26.8.2010   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

CE 230/1

A.

whereas the process of economic recovery remains incomplete; whereas tackling rising unemployment remains a matter of the utmost importance and urgency; whereas, in particular, unemployment in the European Union at 9,5 % was its highest for ten years in July 2009 and whereas it is expected to rise further,

B.

whereas the main challenge to be met in ensuring a return to economic growth is to restore private demand; whereas decisive progress on reforms is essential to achieving strong, balanced and sustainable economic growth,

C.

whereas the present economic difficulties should be used as an opportunity to promote the Lisbon-Göteborg goals, to reiterate the commitment to fight unemployment and climate change, to reduce energy consumption, and to create an EU strategy which makes the transition from urgent crisis management to long-term sustainable economic recovery,

D.

whereas major failures of regulation and supervision, reckless and irresponsible risk-taking by some financial institutions, and an over-supply of liquidity due to lax monetary policy in some parts of the world have contributed significantly to the current crisis,

E.

whereas improved international coordination is essential to the economy, strong multilateral cooperation is needed to avoid any protectionist tendencies, and political inaction may tempt financial institutions to go back to ‘business as usual’,

F.

whereas the G-20 leaders have a collective responsibility to mitigate the social impact of the crisis, especially in developing countries, which have been hard hit by indirect effects of the crisis,

G.

whereas offshore jurisdictions have undermined financial regulation and constitutes an obstacle to the achievement of the MDGs,

1.

Welcomes the agreements reached at the G-20 Summit, including the commitment to avoid any premature withdrawal of stimulus; notes, however, with concern the rapid increases in public debt and budget deficits; stresses the importance of establishing sound public finances and of ensuring long-term fiscal sustainability in order to avoid imposing too heavy a burden on future generations; urges work to start on effective exit strategies immediately, in order to implement them as soon as the recovery permits;

2.

Considers that new indicators and accounting frameworks for sustainable development that go beyond GDP are needed in order to measure well-being and the environmental impact of human activities and, therefore, as guidelines for the orientation and evaluation of global recovery;

3.

Stresses that the immediate priorities must be to secure the strong and sustainable growth of the real economy, to ensure that the capital markets and lending function properly, to sustain and promote employment, and to protect people from the adverse impact of the crisis, paying particular attention to the poorest and most vulnerable;

4.

Welcomes the fact that the G-20 Summit focused on global imbalances, which are at the root of the financial crisis; points out that if financial crises are to be prevented in the future, the underlying causes have to be addressed (including excessive trade deficits or surpluses), which have implications far beyond the realm of banking and financial regulation and institutional governance; considers that an effective multilateral response to the crisis must involve addressing the causes of exchange-rate imbalances and commodity price volatility within multilateral frameworks;

5.

Regrets that the G-20 leaders did not assess the major failures of regulation and supervision which caused the financial crisis, so as to avoid a repetition of the same regulatory and supervisory mistakes and hence a similar crisis; regrets that the G-20 leaders made no progress with regard to financing the global fight against climate change;

6.

Welcomes the reaffirmed commitment to meeting the MDGs and to achieving the official development assistance (ODA) pledges, including aid for trade, debt relief and the Gleneagles commitments;

7.

Welcomes the G-20 leaders' agreement to work towards an international framework for financial transaction taxation and calls for speedy progress to ensure that the financial sector contributes fairly towards economic recovery and development since the costs of the crisis have, to date, been borne by taxpayers, other citizens, and public services;

8.

Welcomes the G-20 leaders' decision to put decent jobs at the heart of recovery and reform, and particularly welcomes the role agreed for the ILO;

9.

Welcomes the G-20 leaders' commitment to tackling the employment crisis at international level and to strengthening support for the most vulnerable, as they are hit hardest by the crisis and in the greatest need of common action; welcomes, in this respect, the establishment of the Global Impact Vulnerability Alert System;

10.

Demands that the commitment of the international community be translated into concrete action and that it be implemented in particular by supporting a strong ‘ecological jobs’ agenda;

11.

Agrees on the importance of building an employment-oriented framework for future economic growth and of making the promotion of decent work central to the recovery plans;

12.

