Raül Romeva i Rueda

Sembla que els temps en què el Parlament Europeu arribava fàcilment a consensos sobre tot s’han acabat. I això no és necessàriament dolent. Vol dir que el Parlament està començant a funcionar com un Parlament de debò, on hi ha debat polític, confrontació de projectes, i, per tant, no sempre és possible l’acord. Ahir es va posar de manifest en la votació relativa al Programa d’Acció de la Comissió, i avui ha tornat a succeir a l’hora de votar una postura del Parlament sobre el Paquet Social (veure més avall). Tot plegat és important a les portes d’unes eleccions, les de juny de 2009, que hauran de determinar el color polític, les majories i les minories del proper Parlament. És evident que cada cop més votar en aquestes eleccions resulta clau per determinar la música i la lletra de les normatives comunitàries que, al cap i a la fi, s’han d’acabar aplicant després a l’Estat i a Catalunya. Per això és molt important que tant els partits com els mitjans facin cada cop més un esforç per treballar i comunicar millor els debats i els textos, legislatius o no, que s’aproven a Brussel.les, per tal de posar de manifest l’existència de diferents projectes, i, en conseqüència, per ajudar la ciutadania a escollir en el moment que toqui fer-ho, entre uns o altres. Sigui com sigui, la inhibició davant les institucions europees resulta, cada cop, més, perillosa i contraproduent. Adjunto, a tall, d’exemple, les diferents propostes de Resolució que els Grups han presentat en relació el Paquet de Mesures Socials:  B6-0376/2008 (PPE), B6-0378/2008 (UEN) , B6-0379/2008 (GUE/NGL), B6-0427/2008 (ALDE), B6-0429/2008(Verts/ALE), B6-0433/2008 (PSE). Vosaltres mateixos/es: llegiu, compareu, i trieu. (segueix..)

La conseqüència de no comptar amb una resolució compartida per diversos grups implica que a l’hora de votar tots votem la nostra i, com que cap grup té majoria abslouta, simplement no se n’aprova cap.

Per la part que em toca, però, i per facilitar-ne encara més l’accés, transcric la que hem presentat com a Verds/ALE:

 

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION to wind up the debate on the statement by the Commission and the Council pursuant to Rule 103(2) of the Rules of Procedure by Jean LAMBERT, Elisabeth SCHROEDTER, Sepp KUSSTATSCHER, Kathalijne BUITENWEG on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group on the Social Package

 

Green/EFA MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION to wind up the debate on the statement on the Social Package

–    having regard to the Social Package presented by the Commission on the 2nd July 2008 containing the Commission Communication on the ‘Renewed social agenda: Opportunities, access and solidarity in 21st century place Europe’ (COM (2008) 412) and other several non-legislative proposals;

–   having regard to the Commission proposal for a European Parliament and Council directive on the establishment of a European Works Council or a procedure in Community-scale undertakings and Community-scale groups of undertakings for the purposes of informing and consulting employees (recast) (COM(2008) 419),

–   having regard to the Commission proposal for a Council directive on implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation (COM(2008) 426),

–    having regard to the Commission proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the application of patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare (COM (2008) 414),

–   having regard to the judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Communities on the Viking Line, Laval, Rüffert and Commission v Luxembourg cases and the controversial political debate thereon,

–    having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union;

–    having regard to Rule 103(2) of its Rules of Procedure;

 

A. whereas fundamental rights are the raison d’être of Europe and social policies;

B. whereas the Social Package contains a number of initiatives which were demanded by Parliament over several years;

C. whereas the name “Social Package” promises more than it delivers as certain of the documents presented on July 2nd were announced to be published at different times and are now presented as a package of joint measures; whereas this appears as “too little too late”;

D. whereas the European Court of Justice has taken in 2008 decisions which are decisive for realising and implementing social standards in the EU;

E. whereas despite the urgent social situation with increasing unemployment and a high rate of poverty and social exclusion the Commission’s exclusive emphasis on growth and jobs remains unchanged;

 

Renewed Social Agenda

1. welcomes the intention of the Commission to move forward with a new social agenda; sees the urgent need to truly deliver on Social Europe; demands that a true European Social Agenda should consist of a coherent set of actions and instruments; demands that fundamental rights guide all decisions taken at European Union level;

 2. is concerned about both the lack of coherence and direction in the initiatives presented in the context of the Renewed Social Agenda;

3. asks Council in cooperation with Parliament to put forward a Social Pact to fight discrimination, promote equality, combat poverty, strengthen the social infrastructure, mainstream social issues and restore the balance between fundamental rights and market freedoms as a true move forward compared to the so-called Social Package;

 

Directive on cross border health care

4. remains to be convinced that the Directive on cross border health care will improve cross border health care where necessary;

5. welcomes the Commission study on “Quality in and Equality of Access to Healthcare Services”; points to the fact that cross border healthcare may find its limits there, where it endangers the free and universal access for everybody;

