUR 873 billion under the MFF payment ceiling and EUR 278 billion for NextGenerationEU non-repayable support; calls on the Commission to thoroughly follow the development of interest rates, the impact on the cost of NGEU funding operations and their impact on the Union's budget; is concerned that there are still no adequate long-term resources to address the pay-back modalities of NGEU; underlines its worries about the lack of milestone tracking in some Member States to ensure the correct distribution of funds and their connection to the milestones;

10. Calls on the Commission to focus on Cohesion Policy, Common Agricultural Policy and Research and Innovation to reduce their complexity and further apply simplification measures, without compromising their functioning and the sound financial management of the EU budget; recalls the ECA's remark that errors rate is greater in high-risk expenditure areas due to complex rules; recalls on the Commission to take all appropriate measures to optimize the situation of low absorption and to closely monitor the progress of implementation in Member States, in particular in cases of under-implementation and low absorption rates and to deliver a country-by-country analysis to the discharge authority, identifying the recurrent problems; calls on the Commission to stablish simple, clear, stable and harmonised rules relating to different funds and programmes, to reduce the excessive administrative burden, to better use modern technologies and to set more efficient and effective controls;

Outstanding budgetary commitments (RAL)

11. Notes with grave concern that the 2021-2027 period would see a historical peak of the RAL at the end of 2023, when it may exceed the level of EUR 458 billion; takes note that according to the Commission, starting in 2024, the RAL associated to NextGenerationEU will be progressively settled until the end of 2026 when the payments on NextGenerationEU commitments will have to be completed;

12. Calls on the Commission to continue to actively monitor budget implementation and the evolution of the RAL, and to keep the European Parliament regularly informed, notably on the long-term forecast of future inflows and outflows of the EU budget report;

Need for greater digitalisation, harmonisation and interoperability across all expenditure

areas

13. Emphasises that a greater degree of digitalisation, interoperability and harmonisation of reporting, monitoring and auditing in the EU is overdue and indispensable, given the cross-border nature of misuse, fraud, misappropriations, conflicts of interest, double funding and other systemic problems;

14. Calls on the Commission to continue attaching the highest importance to the sound financial management of the Union budget, in particular through putting in place multiannual control strategies designed to prevent, detect and correct errors, as well as to continue carefully monitoring the implementation of the Union budget and to take immediate steps to correct the errors and to recover the funds incorrectly spent by Member States, intermediaries or final beneficiaries;

15. Underlines the importance to enhance the protection of the Union budget and NGEU against fraud and irregularities; appreciates the introduction under different EU instruments of standardised measures to collect, compare and aggregate information and figures on the final beneficiaries of Union funding including on beneficial owners of the recipients and contractors; calls on the Commission to ensure full application of these new measures on all levels of budget implementation and to monitor closely their effectiveness in view of detecting fraud; reiterates in this context its strong call for a mandatory single interoperable database, with relevant information on direct and ultimate beneficiaries of EU funds.

Performance

16. Calls on the Committee on Budgets, in coordination with the sectoral committees of this Parliament, to promote a profound culture of "result orientation" aimed at optimising the use of funds, analysing the reasons leading to low performance programmes and pushing for measures for improvement of absorption and performance;

Yours sincerely,

Monika Hohlmeier Olivier Chastel

CONT Chair Rapporteur for the 2020 Commission discharge

OPINION OF THE COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC AND MONETARY AFFAIRS(1.9.2022)

for the Committee on Budgets

on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2023

(2022/0212(BUD))

Rapporteur for opinion: Stéphanie Yon-Courtin

SUGGESTIONS

The Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs calls on the Committee on Budgets, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions into its motion for a resolution:

1. Calls for adequate resources to be allocated from the 2023 Union budget to contribute to achieving the priorities set by the European Semester and the Recovery and Resilience Facility and to further developing a fair, inclusive and sustainable recovery strategy that mitigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing war in Ukraine; stresses the need to support the Union's agenda for a more digital economy, an inclusive industrial strategy, the European Pillar of Social Rights and the commitment to the Paris Agreement, the European Green Deal and a climate-neutral Union economy by 2050; calls on Member States to comply with and address the challenges identified in the relevant European Semester country-specific recommendations, in particular in the field of the rule of law, fiscal fairness and sustainability of public finances, and to implement the necessary reforms in line with the condition of protecting the Union budget;

2. Calls for the 2023 Union budget to provide adequate resources to be considered as a truly citizen-centric European budget for an inclusive and sustainable recovery in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing war in Ukraine, and the European Green Deal;

3. Considers that the 2023 Union budget should support the post-pandemic recovery - in the current context of economic uncertainty, supply chain disruption, food insecurity, high energy prices, rising inflation and unemployment, and in line with the objectives of the European Green Deal, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and the European Semester;

4. Stresses the need to focus on investments that facilitate the digital and green transitions, thereby contributing to the Union's strategic autonomy as part of economic resilience, specifically to address the Union's dependence on imported fossil fuels through the REPowerEU plan;

5. Points out that 2023 will be the last year for the conclusion of contracts under the Next Generation EU (NGEU) programmes, the last year of implementation of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2014-2020, as well as the year in which the new 2021-2027 programmes will gain momentum, fostering the economic, social and territorial cohesion of the Union;

6. Stresses that the 2023 Union budget should ensure appropriate financial support for the Union's economy and society and for the reconstruction of Ukraine in the context of the war, in order to ensure economic and financial resilience and competitiveness, including through the integration of displaced persons, as well as to address the social and economic consequences of the war for the citizens of the Union;

7. Underlines that in the current context of unforeseen needs linked to the Ukraine crisis, inflation, energy insecurity, climate-related spending, and, at the same time the very limited margins and flexibility of the Union budget, an urgent and comprehensive revision of the MFF is essential;

8. Notes that the automatic inflationary adjustment of the annual budget is well below the actual inflation rate, calls therefore for an adequate level of payment appropriations and budgetary flexibility, in particular for the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs), in order to respond in a timely manner to the highly unpredictable needs in 2023;

9. Calls for the provision of adequate resources for the coordination and surveillance of macroeconomic, social and environmental policies and their compliance with Union rules in the economic domain, for the fight against financial crime, money laundering, tax evasion and terrorist financing, for the implementation of the OECD agreement on corporate taxation, including the global minimum corporate tax of 15 %, for the enforcement of competition law, and for the review of the Union economic and fiscal governance;

10. Recalls that tax avoidance, tax fraud, tax evasion, and money laundering undermine government revenues; underlines that it is of the utmost importance to fight tax avoidance and evasion while promoting tax fairness, transparency and certainty and keeping taxes at levels that support sustainable economic growth;

11. Highlights the need to secure adequate financial and human resources to the Court of Auditors, the European Anti-Fraud Office and the European Public Prosecutor's Office to scrutinise the use of Union funds;

12. Emphasises the need to stimulate fair, inclusive and sustainable growth building on the opportunities generated by the European Green Deal while supporting the just green and digital transitions, structural reforms to modernise the Union economy, investments to enhance resilience, economic, social and regional convergence and cohesion, and access to finance and capital markets for SMEs and retail investors through information, investor protection and transparency; highlights the potential of the InvestEU and its SME window; takes note of the Eurogroup statement of 11 July 2022 that fiscal policies' design should aim to avoid unnecessarily adding to inflationary pressure;

13. Calls for the budget to support the completion of the Capital Markets Union, including by enabling an economic environment that improves access to finance for SMEs, start-ups as well as green and digital innovative businesses and supports investment in innovation;

14. Recalls that the introduction of a basket of new and real own resources was integrated in the interinstitutional agreement on budgetary discipline, cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management, as well as on new own resources, including a roadmap towards the introduction of new own resources and the European Parliament legislative resolution of 16 September 2020 on the draft Council decision on the system of own resources of the European Union, stresses the importance of the additional new own resources of the Union to cover the repayment costs of the NGEU, to ensure a sustainable financing of the EU budget and to ensure the financing of the green and digital transition; insists that the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism should be implemented within a time frame that allows for contributing to the repayment of the NGEU; recalls that a share of the revenue generated under Pillar One of the Global Tax Deal is also included in the first proposal for own resources; calls, therefore, for a swift implementation of the Global Tax Deal; urges the Council to respect the agreed timetable; urges the Commission to propose a second basket of own resources, which should include a financial transaction tax;

15 Calls for the adequate additional financial and human resources to the ESAs in order to execute strictly those tasks assigned to them by the European Parliament and the Council, which have increased through the ESAs review and sectoral legislation; highlights that the speedy developments in the fields of sustainable finance, financial technology, anti-money laundering, cyber resilience and other areas entail increased competences and responsibilities for the ESAs and thus calls for these to be matched with adequate staff and funding; highlights that the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) Regulation, the Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Pilot Regime Regulation and the Digital Operational Resilience (DORA) Regulation generate new competencies for ESAs;

16. Underlines the importance of adequate resources to support the development of robust and reliable financial and sustainability reporting and auditing standards; stresses the need to ensure adequate public funding for the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group to ensure its independence, in particular to develop high-quality sustainability reporting standards that contribute to the European public good and meet the needs of Union undertakings; calls the EFRAG to adopt and report on a work plan to improve its transparency and independence;

17. Notes that organisations receiving Union funding that are tasked with providing independent financial expertise or conducting research in the area of taxation, must do so in an open and transparent manner in order to be publicly accountable;

18. Calls on the Commission to make proposals to continue the EU Tax and Financial Crimes Observatory after 2022; considers such an observatory a useful contribution to both democratic debate and informing decision-makers.

INFORMATION ON ADOPTION IN COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL IN COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

Key to symbols:

+ : in favour

- : against

0 : abstention

OPINION OF THE COMMITTEE ON EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS(8.9.2022)

for the Committee on Budgets

on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2023

(2022/0212(BUD))

Rapporteur for opinion: Dragoş Pîslaru

SUGGESTIONS

The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs calls on the Committee on Budgets, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions into its motion for a resolution:

A. whereas the crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine will have a serious impact on the social and economic situation in the Union, inter alia on the Union labour markets and living conditions and risks negatively impacting growth and employment;

B. whereas increasing inflation and, in particular, rapid increases in food and energy prices across the Union are affecting the most vulnerable, further increasing inequality, and aggravating poverty and energy poverty; whereas wages are not projected to increase as fast as inflation and therefore workers are losing purchasing power and might see their living conditions worsen in the next few months; whereas that will also exert greater pressure on social policy capacity, as well as on automatic stabilisers such as national unemployment schemes; whereas the European instrument for temporary support to mitigate unemployment risks in an emergency (SURE) adopted by the Commission was a success;

C. whereas the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) Action Plan set a target for the Union to reduce the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion by at least 15 million, including at least 5 million children, and adopted a series of proposals in order to reach that goal by 2030; whereas in the current context, reaching the target is becoming more challenging, given the projected increase in poverty and unemployment in the months to come; whereas social protection systems are under severe pressure to mitigate the social impact of the crisis, to give support to refugees and to ensure decent living conditions for all, as well as access to quality essential services such as health, education and housing;

1. Stresses that the social and economic consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the high inflation, and more generally the uncertain economic outlook are affecting the post-pandemic economic recovery of the Union and require a strong response, particularly for the young generation, families, workers and businesses, especially SMEs; highlights in that regard the crucial role of the annual Union budget for 2023 and in particular the Union funds and financial instruments in the social and employment area, including the NextGenerationEU (NGEU) with the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), to ensure an economically and socially sustainable, just, inclusive and non-discriminatory recovery; points out that the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) is the key driver for strengthening the social dimension of the Union and the main instrument for investing in people, promoting high employment levels, building social protection and developing a skilled and resilient workforce ready for the transition to a green and digital economy in line with the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights; highlights as well the importance of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers (EGF), the Just Transition Fund (JTF), ReactEU with its additional resources for ESF+, the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) and the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD);

2. Supports all efforts in welcoming people fleeing the war in Ukraine, regardless of their origin or nationality; welcomes the triggering of the Temporary Protection Directive (TPD) and the Cohesion's action for refugees in Europe (CARE) with regard to persons fleeing the war and seeking refuge on the Union territory, and calls for continuing funding for its implementation; calls on the Commission to carefully monitor the implementation of the TPD by Member States and to provide the relevant guidance to facilitate that implementation; is concerned with existing forms of discrimination and exploitation, and unequal treatment in terms of wages and working conditions affecting refugees in many Member States ; highlights the socio-economic and infrastructural challenges faced by Member States hosting persons fleeing the war in Ukraine - particularly those bordering Ukraine and experiencing the biggest influx of such persons;

3. Appreciates the current measures put in place by the Union and Member States to address the disruption coming from the war in Ukraine and to help integrate refugees and alleviate the impact of energy prices on businesses and households, but believes that additional efforts are needed to prevent unemployment and underemployment coming from the effects of the war, by refinancing and prolonging SURE to support employment support measures in the Member States; calls in this regard to reinforce measures for income protection, fight against poverty, just transition and to help alleviate the impact of high levels of inflation on the poorer workers and households over the next couple of years by reactivating and expanding the scope of SURE to support short time work schemes and workers that would be temporarily laid-off; calls also to introduce a permanent instrument in form of a European Unemployment Reinsurance Scheme to protect employment and fight against unemployment, including the preservation of jobs and workers' income in situations of external shocks;