Welcomes the ILO's Global Jobs Pact and calls for its urgent implementation; in particular, calls for the creation of an anti-cyclical jobs fund at international level and ambitious fiscal stimulus packages which support job creation and retention with efficient employment services and strong social policies to support vulnerable groups and ensure the purchasing power of minimum wages;

13.

Insists that the ratification and implementation of ILO Conventions are crucial in this respect and demands that they be incorporated into WTO trade agreements; calls also for the further strengthening of cooperation among the key international organisations;

14.

Supports the initiatives relating to new types of financial services such as microfinance, aimed at improving access to financial services for the poorest;

15.

Insists on the importance of supporting social dialogue at all levels to avoid wage deflation and ensure that wage growth is in line with productivity growth;

16.

Welcomes the call on the G-20 Finance Ministers and governors of central banks to reach agreement on an international framework of reform in the following critical areas of the financial sector:

17.

Approves the willingness to transform the system of global financial regulation and agrees that substantial progress has been made but believes that many of the changes agreed have not yet been fully implemented and that much more remains to be done;

18.

Notes the G-20 leaders' pledge of complete supervision of all systemically important institutions and financial instruments; believes that a more centralised approach to financial market supervision is needed to prevent further crises and takes the view that the European Union needs to work towards a stronger financial supervisory architecture with the objective of a single financial supervisory authority;

19.

Takes the view that international coordination must lead to the progressive upgrading of prudential rules globally to avoid regulatory arbitrage; underlines that progress made within the broader context of the G-20 consists of a ‘minimum harmonisation’ approach, which must not prevent the European Union from applying higher standards; welcomes in this context the fact that the European Union is more ambitious with regard to the scope and requirements of regulation and supervision, as demonstrated by legislation recently adopted or under discussion;

20.

Welcomes the reaffirmation of the commitment to financial institutions with stricter rules on risk-taking, governance that aligns compensation with long-term performance, and overall greater transparency; warmly welcomes the commitment to adopt the Basel II framework by 2011 and to introduce a leverage ratio harmonised at international level; considers that those broad principles and objectives should be observed by all market players wherever the protection of investors, taxpayers or consumers is at stake;

21.

Calls on the Commission to transpose quickly the commitments entered into at the G-20 Summit with regard to bonuses into binding EC law; calls on the G-20 leaders to give more teeth to their proposals in terms of building capital and reforming compensation practices and to ensure a consistent approach by supervisors worldwide when it comes to sanctions;

22.

Takes the view that the principles of cross-border cooperation on crisis management need to be implemented urgently; calls on the Financial Stability Board to consult Parliament before approving the proposals that are to be adopted by the end of October 2010 for systemically important financial institutions;

23.

Recognises that achievements in fighting non-cooperative jurisdictions (tax havens) have been substantial, but are not yet sufficient; encourages the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information to improve tax transparency and the exchange of information so that countries can fully enforce their tax law to protect their tax base; supports the G-20 in its use of measures to counter tax havens from March 2010 in cases of non-cooperation;

24.

Welcomes the progress concerning bank secrecy and, in particular, the expansion of the OECD Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information; notes, however, that several jurisdictions that have promised to implement standards have not yet delivered; calls for an effective system to prevent, detect and pursue tax evaders; highlights the importance of creating a standardised system of reporting;

25.

Regrets that the G-20 leaders did not address the issue of moral hazard and that the link between prudential standards for systemic institutions and the costs of a failure of those institutions has been postponed until October 2010; calls for proposals to tackle restructuring and for a review of financial sector business models in order to tackle the ‘too big to fail’ issue;

26.

Welcomes the G-20 leaders' plan to reform the IMF and the World Bank and calls for those reforms to start as soon as possible; calls for a far-reaching reform of global economic and financial governance; supports the improvement of the IMF and World Bank as a core element of the effort to improve the credibility, legitimacy and effectiveness of those institutions; calls for the representation of developing countries in international financial institutions to be improved; welcomes the commitment to a shift in quota share to countries with dynamic emerging market and developing countries; recalls the importance of avoiding pro-cyclical policies in order to find the path to recovery;

27.

Calls for the creation of a mechanism to transfer some of the IMF member states' allotted new allocations of IMF Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) to Low Income Countries, which could double the medium-term concessional lending capacity of the IMF;

28.

