27.9.2016   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 353/1

27.9.2016   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 353/2

—

having regard to the outcome documents of the First and Second International Conferences on Financing for Development, notably the Monterrey Consensus of 2002 and the Doha Declaration of 2008,

—

having regard to the UN General Assembly resolutions 68/204 and 68/279 on the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, to be held in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) from 13 to 16 July 2015,

—

having regard to the ‘Elements’ paper of 21 January 2015 presented by the Co-chairs of the Preparatory Process for the Third International Conference on Financing for Development,

—

having regard to the UN Secretary-General’s Synthesis Report of December 2014 on the Post-2015 Agenda, entitled ‘The Road to Dignity by 2030: Ending Poverty, Transforming All Lives and Protecting the Planet’,

—

having regard to the report of August 2014 by the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing,

—

having regard to the report of July 2014 by the UN Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals,

—

having regard to the document ‘UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2014 — Investing in the SDGs: An Action Plan’ (1),

—

having regard to the outcome document of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) of June 2012, ‘The Future We Want’,

—

having regard to the UN General Assembly Resolution ‘Towards the establishment of a multilateral legal framework for sovereign debt restructurings’ of September 2014,

—

having regard to the Commission communication of 5 February 2015 entitled ‘A Global Partnership for Poverty Eradication and Sustainable Development after 2015’ (COM(2015)0044),

—

having regard to the Commission communication of 2 June 2014 entitled ‘A decent life for all: From vision to collective action’ (COM(2014)0335),

—

having regard to the Commission communication of 16 July 2013 entitled ‘Beyond 2015: towards a comprehensive and integrated approach to financing poverty eradication and sustainable development’ (COM(2013)0531),

—

having regard to the Commission communication of 27 February 2013 entitled ‘A decent life for all: Ending poverty and giving the world a sustainable future’ (COM(2013)0092),

—

having regard to the Foreign Affairs Council conclusions of 12 December 2013 on policy coherence for development,

—

having regard to the General Affairs Council conclusions of 16 December 2014 on a transformative post-2015 agenda (2),

—

having regard to the Foreign Affairs Council conclusions of 12 December 2013 on financing poverty eradication and sustainable development beyond 2015 (3),

—

having regard to the Foreign Affairs Council conclusions of 12 December 2014 on a stronger role of the private sector in development cooperation,

—

having regard to the General Affairs Council conclusions of 25 June 2013 on the Overarching Post 2015 Agenda (4),

—

having regard to its resolution of 25 November 2014 on the EU and the global development framework after 2015 (5),

—

having regard to its resolution of 23 September 2008 on the follow-up to the Monterrey Conference of 2002 on Financing for Development (6),

—

having regard to its resolutions of 26 November 2014 on the 2014 UN Climate Change Conference — COP 20 in Lima, Peru (1-12 December 2014) (7); of 26 February 2014 on promoting development through responsible business practices, including the role of extractive industries in developing countries (8); of 8 October 2013 on ‘Corruption in the public and private sectors: the impact on human rights in third countries’ (9); of 21 May 2013 on ‘Fight against Tax Fraud, Tax Evasion and Tax Havens’ (10); and of 16 April 2013 on advancing development through trade (11),

—

having regard to Decision No 472/2014/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on the European Year for Development (2015) (12),

—

having regard to Regulation (EU) No 233/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2014 establishing a financing instrument for development cooperation for the period 2014-2020,

—

having regard to Article 208 TFEU, which establishes eradication of poverty as the primary objective of EU development policy and the principle of policy coherence for development,

—

having regard to Rule 52 of its Rules of Procedure,

—

having regard to the report of the Committee on Development and the opinion of the Committee on Budgets (A8-0143/2015),

A.

whereas 2015 is a crucial year for global development efforts, with the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and an agreement on global climate action, both to be valid until 2030;

B.

whereas the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD), which will be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 13 to 16 July 2015, must create the necessary conditions for financing and implementing the post-2015 agenda, and whereas the success of that agenda will be determined by the level of ambition demonstrated at the conference;

C.

whereas 1,5 billion people are still living in poverty with deprivation in health, education and living standards, notably in conflict-affected and fragile states; whereas this is not acceptable, given that sufficient resources exist in the world to progressively end this situation;

D.

whereas eradication of poverty and inequality can only be achieved through mobilisation of sufficient and appropriate resources for all, and the better targeting of marginalised groups, such as children, women, the elderly or persons with disabilities; whereas despite a significant reduction in extreme poverty, progress for children has been slower, making the need for investing in children — both through domestic resource mobilisation and international public financing — a key factor;

E.

whereas there can be no sustainable development without peace and security, as acknowledged by the 2005 European Consensus on Development;

F.

whereas three-quarters of the world’s poorest people — an estimated 960 million — currently live in middle-income countries, and a new development paradigm therefore requires programmes targeted both on poor people and on poor countries;

G.

whereas UNCTAD estimates the financing needs in developing countries for the emerging SDGs at about USD 3,9 trillion per year, with USD 2,5 trillion per year currently missing; whereas the costs of weak action will ultimately be much greater than the costs of decisive action for sustainable development;

H.

whereas the magnitude of the SDGs financing challenge demands a strong and global partnership and the use of all forms of financing (domestic, international, public, private and innovative sources) and non-financial means; whereas private financing can complement, but not substitute public funding;

I.

whereas domestic resource mobilisation and Official Development Assistance (ODA) are non-substitutable anchors of development finance which must be strengthened;

J.

whereas developing countries’ potentials for domestic resource mobilisation are significant, but there are limits in the current situation to what countries can accomplish on their own; whereas tax resources remain low as a proportion of GDP in most developing countries and it is thus essential to promote well-balanced, fair and efficient tax systems based on the ability to pay of individual taxpayers and companies; whereas domestic resource mobilisation also requires a fair and transparent distribution of the benefits of natural resources;

K.

whereas very few developed countries are fulfilling their commitment of providing 0,7 % of Gross National Income (GNI) as ODA, including 0,15-0,20 % of GNI to Least Developed Countries (LDCs); whereas the Member States which joined the EU in 2004 or later have committed to strive towards the target of 0,33 % of GNI, but none of them has yet reached this target;

L.

whereas many less developed countries are vulnerable, or have been made vulnerable, as a result of external events such as armed conflicts, epidemics such as Ebola, and natural disasters, and whereas they need greater support;

M.

whereas poverty reduction, economic growth and security depend to a large extent on the ability of a state to perform its sovereign functions to ensure the rule of law and to provide basic public services such as access to education and healthcare, while respecting the principle of ownership; whereas these countries need, in particular, greater support to introduce robust health systems;

N.

whereas the development agenda is becoming broader and it is therefore important to recognise and further incentivise the efforts that are being made above and beyond ODA; whereas despite challenging fiscal circumstances in many OECD countries, high levels of ODA were maintained and ODA reached an all-time high of USD 134,8 billion in 2013; whereas ODA can be a catalyst to attract private investment and the relevance of innovative financial instruments in this context should be noted;

O.

whereas the private sector and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), when properly regulated and linked to concrete improvements in the domestic economy, have an important potential to contribute to the achievement of the SDGs, as reflected in UNCTAD’s proposal for an Action Plan for SDG investment;

P.

whereas private capital flow affects developing countries in many different ways, positive as well as negative; whereas financial flows to developing countries from private sources are significant but largely volatile, unevenly distributed and often associated with outflows such as profit repatriation, which since 2010, have exceeded new inflows of FDI;

Q.

whereas civil society plays a key role in ensuring a universal and inclusive process, at both national and global level, and contributes to good governance and accountability; whereas development assistance and corruption are mutually incompatible;

R.

whereas it is important to promote the use of banking services in developing countries;

S.

whereas the EU and its Member States, as the largest donors of development aid, must lead the FfD process and help bring about a credible response to the development finance challenges, ensuring policy coherence for development within the post-2015 agenda; whereas other developed and emerging countries should follow the EU’s example;

1.

Welcomes the Zero Draft of the Outcome Document of the Third Financing for Development Conference, and calls for the EU and its Member States to support it;

2.

Welcomes the UN Secretary-General’s Synthesis Report and its transformative, universal, holistic and integrated approach to an ambitious global partnership for new development goals and the associated financial framework, focused on poverty eradication, universality of human rights and gender equality; insists that without comprehensive and substantial means of implementation such an ambitious partnership will not be successful;

3.

Urges the EU to affirm its political leadership throughout the preparatory process towards the definition of a sustainable development framework, a renewed agreement on financing for development and other means of implementation, along the commitments and values stated in its founding Treaties; considers that the provision of EU development aid should not be conditioned by other partner donors;

4.

Insists that the EU and its Member States should maintain their position as major donors of development aid while pushing for shared responsibility; calls on high-income countries, upper middle-income countries and emerging economies to take on significant commitments;

5.

Welcomes the recent Commission communication entitled ‘A Global Partnership for Poverty Eradication and Sustainable Development after 2015’, for its comprehensiveness, for its policy coherence focus and for confirming that the EU is committed to playing its full part in this global partnership; however, regrets a certain lack of commitment regarding the timeline for future financial targets;

6.

Stresses that ODA remains a key instrument for financing development; urges the EU and its Member States to re-commit without delay to the 0,7 % of GNI target for ODA, with 50 % of ODA and at least 0,2 % of GNI being reserved for LDCs, and to present, taking into account budgetary constraints, multiannual budget timetables for the scale-up to these levels by 2020; welcomes the EU’s firm stance on focusing efforts on the quantity and quality of development aid; calls on other developed partners and on emerging countries to scale up their development assistance, and on the Commission and the Member States to persuade public and private donors around the world to honour their financial promises and to make new commitments; stresses that all donors should ensure that ODA represents genuine transfers to developing countries;

7.

Stresses that the EU and other developed countries must honour their commitment to provide scaled-up, new and additional climate finance in order to reach by 2020 the goal of jointly mobilising USD 100 billion annually, from a wide variety of sources, public and private, bilateral and multilateral, including alternative sources; deplores the lack of progress on the additionality of climate finance to ODA; calls for a joint international effort from developed and emerging countries to find new and additional climate finance for developing countries — though not at the expense of the development budget — in the agreement on Global Climate Action to be concluded at the Paris Conference to be held in December 2015; considers that the EU should propose intermediate steps on the path to full additionality; urges Member States to use revenues raised through carbon markets for climate action in developing countries; also calls on emerging economies to mobilise climate finance for developing countries;

8.

Supports innovative sources for additional development and climate finance, including financial transaction taxes, carbon taxes on international aviation and maritime transport, and automatic allocation of carbon market revenues; welcomes further European and international efforts to identify further additional sources;

9.

Emphasises that ODA should remain the standard measure of financial efforts made; supports the introduction of a complementary total official support for sustainable development (TOSSD) indicator provided it is made fully clear that this shall not in any way replace or reduce the importance of the ODA measure;

10.

Notes that while most ODA is provided in the form of grants, concessional loans are also important but add to debt burdens and risk leading to a debt bubble, notably in sub-Saharan African and Caribbean countries which have limited revenues to service debt; calls, accordingly, on donors to give aid to LDCs in the form of grants; considers that concessional loans might not be suitable for investments in social sectors where profit generation is not sought; welcomes the agreement by the OECD Development Assistance Committee (OECD-DAC) to modernise the reporting of concessional loans by introducing a grant equivalent system for the purpose of calculating ODA figures;

11.