4. Regrets that budgetary tracking of social impacts is very undeveloped in order to measure the objectives in the Action Plan to implement the Social Pillar; recalls that the European Semester was identified as the vehicle to monitor the developments at Union and Member State level via the Social Scoreboard; welcomes the enriched Social Scoreboard after the 2021 Social Summit in Porto which serves as a reference framework to monitor "social progress" and aims to detect the most significant employment and social challenges facing the Member States, the Union and the euro area, as well as progress achieved over time;

5. Is of the opinion that monetary support, given all uncertainties related to the war in Ukraine, to the COVID developments, to inflation, to industrial restructuring and the ecological transition, will still be strongly needed in the months to come;

6. Recalls that ESF+ is expected to contribute to the implementation of the EPSR Action Plan and to the relevant country specific recommendations adopted in the framework of the Semester; reminds that programs and their envelops should be respected and calls for fresh money for new tasks; is concerned about the very limited margins available under the MFF and insist for the need to enhance spending to speed up the implementation of the EPSR Action Plan;

7. Highlights that the Union budget must help Member States foster a just transition, social and economic justice and resilience, create quality employment and decent working conditions, with adequate wages and social security protection, high occupational health and safety standards and gender-balanced opportunities, eradicate poverty, reduce inequalities, especially affecting children and increase upward socio-economic convergence, particularly in a time of unprecedented and cumulated crises so that no one is left behind; stresses that factors such as supply chain disruption, including in the food supply, high energy prices, rising inflation and continued pressure on essential services have exacerbated social and economic inequalities and worsened the living and working conditions, as well as the mental health and well-being of many workers and their families, and will put the Union economy at risk in many sectors, with consequences in terms of unemployment, reduction of purchasing power of households and workers, drop into poverty and social inequalities affecting the most vulnerable populations of our societies; insists on the need to tackle territorial and regional disparities and to increase support to the most vulnerable, deprived and disadvantaged groups; takes note of the Commission's intention to come up with an amending letter this autumn with regards to the budgetary consequences of the war in Ukraine and the RePowerEU initiative; stresses in that regard the importance of taking into account the socio-economic implications of the war and recommends that the potential of supplementing ESF+ funding be analysed;

8. Calls for a temporary European social resilience package coordinating a set of measures and means to strengthen social welfare and social protection systems in the Union, including the continuation and refinancing of SURE as long as the socio-economic consequences of the war continue to have a negative impact on the labour market, and the creation of a new Union fund for social emergencies (a 'social rescue facility'), for crises situations of a different nature, which are becoming increasingly multi-faceted, hybrid and complex;

9. Welcomes the creation of the CARE and CARE + initiatives; considers that the Union should first use existing financial resources to mitigate the consequences of the war and address the immediate needs of Ukrainian displaced persons; underlines, in that respect, the need to fully use the flexibility provisions to disburse available Union funds as soon as possible; calls on the Commission to make it possible for Member States to use financial resources from unrequested RRF loans to cover the negative economic and social costs resulting from the war;

10. Calls on both the Commission and Member States to ensure that RePowerEU is deployed as quickly as possible and targeted to people, businesses and industries who are disproportionately affected by growing energy prices;

11. Believes that addressing social gaps with the Union and governments' budgets through social investment in key policy areas improving the living and working conditions for people affected by the high inflation, the war in Ukraine, the health crisis or by transition of the accelerating green and digital transformations should be at the heart of the recovery strategy of the Union; to this end, considers that detecting social risks and taking into account the divergent employment effects and long-term unemployment across particular industries should be adequately addressed; calls therefore on the Commission to present a Sustainable Development Goal expenditure and tracking methodology for the social expenditure in the Union budget based on the principles of the EPSR and a Social Scoreboard and well-being indicators to measure the overall impact of different funds, instruments and facilities financed under the MFF and the NGEU;

12. Highlights the need to ensure that the "do no significant harm" (DNSH) principle is mainstreamed in all Union's activities through the budgetary implementation as agreed in the IIA and welcomes the Commission proposal for amending the Financial Regulation to include DNSH in the regulation in line with the Union's commitment to sustainable financing and the green transition; calls on the Commission to monitor the proper implementation of the DNSH principle and to take immediate corrective measures if and when needed;

13. Highlights that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to create uncertainties and that it is therefore important to continue supporting the recovery and addressing the social and employment-related challenges resulting from the pandemic, as well as supporting workers and businesses in the move towards a more solidarity-based digital, greener and climate neutral economy; stresses the importance of adequate policies and measures to support just labour market transition, to strengthen the competitiveness of our economies, as well as to invest in social inclusion and further develop resilient and sustainable social protection systems across the Union, not least by supporting measures for children, young and older people ; insists on the need for the creation of decent and sustainable quality jobs, up- and reskilling, and life-long learning policies for workers, to strengthen education and training programmes that keep up with the demands of a modern labour market; insists on the need to invest in social infrastructures to address the demographic challenge, and for unemployment prevention mechanisms and professional reconversion tools to be made available to workers in order to sustainably support the green and digital transition and in order to achieve the objectives of the Action Plan adopted in Porto; in that regard, highlights the need to fully implement the Just Transition Mechanism and to swiftly adopt the Social Climate Fund; insists on adequate housing as a human right and the need to have access to decent and affordable housing for all; calls on the Commission to ensure sufficient funding for the European Platform on Combatting Homelessness in order to achieve the objective of ending homelessness by 2030; recalls that the integration into the labour market of those who are able to work and of the most vulnerable groups, such as people in poverty or at risk of poverty and social exclusion, people with disabilities, young and older people, Roma people, the (long-term) unemployed, migrants, refugees and people displaced from Ukraine, as well as migrants and refugees affected by different conflicts in the world, is paramount; highlights that investing in employment and quality services in rural areas is key to combatting territorial inequalities and addressing demographic trends in those areas;

14. Underlines the link between socio-economic factors such as unemployment, housing insecurity, academic pressures and mental health and well-being and insist that they must be addressed to ensure a holist approach towards mental health at the Union level; calls on Member States to make mental health an integral part of the Union recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and from the current inflation situation; notes with concern the worsening of conditions for many young people already suffering from long-term unemployment and employment uncertainty and social exclusion, and calls for a coordinated approach in creating and offering them opportunities for social inclusion in the framework of the reinforced Youth Guarantee, ESF+ and the RRF;

15. Is concerned that wages have been on a decreasing trend and that real wages are currently falling following a series of exceptional energy price shocks; considers that there is an urgent need for wage increases, in order to sustain internal demand and inclusive growth, and to reduce the impact of the double crisis on workers and households and that additional efforts are required to help social partners in delivering wage increases through tripartite capacity building frameworks, thus anticipating the expected positive impact of the Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages;

16. Takes note of the Commission proposal to allocate EUR 16,7129 billion in 2023 to ESF+ to support Member State policies to ensure equal opportunities, equal access to the labour market, fair and quality working conditions, social protection and inclusion, in particular focussing on quality and inclusive education and training, lifelong learning, investment in children and young people and access to basic services but expresses general concerns with the significantly reduced margin for heading 2a and 2b, which will reduce the flexibility to react in a time of rising inflation, uncertain socio-economic situation as a consequence of the war in Ukraine and the ongoing health crisis; insists that ESF+ must continue playing a key role in supporting Member States, people and regions to achieve high employment levels that ensure adequate wages, decent working conditions, healthy work environments and social security coverage, fair social protection and a skilled, competitive and resilient workforce ready for the transition to a green and digital economy and for the future world of work, as well as inclusive and cohesive societies aiming to eradicating poverty and delivering on the principles set out in the EPSR; calls therefore for a reinforced ESF+ supplemented by a social rescue facility with increased public support for existing instruments aimed at the poorest in our society;

17. Notes that the ESF+ was adopted before the current crisis situation, which currently implies higher public and social investment than planned so far and that the current financial programming risks not meeting the existing needs;

18. Recognises that ESF + and the RRF must contribute to the implementation of the EPSR by putting its principles into practice and mainstreaming social objectives in all relevant legislation, policies and implementing plans linked to the NGEU; stresses that adequate resources should be allocated to fund and implement the EPSR Action Plan adopted in Porto and to achieve the Porto headline targets and that the RRF should be made permanent and include a minimum 30 % of the funds to be social investment strengthening social welfare systems and investing in social security, access to healthcare and education, affordable housing, employment, justice and social services for vulnerable groups; calls in this regard on the Commission to ensure adequate staffing to support this task; believes that the Porto poverty targets should be detailed better in all national recovery and resilience plans and at Union level with an action plan and a strong anti-poverty strategy supported by substantial investments that addresses all aspects of poverty, including in-work poverty;

19. Stresses the need for policymakers at both Union and national level to prioritise combating youth unemployment, in particular as part of the European recovery effort, and to facilitate and support young people (re-) entering and remaining in the labour market, accessing good quality housing, and completing their educational trajectory and developing skills, including digital and green economy skills and to make full use of existing initiatives, such as the Youth Guarantee; recalls the obligation by Member States with a higher share than the Union average of young people between 15 to 29 years who are not in employment, education or training to allocate at least 12,5 % of their ESF+ resources to implement the Reinforced Youth Guarantee and calls on all Member States, not only those most affected by youth unemployment, to continue to invest sufficient ESF+ resources in measures to support youth employment; calls on the Member States to make the best use of the Employment and Social Innovation strand (EaSI) of ESF+ for investment in social innovation, and for stimulating labour mobility; regrets the late start of EaSI in 2021 and the reduced budget for 2023 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and other issues, and highlights the need to catch up and reach its full working regime in 2024, not least to fully and effectively implement the measures foreseen in the Union Action Plan for Social Economy; stresses the importance of following up the European Year of Youth 2022 with concrete actions and policies proposed by young people for social inclusion, housing, and to combat precariousness, and low wages and the violation of the right to decent housing, and to protect workers' rights, as well as to further develop employment and entrepreneurship measures for young people, beyond 2023 and supported by adequate funding; recalls that the Commission should report on a regular basis on the implementation of the Council recommendations establishing a European Child Guarantee and reinforcing a Youth Guarantee;

20. Deplores the fact that more than a quarter of all children in the Union are in or at risk of poverty or social exclusion; stresses that, in the context of the war in Ukraine, tackling child poverty will become even more important in the coming years; welcomes, in that regard, the creation of the European Child Guarantee and calls for the Commission to provide an analysis on the contribution of the each national operational programme to the European Child Guarantee; calls on the Commission and the Member States to pay particular attention to the implementation of the European Child Guarantee towards ensuring access to free quality services for children in need, especially those fleeing Ukraine so that they are on an equal footing with their Union national peers in the hosting countries; repeats its calls to urgently increase the funding of the European Child Guarantee with a dedicated budget of at least EUR 20 billion; recalls in this regard the Parliament position that all Member States, not only those most affected by child poverty, should allocate at least 5 % of the ESF+ resources under shared management to support activities under the European Child Guarantee; moreover calls on the Commission to make available - and on the Member States to make full use of - all available resources for the effective implementation of the Child Guarantee including, inter alia, the ESF+, ReactEU, and the RRF;

21. Warns of the impact of the ongoing war on global food supply chains and food prices, and the consequences for the purchasing power; in light of the increase of food prices, highlights the adopted increased minimum allocation towards social inclusion measures in the new ESF+ as well the 3 % on top of those for measures within FEAD and encourages Member States to allocate more than the minimum amounts required in line with ESF+;

22. Recalls that the current crises severely impact older people too and stresses the lack of policy responses to the impact of demographic change in the Union, such as the lack of adequate and affordable housing, quality care facilities and sufficient care and support services; stresses that the budget should underline the importance of safeguarding and promoting the dignity of the older persons and their fundamental rights in the Union by introducing an "ageing-in-dignity" criteria and sufficient funding to support investment in housing in order to tackle effectively the growing problems of a lack of affordable housing, poor housing conditions, housing exclusion and homelessness;

23. Reiterates that women are more widely affected by the current crises and war in Ukraine and are more at risk of suffering the employment and social fallout; stresses that the employment headline target adopted in Porto can only be achieved by adopting ambitious targets at national level to include women in the labour market, including refugees, by creating incentives, infrastructures and removing barriers and discriminations; calls for a mainstreaming of gender responsive budget to better align policies and activities that promote the equal participation of women in the labour market and to have comprehensive systems to monitor and measure gender budget allocations, women participation in the labour market, access to employment, pay and pension gaps;