Welcomes the G-20 leaders' commitments to an open global economy; considers that the revival of world trade is essential to restoring global growth; in this respect reiterates its stance against any form of protectionism and continues to press for progress in ensuring market access which does not disadvantage developing countries, by eliminating indiscriminate tariff and non-tariff barriers, as well as respect for rules for free and fair trade; remains determined to seek a global, ambitious and balanced conclusion to the Doha Development Round, consistent with its mandate, and calls upon leaders not to forget the ultimate development goal of this round;

29.

Welcomes the G-20 leaders' acknowledgement of the importance of a more sustainable global economy; emphasises that a binding agreement on climate change at the forthcoming United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change conference in Copenhagen (UNFCCC conference) is critical; stresses, however, that the G-20 leaders should recognise the broad nature of global sustainability challenges; calls for G-20 Finance Ministers to mobilise resources to support near-term climate action in developing countries as a key component of the collective response to the global economic crisis;

30.

Stresses the fact that all the commitments entered into by the G-20 leaders must be respected in full, put in place rapidly and fleshed out, at national and international level, in order to rebuild confidence and maximise economic recovery;

31.

Considers that the EU representation at the G-20 meetings should be the object of an in-depth discussion between the three major EU institutions and the Member States; is convinced that the European Union has to agree on a common position in international forums, particularly as regards G-20 meetings, and insists that there has to be a more coherent representation of the European Union in international negotiations;

32.

Highlights the importance of an agreement on funds to help poorer countries adapt to climate change at the UNFCCC conference and of the provision of strong and predictable financing mechanisms in addition to ODA; regrets that this issue was postponed to the UNFCCC conference, and reiterates that the European Union should contribute its fair share to financing for mitigation and adaptation, corresponding to scientific research findings on the severity of climate change and the scale of its costs;

33.

Draws attention to the persistent food crisis and welcomes the decision to endorse a World Bank food initiative; calls on donor countries to ensure transparency and accountability regarding food aid distribution;

34.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the European Central Bank, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the governments and parliaments of the G-20 States and the International Monetary Fund.

26.8.2010   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

CE 230/7

1.

Stresses that developing countries did not cause the global financial and economic crisis, but are disproportionally affected by it, facing dramatically decelerating growth and employment, negative impacts on the balance of trade and balance of payments, a sharp reduction of net private capital inflows and foreign direct investment, reduced access to credit and trade financing, declining remittances, large and volatile movements in exchange rates, collapsing reserves, increased volatility and falling prices for primary commodities, as well as reduced revenues from tourism;

2.

Endorses the view of Ban Ki–moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, that the global financial crisis has given rise to a development emergency in that it is undermining, and in some cases nullifying, hard-won progress on poverty, hunger and mother and child mortality, as well as on primary education, gender equality and access to clean water and proper hygiene, thus jeopardising the achievement of the MDGs, in particular those relating to health;

3.

Notes with great concern that this crisis, which follows so closely on the heels of the food and fuel price crises, is already exacting major human costs and has devastating implications for the vulnerable in the poorest countries, with an expected increase of 23 million in the unemployment rate, up to 90 million more extreme poor in 2009 alone, life-saving drug treatment for up to 1,7 million HIV sufferers under threat, and between 200 000 and 400 000 more infant deaths per year on average between 2009 and 2015, which is the MDG target year in developing countries;

4.

Stresses that many developing countries are finding that all their sources of development financing have been affected by the crisis, and will be unable to safeguard their hard-won economic gains without extensive external support;

5.

Calls on the EU to take action to eradicate abuses of tax havens, tax evasion and illicit capital flight from developing countries; calls therefore for a new binding global financial agreement which forces transnational corporations automatically to disclose the profits made and the taxes paid on a country-by-country basis, so as to ensure transparency on what they pay in every developing country in which they operate,

6.

Notes the G20's recognition of its ‘collective responsibility to mitigate the social impact of the crisis to minimise long-lasting damage to global potential’ and its reaffirmation of existing aid pledges and promises of new resources, including USD 50 000 million to support social protection, boost trade and safeguard development in low-income countries as part of a significant increase in crisis support for developing countries, and more resources for social protection for the poorest countries;

7.