Points out that the EU is the world’s leading donor of development aid, accounting for almost 60 % of global official development aid; calls, nevertheless, on the Commission to provide clear and transparent data on the share of the overall budget dedicated to EU development aid so as to be able to assess the follow-up to the Monterrey Consensus by all European donors; also expresses its regret that the level of EU financial contributions to developing countries lacks visibility, and invites the Commission to develop appropriate and targeted communication and information tools to increase the visibility of EU development aid;

12.

Calls on the EU to take account of long-term financial requirements by favouring and leading a more strategic, ambitious and universal approach in line with the SDGs;

13.

Recalls the EU budget’s contribution to financing for development, with EUR 19,7 billion for development cooperation and EUR 6,8 billion for humanitarian aid between 2014 and 2020, in addition to the EUR 2,2 billion emergency aid reserve; also points to the EUR 30,5 billion European Development Fund (EDF); advocates the budgetisation of the EDF, which would bring advantages such as increased transparency, visibility, efficiency and efficacy; welcomes the opportunity provided by the post-electoral mid-term review and the revision of the multiannual financial framework to take into account the increasing structural needs of humanitarian relief and the development needs of the poorest and most fragile countries;

14.

Notes that the 2015 budget dedicates EUR 2,4 billion in commitments (EUR 2,1 billion in payments) to development cooperation and EUR 928,8 million in commitments (EUR 918,8 million in payments) to humanitarian aid; supports the steps taken to reduce the backlog of unpaid bills, notably with a view to maintaining the financial viability of the most vulnerable partners, and stresses the importance of the principle of parity between commitments and payments with regard to humanitarian aid, as crises are happening more frequently and funds need to be disbursed quickly;

15.

Calls on the EU to ensure that negotiations on the post-2015 global development agenda, financing for development and climate change have credible links with the new Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 in order to build resilience and preparedness while achieving the global goal of leaving no one behind;

16.

Recalls that development cooperation is a shared responsibility of the EU and its Member States and that it needs to be consistent with the concepts of complementarity and coordination; highlights the need to involve civil society and local authorities in the coordination process;

17.

Calls on the EU and its Member States to promote an aid effectiveness agenda building on the commitments in the Busan Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation, reduction of aid fragmentation through pooled funding mechanism, and greater coordination between different aid delivery mechanisms and stakeholders; stresses that all development finance should be pro-poor, gender-sensitive, environmentally sound and climate-proof;

18.

Recalls that according to the TFEU the reduction and eventual eradication of poverty is the EU’s primary objective in the development field, while the defence of human rights, gender equality, social cohesion and the fight against inequalities should remain at the core of development activities;

19.

Emphasises the importance of setting clear priorities for expenditure, with a special focus on measures in the areas of health, education, energy, water supply and infrastructure; underlines the need for further efforts and improvements to be made in the area of aid effectiveness through a higher degree of coordination between the different aid mechanisms and donors;

20.

Underlines that ODA should prioritise basic social services for all and ‘public goods’ that are less effectively provided by the private sector, such as primary education, social safety nets, health care and infrastructure for sanitation, water supply and energy, so that developing countries can reach their full potential; stresses that accessibility should be a key criterion in international public financing to promote universal and inclusive services and infrastructures;

21.

Stresses the need to ensure that the most vulnerable populations have access to development opportunities; recalls, in this respect, that channelling assistance only through governments risks resulting in insufficient funding for marginalised or vulnerable communities;

22.

Highlights the importance of development banks mobilising additional funds for reducing the gap in infrastructure funding and access to credit in developing countries with monitoring and impact assessment mechanisms;

23.

Underlines the absolute need for the EU to aim for the highest level of coordination in order to achieve coherence with other policy areas (environment, migration, international trade, human rights, agriculture, etc.) and to avoid duplication of work and inconsistencies in activities; recalls that, with the Lisbon Treaty (Article 208 TFEU), policy coherence for development became a treaty obligation;

24.

Stresses that domestic resource mobilisation is more predictable and sustainable than foreign assistance and must be a key source of financing; encourages efforts by developing countries to increase such mobilisation; emphasises the importance of improved collection of domestic taxes in developing countries and the need for robust, well-balanced, fair and efficient tax systems that are pro-poor, sensitive to the most vulnerable groups and respectful of international sustainable development commitments; calls for the removal of harmful subsidies in the areas of energy (in particular fossil fuels), fisheries and agriculture;

25.

Asks the Commission to enhance its capacity-building assistance in the areas of tax administration, financial governance, public financial management, anti-corruption, the recovery of stolen assets and the fight against tax evasion and transfer mispricing; believes that the Union has a key role to play in this; recalls the importance of distribution of tax revenues from natural resources, especially through the creation of sovereign wealth funds; stresses the need to accelerate and scale up ongoing efforts to improve budgetary reporting, and calls for increased harmonisation of budgetary reporting practices across countries;

26.

Calls on the EU and its Member States to actively crack down on tax havens, tax evasion and illicit financial flows, which dwarf development assistance and contribute to developing countries’ debts, to cooperate with developing countries in counteracting aggressive tax avoidance practices by certain transnational companies, and to seek ways to help developing countries withstand pressures to engage in tax competition, since this undermines the mobilisation of domestic resources for development;

27.

Supports the setting-up of an intergovernmental body for tax cooperation under the auspices of the UN; encourages the automatic exchange of information; calls for the creation of public registers of beneficial ownership and mandatory country-by-country reporting for transnational companies in all sectors and for ensuring a fair distribution of taxing rights while negotiating tax and investment treaties with developing countries;

28.

Considers that international corporate tax rules should include the principle that taxes should be paid where value is extracted or created;

29.

Stresses the decisive importance of good governance, human rights protection, the rule of law, institutional framework and regulatory instruments; especially supports investment in capacity-building, basic social services such as education and health (ensuring universal health coverage), including sexual and reproductive health and rights, nutrition, public services and social protection and the fight against poverty and inequality, including among children and in terms of gender; recognises the need for accessible infrastructures and selective public investments, as well as the sustainable use of natural resources, including by the extractive industries;

30.

Stresses that financing for development must strengthen the resources available to promote equality between women and men, women’s rights and women’s empowerment; emphasises the specific role of women in society, and stresses that this should include the implementation of gender budgeting, targeted investments in key sectors such as health and education and steps to ensure that all development finance takes full account of the situation of women and girls;

31.

Calls for greater financing of research and development in science, technology and innovation in developing countries, while recognising that this financing should be both domestic and international; urges the promotion of research and development that can advance progress in tackling complex challenges and towards good management of global public goods, such as technology and innovation for health; notes the important role of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in this context; calls for a review of intellectual property rights regimes introduced in developing countries through free trade agreements in order to identify any adverse impacts on public health, the environment or technology transfer;

32.

Underlines the high importance of establishing favourable conditions for private enterprise and entrepreneurship in developing countries, especially for MSMEs, as they play a fundamental role as an engine for job creation and inclusive growth; calls in particular for further strengthening microfinance loan and guarantee systems; insists on the necessity of further developing local and regional banks and credit unions in order to significantly decrease excessive interest rates for market loans so as to better support community development at a local level (13); calls for alignment of the private sector with the SDGs through appropriate partnerships, financial instruments, incentives, an accountability framework and effective Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR); recalls the need to comply with agreed international standards such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO) standards and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights;

33.

Stresses the need to promote the provision to undertakings of instruments for information, training and advice platforms essential to their development;

34.

Stresses that, in order to impart long-term impetus to the economy, it is essential to give young people and women access to credit to support start-ups;

35.

Stresses the social cohesion role played by the collective entrepreneurship of producers’ associations in preventing ethnic and religious conflict;

36.

Insists that the EU’s support for and cooperation with the private sector can and must contribute to reducing poverty and inequality and respect and promote human rights, environmental standards, climate commitments and social dialogue; calls for the establishment of a legally binding framework for companies, including transnational corporations with a grievance mechanism;

37.

Calls for the EU to set up, together with developing countries, a regulatory framework, in line with UNCTAD’s comprehensive Investment Policy Framework for Sustainable Development, that stimulates more responsible, transparent and accountable investment, contributing to the development of a socially conscious private sector in developing countries;

38.

Calls on the Commission to support increased access to finance for MSMEs and cooperatives in developing countries; underlines the importance of microfinance loan systems, especially for women; encourages further developing local and regional banks and credit unions; asks the Commission to encourage developing countries in setting up policies and legal frameworks conducive to the development of banking services; points to the need — at various levels, including among poor people, women and other vulnerable groups — for information and training on financial matters, the use of banking products and insurance, and relevant new technologies;

39.

Recalls that public aid alone is far from sufficient to cover all investment needs in developing countries; therefore insists on the leverage role of blending and public-private partnerships (PPPs) as a means to enhance the impact of development assistance, to attract private finance and to support local businesses; stresses, however, that blended finance must not replace state responsibility for delivering on social needs and should be aligned with national development objectives and with development effectiveness principles; encourages PPPs in particular in the field of research related to the Innovative Medicines Initiative such as the Ebola+ programme;

40.

Calls for the adoption of international standards and criteria and debt risk analysis for blending projects and PPPs that attract private finance and support local businesses, while respecting agreed ILO, WHO and international human rights standards; urges the Commission, in view of its wish to considerably extend the use of blending in the future, to implement the recommendations made in the European Court of Auditors Special Report on the use of blending, and to evaluate the mechanism of blending loans and grants, particularly in terms of development and financial additionality, transparency and accountability; calls on the EIB and other development finance institutions to prioritise investment in companies and funds that publicly disclose beneficial ownerships and apply country-by-country reporting;

41.

Supports increased market access for developing countries, especially LDCs, as it can strengthen the private sector and create incentives for reform; urges the Commission to ensure that trade and investment agreements, especially with developing countries, LDCs and fragile states, are aligned with the SDGs and promote human rights and regional integration; emphasises that such agreements should be subjected to SDG impact assessments; supports the Commission’s suggestion of updating its Aid for Trade Strategy in light of the outcomes of the post-2015 negotiations and to grant special and differential treatment to developing countries, LDCs and fragile states in trade agreements while respecting their policy space to take sovereign decisions in accordance with their national context and their populations’ needs;

42.

Calls for action to boost the use and transparency of national public procurement systems in activities managed by the public sector and for the strengthening of competition authorities in developing countries;

43.

Highlights the positive contribution of migrants to the development of their countries of origin, and calls for more effective and innovative cooperation in migration policy between origin and destination countries; draws attention to the significant and growing financial flows represented by remittances from the diaspora and supports the creation of diaspora funds; calls for further efforts to bring down transfer costs to increase the impact on local development in origin countries;

44.

Calls for increased participation of local authorities and civil society, including community-based NGOs, in discussions on development priorities, notably at the Addis Ababa conference, and for a more inclusive and accountable implementation of the post-2015 agenda; underlines the role of NGOs in the implementation of operations on the ground and the development of accountability, monitoring and review mechanisms; recognises that the role of local authorities in the implementation of the SDGs requires the allocation of the necessary means; calls for increased consultation of young people in the discussions on the post-2015 agenda, namely through innovative communication technologies; underlines the role of EU delegations as facilitators of such dialogues;

45.

Recalls the UN’s central role, in complementarity with other existing institutions and forums such as the OECD, in global economic governance and development; calls for equal and gender-balanced representation of all countries in multilateral institutions and other norm- and standard-setting bodies, including in international financial institutions; recalls that all international financial institutions should abide by basic transparency standards — as set out in the Transparency Charter for International Financial Institutions — and enact public disclosure policies;

46.