6. considers that action taken in the area of cross border healthcare should

take into account the viability and financial sustainability of Member

States’ social security systems and respect subsidiarity while aiming at

improved access to healthcare as well as high standards in healthcare

provision;

7. recognizes the need for greater clarity in relation to issues such as legal liability for those accessing healthcare in other Member States;

8. also recognizes the need to clarify issues relating to definitions brought in to play by the ECJ, such as the difference between hospital and non-hospital care and also to reimbursement for care provided under national healthcare schemes, as covered by Regulation 1408/71 and the new regulation 833/04;

 

European Works Council Directive

9. notes that the recast of the European Works Council Directive has finally been published and regrets the considerable delay in doing so;

10. also regrets the limited nature of the recast, which means that certain crucial issues may not be addressed;

11.maintains that efficient and effective information and consultation rights are at the core when creating a level playing field for both sides of industry at transnational level; points to shortcomings in the recast as concerns information and consultation rights and asks Council to improve the recast Directive in close cooperation with Parliament;

 

Anti Discrimination Directive

12. is delighted that the Commission has acted on Parliaments strong call for an anti-discrimination directive that covers all four grounds the Parliament requested under Article 13; requests that the Commission studies if discrimination based on sex is prohibited in the same areas as the other grounds;

13. alerts Council to the fact that this Directive is essential in implementing the words of Article 13(1); therefore requests that Council maintains the key approach of the Commission proposal, namely that all grounds of discrimination are covered and that there should be no hierarchy of discrimination introduced;

14. requests that Council limits the amount of exception clauses in the current draft.

 

Anti Discrimination Mainstreaming

15. Welcomes the initiatives under this theme but points out the need to address not only parental leave but leave for other caring purposes;

16. Stresses that changes in legislation must not serve to lessen the rights of individual employees

 

ECJ Rulings

17. Consider that the proposed Forum cannot substitute for legislative clarity concerning the rights of workers and respect for collective bargaining agreements; requests that these fundamental rights are recognized and that, where necessary, existing legislation is revised accordingly; demands in this context a revision of the Posting Directive;

 

Biennial Report on Social services of general interest

18. takes note of the Biennial Report on social services of general interest; stresses that social and health services play a vital role in our societies and help promote cohesion, employment, social inclusion and economic growth;

19. remains convinced that health and social services need a special protection within the internal market, which is not mentioned in the communication; remains convinced that a legal framework on Services of General Interest will be supportive in safeguarding fundamental rights;

20. deplores the absolute lack of any legislative initiative by the Commission as concerns the recognition and safeguarding of Social and Health Services of General Interest;

 

Efficiency of Public spending

21. is slightly surprised that the Commission Staff working document “Efficiency and Effectiveness of Social Spending”, which is part of the Social package, in its conclusions focuses solely on productivity and activation towards employment  while disregarding the Social Inclusion Dimension;

22. calls on the Commission to examine whether an unconditional basic income for all could be an effective tool for combating poverty;

 

New Skills – New Jobs

23. Welcomes the announcement of the New Skills for New jobs initiative but stresses that this must form part of a coherent skills education and training package alongside technological development to address the challenges of climate change; also points out that “old jobs” will also need new skills to address this challenge

 

European Globalisation Adjustment Fund

24. is gravely disappointed at the outcome of the evaluation of the operation of

the Globalisation Adjustment Fund, which has shown that

a) the Fund has not succeeded in reaching  out to small- and medium-sized enterprises and their workers
b) the Globalisation Adjustment Fund is not being used to full extent and therefore does not reach out to citizens as much as intended
c) the Globalisation Adjustment Fund has  only been used in a very limited amount of  sectors such as the automotive sector
d) the Fund’s criteria do not sufficiently permit to  evaluate  whether those applying for the fund are truly victim of globalisation or lack innovation and adaptation capacity;

considers that if progress has not been made in these areas at the time of

the next evaluation, serious consideration should be given to disbanding the

Fund and bringing the monies into the Social and Cohesion Funds.

 

Roma

25. welcomes the statement by the Commission concerning the need for concerted and concentrated action by Member States, and the need to fulfill the intentions of the Anti-Discrimination Directive; assures the Commission of Parliament’s support for strong action by the Commission in this regard;

26. trusts that the Commission will also proceed the Action Plan on the Rights of the Child and the proposed Communication on education to ensure that the routine racist segregation of Roma children from mainstream education comes to an end

 

The international scene

27. Welcomes the continuing commitment of the Commission to the implementation of ILO standards but believes that the current voluntary approach to Corporate Responsibility is inadequate;

 

28. would welcome if the Commission would deliver in all its Communication what it claims in the renewed social agenda, namely “a strong commitment to harmonious, cohesive and inclusive societies respecting fundamental rights in healthy social market economies”;

 

29. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Governments and Parliaments of the Member States and the social partners.

 

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