5.2.2016   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 45/80

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having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1176/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 November 2011 on the prevention and correction of macroeconomic imbalances (1) (part of the ‘6-pack’, and hereinafter referred to as the ‘MIP Regulation’),

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having regard to its resolution of 15 December 2011 on the Scoreboard for the surveillance of macroeconomic imbalances: envisaged initial design (2),

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having regard to the Commission Staff Working Document of 14 November 2012 entitled ‘Completing the Scoreboard for the MIP: Financial Sector Indicator’ (SWD(2012)0389),

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having regard to the report from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Central Bank, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the European Investment Bank on the Alert Mechanism Report 2013 (COM(2012)0751),

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having regard to the ‘Views of the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) on the Envisaged Scoreboard Indicators Relevant for Financial Market Stability’ of 9 December 2011,

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having regard to the letter of 19 December 2011 from the Commission to the President of the European Parliament forwarding to Parliament relevant information and documents on the adjusted scoreboard for the MIP,

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having regard to the question to the Commission on completing the scoreboard for the Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure (MIP) (O-000039/2013 — B7-0117/2013),

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having regard to Rules 115(5) and 110(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.

whereas the MIP is a policy tool introduced with the 6-pack and constitutes an important pillar of the economic governance of the euro area, aimed at preventing and correcting macroeconomic imbalances in Member States, with specific attention to those macroeconomic imbalances with potential spillover effects on other Member States;

B.

whereas the scoreboard established in line with Article 4 of the MIP Regulation consisted initially of ten indicators covering a wide range of surveillance issues under the MIP;

C.

whereas in November 2012 the Commission added an indicator, namely the growth rate of financial sector liabilities, communicating this to Parliament in its letter of 19 November 2012 and publishing relevant analysis in the Alert Mechanism Report (AMR) on 28 November 2012;

D.

whereas recital 12 of the MIP Regulation states that the Commission ‘should present suggestions for comments to the competent committees of the European Parliament and of the Council on plans to establish and adjust the indicators and thresholds’;

1.

Strongly deplores the Commission’s failure to respect the cooperative spirit of the MIP Regulation when it updated the Scoreboard for the surveillance of macroeconomic imbalances;

2.

Further strongly deplores the fact that Parliament received the relevant communication only days before the Commission published the scoreboard in November 2012;

3.

Asks the Commission to notify Parliament and the Council well in advance on whether it intends to further update the scoreboard before 2015;

4.

Notes with deep regret a lack of equal treatment of the co-legislators in this process, as the Commission reportedly consulted the relevant working group of the Council;

5.

Stresses that its resolution of 15 December 2011 on the scoreboard, in which Parliament requests an indicator for the financial sector to be added, cannot be considered to reflect a satisfactory consultation of Parliament as envisioned in recital 12 of the MIP Regulation, as that resolution was adopted the year before and was not a response to a proposal from the Commission; further points out that the detailed choice and design of the indicator implied a high degree of discretion, as evidenced by the Commission Staff Working Document of 14 November 2012;

6.

Notes the ESRB’s statement of views of 9 December 2011 containing its reservations as regards a financial indicator, in which it states that the scoreboard ‘should include short-term liabilities (the sum of liabilities maturing within one year) for the unconsolidated financial sector, net of bank deposits, as a share of total liabilities’ and that ‘this indicator should be preferred to indicators based on flow-of funds equity measures, such as leverage or gearing ratios, because since equity is estimated at market values it is very sensitive to movements of the stock market’; reminds the Commission that Article 4(5) of the MIP Regulation stipulates that ‘the work of the ESRB shall be taken into due consideration in the drafting of indicators relevant to financial market stability’;

7.

Will no longer tolerate the fact that the necessary culture change of full recognition of the role of Parliament in economic governance is still ongoing within the Commission’s services; underlines the need for the Commission to unequivocally respect Parliament’s role as co-legislator in multilateral surveillance, as provided for inter alia in Articles 121(6) and 136 TFEU, and to treat Parliament on an equal footing with the Council in all Union acts in this domain; reminds the Commission that consulting Parliament on modifications to the scoreboard is also part of best practice in terms of interinstitutional courtesy;

8.

Reminds the Commission of its obligation to be responsible to Parliament, as laid down in Article 17(8) TEU;

9.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the ECB.