Insists that sustainable debt solutions, including standards for responsible lending and borrowing, must be facilitated through a multilateral legal framework for sovereign debt restructuring processes, with a view to alleviating the debt burden and avoiding unsustainable debt; asks the EU to engage constructively in the UN negotiations on this framework; urges the EU to push for the implementation of the UNCTAD principles of responsible sovereign debt transactions for both borrowers and lenders;

47.

Welcomes the international efforts to relieve the international debt obligations of Ebola-affected countries in order to help them face the economic crises caused by the epidemic;

48.

Calls for a review of international organisations’ programmes and instruments of financial assistance for development in order to align them with the new SDGs; urges notably, the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to establish the highest standards of responsible financing and to gear their resources more closely to the needs of developing countries, including through mutually effective pro-poor lending facilities; calls notably for an increase in the amounts available to the European Investment Bank, beyond its current mandate, in order to further increase its funding to low-income countries;

49.

Calls for an agreement at the Addis Ababa conference on a robust, transparent and accessible monitoring and accountability framework for effective tracking and follow-up of investment and progress as regards specific commitments and objectives; calls for an international initiative to improve the quality of statistics, data and information, including data disaggregated by income, gender, age, race, ethnicity and migratory status, disability, geographic location and other characteristics relevant in national contexts; asks all parties to ensure the transparent and efficient implementation of aid and financing, in particular by signing and effectively implementing the provisions of the UN Convention against Corruption and by committing to systematically publishing accurate, timely and comparable revenue and expenditure data as well as budget documents; notably, asks the Commission to further monitor and control its financing of aid programmes and projects and to take the appropriate measures in case of evidence of corruption and mismanagement; urges the Commission, equally, to upgrade its assistance in order to strengthen the judiciary and anti-corruption agencies in developing countries;

50.

Calls for an international initiative to improve the quality of statistics, data and information in order to track spending, investment and progress on specific commitments and objectives; welcomes global efforts to ensure that data used in the implementation of the SDGs are sufficiently disaggregated for income, gender, age and other indicators, so that the impact of the policies can be effectively monitored;

51.

Reiterates that, as a complement to GDP, a new set of other indicators is necessary in order to take account of new social and environmental challenges, and that this set should include in particular the Human Development Index, the Gini coefficient, a gender equality measure, the carbon footprint and the ecological footprint;

52.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the European Commission/High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, and the Co-Facilitators for the preparatory process of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development.

27.9.2016   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 353/12

—

having regard to its position of 23 April 2009 on the proposal for a Council recommendation on patient safety, including the prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections (1),

—

having regard to the Council recommendation of 9 June 2009 on patient safety, including the prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections (2),

—

having regard to Directive 2011/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2011 on the application of patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare,

—

having regard to the Commission communication of 15 November 2011 entitled ‘Action plan against the rising threats from Antimicrobial Resistance’ (COM(2011)0748),

—

having regard to the Council conclusions of 22 June 2012 on ‘The impact of antimicrobial resistance in the human health sector and in the veterinary sector — a “One Health” perspective’,

—

having regard to its resolution of 11 December 2012 on ‘The Microbial Challenge — Rising threats from Antimicrobial Resistance’ (3),

—

having regard to the reports of 13 November 2012 and 19 June 2014 from the Commission to the Council on the basis of Member States’ reports on the implementation of the Council recommendation (2009/C 151/01) on patient safety, including the prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections (COM(2012)0658 and COM(2014)0371),

—

having regard to its resolution of 22 October 2013 on the report from the Commission to the Council on the basis of Member States’ reports on the implementation of the Council Recommendation (2009/C 151/01) on patient safety, including the prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections (4),

—

having regard to Decision No 1082/2013/EU of the European Parliament and the Council of 22 October 2013 on serious cross-border threats to health,

—

having regard to the Special Eurobarometer 411, ‘Patient safety and quality of care’,

—

having regard to the Progress report on the Action plan against the rising threats from Antimicrobial Resistance (SANTE/10251/2015),

—

having regard to the proposal, of 10 September 2014, for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on veterinary medicinal products (2014/0257(COD)),

—

having regard to the ‘Conceptual framework for the international classification for patient safety’ drawn up by the World Health Organisation (WHO),

—

having regard to the Latvian Presidency’s efforts in addressing the issue of antimicrobial resistance, in particular with regard to tuberculosis and multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB),

—

having regard to the Council conclusions of 1 December 2014 on patient safety and quality of care, including the prevention and control of healthcare- associated infections and microbial resistance,

—

having regard to the first ECDC/EFSA/EMA joint report on the integrated analysis of the consumption of antimicrobial agents and occurrence of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria from humans and food-producing animals (Joint Interagency Antimicrobial Consumption and Resistance Analysis — JIACRA),

—

having regard to Rule 52 of its Rules of Procedure,

—

having regard to the report of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (A8-0142/2015),

A.

whereas the key to overall healthcare quality lies in patient safety, the essential elements of which are a healthcare culture and the management of adverse events;

B.

whereas the volume of data available on the prevalence and incidence of adverse events in Member State healthcare systems is at present limited, but is steadily growing, and whereas the latest available data date back to 2008;

C.

whereas it is estimated that between 8 % and 12 % of patients admitted to hospitals in the EU suffer from adverse events while receiving healthcare, and whereas nearly half of these events could be avoided;

D.

whereas the most common healthcare-related adverse events are healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), medication-related events and complications arising during or after surgical operations;

E.

whereas patient safety and the quality of healthcare require decent working conditions and safety at work for healthcare professionals, and whereas, in particular, ensuring patient safety, prevention and control of HAIs and prevention of the spread of multidrug-resistant bacteria is very difficult in overcrowded and understaffed healthcare environments;

F.

whereas the current economic crisis has placed increased pressure on Member State healthcare budgets, hence having an impact on patient safety, as many Member States, instead of properly addressing efficiency, have reduced budgets and staffing levels in their healthcare systems with rather harsh cuts;

G.

whereas the economic crisis has further deepened existing inequalities with regard to access to health services;

H.

whereas continuous training of doctors and other healthcare professionals is crucial to avoid adverse events, including adverse drug events (ADEs), which are estimated to cost the EU healthcare systems some EUR 2,7 billion per year in care expenses and account for 1,1 % of all hospitalisations in the Union;

I.

whereas patient-centred electronic health (e-Health) and home-care medical treatments have a high potential for improving the quality and efficiency of medical treatments while contributing to better healthcare performance;

J.

whereas a multidisciplinary approach increases the chances of positive outcomes of medical treatments;

K.

whereas patients, families and patient organisations play a key role in advocating for safer care, and their role should be promoted through patient empowerment and participation in the healthcare process and policy at all levels;

L.

whereas home-care medical treatments can help patients psychologically and result in better healthcare performance;

M.

whereas it has been noted that less-informed people use antibiotics more frequently, while full knowledge of antibiotics could encourage people to consume them more responsibly;

N.

whereas 30 to 50 % of patients do not take the medicines prescribed for them by doctors or do not take them as directed by the doctor’s prescription;

O.

whereas conflicts of interest related to the pharmaceutical industry exist in hospitals and among general practitioners and also veterinarians;

P.

whereas HAIs are a major public health problem in the Member States (according to figures compiled by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), 1 in 20 hospital in-patients on average suffer from an HAI in the EU, that is to say, 4,1 million patients annually, and every year 37 000 people in the EU die as a result of an HAI, although 20 to 30 % of those infections are considered to be preventable by intensive hygiene and control programmes), and this places a heavy burden on limited health service budgets;

Q.

whereas patients’ experiences and inputs often differ from those of health professionals and can be of great value in finding new ways to reduce and prevent HAIs;

R.

whereas HAIs caused by multidrug resistant bacteria are increasing;

S.

whereas antimicrobial resistance has increased worldwide for bacterial pathogens, leading to increasing prevalence of HAIs and treatment failures in human and animal infectious diseases at national, European and international levels;

T.

whereas it is estimated that globally 10 million people will die every year because of antimicrobial resistance by 2050;

U.

whereas resistance to antibiotics that are commonly used to treat causative bacteria is at least 25 % or more in several Member States; whereas there is a growing gap between antimicrobial resistance and the development of new antibiotics and their introduction into clinical practice, and this is linked to scientific, regulatory and economic challenges;

V.

whereas the most recent studies show that, allowing for a few exceptions, antimicrobial resistance in hospitals has globally increased in the EU in recent years;

W.

whereas the EU estimates that every year at least 25 000 people die of infections caused by resistant bacteria, costing public health systems an estimated EUR 1,5 billion, according to data from 2011 collected by the ECDC;

X.

whereas the costs incurred by drug-resistant infections amount to an estimated EUR 1,5 billion annually, because of increases in healthcare expenditure costs and productivity losses; whereas patients who have caught resistant bacteria have to be isolated when treated in hospital, and this extra provision costs EUR 900 million and leads to 2,5 million extra bed days per year;

Y.

whereas one of the main causes of the spread of antimicrobial resistance in hospitals is lack of compliance with generally accepted infection prevention and control practices;

Z.

whereas first line drugs’ effectiveness on bacterial pathogens is becoming increasingly limited by resistance and second or third line drugs are not always available and are often more toxic, more expensive and less effective than first line drugs;

AA.

whereas one of the main causes of antimicrobial resistance is the misuse of antimicrobials, including antibiotics, and in particular their systematic and excessive use;

AB.

whereas the high level of mobility between European healthcare systems and the increasingly cross-border nature of healthcare in Europe can promote the spread of resistant micro-organisms from one Member State to another;

AC.

whereas vaccination programmes are one effective tool in efforts to combat antibiotic resistance, because they can play a role in limiting the use of antibiotics and thereby the development of antimicrobial resistance;

AD.

whereas antibacterial research and development presents some unique challenges meaning that a long-term perspective is needed to develop the expertise and apply it in laboratories, and whereas it is regrettable that many researchers having such expertise have moved to other areas due to a lack of both private and public funding;

AE.

whereas the failure to take basic personal hygiene precautions, both inside and outside hospitals, can cause pathogens — in particular antimicrobial-resistant ones — to spread;

AF.

whereas increasing scientific evidence shows that good hand hygiene in healthcare settings requires the use of methods to dry hands that do not facilitate microbial cross-contamination via airborne dissemination and aerosolisation;

AG.

whereas resistant bacteria can be found on medical devices even when the latter have been sterilised in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions;

AH.

whereas the use of antimicrobials in human and veterinary medicine contributes to a development of resistome in the environment which may serve as a source of resistance development in both humans and animals; whereas the same classes of antibiotics are used in both animal and human medicine and similar resistance mechanisms have emerged in both sectors;

AI.

whereas high-density farming may imply that antibiotics are improperly and routinely fed to livestock, poultry and fish on farms to promote faster growth and are also widely used for prophylaxis purposes, to prevent disease spreading owing to the cramped, confined and stressful conditions in which the animals are kept and which inhibit their immune systems, and to compensate for the unsanitary conditions in which they are raised;

AJ.

whereas the One Health concept, endorsed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), recognises that human health, animal health and ecosystems are interconnected; whereas, in particular, animals and animal-derived food can serve as a direct main source of resistant zoonotic pathogens; whereas, therefore the use of antibiotics in animals, particularly those intended for consumption and kept in high-density farming, can affect antibiotic resistance in humans;