24. Recalls the importance of the EGF to demonstrate solidarity with and provide reactive assistance to displaced workers or self-employed persons, whose activity has ceased due to major restructuring events, to support them in returning to decent and sustainable employment, in particular those affected by globalisation, important changes in world trade patterns, trade disputes, significant changes in trade relations of the Union or the composition of the internal market and financial or economic crises, as well as the transition to a low-carbon economy or as a consequence of digitisation or automation; takes note that the level of EGF commitment appropriations in reserve for 2023 is set at EUR 205,3 million (approximately +1 % compared to 2022 and corresponding to the maximum MFF amount);

25. Calls for the establishment of a programme to promote awareness-raising campaigns on the importance of trade unions, unionising and collective bargaining and agreements with a view to achieving a fairer society by improving working conditions, wages and living conditions, among other means;

26. Recalls that the JTF provides support for territories and people facing socio-economic and employment challenges deriving from the transition process towards a climate neutral economy of the Union by 2050; takes note of the Commission appropriations in 2023 of EUR 1,4662 billion; highlights its importance for addressing the social aspects of the transition, in particular support to jobseekers, including job search assistance, upskilling and reskilling and their active inclusion into the labour market as well as investments in smart and sustainable mobility, other activities in the areas of education and social inclusion, including investments in social infrastructure for the purposes of training centres, child- and elderly-care facilities and the possibility to support investments in large enterprises in 'assisted areas' pursuant to regional State aid guidelines, if such support is necessary for job creation in the identified territory;

27. Strongly supports cohesion funding as the prime funding instrument of the Union budget that enables economic, social and territorial cohesion, and one of the cornerstones of the recovery; highlights its role in reaching Union strategic objectives such as employment, fight against poverty, gender equality, climate neutral economy, and innovation, and as a driving force of a more inclusive and sustainable Union; highlights that the regional policy must play a key role in boosting equal job opportunities among all genders and supporting the reskilling of workers by providing adequate life-long training;

28. Recalls that the Porto Declaration of 7 of May 2021 set the target to reduce the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion by at least 15 million by 2030; welcomes that FEAD was integrated in ESF+ and that, in 2023, at least 3 % of the ESF+ budget shall be spent on food aid and basic material assistance for the most deprived persons; welcomes the Commission assessment that the ESF+ should also contribute to the eradication of poverty by supporting relevant national schemes and that a minimum of 4 % of its resources under shared management shall support the most deprived persons, including refugees;

29. Calls on the European Commission to ensure that the Union budget, including the RRF, is socially inclusive and that gender and disability are mainstreamed in the 2023 general budget, not least by providing a monitoring system tracking the budgetary allocations which promote the equal participation and independent living of women and people with disabilities in line with the Union's commitments under the European Gender Equality and Disability Rights Strategies and the UNCRPD;

30. Recalls that pilot projects (PPs) and preparatory actions (PAs) are essential to test new policy initiatives in the fields of employment and social inclusion, including through data collection; recalls that their assessment is anchored in the Interinstitutional agreement and repeats its call on the Commission to evaluate PP/PA proposals impartially on the basis of a legal and financial assessment, so that the grades reflect the merit of the proposals; expresses its disappointment over the poor and unclear assessment of the proposals for the budget 2023 and asks the Commission to receive precise and detailed explanations of these assessments, together with concrete examples of the Union actions that are considered to 'cover' the proposals; also recalls that the implementation of an adopted PP/PA must remain faithful to the adopted proposal;

31. Recalls that the Union agencies play an important role in providing Union institutions and countries with specialised knowledge notably on employment and social issues and that they must be given the necessary resources to fulfil their tasks which are evolving; takes note that the 2023 budgetary estimates for agencies are in line with the budget programming; welcomes that the steep increase in the Irish coefficient corrector for Eurofound is at least partly compensated; recalls the need to ensure an adequate allocation of funds for the European Labour Authority (ELA), which is crucial to ensure stability and full delivery of its mandate, including by providing adequate and permanent staffing and for attracting the best qualified candidates for the posts; recognises that ELA should have the necessary resources to support and strengthen the capacity of national labour inspectorates and authorities, as well as social partners, in order to contribute to fair labour mobility and tackle cross-border fraud and abuses;

32. Regrets the decrease in the allocation for the Budget line 07 20 04 06 (Specific competences in the area of social policy, including social dialogue); recalls that strong social dialogue is a key feature of the European Social model and the commitment of the Union to promote the role of social partners and to facilitate social dialogue, in line with Article 152 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union; stresses the need to ensure adequate support for social dialogue and to develop and improve the capacity of social partners and to increase the allocation for this budget line, as well as to guarantee adequate support for information and training measures for workers' organisations, taking also into account the impact of inflation on staff expenditure in the budgets of the trade union institutes;

33. Considers it essential to protect and promote the principle of multilingualism, which helps to foster democratic participation and transparency; calls, in this regard, for an adequate increase in funding for the Union institutions' interpreting and translation services, including those of the European Parliament and the European Commission;

34. Calls for decent working conditions and fair pay for crèche, cleaning and catering workers to be guaranteed at the Union institutions, including the European Parliament; calls strongly, in this regard, for those services and their workers to be brought in-house;

35. Recalls the importance of budgetary accountability and prioritisation; underlines that the flexibility available under the current 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework (MFF) is not sufficient to fully cover the financial needs generated by the war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic; recalls that these instruments were neither designed nor conceived in terms of size to address the new challenges and future crisis situations while simultaneously maintain investments in the Union's programmes and policies, including important priorities like the just, green and digital transitions; stresses the importance of increased flexibility and sufficient resources to respond to major crises and their social and labour market implications, while recalling that inflation puts a great pressure on the ceilings in the MFF leaving no margins available to tackle the biggest challenges in the annual budgetary procedure, calls on the Commission to conduct an in-depth analysis of the different implications of the current challenges on the whole MFF 2021-2027, and to carry out an urgent and comprehensive revision of the current MFF as soon as possible and no later than the first quarter of 2023 in order to provide additional flexibility needs in the Union budget, including the full use of decommitments, to respond to unforeseen and urgent needs; expects such a vision to take into account the long-term implications of the war in Ukraine and the emergency measures taken;

36. Recalls that currently, the only tracking methodology is the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2105 which defines the methodology for reporting social expenditure, however, this cannot be considered mainstreaming the Social Pillar in the RRF, as it is rather a reporting of the spending under the RRF using macro categories that cannot be linked to any social objectives; calls on the Commission to introduce in the upcoming MFF a methodology for social mainstreaming the expenditure programme on social objectives; such methodology should be a tracking system of how specific actions contribute to a given policy priority and provide the possibility to count and aggregate expenditure at the level of the Union budget and monitor progress;

37. Welcomes the gender budgeting classification undertaken by the Commission and expresses the need to work further on the analysis of the 0* programs as well as the methodology to track the implementation of the third gender action plan; reminds that women have been particularly negatively affected by the economic and social crisis stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, including the growth of the cases of gender-based violence; requests in this regards increased funding for the Daphne Programme; highlights that gender mainstreaming and gender equality is a key building stone for allowing Europe to reach its full potential; underlines the important role played by the European Institute for Gender Equality and the need to ensure adequate funding and staff for its tasks;

38. Calls for the implementation of gender budgeting by assigning budget allocations taking into account a gender-responsive evaluation of the previous budgetary period and ensuring equal participation in the budgetary process; stresses that gender budgeting also requires linking the budget to gender equality objectives , tracing spending on gender equality and ensuring a gender-sensitive review of the programmes and spending to adjust them in the following period.

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OPINION OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE ENVIRONMENT, PUBLIC HEALTH AND FOOD SAFETY(7.9.2022)

for the Committee on Budgets

on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2023-all sections

(2022/0212(BUD))

Rapporteur for opinion: Pascal Canfin

SUGGESTIONS

The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety calls on the Committee on Budgets, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions into its motion for a resolution:

1. Stresses that the Union must be committed to obtaining a resilient, sustainable, socially fair recovery for all through the 2023 Union budget concluding the revised 2030 framework for Union climate, energy and environmental targets; calls on the Commission and Member States to ensure a smooth adoption and implementation of the files included in the 'Fit for 55' package to help ensure that the Union meets its 2030 targets and that it achieves climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest, whilst recognising that current Union policies need substantial improvements to be consistent with a pathway compatible with limiting global warming to under 1.5°C;

2. Welcomes the Commission REPowerEU Plan to accelerate the green transition and to increase the Union's energy independence, in particular by ending fossil fuel imports from Russia as soon as possible; highlights that accelerating the equitable implementation of the European Green Deal will reduce both the Union dependency from third countries as well as allowing us to achieve our climate and energy targets; is highly concerned about the limited new funds for the Recovery and Resilience Facility REPowerEU chapter; expresses therefore deep concern about the proposal to use the ETS Market Stability Reserve to finance part of these measures, thereby putting the financial and environmental integrity of ETS at risk, while underlining its commitment to not creating a funding gap and ensuring the integrity and ability of the ETS system to deliver on the 2030 climate target and looking at all the options available within the scope of the ETS regulation to deliver both on climate goals and REPower EU; stresses, in this context, that Article 191 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union commits the Union to pursue a high level of protection of the environment and to improve the quality thereof, inter alia by applying of the precautionary principle and the principles stipulating that preventive action should be taken, that environmental damage should as a priority be rectified at source and that the polluter should pay; believes, furthermore, that access to justice must be ensured at all times by the Commission and Member States during the implementation of the REPowerEU Plan; reminds that the revival of coal power plants in some Member States is a direct threat to the union objective of reducing greenhouse gases emissions by 55% in 2030;

3. Reiterates its call for the phase-out of harmful subsidies and for coherence between all EU funds and programmes; insists that projects and programmes, which are inconsistent with the objective of limiting global warming to under 1,5°C or with the objective of halting and reversing biodiversity loss, should not be eligible for support under the EU budget in line with the do no significant harm principle; recalls that the 8th Environment Action Programme lays down the enabling condition of phasing out of environmentally harmful subsidies, including through setting a deadline for the phasing out of fossil fuel subsidies consistent with the ambition of limiting global warming to 1,5°C as well as a binding Union framework to monitor and report on Member States' progress towards phasing out fossil fuel subsidies, based on an agreed methodology;

4. Expects the climate and biodiversity mainstreaming targets to be achieved in the Union budget and the European Union Recovery Instrument expenditures, in line with the targets laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement (IIA)[18]; recalls the biodiversity-related spending targets of 7,5% from 2024 and 10% from 2026 onwards of the Multiannual Financial Framework; stresses that all efforts should be made to reach 10% biodiversity-related spending from 2023 onwards; in this regard welcomes the efforts for a more transparent and comprehensive reporting, in particular the clarifications to Climate Mainstreaming in the Programme Statements of operational expenditure (Working Document 1 of the Draft Union budget for financial year2023)[19], the relevant chapter in the Statement of Estimates of the Commission for the financial year 2023[20], and the Commission Staff Working Document on Climate Mainstreaming Architecture[21]and emphasises the need to carry out sufficient ex-post evaluations and to work on the granularity of the date available; calls on the Commission to address the conclusions of the European Court of Auditors regarding overstated climate spending[22]in particular as regards the mainstreaming targets in the CAP, and in this regard insists on the importance of CAP Strategic Plans, and biodiversity spending[23]; calls on Member States to ensure the integration of biodiversity in partnership agreements and operational programmes as well as in their CAP Strategic Plans, and to increase their efforts to reach the Multiannual Financial Framework biodiversity spending target of at least 10% as soon as possible; welcomes the final report Biodiversity Financing and Tracking[24]and calls on the Commission and Member States to implement its recommendations swiftly; calls on the Commission to enforce the climate adjustment mechanism to take corrective actions to address potential gaps in the achievement of climate spending targets of individual EU spending programmes;

5. Stresses that more than 50% of the total biodiversity spending is forecasted using the old methodology[25]; whereas the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development forecasts for 2023 and 2027 are yet to be updated in line with the CAP Strategic Plans; highlights, that the biodiversity financing gap over the period 2021 and 2030 is around 18,69 Billion per year[26]; calls for the biodiversity tracking methodology to be fully updated as soon as possible and stresses the need to close the financing gap in line with paragraph 3 of this report;

6. Calls for immediate action and continuous work towards the achievement of the overall ambition of providing at least 30% of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and NextGenerationEU (NGEU) expenditure to climate objectives and 7,5 % of annual spending under the MFF to biodiversity objectives in the year 2024 and at least 10 % in 2026 and 2027, revised upwards in the next MFF, while considering the existing overlaps between climate and biodiversity goals; expresses concern over the latest figures of the Statement of Estimates pointing at an imminent risk of falling way short of the biodiversity expenditure commitments for 2026 and 2027; deplores the fact that the share of the 2023 EU Draft Budget contributing to biodiversity is only 5,5%; recalls that 37% of the spending under Regulation (EU) 2021/241 should contribute to climate objectives;

7. Welcomes the reporting on biodiversity-related expenditure and welcomes the publication of the Commission study that will underpin the biodiversity tracking methodology and the shift towards outcome (effects-based) indicators and the forecast for reaching the mainstreaming targets as agreed in the IIA; stresses the need to ensure consistency between climate and biodiversity funding; recalls the primary importance of the CAP for biodiversity mainstreaming and calls on the Commission to implement the recommendations of the study in this regard; calls on the Commission to address the concerns raised by the Court of Auditors as regards the ineffectiveness of biodiversity spending in the CAP[27];