Welcomes the decision taken by G8 leaders at the July 2009 summit in L'Aquila, Italy, to donate USD 20 000 million for rural development and food safety;

8.

Fears that the financial resources pledged may not be sufficient, may not be concentrated on the poorest countries and population groups and may not be brought to bear sufficiently swiftly and in a sufficiently flexible manner to generate the improvements that developing countries require;

9.

Supports the G8 leaders' request to carry out, in 2010, an international review of policies towards the MDGs;

10.

Notes the increased resources made available to the IMF and other international financial institutions; welcomes the recent IMF reforms, which include a more prominent role for the emerging countries;

11.

Is gravely concerned about the fact that, as at July 2009, 82 % of the newly loaned IMF resources had gone to European countries, and just 1,6 % to countries in Africa, which is an indication that most of the available resources might be being devoted to high-income emerging markets and middle-income countries that are likely to be able to repay the loans they receive; stresses that the disruption of development processes has more destructive and lasting effects in the medium term for the least developed countries than those suffered by the most advanced countries during a limited period of crisis;

12.

Calls for rapid implementation of the additional USD 6 000 million in concessional and flexible finance for the poorest countries resulting from sales of IMF gold reserves; notes with great concern the IMF's estimates that it can meet only around 2 % of low-income countries' (gross) external financial needs, which highlights the need for other institutions and donors to provide further concessional resources and grants;

13.

Regrets that, while an effective response to the crisis would require a new and large injection of resources, and in spite of the G20 pledges to make ‘available resources for social protection for the poorest countries, including through investing in long-term food security and through voluntary bilateral contributions to the World Bank’s Vulnerability Framework, including the Infrastructure Crisis Facility, and the Rapid Social Response Fund’, the World Bank has been left to react mainly through its own existing resources and facilities;

14.

Believes that the first priority should be simply to support policies that reduce poverty whilst obtaining the best value for taxpayers’ money, guided by a recognition of the absolute human dignity of every single person in the developing world;

15.

Considers fair and mutually beneficial trade to be the cornerstone of international financial market stability; notes that the EU must do its part by reducing the trade-distorting subsidies and trade barriers that cause so much harm to developing countries' economies;

16.

Notes the harm to the capital structure of any economy caused by the ‘brain drain’ notes, furthermore, that this is a serious and ongoing concern in many areas of the world as the best and brightest people, whom developing countries can ill afford to lose, move abroad; calls therefore for action to be taken to encourage circular migration;

17.

Notes with great concern that this has resulted in the World Bank being unable to respond to a number of countries which have been rendered particularly vulnerable by the crisis but do not meet the eligibility criteria for the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) or the International Development Association (IDA) or comply with allocation models requiring borrower creditworthiness and a record of ‘good performance’; considers that this mismatch in funding highlights core problems with the World Bank’s governance, which minimises risks to the institution and its non-borrowing members at the expense of its needy developing country members;

18.

Stresses that the inability of the Bretton Woods institutions to respond to the needs of low-income countries, in relation to coping with the crisis, is caused mainly by the failure to make what are long-overdue reforms to the governance of those institutions in order to enhance their relevance, legitimacy and effectiveness and their sensitivity and responsiveness to developing countries; calls for such reforms to be made urgently;

19.

Requests the EU and its Member States to take up their responsibility as major international players to work towards rapid implementation of the necessary reform of the Bretton Woods institutions, and in the meantime to fill the serious gaps in the response being made to the crisis by the G20, the IMF and the World Bank by swiftly delivering aid to developing countries and ensuring rapid disbursement to countries whose investments in meeting the MDGs are now at risk due to an external shock, namely a financial crisis unforeseen by them and beyond their control; in so doing, the EU and its Member States should at all times observe the highest standards of accountability and aid effectiveness as far as the use of public funds by donor recipients is concerned;

20.

Expresses serious concern at the fact that aid from some EU Member States fell in real terms in 2008; calls on EU Member States urgently to fulfil their official development assistance (ODA) commitments by 2010, taking into account the fact that a majority of developing countries have been seriously affected by the consequences of the worldwide financial crisis;

21.