AK.

whereas, in the light of the One Health concept, an approach whereby both human and veterinary medical professionals undertake initiatives to prevent resistant infections and reduce the use of antibiotics can prevent HAIs, both inside and outside hospitals;

AL.

whereas, according to the WHO, antimicrobials are used much more in livestock than they are in human beings in a number of EU Member States (5);

AM.

whereas, according to European consumer associations, over 70 % of meat products tested in six EU Member States were found to be contaminated with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, while in a further eight such bacteria were present in 50 % of all samples (6);

AN.

whereas high levels of Campylobacter resistance to fluoroquinolones have been observed and most human Campylobacter infections come from the handling, preparation and consumption of chicken; whereas such high levels of resistance reduce the effective treatment options for human Campylobacter infections;

AO.

whereas in the EU the sub-therapeutic use of antibiotics, which involves low doses of antibiotics being fed to livestock to promote their growth, has been banned since 2006;

AP.

whereas the vast majority of medicated feed for farmed animals contains antimicrobials;

AQ.

whereas the use of antimicrobials in pets is an additional risk factor for the development and transmission of antimicrobial resistance in human beings, and whereas the upward trends in antibiotic resistance encountered at veterinary clinics for pets run parallel to similar trends at hospitals;

AR.

whereas the risk of transmission of antimicrobial resistance from pets to human beings cannot be fully quantified, and whereas further research into this is needed;

AS.

whereas it is acknowledged that the current legislation on veterinary medicines does not provide sufficient tools to ensure that risks to human health arising from the use of antimicrobials in animals are adequately managed;

AT.

whereas the issue of off-label use of antibiotics is a concern for animal medicine as well as human medicine;

AU.

whereas pharmaceutical companies tend to add new antibiotics within existing classes of antibiotics rather than discover and develop truly new antibacterial agents, and as a result, resistance to these new agents will emerge faster than for drugs with a truly new mechanism of action;

AV.

whereas it is necessary to encourage pharmaceutical laboratories to develop new antibiotics by giving thought to the creation of incentives and alternative economic models to reward innovation;

AW.

whereas it is of paramount importance to encourage pharmaceutical companies to invest and to continue investing in the development of new antimicrobial agents, in particular those active against diseases for which antimicrobial resistance is a serious concern, in particular:

as well as developing other methods to fight HAIs without using antibiotics;

AX.

whereas this can be achieved by addressing some of the key scientific, regulatory and economic challenges that have hampered the development of antimicrobials, and in particular by incentivising investment in research and development and focusing it on the greatest public health needs, while preserving the sustainability of national health systems;

AY.

whereas paragraph 2 of Article 4 of Directive 2001/18/EC sets a deadline for the use of genes conferring antibiotic resistance to transgenic plants;

AZ.

whereas product specialists should never perform therapeutic treatments, but should only support medical staff when and if required by the latter, for example to perform operations of assembling or disassembling specific instruments;

BA.

whereas the provisions of Directive 2011/24/EU on patient mobility are being implemented throughout the EU, making it more pertinent that European patients should be informed on patient safety in the various Member States;

BB.

whereas it is vital to ensure patients’ rights and public confidence in health services, by ensuring that Member States have systems in place to provide fair financial compensation in the case of negligence arising from faulty medical provision;

BC.

whereas the internet is the biggest unregulated pharmaceuticals market in the world; whereas 62 % of pharmaceuticals bought online prove to be fake or non-compliant with standards; whereas a very large proportion of operators operating online do so illegally and the annual global turnover from the illegal online sale of prescription medicines is estimated at around USD 200 billion;

BD.

whereas Article 168 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union stipulates that Union action must complement national policies and must be directed towards improving public health, preventing physical and mental illness and diseases, and obviating sources of danger to physical and mental health;

1.

Recalls that the EU pharmaceutical legislation was put in place to protect patient safety; recalls its above-mentioned resolution of 22 October 2013 on the report from the Commission to the Council on the basis of Member States’ reports on the implementation on the Council Recommendation (2009/C 151/01) on patient safety, including the prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections;

2.

Welcomes the improvement of the HAI surveillance system in the EU and the other recent measures put in place by certain Member States to improve general patient safety and reduce the incidence of HAIs, and more particularly the progress made by Member States in developing patient safety strategies and programmes, including patient safety in health legislation, and in developing reporting and learning systems;

3.

Notes, however, that the second implementation report still shows uneven progress among Member States on patient safety, and regrets the fact that some Member States have obviously slowed down implementation of the Council recommendations among others, possibly as a consequence of financial constraints resulting from the economic crisis;

4.

Regrets that austerity measures have seen a reduction in the level of cleaning staff in hospitals and other healthcare settings across Europe, given the critical role cleaning staff have in ensuring high levels of hygiene;

5.

Calls on Member States to make sure, in this period of economic crisis, that patient safety is not affected by austerity measures and that healthcare systems remain adequately funded and, in particular, to avoid the most damaging of measures, such as short-term savings, which would lead to high costs in the medium to long term, and instead to concentrate on the further development of high-quality and high-efficiency healthcare systems; calls on Member States to ensure that there are a sufficient number of healthcare professionals trained or specialised in infection prevention and control, as well as hospital hygiene, with a view to a more patient-centred approach;

6.

Calls on Member States to set specific and ambitious quantitative targets for reducing the use of antibiotics;

7.

Welcomes the work of the EU Working Group on Patient Safety and Quality of Care, which brings together representatives from all 28 EU Member States, EFTA countries, international organisations and EU bodies, and assists in developing the EU’s patient safety and quality agenda;

8.

Calls on the Commission to continue monitoring the implementation of the provisions on patient safety in the Member States, and where necessary to develop new guidelines accordingly;

9.

Welcomes the work cofinanced by the EU and performed by the OECD on comparable indicators to assess patient safety; calls on the Member States to implement such indicators with a view to assessing patient safety;

10.

Notes the importance of including patient safety in the education, on-the-job-training and continuing training of healthcare workers and health professionals in all Member States;

11.

Highlights the potential benefits of eHealth in reducing adverse events by tracking information flows and improving the understanding of medical processes, as well as through digital prescriptions and alerts on drug interaction; calls on the Commission and the Member States to further explore the possibilities offered by eHealth in the area of patient safety, including the introduction of electronic patient records, and to step up the level of cooperation so as to share their experiences, knowledge and good practices in this sector;

12.

Calls on the Commission and the Member States to assess the potential of mobile health (mhealth) in relation to efficiency of care, incidence of hospitalisation and the reduction of annual per capita healthcare costs;

13.

Notes that the use of antibiotics and the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance vary widely between Member States, and encourages Member States to apply best practices;

14.

Underlines the urgent need to promote veterinary research and innovation at EU and national level;

15.

Urges the Member States to implement or develop the following measures:

16.

Calls on Member States to investigate possible malpractice involved in the refurbishment and re-use of medical devices originally designed and labelled for single use;

17.

Urges Member States to improve awareness programmes for medical professionals, other healthcare workers, veterinary practitioners and the general public focusing on antibiotic use and prevention of infections;

18.

Calls on the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to develop guidelines on the off-label/unlicensed use of medicines based on medical need, as well as to compile a list of off-label medicines in use despite licensed alternatives;

19.

Calls on the Commission and the ECDC to develop guidelines for healthcare professionals, patients and their families on effective hand washing and drying and encouraging the use of hand drying methods that do not facilitate microbial cross-contamination via airborne dissemination and aerosolisation;

20.

Underlines the need for major improvements in communication and in education and training aimed at both veterinarians and farmers;

21.

Urges the Commission once again to present, as soon as possible, a legislative proposal for the mandatory addition of the drug-fact-box to the package leaflet; the information provided by the drug-fact-box should be presented in a form that is clearly legible, prominent and clearly distinguishable from the rest of the text; this drug-fact-box should contain a short description of the necessary facts concerning the medicine in order to enable the patient to understand the utility and possible risks of the medicinal product and in order to apply the medicinal product safely and in the right way; this includes inter alia advice on how to use antibiotics in the right and proper way;

22.

Calls on the Commission and the Member States to promote the introduction of the European logo provided for by Implementing Regulation (EU) No 699/2014 in order to identify clearly online pharmacies which offer medicines for sale to the public remotely while safeguarding consumers against the purchase of fake medicines, which are often a health hazard;

23.

Points out that, on the basis of Decision No 1082/2013/EU on serious cross-border threats to health, Member States must provide the Commission with updates on the latest situation with regard to their preparedness and response planning at national level, and calls on Member States to submit the information concerned in accordance with the timetable established by that decision;

24.

Urges Member States to encourage regular information input from health professionals advising patients on how to minimise risks to their safety through contact with the healthcare system;

25.

Encourages the Member States to set up independent bodies to liaise with professionals in order to ensure the raising of awareness and the dissemination of alerts regarding threats to patient safety;

26.

Calls on the Member States to improve their reporting systems for adverse events and medical errors by developing measures that encourage accurate, blame-free and anonymous reporting by health professionals and patients, and to consider establishing an e-system which could facilitate and improve reporting by patients;

27.

Calls on the Member States to adopt measures that would improve the quality — and not just the quantity — of reporting on adverse events, so that reporting contains robust information that would really improve patient safety, and to establish a system in which data could be easily retrieved and which would ensure comprehensive and systematic evaluation;

28.

Calls on the Commission to develop standardised surveys for collecting data on HAIs;

29.

Calls on the Member States to be more rigorous in verifying and enforcing the ban on non-medical external staff performing medical treatment;

30.

Calls on Member States to inform patients about the risks and preventive measures relating to adverse events in healthcare, and about the complaint procedures and legal options available should an adverse event occur, via, for example, a patients’ rights representative;

31.

Calls on the Member States to take the necessary measures to avoid any conflict of interests affecting doctors and veterinarians in relation to prescription and sale of medicines;

32.

Calls on the Member States to ensure that full information on existing mechanisms for complaint and redress is readily available to patients who have suffered an HAI or a medical error;

33.

Invites the Commission to report on national practices of collective redress in HAI-related cases;

34.

Recognizes the value of citizens’ initiatives, such as the European Charter of Patients’ Rights based on the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and the European Patients’ Rights Day, which has been organised every year on 18 April since 2007; invites the Commission and the Member States to support the European Patients’ Rights Day at local, national and EU level;

35.

Welcomes the Commission’s work on antimicrobial resistance and on the prevention and control of HAIs, as well as the coordination and surveillance efforts of the ECDC, in particular in the framework of the European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network (EARS-Net), the European Surveillance of Antimicrobial Consumption Network (ESAC-Net) and the Healthcare-Associated Infections surveillance Network (HAI-Net);

36.

Welcomes the joint work of coordination and surveillance on antimicrobial resistance of the ECDC, the EMA and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA);

37.

Notes with concern that between 2010 and 2013 the percentages of K. pneumoniae resistant to fluoroquinolones, third-generation cephalosporins and aminoglycosides, as well as combined resistance to all three antibiotic groups and resistance to carbapenems, a last-line group of antibiotics, significantly increased in many Member States and at EU level; also notes that during the same period resistance to third-generation cephalosporins also significantly increased in many Member States and at EU level for E. coli; further notes that in certain regions of Europe MDR-TB accounts for as many as 20 % of all new tuberculosis cases, while treatment outcomes for MDR-TB are alarmingly low;

38.