8. Calls on the Commission to publish the amounts and shares of expenditures that will contribute to both biodiversity and climate targets per program when presenting annual budgets; welcomes the Commissions efforts for impact reporting and calls for this to be a regular part of the performance reporting framework as soon as possible;

9. Stresses that the Court of Auditors found in its special report on sustainable finance that the do no significant harm principle is not applied to all EU expenditure and that several EU spending programmes permit the funding of environmentally harmful activities[28]; highlights the need to ensure that the do no significant harm principle is mainstreamed in all Union activities, including in the Recovery and Resilience Facility, through the budgetary implementation as agreed in the IIA and welcomes the Commission proposal for amending the Financial Regulation to include the do no significant harm principle in the regulation in line with the Union's commitment to sustainable financing and the green transition; calls on the Commission to monitor the proper implementation of the do no significant harm principle and to take immediate corrective measures if and when needed;

10. Recalls the need to assign sufficient human and financial resources for the implementation of the 2030 Biodiversity Strategy, the Farm to Fork Strategy, the Soil Strategy, the EU Pollinators Initiative, the Forest Strategy, the Circular Economy Action Plan, the Chemical Strategy for Sustainability and of a Zero-pollution Action Plan in the 2023 Union budget; strongly deplores that the Commission systematically fails to address the lasting problem of understaffing in DG Environment and has not ensured any meaningful increase in human resources; in this line, calls on the Commission to promptly secure an adequate level of staff for the directorates which need to ensure full implementation of these strategies; remains concerned about the fact that the staffing level of the Commission's DG Environment has been significantly reduced during last few years and that despite the workload stemming from the EU Green Deal agenda, it represents only 1.4% of all Commission staff; believes that by the absence of commitment to address this problem the Commission puts at risk the implementation and enforcement of EU policies and harms the health of officials in DG Environment; calls, furthermore, to significantly increase the budgetary support for the new LIFE programme and the Just Transition Fund and all other programmes that support and protect nature conservation;

11. Notes that the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) focusses its investment on several key priority areas, also known as "thematic concentration", allocating 30% to environment and climate measures; welcomes the fact that in the context of mobility, the ERDF supports a successful transition to alternative fuels, powertrains and "clean vehicles";

12. Notes the need to ensure sufficient resources in the 2023 Union budget for the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals;

13. Notes the frontloading of EUR 45 million for the Union Civil Protection Mechanism; stresses nevertheless the importance of assigning adequate funding between 2024 and 2027, ensuring that the Union can respond together to emergencies such as pandemics, fires, floods and other unforeseen events;

14. Reminds the importance of taking due account of the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic regarding public health and affordable and accessible health and care services; in this regard calls for increasing the level of support to the European Health Union in addition to the EU4Health Programme in the 2023 Union budget following a One Health and health in all policies approach, especially considering, that a substantial part of EU4Health is already committed to the European Health Emergency Prevention and Response Authority (HERA), and particularly for enlarged mandates of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and establishment of HERA; stresses that core funding for operations of EU agencies and bodies shall not depend on short-term financial programmes, such as the EU4Health, and shall not by default reduce financing of other activities in the area of health; notes with concern the significant decrease in EU4Health budget compared to the previous year and stresses the need to increase the amount to appropriately fund foreseen activities; stresses that new emerging strains of SARS-CoV-2 pose a challenge to public health in the union and therefore, sufficient resources should be allocated to prevention, preparedness, and protection; stresses the importance of a long term, coherent and coordinated strategy for emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, comprising from both medical and non-medical counter measures; calls for a specific action on mental health within the framework of the EU4Health Programme to tackle mental health. Particularly those derived from the COVID-19 pandemic; calls for further action and funding to address issues related to AMR; stresses that sufficient resources should be allocated for increasing investments in research and development in the area of health;

15. Notes with concern the lack of funding available to build a secure and interoperable digital health infrastructure in Member States, accompanied by the European Health Data Space (EHDS) proposal;

16. Recalls that in order to properly comply with their tasks the Union agencies under the remit of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (EEA[29], ECHA[30], EMA[31], ECDC[32]and EFSA[33]) must be adequately funded and staffed; deplores the budgetary reduction for ECDC and EMA; notes that EEA's recently acquired new tasks have been covered with operational staff, but that the ratio of support staff has decreased significantly, requiring additional resources in order to ensure that the agency can fulfil its tasks, including in relation to the European Environment Information and Observation Network (EIONET); stresses that the deterioration of the staff levels of the agencies could jeopardise, among others, the achievement of the European Green Deal or the successful prevention and management of environmental and public health risks; stresses that the agencies should not be in a situation that forces them to establish negative priorities; underlines that assignment of new tasks to the agencies should be accompanied by additional and adequate resources;

17. Stresses the importance of transparency in funding of public authorities, including EU institutions, bodies and agencies; underlines that the EU bodies independence and integrity is crucial and therefore high degree of transparency needs to be ensured through all activities to avoid regulatory capture and ensure citizens' maintain their trust in EU decision-making;

18. Reaffirms its full commitment to a system of own resources capable to contribute to the Union's goals on the climate, the environment and health; highlights the need to assess the impact of inflation on the union budget.

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OPINION OF THE COMMITTEE ON INDUSTRY, RESEARCH AND ENERGY(5.10.2022)

for the Committee on Budgets

on the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2023- all sections

(2022/0212(BUD))

Rapporteur for opinion: Christian Ehler

SUGGESTIONS

The Committee on Industry, Research and Energy calls on the Committee on Budgets, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions into its motion for a resolution:

1. Recalls that the Union Budget for 2023 should address the consequences of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, by direct support for Ukraine and by strengthening the Union's open strategic autonomy, energy independence and defence capabilities, as well as the secondary consequences such as the all-time high energy prices; reiterates the need to provide aid to Ukraine, both to people fleeing the country in wake of the Russia's aggression as well as to those staying in Ukraine;

2. Deplores the cuts to the Horizon Europe proposed by the Council in its position on the 2023 budget; strongly believes that the Council is undermining the credibility of the Union by cutting the Horizon Europe budget critical for the implementation of Union's recently approved ambitious climate and digital legislation which will heavily depend on research and innovation delivering new technological and non-technological innovation; reminds that the cuts to Heading 1 undermine the Union's 2030 and 2050 energy and climate and digital targets in view of creating high-quality jobs;

3. Calls for the full use of Article 15(3) of the Financial Regulation to allocate all available decommitments from 2020 and 2021 to the Horizon Europe; firmly rejects the misuse of that Article and insists on alternative solutions to provide additional funding for the Digital Europe Programme under the European Chips Act;

4. Rejects the use of the Horizon Europe budget to fund new initiatives and strongly supports the principle that new initiatives should come with a fresh budget; believes strongly that such initiatives and programmes, as the EU Chips Act, the Secure Connectivity Initiative and others should come with their own funding and not jeopardise other Union programmes and projects;

5. Is deeply worried about the failed implementation of the EIC Accelerator and convinced that applicants should not be asked to spend time on applications until there is certainty that the programme can be implemented in line with the Horizon Europe legislation; proposes to put the budget available for the EIC Accelerator in a reserve until it is satisfied that the abovementioned certainty is in place through the adoption of a Work Programme setting out a satisfactory plan for the future management of the EIC Fund;

6. Calls on the Council and Commission to make sufficient funding available to reach the objectives of RePowerEU Plan; reminds again that these investments should not come at the expense of investments in the broader competitiveness and strategic autonomy of the Union and that the solidarity and cohesion objectives of RePowerEU naturally align its investment needs with instruments like the RRF, ERDF and Cohesion Fund; supports the Commission proposal to use allowances from the Market Stability Reserve (MSR) to auction up to a value of €20 billion and thereby finance the necessary infrastructure; needed to make us less dependent on Russian gas and oil;

7. In line with the Parliament's resolution of 14 September 2022 on the New European Bauhaus[34], calls for a Coordination and Support Action under the 2023/2024 Horizon Europe Work Programme to prepare a New European Bauhaus Mission which should start in the second half of Horizon Europe;

8. Stresses that the 2023 Union budget should ensure that adequate support is provided to the most vulnerable citizens that are affected by the energy crisis, its social and economic consequences, including via dedicated energy efficiency and renewable deployment measures;

9. Reminds, the urgent need for strengthening the resilience of Union economy and the competitiveness of Union industries; reminds that open technological autonomy, sustainable growth and quality job creation are key in reaching the Union's long term energy and climate objectives;

10. Supports existing measures addressed directly to citizens and businesses, especially poor and vulnerable citizens and SMEs, as well as to safeguard workers in the current period of crisis, including via supporting the swift deployment of energy efficiency and renewable energy; reiterates the impact of the situation on the energy market, on the energy intensive industries and the sectors affected; in this context calls on the Commission to provide recommendations for the requests and the swift approval of State Aid;

11. Stresses that the impact and consequences of the outbreak of COVID-19 showed weaknesses in the health systems and demonstrated the need for public investment in health research in order to raise the quality of life of citizens;

12. Deeply regrets Council's position to cut EUR 120 million from the Union contribution to ITER, which would negatively impact the overall implementation of the project, even though it could provide Member States with cheap, reliable and climate neutral energy;

13. Calls for sufficient funding and staffing for all agencies and Union bodies in the policy areas of industry, research and energy, in particular for the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, the EU Agency for the Space Programme and the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators.

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OPINION OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE INTERNAL MARKET AND CONSUMER PROTECTION(13.7.2022)

for the Committee on Budgets

General budget of the European Union for the financial year 2023 - all sections

(2022/0212(BUD))

Rapporteur for opinion: Andreas Schwab

SUGGESTIONS

The Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection calls on the Committee on Budgets, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions into its motion for a resolution:

1. Notes that in the budgetary procedure the IMCO Committee is responsible for heading one - single market, innovation and digital, including budget clusters 03 02 single market programme, 03 03 EU anti-fraud programme, and 03 05 cooperation in the field of customs;

2. Calls for adequate and effective initiatives to restore, further deepen and complete the single market while supporting the transition towards a digital,sustainable, and carbon neutral, social market economy, to promote the interest of European consumers by ensuring a high standard of protection, and to address unjustified and disproportionate barriers to the four freedoms making the Single Market stronger, and more resilient aiming at increasing EU trade flows and improving value chains, thus contributing to economic growth; underlines that the Single Market is a core element for achieving a circular, net-zero-carbon-emission and resource- and energy-efficient economy;

3. Highlights, in particular, the great potential of the free movement of services, which is still underdeveloped, and calls for initiatives and actions to boost cross-border trade in services while fully respecting the freedom to provide services and taking into account the right for Member States to regulate the services in the general public interest, while respecting the criteria of non-discrimination, necessity and proportionality;

4. Notes that economic repercussions of the COVID-19 crisis continue to affect European businesses, and consumers in the long term, which leads to distortions of the free movement of persons, goods and services; calls therefore for measures to protect the Single Market and to support consumers and micro- and small enterprises via the Single Market Programme, which plays a key role in the economic recovery process and green and digital transition;

5. Notes that the illegal and unjustified Russian war against Ukraine has further impacted all economic actors across all sectors of the European economy, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises and the Single Market and that as a consequence supply chains and trade flows are disrupted; calls therefore for incentives to make the Single Market more resilient and to reduce dependencies, diversify supply chains and enhance international cooperation and trade with democratic like-minded countries;

6. Highlights that the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act will strengthen the digital economy, protect consumers online, ensure fairness and contestability in the digital market and establish clear rules on how online platforms and gatekeepers operate; stresses that the enforcement of the provisions of both Regulations will require sufficient staff capacity within the Commission and that this needs to be taken into account in the European Union budget;

7. Underlines that the transformation and upgrading of 'Safety Gate' (RAPEX) should be a budgetary priority in order to allow the system to fully function and protect European citizens from dangerous products;

8. Stresses that additional measures are needed to ensure that persons with disabilities have full access to the single market, both online and offline; stresses further that the Union should assure funding and projects to support this goal and towards the full implementation of existing Union law;

9. Reiterates the importance of an adequate and effective level of commitment appropriations to allow the modernisation of the customs union in support of the implementation of the Union Customs Code and the development of electronic and more automated customs systems; stresses that for the proper implementation of the Customs Single Window, sufficient resources should be available for national authorities of Member States; stresses that a lack of sufficient resources and staff of customs authorities could endanger the proper functioning of the internal market and the customs union;

10. Stresses the importance of the visibility and transparency of the EU funded projects in the Member States; in this respect encourages better traceability of EU spending in the Single Market such as more noticeable use of EU budget labelling in the Member states; asks the Commission to assess the possibilities and best practices from Member States and, if appropriate, propose efficient solutions in order to improve traceability and transparency of the EU budgetary spending, including expenditure on EU funded projects; calls the Commission to enhance the budget performance monitoring by constantly improving the efficient-impact and result-oriented indicators in order to deliver more effective budget, consumer welfare and better value for citizens and businesses;

11. Asks the Commission to support the pilot projects and preparatory actions proposals within the IMCO Committee's remit.