Welcomes the EU's plans to frontload EUR 8 800 million of development aid, budget support and agricultural financing for immediate action, and the proposed EUR 500 million to support social spending in developing countries through the ad hoc vulnerability FLEX mechanism for African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries; recommends focusing budget support on the fields of health, decent work, education, social services and green growth in the form of sectoral budget support; urges the EU and its Member States to meet the financial commitments outlined in the EU Agenda for Action on the MDGs; acknowledges the principle of ownership, highlighting the role of developing countries in setting their own policies, strategies and development programmes, and the mutual accountability of the EU and its partners for ensuring development results;

22.

Draws attention to Parliament's repeated calls for the European Development Fund (EDF) to be brought within the Community budget in order to ensure democratic scrutiny of the uses to which it is put;

23.

Regrets, however, that apart from EUR 100 million for the EU-Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund, all other spending comes from pre-existing commitments, and calls for greater additional funding; expresses concern about how the Commission will fill the funding gap caused in future years by frontloading budget support now;

24.

Stresses that ODA volumes are not sufficient to meet with the urgency that the scale of the crisis demands the vastly increased needs it is creating in developing countries, and calls upon the Commission and the Member States to abide by their international commitments and to continue to contribute towards meeting the MDGs; calls on the Commission urgently to come up with new proposals for innovative funding mechanisms;

25.

Stresses the need for greater consistency between the EU's trade, budgetary, climate change and development policies;

26.

Recommends therefore that economic partnership agreements (EPAs) be used as a means of meeting development needs by giving ACP countries a commercial advantage and fostering the achievement of the MDGs, while allowing ACP countries to leave sensitive products and sectors, such as investment and services, out of the negotiations;

27.

Points out, with this in mind, that EPAs must serve as a means of fostering regional integration and boosting the economies of ACP countries, and that funding pledges must be honoured;

28.

Stresses that the European Investment Bank (EIB) has to be far more actively and transparently involved as a frontrunner in the development of novel financing mechanisms;

29.

Urges the Commission to take a leading role in the swift enhancement of those mechanisms, including micro- and meso-credit, in particular in order to offer access to financing to vulnerable groups such as women and farmers;

30.

Calls upon the EU to ensure that appropriate global regulatory arrangements are put in place to prevent a further financial crisis from occurring;

31.

Calls upon the Member states to observe and fulfil their ODA commitments;

32.

Stresses the importance in development terms of policy coherence in areas such as the economy, trade, the environment and agriculture, in order to prevent the global financial and economic crisis from having even more serious effects in developing countries;

33.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Member States, the UN organisations, the IMF and the World Bank, the IMF and World Bank Governors from the EU Member States, and the G20 countries.

26.8.2010   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

CE 230/11

1.

Decides to set up a special committee on the financial, economic and social crisis, vested with the following powers:

2.

Decides, given that the powers of Parliament’s standing committees responsible for the adoption, monitoring and implementation of Community legislation relevant to this area remain unchanged, that the special committee may make recommendations regarding the measures and initiatives to be taken, in close collaboration with the standing committees;

3.

Decides that the special committee shall have 45 members;

4.

Decides that the term of office of the special committee shall be 12 months, beginning on 8 October 2009, with the possibility of extension; decides that the special committee shall present to Parliament a mid-term report and a final report containing recommendations concerning the measures and initiatives to be taken.

26.8.2010   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

CE 230/13

1.

Approves the decision annexed to this resolution;

2.

Instructs its President to sign the decision with the President of the Council and arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union;

3.

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

26.8.2010   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

CE 230/15

1.

Approves the initiative of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia, the Slovak Republic and of the Kingdom of Sweden as amended;

2.

Calls on the Council to amend the text accordingly;

3.

Calls on the Council to notify Parliament if it intends to depart from the text approved by Parliament;

4.

Calls on the Council to consult Parliament again if it intends to amend the initiative of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia, the Slovak Republic and of the Kingdom of Sweden substantially;

5.

Calls the Council not to formally adopt the initiative prior to the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon so as to allow the final act to be finalised ensuring a full role and control by the Court of Justice of the European Union, the Commission and Parliament (Protocol to the Treaty of Lisbon on transitional provisions). This being the case is committed to considering any further proposal by urgent procedure;

6.

Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and the Commission, and to the governments of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia, the Slovak Republic and of the Kingdom of Sweden.