Notes with concern that in countries with high levels of multi-drug resistance, including resistance to carbapenems, only a few therapeutic options are available, among these being polymyxins; emphasises that in those countries the presence of bacteria resistant to polymyxins is a major warning that options for the treatment of infected patients are becoming even more limited;

39.

Notes that infections caused by antimicrobial resistant bacteria are very likely to entail costly prolonged hospital stays as well as the use of alternative and more expensive therapeutic treatments which will place an increased burden on the Member States’ healthcare systems;

40.

Regrets that the past 25 years have witnessed both a lack of awareness of the importance of rational use of antimicrobial agents, and antibiotics in particular, and a stagnation in drug development in the field of antimicrobial medicines, due in particular to the emergence of scientific, economic and regulatory barriers;

41.

Notes that both Horizon 2020 and the EU Third Public Health Programme have placed emphasis on HAIs and antimicrobial resistance;

42.

Notes that some existing and effective antibiotics are not available in several Member States, resulting in inappropriate selection of drug therapy, and therefore calls on the Member States and the Commission to examine how to keep effective antibiotics on the market;

43.

Points out that antibiotic resistance often holds up treatment with the right antibiotics and that, when they are given the wrong antibiotics or treatment starts too late, patients with serious infectious diseases suffer grave complications which in some cases can be fatal;

44.

Notes with great concern the high number of animals infected with bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics, and the risk of carry-over of these bacteria from infected meat to consumers;

45.

Notes with great concern the link between veterinary use of antimicrobials and the development of antimicrobial resistance in farmers, and the risk of this resistance being spread by hospital treatment;

46.

Welcomes initiatives and actions taken by the Member States, animal health professionals and animal owners aimed at ensuring responsible use of antimicrobials in animals and reducing antimicrobial use in animal husbandry;

47.

Considers research for new antimicrobial drugs to be of the utmost importance, and calls on the Commission to use the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) to stimulate research by, for instance, supporting existing structures such as the Innovative Medicines Initiatives (IMI);

48.

Calls for greater attention to be focused on the development of new antimicrobial agents aimed at new targets;

49.

Welcomes and encourages further research into genuinely new antimicrobial drugs, in particular antibiotics with activity against prevalent multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria and against diseases that are particularly prone to antimicrobial resistance, such as K. pneumoniae, Acinetobacter, E. coli, HIV, Staphylococcus aureus, tuberculosis and malaria; insists, however, that it is of primary importance to first of all ensure the responsible and sensible use of antimicrobials; welcomes and encourages further research into alternative methods aimed at fighting HAIs without using antibiotics and at combating MDR-TB;

50.

Calls on the Commission and the Member States to accelerate research and development activities with a view to providing new tools to fight bacterial infections that are increasingly prevalent in Europe;

51.

Calls on the Commission and the Member States to strengthen incentives for public and private sector cooperation to reinvigorate antibiotic development R&D;

52.

Calls on the Member States to step up the level of cooperation with regard to patient safety and combating antimicrobial resistance, in order to limit and reduce the spread of resistant micro-organisms from one Member State to another;

53.

Calls on the Commission and the Member States to use ‘adaptive pathways’ schemes and other regulatory tools for earlier patient access to innovative antibacterials to treat resistant infections;

54.

Calls on the Commission and the Member States to make use of the ‘adaptive pathway’ programme of the European Medicines Agency and to use all the regulatory tools at their disposal to enable more rapid access to innovative antibacterial treatment for patients;

55.

Highlights the need for patients to be at the centre of any health policy, and encourages health literacy and patient involvement in treatment decision-making;

56.

Considers it of paramount importance that the Commission should ensure the continuation of the EU Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance post-2016, emphasising how to overcome the scientific, regulatory and economic challenges associated with antimicrobial resistance, while including the prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections;

57.

Recalls that self-medication with antibiotics should be strictly prohibited and stresses the necessity of enforcement of a ‘prescription only’ policy for antibacterials by the national competent authorities of the Member States;

58.

Calls on the Member States to take suitable actions to ensure the responsible and sensible use in human medicine of all antimicrobial agents and in particular of antibiotics that are considered to be last-line treatment of bacterial infections in hospitals, bearing in mind that improper use of antibiotics for preventive purposes (including in hospitals) is one of the main contributory factors in the emergence of antibiotic resistance;

59.

Calls on the Member States to promote access to high-quality drugs as well as adherence to full treatment circles for all patients, with specific support for the most vulnerable, as a way to prevent the development of resistance;

60.

Urges Member States also to conduct research into so-called ‘forgotten’ antibiotics so that the range of pharmaceuticals from which to choose can be enlarged;

61.

Calls on the Commission to engage in the work of the WHO in developing a new economic model in order to take into consideration public health concerns and needs;

62.

Calls on the Member States and the Commission to start a reflection process to develop a new economic model, that de-links the volume of sales from the reward paid for a new antibiotic, which would reflect the societal value of a new antibiotic and allow for sufficient return on investment for the company, while the purchaser would gain the right to use the product and have full control over volumes;

63.

Urges the Member States to implement or develop the following measures:

64.

Calls on the Commission to reflect on the consequences of the increased mobility provided for in Directive 2011/24/EU with regard to the enhanced antimicrobial resistance that could result from patients travelling throughout Europe for treatment;

65.

Expresses concern that the joint report by EFSA and ECDC on antimicrobial resistance shows that bacteria which most frequently cause food-borne infections such as Salmonella and Campylobacter have exhibited significant resistance to common antimicrobials;

66.

Repeats its call made in its resolution of 27 October 2011 on the public health threat of antimicrobial resistance (7) for a phase-out of the prophylactic use of antibiotics in livestock farming, stressing that the livestock and intensive fish-farming sectors should focus on preventing disease through good hygiene, housing and animal husbandry, as well as strict bio-security measures, rather than the prophylactic use of antibiotics;

67.

Calls on the Member States to introduce or develop the following measures:

68.

Urges the Member States to regulate any conflicts of interest and financial incentives involving veterinarians who both sell and prescribe antibiotics;

69.

Calls on the European Medicines Agency to draw up a list of antibiotics used in animals for which a significant risk to public health has been identified;

70.

Urges national authorities and the EMA to take or develop the following measures:

71.

Calls on the co-legislator, when negotiating the proposal for a regulation on veterinary medicinal products (2014/0257(COD)), to follow a course of action that is in line with the One Health principle, and more particularly:

72.

Calls on the co-legislator, when negotiating the proposal for a regulation on the manufacture, placing on the market and use of medicated feed and repealing Council Directive 90/167/EEC (2014/0255(COD)) to ensure that it includes provisions aiming to substantially limit the use of medicated feed containing antimicrobials for food-producing animals, and in particular to strictly prohibit the preventive use of antimicrobials included in medicated feed;

73.

Calls on the Commission and the ECDC to carry out research into the potential direct or indirect damage arising from by the use of antimicrobials in pets, and to develop mitigation measures to reduce the risk of potential transmission of antimicrobial resistance from pets to people;

74.

Points out that some Member States have already successfully phased out prophylactic use at farm level; calls on the Commission, therefore, to come forward with legislation to phase out the prophylactic use of antibiotics;

75.

Calls on the Member States to cooperate on defining minimum patient safety standards and indicators for safety and quality of healthcare at the EU level, in consultation with all relevant stakeholders including patient organisations;

76.

Calls on the Commission and the Member States to further engage in a dialogue with all stakeholders and develop a coordinated, comprehensive and sustainable EU strategy for patient safety, as well as to put forward concrete solutions to be implemented at EU, national, regional, local and/or primary care levels;

77.

Calls on the Member States and the Commission to start a reflection process together with the WHO in order to develop a new economic model that de-links the volume of antibiotics sales from the reward paid for a new antibiotic, ensuring a fair return on investment for the companies while safeguarding the sustainability of national health systems;

78.

Calls on the Commission, the Member States and the pharmaceutical industry to optimise EU partnerships between academia and the pharmaceutical industry, as exemplified by the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI);

79.

Encourages pharmaceutical companies, governments and academia to contribute with their best assets (infrastructure, compounds, ideas and financial resources) to ground-breaking fundamental research and pre-competitive joint projects; believes that the Innovative Medicine Initiative (IMI) should be given the flexibility to explore any new findings emerging from those projects;

80.

Asks the Commission to consider a legislative framework to encourage the development of new antibiotic drugs, for example in the form of an instrument governing antibiotics for human use similar to that already proposed for antibiotics for animal use;

81.

Encourages the further pursuit of private-public collaborations, such as the Innovative Medicine Initiative (IMI) programmes ‘New Drugs for Bad Bugs’, COMBACTE, TRANSLOCATION, Drive AB or ENABLE, in order to harness the power of collaboration;

82.

Welcomes the Joint Programme Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance, which allows Member States to agree on research needs so as to avoid duplication, and calls for an increase in funding for the development of new medicines as an alternative to antibiotics, in order to combat antimicrobial resistance;

83.

Encourages the EU to join the global innovation fund that has been proposed by the ‘Antibiotic Resistance Review’ conducted in the UK, with the aim of supporting ‘blue sky science’;

84.

Asks the Commission and the Member States to support easy-to-apply diagnostic tools in order to ensure greater availability of proper diagnosis before an antibiotic is prescribed or administered, especially in the ambulant sector;

85.

Encourages the EU to promote and take part in any global initiative aimed at improving ways of combating antibiotic resistance, and to support research in this field;

86.

Calls on the Commission to prepare, in collaboration with the Member States, recommendations on the food safety standards to be applied with respect to the presence of (multi)resistant pathogens and/or specified resistance determinants;

87.

Stresses that antimicrobial resistance has become a serious problem that needs to be urgently tackled; calls on the Commission to consider proposing legislation on the prudent use of antibiotics if little or no progress has been made in the Member States within five years of the publication of these recommendations;

88.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Committee of the Regions and the Member States.