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OPINION OF THE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORT AND TOURISM(4.10.2022)

for the Committee on Budgets

on the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2023 - all sections

(2022/0212(BUD))

Rapporteur for opinion: Vlad Gheorghe

SUGGESTIONS

The Committee on Transport and Tourism calls on the Committee on Budgets, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions into its motion for a resolution:

A. Whereas the Union transport sector is essential for the Union's economic, social and environmental development and its sustainability, and it should aim to ensure the territorial accessibility, connectivity and cohesion of all regions of the Union, with particular attention for peripheral, rural, insular and outermost regions and other disadvantaged areas;

B. Whereas transport is key to achieving climate neutrality by 2050 and the intermediate targets in greenhouse emissions reductions set in the European Climate Law, starting with at least 55% in 2030; whereas more investment is needed to accelerate the inclusive and socially just shift to sustainable and smart mobility in line with the European Green Deal, including the initiatives under the 'Fit-for-55' package and the REPowerEU Plan;

C. Whereas tourism is an essential sector for the Union economy and an accelerator of growth for many other sectors, directly and indirectly contributing to more than 10% of EU's GDP and accounting for more than 11% of the workforce, it plays an important role in fostering its competitiveness, employment and social well-being especially in areas that are overly dependent on tourism and contributes to territorial cohesion; whereas in order to retain its important role within the European Green Deal more sustainable tourism is needed, ensuring stable jobs and adequate working conditions;

D. Whereas the transport and tourism sectors were among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 crisis and are now affected by the Russian war against Ukraine; whereas as a result millions of jobs have been lost or are under threat; whereas the Union transport sector needs to become independent from Russian fossil energy sources and avoid any future dependencies on single countries or world regions for critical energy, fuels or raw materials supply, including for the production of batteries for use in battery electric vehicles and power storage solutions;

E. Whereas the severe travel disruptions in many EU airports including thousands of flight cancellations, lost luggage, severe delays etc. are mainly due to significant staff shortages in the sector;

F. Whereas high inflation rates might hamper the financial soundness of infrastructure projects for project promoters and transport operators due to unexpected increases of costs; whereas economic threat of high inflation urges to mobilise sufficient funding in order to reinforce sustainability of the Union tourism sector and calls to include a basis for the swift development of a roadmap for sustainable tourism.

1. Highlights that appropriate funding for transport projects will be instrumental in boosting recovery of the Union and advancing towards the green and digital transition, including the related emission reduction targets within the European Climate Law; calls on the Commission and Member States to use the available financial tools - Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), Cohesion Fund, InvestEU, European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) - in an articulate and complementary way to maximise their effect on recovery while ensuring adequate long-term funding of Union transport projects, with highest possible European added value and return for investment, also focusing on peripheral and the most disadvantaged regions of the Union;

2. Reiterates the crucial role of the CEF in fostering the development and timely completion of a high performance trans-European network that is sustainable and interconnected, safe and secure infrastructure, including the safety of truck parking areas, and in improving citizen involvement in the evaluation of the road network in the Union, as prescribed by Directive (EU) 2019/1936; acknowledges the slight increase in the CEF-transport budget for 2023 compared to 2022 although notes that the increase is impaired by the current economic, high inflation rates and geopolitical situation and the consequent rising needs of the transport sector; further recalls that the Commission's REPowerEU Plan foresees the mobilisation of CEF funding to achieve the targets set on renewable hydrogen production, infrastructure and end-use appliances; reiterates its call for increased financing of the CEF programme;

3. Notes with great concern that the proposal on the European Chips Act proceeds to reallocation of funds from the CEF transport and digital envelopes to this new initiative by reducing EUR 400 million of the CEF budget, including EUR 150 million from CEF Digital and EUR 250 million from CEF Transport to be reallocated to the financing of the European Chips Act; stresses that any new Union policy needs to come with a new allocated budget and not a reshuffle within the current MFF;

4. Calls for increased support for transport infrastructure and the promotion of public transport and sustainable mobility and stresses that, given the diversity of public transport modes in the Union's metropolitan areas the 2023 budget should support an action plan to implement a single and multimodal ticketing system;

5. Stresses the role of the RRF and related national plans in stimulating the recovery in the transport and tourism sectors and underlines that in order to maximise their impact in terms of paving the way to the green and digital transition, those plans should be aligned with the objectives of the European Green Deal and establish synergies with the different investment programmes under the MFF;

6. Welcomes the REPowerEU proposal according to which EUR 20 billion from of the revenues resulting from the auctioning of emissions trading system (ETS) allowances would complement the RRF funding under the REPowerEU module of the RRF as well as increased flexibility to Member States to transfer resources to the REPowerEU chapter of the RRF;

7. Underlines that higher focus could be placed on cross-border projects, modal shift to rail and waterborne transport, more and better links between governance and other measures to ensure long-term and sustainable change, and more and better use of financial instruments by supporting bankable projects and projects developed by the private sector; calls on Member States to set up a dedicated transport sector component in their next National Recovery and Resilience Plans (NRRP) to ensure comparability and complementarity of national measures with the aim of achieving the highest possible European added value;

8. Regrets that social aspects, such as fair, accessible and just mobility and transport sector worker conditions are not sufficiently covered in the NRRPs; calls therefore on the Commission and Member States to include social aspects as a crosscutting priority for the different transport sector measures;

9. Welcomes the increase in the Cohesion Fund allocation to the CEF for transport in 2023; reiterates the essential role the Union transport policy and investment play in enhancing territorial, social and economic cohesion in the Union and calls for further strengthening of the Cohesion Fund to accommodate the modernisation needs of the transport sector, reduce its CO2 footprint and put in place new infrastructure elements for sustainable transport;

10. Highlights the experience of several Union cities and regions where public transport is free, low cost or discounted; calls to carry out studies to assess the impact of these systems, particularly in terms of the variation in the number of passengers, duration of travel, number of traffic accidents and casualties, impact on climate change, and possible impact on energy and fuel savings; the results of these studies may contribute to the development of action plans allowing to implement similar public transport systems in different urban and rural areas;

11. Notes the increase in the InvestEU budget and its substantial reinforcement from NextGenerationEU by almost EUR 2.5 billion in 2023; invites the Commission to sustain a high level of investment beyond 2024 in order to maintain InvestEU's role in fostering sustainable and safe infrastructure; recalls the Commission that adequate funding of InvestEU beyond the operation period of NextGenerationEU (NGEU) and through the MFF 2021-2027 is key to foster sustainable and safe infrastructure, mobility solutions and equipment and for the deployment of innovative technologies and sustainable alternative fuels;

12. Welcomes the funding of the Just Transition Fund under the Just Transition Mechanism (JTM) for 2023 and highlights the mechanism's role in disadvantaged regions; highlights the role of the JTM and its public sector loan facility in investing in safe, sustainable and resilient transport and tourism infrastructure in the regions that are the most affected by transition challenges such as rural and sparsely populated, disadvantaged regions and environmentally vulnerable territories and in promoting affordable and accessible mobility services for all passengers, including those with disabilities and reduced mobility; stresses the need to support the up- and reskilling of workers and jobseekers in the transport sector, as well as productive and sustainable investment in SMEs; stresses the need to facilitate the access to bank loans for SMEs in tourism;

13. Notes the modest increase in the military mobility budget for 2023 and the attempt to adapt parts of the TEN-T to a dual use of transport infrastructure with a view to improving both civilian and military mobility situation; regrets that the increase lies below of what is necessary in light of the current Russian threat towards the territorial integrity of the Union and common European peace order and is not sufficient to compensate for the cut in the final envelope on the military mobility budget line created under the CEF for 2021-2027; highlights that a further increase is needed given the geopolitical situation in order to reinforce critical infrastructures such as ports, airports, tunnels and bridges, particularly of the bordering Member States;

14. Calls in particular for the use of unspent RRF and NGEU funds to enable a short-term increase of military mobility spending to the necessary level, until the overall CEF military mobility envelope can be increased accordingly;

15. Calls for a dedicated new budget line "Connecting Ukraine Facility - Solidarity Lanes" to support transport infrastructure in and towards Ukraine, to enable the transport of critical goods in both directions and in particular to enable the transport of grains, fertilisers, machineries and metallurgical products in light of the Russian blockade of Ukrainian ports; underlines that this includes not only terminals at the immediate Union border with Ukraine, but that also rail transport infrastructure, canals, rail and port terminals in Members States must be made fit for purpose to keep Ukrainian trade flows running and to prevent a global food crisis;

16. Recalls that the tourism sector is a major economic activity in the Union with a wide-ranging impact on economic growth, employment, and social development; regrets that the wide range of funding programmes financed by the Union budget and NGEU constitutes a difficult system, first of all for SMEs; reiterates Parliament's request for the creation of a specific Union programme on sustainable Union-wide tourism supported by a specific budget line that reflects both the importance of the sector in the Union economy and its needs, especially in the aftermath of the past and current crises; calls on the Commission and Member States to train regional and local authorities on mechanisms offered by the Union and to ensure the exchange of good practices in this regard; at the same time invites to create a Union mechanism monitoring provision of support to micro enterprises and SMEs in the tourism sector, focusing on liquidity and delivering European added value and transparency in order to facilitate modernisation and implementation of innovative and sustainable projects, ensuring accountability and administrative simplification;

17. Regrets that the percentage of funds in many RRF national plans available to supporting tourism are not sufficient to cover the real needs of the sector following two years of pandemic and that in some cases, SMEs are largely excluded by the design of the national plans from benefiting from RRF support; calls therefore on Member States to make sure that their national plans provide the appropriate recovery stimulus to the tourism sector taking into account the needs of SMEs that make up 90% of the enterprises in the sector;

18. Moreover, stresses that the cost of travel disruptions should not fall on the shoulders of passengers and that such disruptions should be prevented by means of anticipation of the passenger flow; underlines that a dedicated tourism budget line should also serve the goal of forecasting the travellers' influx and adapting the transport service provision in line with the trends;

19. Calls for the swift development of a roadmap for sustainable tourism which will include innovative measures to reduce the climate and environmental footprint of the sector by developing more sustainable forms of tourism, diversifying the offer, boosting new initiatives for cooperation and developing new digital services while tackling uncertain economic situation due to high inflation;

20. Welcomes the increase in the budget contribution to the Union agencies - European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA); underlines the further budgetary needs and reiterates that the funding of these agencies should be aligned with the level of their responsibility and their respective role in the transition towards decarbonisation of transport modes, particularly taking into account the modal shift targets set by the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy;

21. Recalls that any new legislation applying to the transport sector, such as the European Green Deal and in particular the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy, implies additional responsibilities for Union transport agencies; highlights that the ERA has an outstanding climate and environmental performance and is crucial to achieving modal shift and advancing in the establishment of the Single European Railway Area and the deployment of European Railway Traffic Management System; recalls that ERA can provide additional support to TEN-T completion objectives -particularly in cross-border sections-, and consequently, could have a key role in assisting Member States in the establishment of the new 'EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes'; reiterates that adequate financing of EASA is needed in line with its contribution to the green recovery of the Union's aviation industry; stresses EMSA's important role in supporting sustainability of maritime transport;

22. Acknowledges the slight increase in the budgets of Joint undertakings - the Clean Aviation, Europe's Rail, Single European Sky Air Traffic Management Research Joint Undertaking 3 (SESAR 3) and Clean Hydrogen; underlines the further budgetary needs, in light of the outstanding importance of their work in boosting research and innovation in order to improve transport sector's climate performance, safety and sustainability and calls for adequate funding.

