Changes from plenary report to adopted text

RemovedDRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

AddedP9_TA(2020)0355

Removedon the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 as regards exceptional additional resources and implementing arrangements under the Investment for growth and jobs goal to provide assistance for fostering crisis repair in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and preparing a green, digital and resilient recovery of the economy (REACT-EU)

AddedAdditional resources in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: REACT-EU ***I

Removed(COM(2020)0451 – C90149/2020 – 2020/0101(COD))

AddedCommittee on Regional Development

AddedPE654.026

AddedEuropean Parliament legislative resolution of 16 December 2020 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 as regards exceptional additional resources and implementing arrangements under the Investment for growth and jobs goal to provide assistance for fostering crisis repair in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and preparing a green, digital and resilient recovery of the economy (REACT-EU) (COM(2020)0451 – C9-0149/2020 – 2020/0101(COD))

▸7 unchanged paragraphs

(Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2020)0451),

– having regard to Article 294(2) and Articles 177 and 322(1)(a) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C90149/2020),

– having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

– having regard to the opinion of the Court of Auditors of 13 July 2020,

– after consulting the European Economic and Social Committee,

Change 1

Removed– after consulting the Committee of the Regions,

Added– having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions of 14 October 2020,

Added– having regard to the provisional agreement approved by the committee responsible under Rule 74(4) of its Rules of Procedure and the information from the Council on approval of Parliament's position, in accordance with Article 294(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

▸6 unchanged paragraphs

– having regard to Rule 59 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the opinions of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs and the Committee on Budgets,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Regional Development (A9-0150/2020),

1. Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out;

2. Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal;

3. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

Change 2

RemovedTitle 1: amending Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 as regards exceptional additional resources and implementing arrangements under the Investment for growth and jobs goal and the European territorial cooperation goal to provide assistance for fostering crisis repair in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and preparing a green, digital and resilient recovery of the economy (REACT-EU)

AddedP9_TC1-COD(2020)0101

RemovedRecital 1: (1) Member States have been affected by a social, economic and health crisis due to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in an unprecedented manner. The crisis hampers growth in Member States, which in turn aggravates the serious liquidity shortages due to the sudden and important increase in public investments needed in their health systems and other sectors of their economies, exacerbating the situation of people at risk of poverty, deepening social cleavages and increasing unemployment rates. The closure of the internal borders also had a severe impact on economic cooperation in border areas, affecting the commuting of workers and the functioning of SMEs. In addition, there is a feasible concern that patients' access to health care services will be limited in the medium and longer term. It also needs to be considered that profound health inequalities across and within the Union exist, especially in border regions, thus deepening unmet medical needs and reducing the overall social cohesion in Member States. This has created an exceptional situation which needs to be addressed through specific, immediate and extraordinary measures that reach the real economy quickly to stimulate investment, economic growth and job creation and preservation of business fabric.

AddedPosition of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 16 December 2020 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2020/… of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 as regards additional resources and implementing arrangements to provide assistance for fostering crisis repair in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and its social consequences and for preparing a green, digital and resilient recovery of the economy (REACT-EU)

RemovedRecital 2: (2) In order to respond to the impact of the crisis, Regulations (EU) No 1303/2013 and(EU) No 1301/2013 were amended on 30 March 2020 to allow more flexibility in the implementation of the operational programmes supported by the European Regional Development Fund ('ERDF'), the European Social Fund ('ESF') and the Cohesion Fund (the 'Funds') and by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund ('EMFF'). However, as the serious negative effects on Union economies and societies worsened, both Regulations were amended again on 23 April 2020 to provide exceptional additional flexibility to enable the Member States to concentrate on the necessary response to the unprecedented crisis by enhancing the possibility to mobilise non-utilised support from the Funds and by simplifying procedural requirements linked to programme implementation and audits so that final beneficiaries can access financing that has so far been inaccessible.

Added(As an agreement was reached between Parliament and Council, Parliament's position corresponds to the final legislative act, Regulation (EU) 2020/2221.)