27.9.2016   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 353/27

—

having regard to its resolution of 5 February 2013 on improving access to finance for SMEs (1),

—

having regard to its resolution of 15 January 2014 on reindustrialising Europe to promote competitiveness and sustainability (2),

—

having regard to its resolution of 27 November 2014 on the revision of the Commission’s impact assessment guidelines and the role of the SME test (3),

—

having regard to the Commission Communication entitled ‘Think Small First’, A ‘Small Business Act’ for Europe (COM(2008)0394),

—

having regard to the Commission Communication entitled Review of the ‘Small Business Act’ for Europe (COM(2011)0078),

—

having regard to the Commission Communication entitled ‘Resource Efficiency Opportunities in the Building Sector’ (COM(2014)0445),

—

having regard to the Eurobarometer Survey on SMEs, resource efficiency and green markets (Flash Eurobarometer 381), and the Eurobarometer Survey on the role of public support in the commercialisation of innovations (Flash Eurobarometer 394),

—

having regard to the Committee of the Regions opinion (adopted during the 109th plenary session of 3-4 December 2014) on the Industrial Policy Package,

—

having regard to the Commission Communication entitled ‘Green Action Plan For SMEs’ (COM(2014)0440),

—

having regard to the European Resource Efficiency Platform Manifesto and Policy Recommendations — March 2014,

—

having regard to the Commission Communication entitled ‘Towards a circular economy: a zero waste programme for Europe’ (COM(2014)0398),

—

having regard to the Commission Communication entitled ‘Innovation for a sustainable Future — The Eco-innovation Action Plan (Eco-AP)’ (COM(2011)0899),

—

having regard to Rule 52 of its Rules of Procedure,

—

having regard to the report of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy and the opinions of the Committee on Budgets and the Committee on Regional Development (A8-0135/2015),

A.

whereas SMEs account for more than 98 % of Europe’s businesses and provide more than 67 % of total employment in the Union and 58 % of gross value added; whereas they constitute the backbone of the European Union’s economy and are the key drivers of European long-term economic growth and sustainable job creation opportunities within the 28 Member States; whereas employment in the environmental goods and services sector in the years 2007-2011 grew by 20 % in spite of the crisis and presents an opportunity for SMEs to increasingly generate economic activity and jobs, including in areas affected by depopulation and ageing; whereas they thus play an important role in the industrial ecosystem together with mid-cap and multinational companies; whereas nine out of ten SMEs are small businesses employing 10 people or less and these microenterprises account for 53 % of all jobs in Europe;

B.

whereas at the moment, the global market for environmental goods and services is estimated at EUR 1 000 billion per year, and it is estimated that this amount will double or even triple by 2020, creating tremendous opportunities for Europe’s SMEs and economic growth in general in the EU; whereas the European Union is a world leader in both the import and export of environmental goods; whereas services are inextricably linked to these goods, yet there are non-tariff barriers that remain for the environmental service providers;

C.

whereas the European Union committed itself to reindustrialising Europe by investing in and supporting the principles of sustainability, competitiveness and innovation, in order to achieve a share of at least 20 % in industrial production as part of the EU Member States’ GDP until 2020; whereas the European Council has committed itself to reducing domestic greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40 %, increasing the share of renewable energy to at least 27 % and increasing energy efficiency by at least 27 % by 2030, with a view to raising this target to 30 %; whereas SMEs should play their role in fulfilling these targets, as 93 % (4) of them are already taking measures to become more resource efficient; whereas according to the Commission, better eco-design, waste prevention, recycling and reuse could bring net savings for EU businesses, estimated to represent up to EUR 600 billion, or 8 % of annual turnover, while also reducing total greenhouse gas emissions by 2-4 %;

D.

whereas enabling SMEs to transform environmental challenges into economic opportunities while acting sustainably is one of the principles of the Small Business Act, but whereas there has been no significant policy progress and SMEs often face inconsistent policies when commencing business and implementing environmental standards;

E.

whereas SME compliance with the growing number of environmental standards will be fostered by both the market and legislation; whereas the EU and the Member States should minimise the administrative burden in new and existing regulation, and should strive to avoid creating additional costs for enterprises in complying with such regulation; whereas new initiatives to reduce regulatory burdens on SMEs and other sectors have been proposed and should be implemented by the Commission and the Member States;

F.

whereas 90 % of EU enterprises are microenterprises; whereas despite recent efforts, SMEs and microenterprises continue to have difficulties with access to skills, information and finance, and to a sufficiently diversified choice of equity and debt instruments needed along the growth path of a company, and whereas EU programmes still fall short of significantly contributing to innovation; whereas application procedures for EU funding for SMEs are still too bureaucratic and therefore prohibitive for many SMEs;

G.

whereas account must be taken of the potential of the EU budget, as an investment-driven budget, to facilitate European SMEs’ access to funding through the reduction of bureaucracy and through dedicated financial tools and the increase of funding for LEOs (local enterprise offices); whereas the development of user-friendly procedures for the various forms of support should be enhanced;

H.

whereas small companies gain proportionally more than large entities from actions to improve resource efficiency and should receive more policy attention; whereas the potential gross benefit of improving resource efficiency is 10-17 % of turnover, depending on the operating sector;

I.

whereas digital technologies are both an important tool for use by SMEs in reaping the benefits expected from optimal use of resources and a sector where new SMEs can readily emerge and develop;

J.

whereas the focus is primarily on high-tech SMEs that directly deliver green innovations, but there is a need to support other companies in complying with environmental regulations, implementing green innovation measures and improving their environmental performance; whereas eco-innovation might be an idea for a new company, but also a measure to improve existing businesses within the framework of the green economy;

K.

whereas although there is no internationally agreed definition of green growth, there is consensus that it is a combination of economic growth and environmental sustainability; whereas enhancing skills and training is a key challenge for SMEs, which should receive particular attention, especially with regard to innovation and resource efficiency; whereas inadequate access to risk capital, in particular at the start-up stages, continues to be one of the main obstacles to the creation and development of growth-oriented businesses;

L.

whereas given that microenterprises generate thousands of jobs and as much as 53 % of employment across Europe, and as such require a different framework to work within, a consistent use of the definition of microenterprises is urgently required; whereas microenterprises face several major difficulties, such as barriers in procurement rules, excess regulatory burden and access to finance;

1.

Supports the concept of green growth and circular economy and notes that the opportunities arising from it relate to various areas of significant importance such as renewable energy sources, and in particular the economically viable exploitation of wind, solar, hydro and geothermal energy, energy efficiency, resource efficiency, waste management, emission reduction, electrification and cradle to cradle; points out the considerable economic and employment potential these areas have for different sectors; notes that green growth should be part of a wider strategy of promoting job creation and economic growth among SMEs;

2.

Stresses that green growth should be put in a broad perspective, and should include efforts deployed throughout the whole value chain and across the entrepreneurial ecosystem, including efforts by industrial manufacturing players to reduce the ecological footprint of their products, production processes, business practices and services; recalls the recommendations of the European Resources Efficiency Platform highlighting that resource efficiency requires a dynamic regulatory framework that gives appropriate signals to producers and consumers to improve the performance of products throughout their life-cycle; calls on the Commission to establish a comprehensive policy framework, including concrete policy objectives and better integrating and streamlining existing policy tools to ensure opportunities and participation of SMEs in the green and circular economy;

3.

Highlights the fact that the global economy will need to provide for an ever growing population — 9 billion people by 2050 — and that our natural resources are limited and therefore should be used in a sustainable and very efficient way; points out new innovative, green and sustainable solutions to these challenges, such as new products, production processes, business practices and services, for instance by integrating innovative digital technologies, and a new supporting legal framework;

4.

Reminds the Commission and the Member States that SMEs across Europe are very heterogeneous, ranging from very traditional, family-run businesses to fast-growing enterprises, high-tech firms, microenterprises, social enterprises and start-ups, and that approaches to assisting them must be equally diverse;

5.

Believes that the EU needs to drastically change its entrepreneurial culture in order to contribute to economic growth by having more people starting up their own businesses and seeking more business opportunities, especially in green growth, and by accepting failure and risk-taking; emphasises the importance of putting this issue at the centre of policymaking; calls on Member States to cater for a softer landing after business failure in their relevant legal frameworks, in order to allow people to start up a new business soon after failure of a previous venture, especially in new and innovative sectors; calls on the Commission to alleviate the fear of failure through awareness campaigns and education;

6.

Stresses the added value of the EU budget in helping SMEs, microenterprises, social enterprises and cooperatives to gain access to funding and international markets, in particular through the COSME programme and under Horizon 2020 and the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF); stresses the need for a clear and uniform EU-wide interpretation by national regulators and open public procurement rules;

7.

Notes that many European SMEs today compete internationally on solutions that include both products and so-called ‘green services’, such as construction, installation, repairs and management; notes that these services are central for the development, sale and export of green products; calls on the Commission to include green services in the ongoing negotiations on the Environmental Goods Agreement, as well as in bilateral trade agreements such as the TTIP, in order to reduce barriers for European SMEs and service providers wishing to go international;

8.

Emphasises the importance of good governance, an independent judiciary, transparency and the rule of law across the EU for the creation of a business-friendly climate and a market with a level playing field for SMEs;

9.

Points out that in the current circumstances where insufficient access to appropriate sources of risk capital, particularly in the early stages, continues to be one of the most significant constraints on the creation and development of growth-oriented firms, the Commission’s Action Plan on improving access to finance for SMEs places a lot of emphasis on venture capital as a possible mode of growth finance; underlines, nonetheless, that this kind of funding is adequate only for a small number of SMEs and that bank loans still constitute an important source of funding, and that alternatives should be developed by the private sector; notes in this context the importance of promoting alternative forms of lending to SMEs, such as credit unions; points out the potential financing opportunities that should be explored through the European Fund for Strategic Investments;

10.

Encourages the Member States to incentivise foreign investors by removing language barriers; notes that accepting applications and providing data in English, in addition to the official language(s) of a Member State, is a step towards that end;

11.

Stresses that there is no one-size-fits-all mode of finance and calls on the Commission to take into account the interests of SMEs in all existing and possible future programmes, instruments and initiatives, especially for new business models in the green economy, ranging across equity (such as business angels, crowd funding and multilateral trading facilities), quasi-equity (such as mezzanine finance) and debt instruments (such as small-ticket company bonds, guarantee facilities and platforms), and partnerships between banks and other operators involved in SME financing (accountancy professionals, business or SME associations or chambers of commerce), in order to support businesses in their start-up, growth and transfer phases, taking into account their size, turnover and financing needs; calls on the Member States and on local and regional authorities to ensure adequate incentives and to provide fiscal incentives for these funding models; stresses the importance of reviewing existing SME supporting instruments to include further green growth opportunities;

12.

Highlights the need to ensure coordination and complementarity between financial instruments in the EU budget, in particular under the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF), the EU Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI) and the LIFE programme;

13.

Calls on the Commission and the Member States to monitor the results achieved by SMEs that have accessed green innovation funding, in order to gauge the effectiveness of such funding; urges the Commission to lose no time in making the changes required for the funding to be more effective, should the results prove to be unsatisfactory;

14.

Notes that due to the highly technical nature of many green investment plans it is key to highlight the importance of standardised risk and return models and of developing new models for new challenges and sectors;

15.

Recalls that SMEs can be expected to play an important role in the circular economy, providing sustainable, yet labour-intensive services such as repair, refurbishing and recycling; notes that the Commission, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Parliament and the Eurogroup broadly support the principle of a tax shift from labour to natural resource use and consumption; requests that the Commission assess the impact of a tax shift from labour to natural resource use;

16.

Emphasises that entrepreneurs, SMEs, business associations and support organisations should be more literate on financing possibilities for more performant technologies, or for contracting services such as consultancy, coaching and training on eco-design, resource management and green entrepreneurship and availability of green technologies, products and services that could be beneficial for their business; calls on Member States to enhance provision of services for SMEs in those areas and also emphasises the need for simple and accessible sources of information and databases for these products and services; reminds the Commission and the Member States that this information should be communicated in a way that corresponds best with the logic and working methods of SMEs;

17.

Notes that EU programmes do not significantly contribute to eco-innovation and the circular economy and that the Commission, therefore, needs to focus better funding from COSME and Horizon 2020 towards the development of eco-innovative solutions by and for SMEs and to support financing for the improvement of product design and processes performance, building on the successful experiences in the past MFF; considers, in particular, that the SME instrument under Horizon 2020 needs to be fully implemented;

18.

Calls on the Commission and the EIB to make sure that in the implementation phase of the ‘Investment Plan for Europe’ SMEs, including green and innovative ones, will be key beneficiaries of the support provided for under this proposal; insists that clear criteria, including European added value, must be developed to achieve this aim and that provision of advisory services on resource efficiency and eco-innovation for SMEs be strengthened; calls on the EIB and the Commission to ensure that all categories listed in the Commission recommendation concerning the definition of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (C(2003)1422) sufficiently benefit; points to the importance of Horizon 2020 and COSME for the support of SMEs, and the need for full implementation of the SME instrument under Horizon 2020;

19.