INFORMATION ON ADOPTION IN COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL IN COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

Key to symbols:

+ : in favour

- : against

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OPINION OF THE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT(29.9.2022)

for the Committee on Budgets

on the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2023 - all sections

(2022/0212(BUD))

Rapporteur for opinion: Andrea Caroppo

SUGGESTIONS

The Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development calls on the Committee on Budgets, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions into its motion for a resolution:

1. Stresses the need for robust measures aimed at ensuring generational renewal in the agricultural sector by supporting start-ups by young farmers, easing their entry into farming and facilitating the takeover of farms by young people and by women as they play a fundamental role in maintaining the economic resilience of rural areas; calls for the levels of support to young farmers to be increased;

2. Notes with concern that in rural areas, the share of income from agricultural activities is declining and rural de-agrarianisation is continuing, with a consequent decline in the number of people fully employed in this sector, as well as a decline in the share of income from agriculture in the income structure of households operating farms; points out that rural depopulation has a negative impact on agriculture and rural, remote areas; emphasises that this increases the risk of poverty and social exclusion; calls on the Commission and the Member States to pay more attention to the financing of rural areas by the Regional Development Fund and cohesion policy; notes the growing need for highly qualified young professionals in the regions, and calls on Member States to take the necessary measures, including financial incentives, to encourage young people to study agricultural professions, as well as to facilitate the transfer of knowledge from older people to the younger generation;

3. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to allocate budget resources to design and implement measures to fight gender gaps; notes the crucial need for providing women entrepreneurs in rural areas with an enabling environment, including legal and political considerations, leading to greater access to information, knowledge and skills, as well as facilitating access to financial resources, leading to the creation of more jobs in rural areas;

4. Stresses the importance of funding research and innovation in the agri-food sector through the budget of the Horizon Europe programme, EIPs, pilot projects, preparatory actions and the introduction of innovative agriculture technologies as well as sustainable assisted evolution bio-technologies; recalls the need for the Commission in particular to identify measures to enable farmers, including small, medium and young farmers, to be provided with independent and impartial technical assistance and up-to-date information in order to enable them to have access to the benefits of such programmes; emphasises, in that regard, the need for a geographical balance between the Member States in access to funds from those programmes; highlights the need to ensure that the results of research and innovation reachfarm level; stresses that farmers need alternatives to chemical plant protection products and synthetic fertilisers and that for this, it is necessary to speed up the approval of such products and their introduction on the market; invites the Commission to see which funding sources could be directed towards the development of sustainable fertiliser and alternative plant protection products production, for example the budget line for EIT under Horizon Europe;

5. Highlights the central role played by Community Led Local Development initiatives in keeping and restoring living and thriving local rural economies, and the need to keep a sufficient level of funding for LEADER; calls on the Member States to make full use of LEADER's capacities;

6. Welcomes the Union's efforts to accelerate the digital transformation in agriculture and in rural areas, which is crucial for ensuring resilience and stemming the depopulation of these areas; notes the continued importance of support for investments in modernisation and innovation if the agriculture sector is to contribute to meeting the targets of the European Green Deal, the Biodiversity Strategy and Farm to Fork Strategy; stresses that digital transformation in agriculture needs more support, especially as those involved in the agri-food chain are confronted with the growing impact of the Russian war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic; notes that, despite the digitalisation agenda, a recent ECA report highlights that basic obstacles such as lack of standardisation of data formats means that much agricultural data is still not used efficiently or to its full potential;

7. Stresses the lack of rural policies aimed at building an innovation eco-system to support knowledge creation and technological diffusion; calls on the Commission and Member States to provide sufficient investment in skills and ICT infrastructure, facilitating access for entrepreneurs and SMEs, and supporting local supply chain development;

8. Insists that revenue to the Union budget deriving from any assigned revenues or repayments of irregularities from agriculture in previous years should remain under that domain;

9. Insists that the Commission present common varietal conversion plans for regions already affected by pathogens and make related financial support and free technical assistance available to farmers; recalls that, in this respect too, research is essential to find technical solutions that can be used to adapt our agriculture to climate change;

10. Notes that rural communities and farmers, especially small farmers and young farmers, are affected by their limited investment capacity, the main underlying reason for this being rising energy prices and the gas crisis, which are having a knock-on effect, driving up the cost of raw materials;

11. Insists that an increase in the budget is necessary in view of the major challenges the agri-food sector is facing in 2022 and will continue to face in 2023, in particular because of the growing effects of Russia's unjustified and unprovoked aggression in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic, which are also impacting on food security and affordability in the Union, since Russia's war against Ukraine has seriously aggravated an already difficult and challenging situation of access to, and affordability of, inputs and increased speculation on the agricultural commodities markets; recalls the need to have sufficient margins under the ceilings to address unforeseen circumstances as uncertainty in the economic outlook persists;

12. Points out that a number of agricultural sectors have been hit hard by the COVID-19 outbreak, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and other crises; reiterates that these are having strong consequences, including a surge in energy prices and prices of agricultural inputs such as fertilisers putting at risk the income of our farmers; calls for the continuation and increase of targeted reinforcements of the relevant budget lines for market support measures, taking into consideration also the negative impact of African swine fever and of avian flu on Union farmers and consequently on the food supply chain; underlines the importance of increasing the Union's autonomy and the export capacity of Ukrainian agricultural products given the prolonged blockade of the Ukrainian ports; calls on the Commission to increase the financial allocations for Member States bordering Ukraine and that have access to the sea, in order to increase storage capacity in ports and to support the local infrastructure; welcomes also all the other additional forms of support to farmers affected by the war in Ukraine that was provided by the Commission, such as the market interventions, the exceptional support under EAFRD, early disbursement of direct payments and also derogations on the greening obligations; hopes that, as the crisis and the fallout from the Ukraine war will continue in the future, the Commission will be willing to thus support farmers also in 2023;

13. Welcomes the fact that the Commission proposed in the draft budget that the new agriculture reserve in 2023 is established solely from the availabilities under the EAGF sub-ceilings and that the leftover of the 2022 crisis reserve is redistributed back to farmers; insists that financial discipline is not used to fill in the new agriculture reserve in 2023;

14. Draws attention to the progressive globalisation of economic processes, the rapid concentration and integration in the rest of the market chain, rising EU production standards and the concentration of investment in urban centres and sectors with higher rates of return; notes that these phenomena exacerbate the income disparity between agriculture and the rest of the economy, which is why the budgetary perspective for the CAP in the coming years should give priority to maintaining the highest possible level of profitability in agricultural production and the strongest possible position for farmers in supply chains;

15. Welcomes the mobilisation of the crisis reserve to finance exceptional measures for Union farmers most affected by the war in Ukraine; calls on the Commission to prepare a detailed analysis into how Member States have spent their crisis reserve envelopes and investigate whether the support was aimed at the sectors that were mostly hit by the current crisis; calls, at the same time, for a thorough analysis of the impact of this intervention on the agricultural sector and stresses the importance of allocating new resources, including from outside the CAP, to stabilise the situation on the fuel and inorganic fertiliser markets; stresses that the crisis reserve must be able to be mobilised quickly again;

16. Emphasises the need for careful monitoring of the national CAP strategic plans to ensure that they are effective in allowing Union agriculture, including the agri-food chain, to assure efficient and stable farm operation, viability and food security and to calm market turbulence resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine; reiterates the need for the Council to maintain an ambitious multiannual budget under heading 3, taking into account the need to support farmers with a view to achieving food security;

17. Reiterates the need to support and enable Union farmers and agricultural and food producers to be prepared to meet future challenges, while safeguarding their income and competitiveness in order to empower them to ensure food security; recalls that the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine have emphasised the strategic role that agriculture plays in ensuring food security; calls on Member States to provide additional externally assigned revenue to fund food security through the Recovery and Resilience Facility and cohesion funds; calls on the Commission to make food security a top priority of the 2023 cushion of unallocated funds; invites the Commission to mobilise special instruments to put additional money in the NDIC;

18. Deplores the sharp rise in forest fires in Europe due to climate change and strongly urges the Member States to strengthen fire prevention measures and improve farmers' access to irrigation, as well as to modernise facilities, within the framework of national strategic plans; considers, furthermore, that there is a pressing need to promote the restoration of forests in the Union;

19. While welcoming the Commission's aim to reduce the Union's dependence on energy from third countries, firmly rejects its proposal to give Member States the possibility to deliver up to 12,5 % of the EAFRD through the Recovery and Resilience Facility to support investments under the RePowerEU chapter; feels that such a transfer endangers the achievement of the fundamental objectives of the CAP and that the need to reprogramme funds may cause delays and unnecessary administrative burdens; recalls that the CAP cannot be used as leverage for all the new political objectives of the Union and that it must continue to fulfil its mandate towards farmers to ensure our food autonomy; points out that the CAP strategic plans regulation already allows for the financing of investments and measures similar to those proposed under the REPowerEU initiative.

20. Stresses that 2023 is the first year of the implementation of the new CAP with a new, performance-based, delivery model; points that it is crucial that the new CAP is supported by a strong budget and that Member States need to be prepared and supported financially to make this transition to a new system; highlights that there is a number of new practices and measures under Strategic Plans, such as new enhanced eco-schemes, but also farm advisory services or practices that will help us achieve also the goals set under the Farm to Fork Strategy, such as carbon farming, agroforestry and paludiculture; if we want to achieve high uptake by farmers, we need them to be supported also financially;

21. Stresses the need to find funding from outside the Common Agricultural Policy to lend ad hoc support to sectors affected by external political or health-related constraints;

22. Highlights that the Commission recognises climate change as a risk that will likely influence expenditure on humanitarian assistance under the Heading 6: Neighbourhood and the World, in 2023; regrets that, nevertheless, the margin left in this Heading 6 is zero, despite the need for flexibility to respond to humanitarian crises which may derive from or be impacted by climate change, as well as the impacts of COVID, food price inflation and the Russian invasion;

23. Calls on the Commission to increase the line on crisis mechanism of NDICI in order to establish a programme for food security in the global south under the rapid response pillar.

INFORMATION ON ADOPTION IN COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL IN COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

Key to symbols:

+ : in favour

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OPINION OF THE COMMITTEE ON FISHERIES(2.9.2022)

for the Committee on Budgets

on General budget of the European Union for the financial year 2023 - all sections

(2022/0212(BUD))

Rapporteur for opinion: Pierre Karleskind

SUGGESTIONS

The Committee on Fisheries calls on the Committee on Budgets, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions into its motion for a resolution:

1. Recalls the economic, social and environmental aspects of fisheries, aquaculture and maritime affairs; stresses their vital role in ensuring global food safety and resilience of food systems, but also in boosting the development of the sustainable blue economy and their contribution to developing and revitalising coastal areas, especially in the outermost regions, which are constrained by their remoteness, insularity, small size, difficult topography and climate and the economic dependence on a few products; Takes the view that maintaining the competitive position of the fisheries and aquaculture sectors must go hand in hand with achieving social, environmental and economic objectives set out in the CFP as well as in the Green Deal and subsequent strategies respecting the outcome of impact assessments and stakeholder consultations;

2. Points out that Russia's military aggression against Ukraine has impacted fisheries from several perspectives, notably disrupting fishing activities in the Black Sea, with temporary bans set up for security reasons in certain Member States' waters, such as in the Romanian waters bordering Ukraine in Danube Delta, with similar disruptions occurring, especially in the Mediterranean, as a result of the increased cost of fuel occasioned by the conflict; and severely affecting the viability of fishing and aquaculture operations all over Europe and especially in the outermost regions;

3. Stresses that Russia's military aggression has led to significant disruptions in trade flows and an increase in energy prices, which has hit small-scale fisheries particularly hard, requiring the use of European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) crisis measures; calls on the Commission to further increase such efforts with the aim of compensating the sharp increase of fuel prices and other additional costs with a maximum of flexibility, which since March 2022 have doubled compared to the average price in 2021; welcomes the amending of the EMFF regulation[35]aiming at alleviating the consequences of the war on the sector and on the markets; calls on Member States to fully and swiftly utilise the support provided;

4. Warns, therefore, of the continuing difficulties facing the fisheries sector, which have now been aggravated by the significant rise in fuel prices;

5. Considers that the EMFAF must facilitate specific support for small-scale fisheries in the form of fuel subsidies;

6. Warns of the high average age of small-scale fishing fleets, necessitating a programme to renew and update them in order to improve safety and on-board living conditions, energy efficiency and environmental sustainability, while ensuring the social and economic resilience of the communities that depend on them;

7. Considers, therefore, that the EMFAF must facilitate funding for the renewal, upgrading or even resizing of small-scale coastal and artisanal fleets; reiterates that fleet renewal must not be confused with fleet expansion or increased fishing capacity;

8. Calls on the Commission once more to facilitate EMFAF support for storage, freezing and refrigeration as a decisive step towards enabling full advantage to be taken of fisheries resources - without destroying or depleting stocks - and ensuring regular supplies to consumers and the food processing industry;

9. Invites the Commission to expedite a strategy increasing the global share of sustainable EU aquaculture production which contributes to food supply and food security, especially against the backdrop of the Ukrainian crisis; calls on the Commission to make full use of the available financing resources of the European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF), as this is the funding instrument specifically dedicated to the objectives of EU fisheries and aquaculture management; urges Member States to earmark sufficient funding under the Recovery and Resilience Facility to support the innovation, sustainability and resilience of EU aquaculture sector;

10. Welcomes the adopted Temporary Crisis Framework[36], which allows Member States to set up schemes to grant aid for companies active in the production, processing and marketing of fisheries and aquaculture products affected by the crisis; calls on Member States to fully and swiftly make use of these possibilities; however believes that the Commission must provide further flexibilities in order to counter the negative effects of the current crisis;

11. Recalls that, as a result of the Brexit, the EU fishing sector is still suffering considerable economic loss; considers therefore, as a matter of priority, that the Commission secures compensation commensurate with the damage suffered by the sector and the fishing communities, taking into account all consequences, direct and indirect, of the Agreement; highlights the difficulties for the sector to obtain fishing authorisations in the 6-12 nautical miles and in Guernsey and Jersey waters; urges the Member States, in this regard, to fully use all of the resources under the Brexit Adjustment Reserve;