RemovedRecital 3: (3) In order to redress huge shocks to the economy and avoid disastrous social and economic consequences for the Union stemming from the exceptional restrictions put in place by Member States to contain the spread of COVID-19 and the risks of an asymmetric recovery stemming from the different national means available in different Member States which resulted in serious impacts on the functioning of the Internal Market, the European Council endorsed on 23 April 2020 the “Roadmap for recovery” with a strong investment component, called for the establishment of the European Recovery Fund and mandated the Commission to analyse the needs so that the resources would be targeted towards the sectors and geographical parts of the Union most affected, as stated in the conclusions of the European Council on 21 July 2020, while clarifying also the link with the Multiannual Financial Framework for 2021-2027.

RemovedRecital 4: (4) In accordance with Regulation [European Recovery Instrument] and within the limits of resources allocated therein, recovery and resilience measures under the European Investment and Structural Funds should be carried out to address the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 crisis. Moreover, additional resources for economic, social and territorial cohesion should be made available through a revision of the multiannual financial framework for 2014-2020, making it possible to flexibly address needs emerging as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.

RemovedRecital 5: (5) An additional exceptional amount of EUR 58 272 800 000 (in current prices, EUR 54 806 498 104 in 2018 prices) for budgetary commitment from the Structural Funds under the Investment for growth and jobs goal and the European territorial cooperation goal, for the years 2020, 2021 and 2022 and where justified by a Member State, also for the years 2023 and 2024, should be made available to support Member States and regions most impacted in crisis repair in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and its socio-economic consequences, and preparing a green, digital and resilient recovery of the economy, with a view to deploying resources quickly to the real economy through the existing operational programmes. Resources for 2020 stem from an increase in the resources available for economic, social and territorial cohesion in the multiannual financial framework for 2014-2020 whereas resources for 2021 and 2022, and, where applicable, for 2023 and 2024, stem from the European Union Recovery Instrument. Part of the additional resources should be allocated to technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission. For budgetary commitments under both the Investment for growth and jobs and the European territorial cooperation goals, the Commission should set out the annual breakdown of the remaining additional resources for each Member State in implementing acts, on the basis of an allocation method based on the latest available objective statistical data concerning Member States’ rela…

RemovedRecital 6: (6) Horizontal financial rules adopted by the European Parliament and the Council on the basis of Article 322 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union apply to this Regulation. These rules are laid down in the Financial Regulation and determine in particular the procedure for establishing and implementing the budget through grants, procurement, prizes,indirect implementation, and provide for checks on the responsibility of financial actors. Rules adopted on the basis of Article 322 TFEU also concern the protection of the Union's budget in case of generalised deficiencies as regards the rule of law in the Member States, as the respect for the rule of law is an essential precondition for sound financial management and effective EU funding, while the protection of final beneficiaries is crucial to foster crisis repair.

RemovedRecital 7: (7) In order to allow maximum flexibility to Member States for tailoring crisis repair actions in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and its socio-economic consequences and preparing a green, digital and resilient recovery of health systems and the economy, allocations should be established by the Commission at Member State level taking into account those regions most affected. Furthermore, the possibility for using any additional resources to support aid for the most deprived and Youth Employment Initiative should also be provided for. In addition, it is necessary to establish ceilings concerning the allocation to technical assistance at the initiative of the Member States while allowing maximum flexibility to the Member States as to its allocation within operational programmes supported by the ERDF or the ESF. The operational strength of the ESF should be maintained. Taking account of the expected quick spending of the additional resources, the commitments linked to those additional resources should only be decommitted at the closure of the operational programmes.

RemovedRecital 7 a (new): (7a) As the COVID-19 pandemic has affected regions and municipalities in Member States differently, the involvement of regional and local actors from authorities, economic and social partners and civil society is important for the preparation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of crisis repair supported by the REACT-EU. Partnership and multi-level governance in Member States should be strengthened and closely monitored by the Commission.