Considers that, in order to ensure complementarity of financial schemes for SMEs, it is essential to coordinate the measures taken under the Cohesion Policy and other programmes, such as the Horizon 2020 Programme, both nationally and regionally; stresses the importance of legislating in such a way as to allow SMEs to maintain their competitiveness;

20.

Calls on the Commission and the Member States to find a swift and lasting solution to the enormous backlog of payments related to regional policy and as regards the handling of ESIF assistance for the previous funding period, so as to ensure that SMEs as project partners will not, on account of payment delays, be deterred from taking part in support programmes and projects;

21.

Highlights the importance of actively pursuing collaboration across sectors, along value chains as well as geographical areas, which offers the potential to spark innovation and new growth opportunities through cross-fertilisation of ideas and innovative concepts; welcomes the Horizon 2020 action ‘Cluster facilitated projects for new industrial value chains’, to better unlock the innovation potential of SMEs, including the eco-innovative and resource-efficient solutions they offer;

22.

Welcomes the establishment of a European Resource Efficiency Excellence Centre to advise and assist SMEs seeking to improve their resource efficiency performance; stresses the need to establish this centre as a strong network of partners across EU regions and to build on proven experiences in Member States; believes it should guide SMEs to European, national and regional programmes in this field of action, and provide access to expertise, networks and infrastructure;

23.

Stresses the importance of knowledge transfers and multi-stakeholder knowledge sharing, including cross-border, through informal networks, especially for SMEs and microenterprises, to raise awareness of existing and new innovative techniques, best practices, ways to acquire proper financing, possible government support schemes and the relevant legislative frameworks entailing the least burdensome administration, and recalls that the existing national contact points for the EU funding programmes and the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) have to be fully involved in the support of SMEs and proactively inform, coach and support SMEs in identifying financing possibilities at EU, national or regional level; supports the organisation of a European Resource Efficiency Campaign to inform SMEs about the benefits and opportunities offered by resource efficiency and how industrial synergies on recycling can be created; calls on the Commission and the EEN to cooperate on resource efficiency with industry associations, trade unions, SMEs, NGOs and academia, as well as regional initiatives; welcomes, in this regard, the Commission’s focus on symbioses and clusters and encourages the Commission to come forward with concrete initiatives to facilitate cross-sectoral cooperation and resource management;

24.

Urges sector federations to play a more prominent role in providing appropriate information and advice on green technologies, funding possibilities and the relevant procedures; calls on the Commission and the Member States to fill the gap where this support is lacking and, in cooperation with sector federations and companies, to further investigate what opportunities exist and accelerate sustainable solutions, and invest in environmentally friendly technologies, resource efficiency and the recycling economy; notes the growing gap between the needs of SMEs and the skills of employees; notes that 26 % of employers in Europe face difficulties in finding employees who possess the right skills;

25.

Stresses the need to be more effective in developing basic R&D, to fully involve SMEs in this process and to actively support further transformation of basic R&D outcomes into further technological advances; highlights the importance of the reindustrialisation of Europe given the importance of the manufacturing industry for R&D&I and thus the EU’s future competitive advantage; believes that non-technological, organisational, systems and public sector innovation should also be given sufficient attention, along with technology-driven solutions;

26.

Highlights the importance of the commercialisation and valorisation by European companies of R&D output; calls on the Commission and the Member States to provide for a more stable regulatory framework and adequate financial schemes in order to enable economic initiative and entrepreneurship and to limit the time to market of new products, services and business practices, notably in the green economy;

27.

Stresses the potential for innovation and green growth which lies in new European space infrastructure; calls on the Commission to promote the use by SMEs of data derived from these infrastructures in business nurseries and incubators; calls on the Commission to institute a regime for SMEs which affords ready access to data from these infrastructures at the research, development and commercialisation stages;

28.

Notes that according to the May 2014 Innobarometer only 9 % of all companies say they have enjoyed public financial support for their R&D&I activities since January 2011; stresses the need to develop user friendly procedures for the various forms of support;

29.

Notes the benefits which the unitary European patent confers on SMEs, particularly in the field of green technologies; calls on all Member States to join the unitary European patent system; calls on Member States to ratify without delay the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court, which is necessary for the application of the unitary European patent; calls on the Commission to propose a simplified procedure for use by SMEs in bringing an action for infringement before the Unified Patent Court;

30.

Calls for an improved policy framework for the circular economy, including adopting and implementing smart regulation, standards and codes of conduct which aim to internalise externalities, tackling resource-intensive products, creating a level playing field, rewarding front-runners and accelerating the transition towards a resource-efficient and sustainable economy;

31.

Calls on the Commission to include as part of the Circular Economy Package the extension of the eco-design instrument to include the resource efficiency dimension; believes that eco-design should address durability, reparability and recyclability of products, including standards for guaranteed minimum lifetime and disassembly;

32.

Encourages the extension of innovative support schemes, such as green innovation vouchers, which can promote the introduction of sustainable technologies and environmentally friendly and climate-resilient solutions; as regards applications for support, considers that the rules need to be simple and clear and should not represent an administrative burden; furthermore, invites the Commission and the Member States to find innovative financing solutions for SMEs and to provide fully accessible financing instruments; recalls that the sustainable growth and innovation capacity of European SMEs is one of the main competitive advantages that the EU has in globalised markets;

33.

Calls on Member States to avoid creating barriers to the internal market by gold-plating, to review their current regulatory regimes, to remove any superfluous or ineffective regulations which constitute market barriers, and to ensure consistent transposition into national legislation; calls on the Commission to ensure that the SME Test is fully applied in all impact assessments; invites the Commission to step up its efforts in addressing gold-plating with individual Member States; stresses the need for a clear and uniform EU-wide interpretation by national regulators and open public procurement rules, including green procurement and e-procurement, which at the moment represents a substantial barrier for SMEs wishing to internationalise and at the same time a tremendous opportunity for Member States to be early adaptors, including in resource- and energy-efficient products and solutions;

34.

Welcomes the Commission decision for withdrawing obsolete or overly burdensome legislative proposals; expects the Commission to come forward with a more ambitious waste legislation proposal, as announced by Vice-President Timmermans in Parliament’s plenary session of December 2014; calls on the Commission to refrain from legislative proposals that would lead to an unnecessary administrative burden for businesses and SMEs and to continuously review existing legislation with the objective of decreasing the current administrative burden, improving the quality and effectiveness of legislation and adapting this to new business models; stresses, nonetheless, the need for ambitious actions, an adequate and timely implementation of existing legislation and early involvement of stakeholders from the relevant industries and SMEs, including in the impact assessment, in order to reach the EU’s environmental targets;

35.

Recalls the importance of technology-neutral and innovation-friendly legislation, which allows different new technologies to be tested and valued by the market; welcomes the development of the Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) scheme as a new tool to help innovative environmental technologies reach the market; calls on Member States to make adequate use of market-based instruments in their public support schemes and to refrain from using environmentally harmful market distorting subsidies; recalls that public intervention should be used to address market failures such as the non-pricing of externalities; calls on the Commission to draw up common guidelines for national public support schemes for green investment projects in order to create a more uniform set of measures;

36.

Notes that disruptive industries and technologies often indicate flaws in existing legislation; stresses the need for continuous monitoring and updating of existing legislation and its implementation, so that sustainable or eco-innovative technologies and new technological developments do not encounter barriers;

37.

Believes that developing entrepreneurship skills and programmes to learn how the market, the economy and the financial system operate, function and interact, along with environmental awareness, and how new technologies can boost effective, innovative and green opportunities, should be included in basic and higher education systems, and also be promoted through extra-curricular activities and lifelong learning; believes that a well prepared business plan is the first step towards better access to finance and viability; calls on the Commission and the Member States to include entrepreneurship, financial, economic and environmental education in their education programmes without delay; supports in this connection the ‘Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs’ programme, designed to promote an entrepreneurial culture and develop the single market and competitiveness;

38.

Stresses that microenterprises and start-ups should also be afforded help and guidance in moving towards sustainable green growth; calls on the Commission to ensure that these businesses will be adequately covered by new initiatives focused on green growth opportunities for SMEs;

39.

Notes that the Erasmus+ programme makes it possible for students and young people to develop entrepreneurship skills through, amongst others, the funding of internships; supports the ‘Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs’ programme, designed to promote an entrepreneurial culture and develop the single market and competitiveness;

40.

Notes the importance of addressing unsustainable consumption patterns and promoting a change in consumer behaviour; stresses the need for adequate consumer education and the need to encourage incentives for more sustainable consumption; calls on the Commission and the Member States to reinforce demand side measures, such as making use of public procurement in order to enhance uptake of resource- and energy-efficient products and solutions; stresses the value of including resource use in product information and eco-labels in order to empower consumers;

41.

Stresses the importance of facilitating start-ups and spin-offs through collaboration with technological research institutes, universities and vocational training establishments;

42.

Highlights the importance of exports for the creation of jobs and growth in Europe; calls on the Commission to speed up pending trade agreements with our partners so as to facilitate European SMEs’ access to new markets;

43.

Believes that female entrepreneurship is an asset as yet insufficiently valued for the growth and competitiveness of the EU, which should be fostered and strengthened, and that all the obstacles, in particular wage discrimination, facing women, including in the green economy, should be removed in order for women and men to benefit equally; believes that regular collection of harmonised statistics, including on the gender-specific impact of legislation and sex-disaggregated labour data, would facilitate more evidence-based policymaking and monitoring and fill a knowledge gap in the green discourse;

44.

Calls on the Commission to study and identify the sectors of European industry and geographical areas where the conditions are met for the creation of new clusters and hubs, and to support their development;

45.

Calls on the Commission and the Member States to take particular notice of and respond to the opportunities and challenges presented by rural areas in respect of SMEs, green growth and eco-innovation;

46.

Calls on the Member States (at the level of national, regional and local policymakers and managing authorities) to continuously promote sustainable growth, under the smart specialisation strategies with the engagement of key stakeholders, that favours clustering, synergies and networks around the activities of the green economy; asks the Commission to report to Parliament on the implementation of smart specialisation strategies at national and/or regional level, where appropriate, and especially as regards the various patterns of ‘downstream actions’ used in the EU and in Member States; calls on the Commission and the Member States to provide information on the practical measures taken in order to develop competencies for eco-innovative SMEs through interconnecting regional innovation centres and the key support networks;

47.

Calls on the Commission, under the umbrella of regional policy, to draw up specific programmes which embody all relevant green growth elements for SMEs; stresses the necessity for youth entrepreneurship potential to be used to the full in the context of green growth of SMEs; calls on the Commission to prepare measures which would connect educational institutions with European programmes and measures to support the green economy; asks the Commission and the Member States to use all the means at their disposal to provide advice to the workforce of the SMEs and raise their awareness in order to improve their knowledge and skills; calls for the support for training to be focused on young people and the most disadvantaged groups;

48.