12. Stresses the importance of fixing the economic and social damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has hit the entire fisheries and aquaculture sector hard, and from which the sector is still recovering; calls on the Commission, therefore, to effectively support the most distressed fishing areas, such as the Western Mediterranean, which is also reeling from the impact of a 6% reduction in the 2022 fishing effort for demersal stocks;

13. Welcomes the approvals by the Commission of Member States recovery plans; stresses out the importance of Member States using these resources to ensure sustainable recovery of the fishing and aquaculture sector when implementing their recovery plans;

14. Draws attention to the potential of sustainable European aquaculture, including in terms of food security and health benefits in the context of the Ukraine crisis; calls on the Commission to foster the sustainable growth of this sector above the actual 2% of global aquaculture production with specific, acceptable and shared targets for 2030;

15. Insists on the necessity to improve scientific and technical knowledge to ensure the most reliable research-based solutions; reiterates the importance of ensuring sufficient financial resources for the collection, management, analysis, use and exchange of data in the fisheries sector by Member States' and European scientific entities and to invest in research on selective fishing techniques;

16. Urges the Commission to publish a detailed report on the re-programming of unspent EMFF and EMFAF allocations; is alarmed by the fact that 3 513,8[37]million EUR related to the EMFF programme in the period 2014 - 2020 remains to be paid or reimbursed as of 31 December 2021 and that 14% of the funds still need to be allocated; invites the Members States and the Commission to urgently adopt the operational programmes under the EMFAF and to increase the paying out and flexibility of allocating these unspent funds;

17. Stresses that, with a view to making more effective use of the EMFAF and ensuring that small-scale, coastal and artisanal fisheries have access to support, it is necessary to: (a) examine and implement measures to streamline procedures, thus reducing the red tape surrounding applications; (b) replace current funding arrangements with a system of advance payments; (c) raise the funding limits;

18. Draws attention to the international dimension of the CFP and its economic, social and environmental benefits and calls on the Commission to devote adequate resources to Oceans governance; stresses the importance of international cooperation, transparency, traceability and level playing field to achieve EU's commitments;

19. Supports the EU's zero tolerance of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, which aims in particular to eliminate illegally caught seafood from EU supply chains and to ensure a level playing field for European fishermen; notes, however, that scant human and financial resources are given over to implementing this zero-tolerance policy, even though most seafood consumed in the EU is imported and there are increasing concerns about IUU fishing in third countries, including those with Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements; calls therefore for adequate and increased funding for the EU's policy to combat IUU fishing worldwide, using all possible policy actions to that end, such as the strengthening of controls on goods at the EU's borders or development aid;

20. Stresses the importance of allocating more resources for mitigating climate change, its negative impacts, and preventing further biodiversity loss. Climate change has severe impacts on oceans and fisheries, hence the need for adequate funding for the protection and restoration of marine ecosystems that act as carbon sinks and biodiversity hotspots;

21. Stresses the importance of control in securing the objectives of the CFP;s in this regard, the increase in funding (0,8%) allocated to the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) is not even enough to match the inflation rate of the EU; hence considers that the increase is largely insufficient to ensure a level playing field and a credible combat against IUU fishing; underlines EFCA's role ensuring a level playing field for the EU fleet, especially in discouraging and repressing IUU fishing in European waters but also at a global level, requires a more ambitious funding in the long term, if the objectives of the CFP are to be achieved;

22. Stresses that generational renewal is one of the European fishing sector's priorities; invites Member States to draw on the EMFAF to finance the introduction of programmes specifically designed to help young people to take up careers in fisheries, to make the sector more diverse and to encourage people from under-represented groups, particularly women, to join the sector; Calls, in this regard in addition, on the Commission to support the mobilisation of budgetary resources to improve the working conditions on board fishing vessels, and for the implementation of projects to support the creation of an association of young European fishers;

23. Reiterates the need to provide substantial support for disadvantaged coastal areas and European outermost regions, on the basis of Article 349 TFEU, including for the renewal of the artisanal and traditional fishing vessels registered and operating in these regions, in order to ensure their survival and sustainable development and in compliance with the principles of differential treatment for small islands and territories mentioned in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14;

24. Points out that the future of fishing, especially small-scale, coastal and artisanal fishing, depends on specific, effective and immediate measures with adequate funding, namely through the EMFAF;

25. Regrets, therefore, the reduction in funding, particularly payment appropriations, earmarked for the EMFAF in both in the Commission proposal and in the Council's position;

26. Considers that, given the challenges facing the sector, EMFAF budget appropriations are inadequate and must be increased.

INFORMATION ON ADOPTION IN COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL IN COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

Key to symbols:

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- : against

0 : abstention

OPINION OF THE COMMITTEE ON CULTURE AND EDUCATION(6.10.2022)

for the Committee on Budgets

on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2023 - all sections

(2022/0212(BUD))

Rapporteur for opinion: Morten Løkkegaard

SUGGESTIONS

The Committee on Culture and Education calls on the Committee on Budgets, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions into its motion for a resolution:

1. Highlights the need to continue the support for the cultural and creative sectors and industries, as well as the sports sector,that have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and its long-lasting negative effects, as well as the need to urgently address the new priorities linked to the war in Ukraine, in particular by increasing support to Ukrainian learners, teachers, artists, cultural workers, journalists and NGOs;

2. Believes, in this regard, that the Union budget should provide for a significant increase of EUR 200 million compared to the draft budget in allocations for the Erasmus+ Programme in the financial year 2023 by so that the education and training systems can cope with the new challenges and that learners, teachers, schools, youth organisations and NGOs can benefit from adequate resources; believes, furthermore, that a budgetary increase also ensures the continued greening and digitalisation of the Erasmus+ Programme as well as further inclusion measures to allow the participation of more disadvantaged young Europeans and more learners; furthermore, highlights the importance of ensuring appropriate support to enable the reinforcement of the European Universities Initiative, as well as the proper functioning of the existing alliances and to take stock of the actions of Erasmus+ Teacher Academies in view of new calls for proposals in 2023;

3. Calls upon the Commission to ensure full implementation of the Union programmes in the fields of culture and education in 2023; reiterates the need to make sure that all programmes are accessible across Europe, in particular by small organisations, vulnerable people and people from remote, rural and isolated areas; therefore, calls on the Commission and Member States to seek for a fair and equitable digitalisation of the different Union programmes and projects allowing everyone to participate;

4. Furthermore, underlines the importance of financial support for inclusive events that promote the visibility of people with disabilities in culture and sports, such as the Special Olympics World Games in 2023;

5. Recalls the co-legislators' commitments to ensure a long-lasting legacy of the 2022 European Year of Youth also by identifying adequate financing from relevant Union programmes for follow-up activities in the subsequent years. Highlights the need for the Commission to timely report to the Parliament on the results of the 2022 European Year of Youth;

6. Furthermore, and in line with the recommendations of the Conference on the Future of Europe, calls for the promotion of youth mainstreaming across all related Union policies and for the enhancement of citizenship education through the reinforcement of Union programmes and projects supporting education about the Union;

7. Notes that the cultural and creative sectors and industries and the sports sector continue to suffer from the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic; points out that, in addition to the impact of the pandemic, those sectors are also facing new challenges such as rising inflation, rising energy costs and the associated loss of purchasing power among Union citizens; points out, furthermore, that the war in Ukraine is worsening the situation; therefore, calls for a bolstering of the Creative Europe Programme in order to provide targeted support for the creative sectors and industries, including the performing arts; consequently, insists on the need to increase the allocations for the Creative Europe Programme by EUR 40 million compared to the draft budget;

8. Stresses the need for additional funding for the 'European Capitals of Culture' Union action, as it represents a great added value for European society, and as the COVID-19 pandemic and rising inflation have significantly worsened the framework conditions for the implementation of that action;

9. Notes the persistent issue of disinformation, manipulation of public opinion and foreign information interference, which are undermining the functioning of democratic processes; therefore, emphasises the urgent need for more funding to support independent journalism and freedom of expression while fighting disinformation; insists, in this regard, that the budget for the Cross-Sectoral and Media Strands under the Creative Europe Programme should be reinforced with EUR 10 million and EUR 12 million respectively compared to the draft budget, and reiterates the need to explore the possibility of establishing a permanent Union editorial and news media fund to support independent editorial coverage, safeguard the independence of European journalists and journalism, and guarantee the freedom of the press;

10. In this context, considers that, beyond the reinforcement proposed to the Creative Europe Programme and with respect to the challenges posed by disinformation in external Union policy, there is a need to support those involved in the activities of fact-checking; calls therefore for an additional allocation of EUR 1 million for the budget line on 'Information policy and strategic communication for external action';

11. Believes that reinforcement is needed for the European Solidarity Corps Programme to support young people and organisations engaged in solidarity actions, also taking into account the consequences of the war in Ukraine;

12. Recalls the importance of citizens' engagement activities, including town-twinning and remembrance, for peacekeeping in Europe; in that respect, considers that there is a need to allocate an additional EUR 2 million compared to the draft budget for the 'Citizens' engagement and participation' strand of the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme;

13. Reiterates the importance of funding multimedia actions, which aim to provide independent information about European topics, thus reinforcing Europe's democratic principles; in this regard, emphasises the need for long-term stability for networks supported by the 'Multimedia actions' budget line to guarantee consistent high-quality journalism; therefore, highlights the need for open calls for proposals which guarantee long-term and sufficient funding for independent journalistic coverage of European topics;

14. Additionally, underlines the need for enhanced transparency and for a comprehensive review of Union spending on multimedia actions in order to ensure stability, predictability and the scrutiny of those actions;

15. Insists that the New European Bauhaus initiative launched in 2021 needs proper and sufficient funding to be able and to deliver its objectives beyond 2022, and recalls that it should not be funded at the expense of the Creative Europe Programme; in that regard, recalls the Parliament position for an indispensable and swift mid-term revision of the multiannual financial framework for the years 2021 to 2027 to respond to the long-term consequences of the current crisis, to additionally look for avenues to establish a long-term dedicated funding for the New European Bauhaus initiative and for the European Education Area;

16. Moreover, calls for an additional amount of EUR 50 million from the Horizon Europe Programme to be dedicated to the New European Bauhaus Initiative in order to finance concrete projects; Additionally, calls for a coordination and support action to start in 2023 in order to prepare the launch of a Horizon Europe Mission on the New European Bauhaus in 2025;

17. Opposes the Council's position to propose an overall cut of EUR 16 million to the three budget lines under the remit of the Directorate-General for Communication, and in particular a cut of EUR 8 million to the executive and corporate services line to communication activities; therefore, proposes to restore the level of commitments and payment appropriations for the financial year 2023 in view of ensuring the continuity of key communication activities, including media monitoring, continued development of the Europa website, the fight against disinformation and misinformation, citizens engagement initiatives and local outreach;

18. Calls on the Commission and Members States to actively involve social partners and the civil society in the development and implementation of Union programmes;

19. Underlines the importance of pilot projects and preparatory actions in the framework of the Union budget and recalls the need to ensure financing to the high quality and balanced proposals submitted by the Committee on Culture and Education.