RemovedRecital 9: (9) In order to complement the actions already available under the scope of support of the ERDF, as extended by Regulations (EU) 2020/460 and (EU) 2020/558 of the European Parliament and of the Council5, Member States should continue to be allowed to use the additional resources primarily for investments in products and services for health services, including cross-border health services and care homes, ensuring maximum complementarity with other Union instruments, for providing support in the form of working capital or investment support to SMEs, particularly in the sectors most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and needing rapid revitalization, such as tourism and culture, in operations contributing to the transition towards a digital and green economy, as well as providing support to social economy enterprises, infrastructure providing non-discriminatory basic services to people living in rural, border, less developed, insular, mountainous, sparsely populated and outermost regions, as well as areas affected by industrial transition and depopulation, or economic support measures for those regions dependent on sectors most affected by the crisis. Stronger health cooperation, coordination and resilience should be fostered by building and developing a network of centres of excellence across the Union, specialised in developing specific treatment for the evolving health needs. Other investments with a proven high job creation potential, such as urban renewal, should also be sup…

RemovedRecital 10: (10) For the ESF, Member States should primarily use the additional resources to support the modernisation of the labour market, health and social systems, job maintenance, including in rural, border, less developed, insular, mountainous, sparsely populated and outermost regions, as well as areas affected by industrial transition and depopulation, including through short-time work schemes and support to self-employed, entrepreneurs, freelancers, artists and creative workers, job creation, in particular for people in vulnerable situations, social inclusion and poverty eradication, support to youth employment measures, inclusive education and training, including lifelong learning, online education, skills development, reskilling and upskilling, in particular for disadvantaged groups and carriers and to enhance equal and universal access to healthcare and social services of general interest, including for children, elderly, persons with disabilities, women bearing the brunt of the ensuing economic crisis, minorities and the homeless. It should be clarified that in the present exceptional circumstances support to short-time work schemes for employees and the self-employed in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic can be provided even when that support is not combined with active labour market measures, unless the latter are imposed by national law. Union support to those short-time work schemes should be limited in time. Those short-time work schemes should aim at maintaining the s…

RemovedRecital 10 a (new): (10a) As the temporary closing of borders between Member States has led to significant challenges for cross-border communities and businesses, the economies of border regions Member States should use up to 5% of the additional resources to support cross-border projects, by using existing Interreg projects or creating new ones.

RemovedRecital 11: (11) In order to ensure that Member States have sufficient financial means to swiftly implement crisis repair actions in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and its socio-economic consequences and preparing a green, digital and resilient recovery of health systems and the economy, it is necessary to provide a higher level of initial pre-financing payment or, where applicable, annual pre-financing, for the quick implementation of actions supported by the additional resources. The initial pre-financing to be paid should ensure that Member States have the means to arrange for advance payments to beneficiaries where necessary and to reimburse beneficiaries quickly following the submission of payment claims.

RemovedRecital 12 a (new): (12a) The additional resources should be used in line with the sustainable development and “Do no harm” principles, taking into account the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement. Furthermore, equality between men and women, gender mainstreaming and the integration of gender perspective should be taken into account and promoted throughout the implementation of operational programmes.

RemovedRecital 13: (13) With a view to alleviating the burden on public budgets regarding crisis repair in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and preparing a green, digital and resilient recovery of health systems and the economy, Member States should be given the exceptional possibility to request a co-financing rate of up to 100 % to be applied to the separate priority axes of operational programmes providing support from the additional resources.

RemovedRecital 14: (14) In order to enable Member States to deploy the additional resources for crisis repair quickly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and its socio-economic consequences and preparing a green, digital and resilient recovery of the health systems and economy within the current programming period, it is justified to exempt, on an exceptional basis, Member States from the need to comply with ex ante conditionalities and requirements on the performance reserve and application of the performance framework, on thematic concentration, also in relation to the thresholds established for sustainable urban development for the ERDF, and requirements on preparation of a communication strategy for the additional resources. It is nevertheless necessary that Member States carry out at least one evaluation by 31 December 2024, or by 31 December 2026 where additional resources are made available for budgetary commitment in 2023 and 2024, to assess the effectiveness, inclusiveness, efficiency and impact of the additional resources as well as how they contributed to achieving the goals of the new dedicated thematic objective. To facilitate the availability of comparable information at Union level, Member States are required to make use of the programme-specific indicators made available by the Commission. In addition,while carrying out their responsibilities linked to information, communication and visibility, Member States and managing authorities should enhance the visibility of the excep…