INFORMATION ON ADOPTION IN COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL IN COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

Key to symbols:

+ : in favour

- : against

0 : abstention

OPINION OF THE COMMITTEE ON CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS(7.9.2022)

for the Committee on Budgets

on the General budget of the European Union for the financial year 2023 - all sections

(2022/0212(BUD))

Rapporteur for opinion: Antonio Tajani

SUGGESTIONS

The Committee on Constitutional Affairs calls on the Committee on Budgets, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions into its motion for a resolution:

1. Deplores the decrease by 21 % in commitment appropriations and 17 % in payment appropriations of the 2023 Draft Budget as compared to the 2022 budget for the 'Citizens engagement and participation in the democratic life of the Union'; disagrees with further cuts by 3 % in commitment appropriations proposed by the Council; believes that adequate resources need to be provided for the CERV Programme, the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) as well as other participatory instruments such as citizens´ fora, and insists on the importance of an adequate funding to be introduced in order to guarantee a proper follow up to the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFE) conclusions; proposes an increase by 26 % in commitment and 20 % in payment appropriations for this budgetary line;

2. Regards as insufficient the 1 % increase in the commitment appropriations for 'Commission Representations' compared to the 2022 budget; is dismayed with the Council's position to reduce by 14 % and by 8 % respectively the commitment and payment appropriations for this line; proposes a 5 % increase of the commitment appropriations as compared to the 2023 Draft Budget and to restore the level of payment appropriations of the 2023 Draft Budget; proposes an increase of funds for the European Parliament Liaison Offices as such representations play an important role in informing citizens about the Union's activities after the conclusion of the CoFE; deems this increase necessary for the purpose of encouraging proactive dialogues on EU matters with citizens in the Member States, implementing the proposals included in the conclusions of the CoFE, as well as developing communication activities to fight disinformation and foreign interferences;

3. Regards as insufficient the 1,5 % increase in commitment appropriations for 'Communication services for citizens' compared to the 2022 budget; opposes the Council's position to reduce the funding of commitment and payment appropriations by 12 % and by 6 % respectively; therefore proposes a 5 % increase of the commitment appropriations as compared to the 2023 Draft Budget and to restore the level of payment appropriations of the 2023 Draft Budget in view of funding awareness raising and information activities on the ECI as well as implementation of the proposals included in the conclusions of the CoFE; underlines the importance of involving smaller NGOs, local authorities and stakeholders in communication strategies and actions; calls for making content available in all EU languages and provide native language content to Europeans living in other EU countries;

4. Highlights the need to increase the resources and the level of staffing of the Authority for European Political Parties and European Political Foundations in view of the significant enlargement of its tasks as provided for in the Commission proposal for a recast of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014;

5. Underlines the need for more flexibility in EU budgeting, in coordination with the European Parliament, in order to ensure the adaptation of the MFF to any new challenges important for EU citizens;

6. Calls upon the Commission and the Council, in the context of an increasing number of transfers and adjustments to the EU budget, to respect the rights of the European Parliament when it comes to its budgetary role and asks for a transparent, open and predictable process with regards to those measures;

7. Urges the Commission to show more flexibility to the adaptation and changes brought by member states to the recovery and resilience plans and requests a special emergency and rapid procedure for any changes generated by the current context and challenges; calls upon the Commission to initiate such a policy change in 30 days after the EU budget approval allowing countries to improve their plans by the end of the contracting period; invites the Commission and the Council to evaluate the possibility to extend by one year the implementation of the RRF;

8. Proposes to increase funds to make possible a deeper involvement of the youth concerning the Union's democratic values and policies in a context still marked by the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine; suggests, to this end, the implementation of pilots projects by the Commission on European Citizen Education actions, European Festivals of Culture and ideas around the 9th of May as well as Youth Contests; urges the Commission and the Council to integrate in the EU budget 2023 additional financial resources allowing the implementation of the results and recommendations resulting from the European Year for Youth;

9. Urges the Committee on Budgets to incorporate the above-mentioned suggestions for budget increases into its motion for a resolution, as they serve the purpose of delivering concrete results and quality communication to citizens.

INFORMATION ON ADOPTION IN COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL IN COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

Key to symbols:

+ : in favour

- : against

0 : abstention

NOTE: Guy Verhofstadt (Renew) did not have his voting card but declared that he wanted to vote in favour in the final vote (this vote does not count in the final result)

OPINION OF THE COMMITTEE ON WOMEN'S RIGHTS AND GENDER EQUALITY(8.9.2022)

for the Committee on Budgets

on General budget of the European Union for the financial year 2023 - all sections

(2022/0000(BUD))

Rapporteur for opinion: Monika Vana

SUGGESTIONS

The Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality calls on the Committee on Budgets, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions into its motion for a resolution:

A. whereas gender equality is a core value of the Union enshrined in Article 2 TEU; whereas Article 8 TFEU states that in all its activities the Union shall aim to eliminate inequalities, establishing the principle of gender mainstreaming;

B. whereas the EU Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025 presented policy objectives and actions with a view to achieving significant progress towards a gender-equal Europe by 2025;

C. whereas Parliament has repeatedly urged the Commission to promote and implement the use of gender mainstreaming in its actions, gender budgeting, and gender impact assessments in all Union policy areas; whereas budgets are never gender-neutral and therefore need to be established with the clear objective of anti-discrimination and the goal of reaching everyone and their specific needs; whereas Parliament strongly requested that gender mainstreaming and gender budgeting be implemented throughout the budgetary procedure;

D. whereas the European Court of Auditors' special report 10/2021[38]confirmed that the Union's budget cycle does not yet adequately take gender equality into account and that the Commission has not yet implemented its commitment to include gender mainstreaming in the Union budget;

E. whereas Parliament has repeatedly called for sufficient funding for the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), for the Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme, and for the subsequent Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) Programme[39], and for sufficient funding and prioritising of its Daphne strand, in order to enforce non-discrimination and gender equality;

F. whereas Russia's unjustified war against Ukraine and the resulting humanitarian and energy crises are causing further increases in poverty, especially among women; whereas the Union budget should be equipped to react to growing insecurities; whereas specific measures and priorities should be considered to address the needs of women and girls, both as refugees as well as persons impacted by the consequences of the crisis;

G. whereas the COVID-19 crisis is having a disproportionate impact on women and girls as well as exacerbating existing inequalities resulting in an increased risk of gender-based violence (GBV), especially during lockdowns, and higher rates of exit from the labour market linked to a higher burden of care tasks; whereas women constitute the majority of those employed in sectors affected by the crisis;

H. whereas women remain under-represented in leadership and decision-making positions, while being overrepresented in low-paid sectors such as care and service work, as well as in informal economy and in sectors with more precarious conditions; whereas it is vital to ensure that women have the right to jobs with guaranteed rights and the right to motherhood without being penalised for it; whereas examples of discrimination include pressure from employers on women at job interviews, along with growing economic and work-related pressure on female employees not to take maternity leave; stresses that, even taking into account the balance of personal, family and professional life, the Union budget should include an increase in investment in public services including high-quality health systems and a public social security system, ensuring its universality;

I. whereas there is a gender imbalance in the digital economy and the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) sectors in terms of education, training and employment; whereas resources supporting empowerment of all minority genders through digital inclusion could lead to advancing gender equality in the digital age;

1. Underlines that a gender perspective should be fully and adequately integrated at all levels of the budgetary process, particularly in the light of the gendered impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the increasing backlash against women's rights and gender equality in several Member States; calls for gender budgeting and the inclusion of gender-related objectives in all Union programmes and the identification of relevant budget lines, the effective monitoring of the Union budget's contribution to gender equality and a gender-sensitive review of programmes with spending adjusted according to the conclusions;

2. Welcomes in this context the Commission's ongoing commitment to developing a methodology to measure gender-relevant expenditure and its ongoing assessment of gender-related data collection; expects Parliament to be consulted throughout the assessment process; expects the Commission to fully implement its commitments and to report specifically on this to the budgetary authority;

3. Stresses that with CERV being the only programme with gender-related spending targets, including on preventing and combating GBV, it is imperative to allocate sufficient financing, thus increase its budget as deemed appropriate to work towards combating inequalities that have been exacerbated by various crises including the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and the backlash against women's rights, specifically Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR), in several Member States, and in order to finally achieve substantial progress;

4. Stresses the need for adequate funding to promote the key objectives of the EU Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025, among others vis à vis ending GBV, challenging gender stereotypes, closing gender gaps in the labour market, and achieving equal participation across different sectors of the economy;

5. Strongly reiterates its demand to increase resources to combat GBV as well as its demand for adequately increased funding for gender equality and gender mainstreaming and the relevant organisations under the Daphne and Values strands, especially with regard to the measurable increase in cases of violence against women since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic; stresses the need to increase public, financial and human resources in order to support groups at risk of poverty and to tackle situations posing a risk to children and young people, the elderly, people with disabilities and the homeless;

6. Calls in this context to split the budget line "Equality and rights" with the aim of ensuring transparency by dedicating a specific budget line to measures exclusively relating to gender equality; and to earmark funding for projects which contribute to implementing specific objectives to promote gender equality and gender mainstreaming;

7. Recommends, in particular, increasing funding to promote the protection of maternity, paternity and early childhood through the appropriate programmes; calls, to that end, for maternal and child health to be given special importance in the Union's 2023 budget; further recommends that funds be guaranteed for the defence, promotion and support of breastfeeding, thereby contributing to efforts to achieve the World Health Organization's target of having 50 % of babies worldwide exclusively breastfed for the first six months of their lives by 2025, which would require, among other measures, ensuring maternity and paternity leave is long enough and sufficiently well remunerated;

8. Calls strongly for the rejection of establishing precarious jobs; calls on the Commission and the Member States to promote collective agreements, wage appreciation, the promotion of open-ended contracts and the regulation of working hours; urges Parliament and the other Union institutions to tackle precarity by promoting collective agreements and work with rights and rejecting subcontracting, ensuring equal pay for equal work;

9. Stresses that SRHR are fundamental rights and a precondition of gender equality; reiterates the need to reinforce budgetary allocations under the EU4health programme that support actions ensuring the gender aspect of health, including Sexual and Reproductive Health, an integral part of health care that must be placed at the heart of health policy to ensure universal access, as well as quality of services, especially considering the backlash against women's rights and access to safe and legal abortion in several Member States, as well as the types of care and medicine that are essential to voluntary family planning and maternal and newborn health, and for research and treatment of gender-specific conditions such as fibroids, premenstrual syndrome and endometriosis with an intersectional perspective, in particular regarding diagnosis and treatment of black and minority ethnic women;

10. Stresses the need for the Union budget to play a more active role in efforts to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals; calls, therefore, for the budget to be used to support measures and projects intended to eradicate female and child poverty, increase and improve integration into the labour market, eliminate wage and labour inequalities between men and women, improve access to and the provision of health care, and combat violence against women, children and young people;

11. Stresses the crucial work of EIGE in raising awareness of the extent and causes of gender inequality in the Union, which has been reflected in an increase of tasks allocated to it, and is particularly important in the light of ongoing crises; fears that a further downscaling of EIGE's activities endangers the political priorities of the Union on gender equality; therefore requests the allocation for 8 Contract Agents to enable EIGE to effectively fulfil its mandate as a fundamental agency in developing, analysing, evaluating and disseminating methodological tools to support the integration of gender equality into all Union policies and the resulting national policies;

12. Regrets the gender gap in digital skills, as well as in STEM careers, in industrial leadership, and in entrepreneurship; calls on the Commission to strengthen the instruments available and to develop synergies; calls for the Union budget to encourage women's participation in the digital economy and STEM sectors and careers through Union programmes, for example in research, innovation and technology;

13. Stresses the importance of using European Structural and Investment Funds such as the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) to promote gender equality, women's employment and access to the labour market, lifelong learning and training, childcare and long-term care facilities, particularly in the light of the Union's 14% average gender pay gap, and to tackle systemic challenges to labour market participation, including the gender care gap, stereotypes, norms, roles and traditions;

14. Stresses that the general objective of the EaSI strand of the ESF+ is to promote employment, equal access to the labour market, education and training, gender equality and social inclusion by providing financial support for the Union's objectives, thus, that support should also address the needs of Ukrainian women and children refugees, as far as the aid to the regions hosting them is concerned; calls therefore on the Commission and the Council to increase budget allocations under the ESF+, "Equality and rights" and Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) programmes to civil society organisations, shelters and service providers that support women in Ukraine as well as civil society organisations in the EU supporting refugees from Ukraine, including survivors of sexual violence as a weapon of war; furthermore, calls for additional allocations under the AMIF to support Member States' efforts against trafficking in human beings and protect women and children from this form of organised crime;

15. Calls on the Commission and the Council to increase budget allocations to civil society organisations that promote women's rights, especially those working on promotion of SRHR, such as the global initiative SheDecides, and LGBTI+ rights in the context of the backlash against women's rights, especially in terms of SRHR, and to ensure that Union funds cannot be accessed by anti-gender and anti-choice organisations.

INFORMATION ON ADOPTION IN COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL IN COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

Key to symbols:

+ : in favour

- : against

0 : abstention

JOINT STATEMENT ADOPTED AT THE BUDGETARY TRILOGUE OF 28 MARCH 2022

Dates for the budgetary procedure and modalities for the
functioning of the Conciliation Committee in 2022

A. In accordance with Part A of the annex to the interinstitutional agreement between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management, as well as on new own resources, including a roadmap towards the introduction of new own resources, the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission agree on the following key dates for the 2023 budgetary procedure:

1. The Commission will endeavour to present the Statement of Estimates 2023 by early June;

2. A trilogue will be called on 14 July (in the morning), after the adoption of the Council's position;

3. The Council will endeavour to adopt its position and transmit it to the European Parliament at the end of week 36, in order to facilitate a timely agreement with the European Parliament;

4. The European Parliament's Committee on Budgets will endeavour to vote on amendments to the Council's position by the end of week 39 (last week of September);

5. A trilogue will be called on 12 October (in the afternoon), before the reading of the European Parliament;

6. The European Parliament's Plenary will vote on its reading in week 42 (Plenary session of 17-20 October);

7. The Conciliation period will start on 25 October. In agreement with the provisions of Article 314(4)(c) TFEU, the time available for conciliation will expire on 14 November 2022;

8. The Conciliation Committee will meet on 27 October (in the morning), hosted by the European Parliament and on 11 November hosted by the Council (and may resume as appropriate); the sessions of the Conciliation Committee will be prepared by trilogue(s). A trilogue is scheduled on 27 October (in the morning). Additional trilogue(s) may be called during the 21-day conciliation period, including on 10 November hosted by the Council.

B. The modalities for the functioning of the Conciliation Committee are set out in Part E of the annex to the above-mentioned interinstitutional agreement.

INFORMATION ON ADOPTION IN COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL IN COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

Key to symbols:

+ : in favour

- : against

0 : abstention