RemovedRecital 15: (15) With a view to allow the targeting of these additional resources to the geographic areas that were most affected, including border regions, as an exceptional measure and without prejudice to the general rules for allocating Structural Funds resources, the additional resources allocated to the ERDF and the ESF are not to be broken down per category of region. However, Member States are expected to take into account the different regional investment needs resulting from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as development levels in order to ensure a balanced focus both on less developed regions and deprived communities, in accordance with the objectives of economic, social and territorial cohesion set out in Article 173 TFEU and on the regions and cities most affected by the pandemic. Member States should also involve local and regional authorities, as well as relevant bodies representing civil society, in particular the third sector, in accordance with the partnership principle.

RemovedRecital 15 a (new): (15a) Except for those cases where derogations are provided for by this Regulation, expenditure under REACT-EU should be subject to the same obligations and safeguards as all cohesion funding. This includes respect for fundamental rights and compliance with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union as well as effective anti-fraud measures implemented with the support of existing anti-fraud agencies at Member State and Union level, such as OLAF and, where relevant, the EPPO.

RemovedRecital 19: deleted

RemovedRegulation (EU) No 1303/2013

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1, Article 91 – paragraph 1 a: 1a. In addition to the global resources referred to in paragraph 1, additional resources of EUR 4 805 843 906 in 2018 prices shall be made available for economic, social and territorial cohesion for budgetary commitment for 2020, and allocated to the ERDF and the ESF.

RemovedRegulation (EU) No 1303/2013

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2, Article 92a – subparagraph 1: Measures referred to in Article 2 of Regulation [ERI] shall be implemented under the Structural Funds with an amount of EUR 50 000 654 198 in 2018 prices of the amount referred to in Article 3(2)(a)(i) of that Regulation, subject to its Article 4(3), (4) and (8).

RemovedRegulation (EU) No 1303/2013

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2, Article 92a – subparagraph 2: These additional resources for 2021 and 2022 shall constitute external assigned revenues in accordance with Article 21(5) of the Financial Regulation. Based on the statistics and future developments related to recovery from the economic crisis provoked by COVID-19, a decision to prolong the flexibility measures under REACT-EU to the years 2023 and 2024 may be taken through a delegated act.

RemovedRegulation (EU) No 1303/2013

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2, Article 92b – title: Exceptional additional resources and implementing arrangements for the Investment for growth and jobs goal and the European territorial cooperation goal to provide assistance for fostering crisis repair in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and its social consequences and preparing a green, digital and resilient recovery of the economy (REACT-EU)

RemovedRegulation (EU) No 1303/2013

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2, Article 92b – paragraph 1: 1. At least 95% of the additional resources referred to in Articles 91(1a) and 92a (‘the additional resources’) shall be made available under the Investment for growth and jobs goal. A minimum of 3 % and up to 5 % of those resources shall be made available under the European territorial cooperation goal. In both cases, the additional resources shall provide assistance for fostering crisis repair in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and preparing a green, digital and resilient recovery of the economy (REACT-EU). The additional resources shall be used to implement technical assistance pursuant to paragraph 6 of this Article and the operations implementing the thematic objective in paragraph 9 of this Article.

RemovedRegulation (EU) No 1303/2013

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2, Article 92b – paragraph 2 – indent 1: — 2020: EUR 5 000 000 000 in current prices (EUR 4 805 843 906 in 2018 prices);

RemovedRegulation (EU) No 1303/2013

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2, Article 92b – paragraph 2 – indent 2: — 2021: EUR 42 434 400 000 in current prices (EUR 39 987 184 320 in 2018 prices);