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

27.9.2016   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 353/35

—

having regard to the Commission delegated directive (C(2015)00383),

—

having regard to Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

—

having regard to Directive 2011/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2011 on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment, and in particular Articles 4, 5(1)(a) and 22 thereof (1),

—

having regard to Rule 105(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.

whereas Article 4(1) of Directive 2011/65/EU on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (‘RoHS’) restricts inter alia the use of cadmium in electrical and electronic equipment (see the listing in Annex II to the RoHS Directive);

B.

whereas Annex III to the RoHS Directive provides for exemptions from the restrictions laid down in Article 4(1);

C.

whereas point 39 of Annex III lists a derogation for ‘Cadmium in colour converting II-VI LEDs (< 10 μg Cd per mm2 of light-emitting area) for use in solid state illumination or display systems’ with an expiry date of 1 July 2014;

D.

whereas Article 5 provides for the adaptation to scientific and technical progress of Annex III for the inclusion and deletion of exemptions;

E.

whereas the Commission indicated that it received, in December 2012, an application to renew exemption 39 and, in May 2013, a related application for a narrower, more specific exemption for cadmium in quantum dots in displays;

F.

whereas, pursuant to Article 5(1)a, exemptions shall be included in Annex III, provided that such inclusion does not weaken the environmental and health protection afforded by Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 and where any of the following conditions is fulfilled: their elimination or substitution via design changes or materials and components which do not require any of the materials or substances listed in Annex II is scientifically or technically impracticable; the reliability of substitutes is not ensured; or the total negative environmental, health and consumer safety impacts caused by substitution are likely to outweigh the total environmental, health and consumer safety benefits thereof;

G.

whereas the Commission delegated directive extends exemption 39 until 30 June 2017, relabelling it exemption 39(a), and introduces a new more specific exemption 39(b) on ‘Cadmium in downshifting cadmium based semiconductor nanocrystal quantum dots for use in display lighting applications (< 0,2 μg Cd per mm2 of display screen area)’, with an expiry date of 30 June 2018;

H.

whereas the extension of exemption 39 and the new exemption 39(b) both concern cadmium quantum dots, even though a specific reference to quantum dots is given only in exemption 39(b);

I.

whereas the extension of exemption 39 concerns two different applications of cadmium quantum dots: one concerns the use in solid state illumination (hereafter referred to as ‘lighting’), while the other concerns display systems;

J.

whereas the new exemption 39(b) only concerns displays;

K.

whereas the Commission states explicitly that quantum dot (cadmium and cadmium-free) LEDs for lighting are not available yet, and admits that the positive environmental impact thereof could therefore not be demonstrated; whereas the Commission nevertheless extended the generic exemption for cadmium quantum dot-based lighting applications until 30 June 2017 to allow the lighting industry to apply for a specific exemption since such applications would already be in the pre-production phase;

L.

whereas the independent consultants who assessed the applications on behalf of the Commission concluded that the information provided did not allow a conclusion that an exemption for lighting would be justified at present, and therefore explicitly recommended against it (2);

M.

whereas the informal information circulated by the Commission on 12 May 2015 does not change the situation, as no proof is given of the availability of these products on the European market and no assessment of their properties against the conditions of Article 5(1)(a) is provided;

N.

whereas in the absence of any relevant lighting products being available, the applicant was unable to prove that any of the conditions of Article 5(1)(a) were fulfilled for the use of cadmium quantum dots in lighting; whereas it is therefore unjustified to grant an extension of the exemption for lighting;

O.

whereas such an exemption may be relevant in the future, but can only be granted on the basis of a proper assessment, which has not yet been made;

P.

whereas, in its delegated directive, the Commission furthermore granted a new specific exemption for cadmium quantum dots in displays, arguing that they were already in use in displays, that this would have a positive overall impact due to their low energy consumption, and that cadmium-free quantum dots were not yet technically available;

Q.

whereas the independent consultants who assessed the applications on behalf of the Commission recommended in April 2014 granting a specific exemption for cadmium quantum dots in displays for a shorter period than that applied for (until 30 June 2017, i.e. one year less than the period adopted by the Commission), in light of the understanding that applications resulting in the reduction of cadmium quantities as well as cadmium-free substitutes are in the final stages of research; whereas, in other words, the recommendation was based on the absence of cadmium-free quantum dots in displays at that time;

R.

whereas, however, there have been important market developments since; whereas in 2015 one of the world’s leading TV manufacturers placed a whole line of new models of televisions on the Union market based on cadmium-free quantum dots, available at major retail outlets in several Member States (at least Germany, the UK and Belgium);

S.

whereas on the other hand, there no longer seem to be any TVs with cadmium quantum dots on the Union market, and whereas it is difficult to find any retailer for the one and only notebook the display of which is based on cadmium quantum dot technology;

T.

whereas it can be expected that the energy-saving properties of cadmium-free quantum dots are similar to those of cadmium quantum dots; whereas, according to eco-labelling information, when comparing same-sized TVs, a TV display with cadmium-free quantum dots showed lower energy consumption as compared to a model based on cadmium quantum dots; whereas according to industry information, testing of the colour performance against the relevant standard showed it to be equal if not superior for displays based on cadmium-free quantum dots;

U.

whereas the key justification by the Commission for granting the new specific exemption is that ‘cadmium-free quantum dots are not yet technically available’;

V.

whereas this justification is manifestly incorrect, as not only are cadmium-free quantum dots technically available, but a whole line of TVs based on this technology has become widely available on the Union market, on offer by well-known major retailers;

W.

whereas the informal information circulated by the Commission on 12 May 2015 does not change that situation; whereas the examples listed by the Commission for products with displays with cadmium quantum dots are either currently unavailable (TCL 55’’ TV), or are only available in the US (ASUS Notebook, Sony TVs), or only concern products to be launched (Konka, Phillips, AOC);

X.

whereas both the extension of current exemption 39 and the introduction of a new exemption 39(b) fail to fulfil any of the conditions of Article 5(1)(a) and are therefore unjustified; whereas relatively short expiry periods cannot justify non-compliance with the conditions of Article 5(1)(a);

Y.

whereas, according to Article 5(5) of the RoHS Directive, the existing exemption 39 shall remain valid until a decision on the renewal application is taken by the Commission;

Z.

whereas according to Article 5(6) of the RoHS Directive, in the event that an application for renewal of an exemption is rejected or an exemption is revoked, the exemption period shall expire at the earliest 12 months and at the latest 18 months after the date of the decision;

AA.

whereas a rejection of the delegated directive therefore does not ban cadmium quantum dots, but only triggers a new assessment; whereas there are therefore no market distortions, as the current exemption stays valid until revocation, with an additional grace period to be granted thereafter;

AB.

whereas there have been important new developments with regard to the commercial availability of products based on cadmium-free quantum dot technology which require a new assessment,

1.

Objects to the Commission delegated directive;

2.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and to notify it that the delegated directive cannot enter into force;

3.

Considers that the Commission delegated directive fails to comply with the conditions laid down in Article 5(1)(a) of Directive 2011/65/EU, for both exemptions it inserts in points 39(a) and 39(b) of Annex III to Directive 2011/65/EU;

4.

Considers in particular that the justification given for the exemption in point 39(b) is based on an outdated situation with regard to the practicability of replacement of cadmium in quantum dots; therefore calls for a swift reassessment of the existing exemption in point 39 of Annex III to Directive 2011/65/EU against the conditions of Article 5(1)(a) thereof with a view to its revocation;

5.

Calls on the Commission to submit a new delegated act which takes into account the position of Parliament;

6.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and to the governments and parliaments of the Member States.

27.9.2016   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 353/38

—

having regard to the Commission delegated regulation (C(2015)00861),

—

having regard to Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

—

having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 922/72, (EEC) No 234/79, (EC) No 1037/2001 and (EC) No 1234/2007 (1), and in particular Articles 177(1)(a), 223(2) and 227(5) thereof,

—

having regard to the motion for a resolution by the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development,

—

having regard to Rule 105(3) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.

whereas the following-up of data relating to ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin ensures both transparency and knowledge as regards the evolution of the market, which is still unstable and which faces strong competition, in particular on account of importation from third countries;

B.

whereas such information is also extremely useful when it comes to international agreement negotiations and anti-dumping investigations;

C.

whereas Eurostat does not provide such precise information, meaning that there is no alternative way for operators, Member States and EU institutions to be fully aware of the situation of the market;

1.

Objects to the Commission delegated regulation;

2.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and to notify it that the delegated regulation cannot enter into force;

3.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and to the governments and parliaments of the Member States.

27.9.2016   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 353/39

—

having regard to Articles 2 and 3(3), second subparagraph, of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and to Articles 8 and 294 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU),

—

having regard to Council Directive 92/85/EEC of 19 October 1992 on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health at work of pregnant workers and workers who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding (1) (the Maternity Leave Directive),

—

having regard to the Commission proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending the Maternity Leave Directive (COM(2008)0637),

—

having regard to its position adopted at first reading on 20 October 2010 with a view to the adoption of Directive 2011/…/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council amending the Maternity Leave Directive (2),

—

having regard to Parliament’s repeated statements on the subject, including its resolution of 10 March 2015 on progress on equality between women and men in the European Union in 2013 (3),

—

having regard to the interinstitutional agreement on better law-making (4) and to the forthcoming one on the same subject,

—

having regard to the questions to the Council and to the Commission on maternity leave (O-000049/2015 — B8-0119/2015 and O-000050/2015 — B8-0120/2015),

—

having regard to the European Court of Justice judgment of 14 April 2015 regarding, inter alia, the Commission’s right to withdraw a proposal (Case C-409/13),

—

having regard to Rules 128(5) and 123(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.

whereas the principle of equal treatment of women and men implies that there must be no discrimination whatsoever, be it direct or indirect, including on account of motherhood, fatherhood and the fact of shouldering family responsibilities;

B.

whereas the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth entails ambitious targets, such as a 75 % employment rate and a reduction in the number of people suffering, or threatened by, poverty and social exclusion by at least 20 million by 2020;

C.

whereas there are more women than men living in poverty and exclusion, especially older women, whose average pension level is 39 % lower than that of men, and single mothers; whereas it is more common for women than men to work part-time or on fixed-term or temporary contracts, and whereas women’s poverty is due largely to the precariousness of their jobs;

D.

whereas the falling birth rate in the EU has been exacerbated by the crisis, given that unemployment, precarious circumstances and uncertainty about the future and the economy are making couples, and younger women in particular, put off having children, thereby further reinforcing the EU-wide trend towards population ageing;

E.

whereas women spend three times as long as men every week on household chores (including caring for children, elderly people and people with disabilities as well as household tasks); whereas the female unemployment rate is underestimated, given that many women are not registered as unemployed, particularly those who devote themselves exclusively to household tasks and childcare;

F.

whereas the sharing of family and domestic responsibilities between women and men is essential in order to achieve gender equality; whereas a quarter of Member States do not offer paternity leave;

G.

whereas the Council has still not responded officially to Parliament’s first-reading position of 20 October 2010 on the proposal for a directive amending the Maternity Leave Directive;

1.

Deplores the deadlock in the Council regarding the Maternity Leave Directive; urges the Member States to resume negotiations;

2.

Deplores the interinstitutional instability resulting from the Council’s failure to act, given that Parliament has concluded its first reading, yet the discussions in the Council have been halted, thereby compromising the whole legislative procedure;

3.

Reiterates its willingness to end the deadlock, and calls for the Commission to play its role of ‘honest broker’ and to engage in a constructive manner with the co-legislators with a view to reconciling the positions of Parliament and the Council, with due regard for the balance between the institutions and the role conferred on it by the Treaties;

4.

Deplores the fact that the proposed revision of the directive may be withdrawn by the Commission as part of the REFIT exercise, and, if this ultimately proves to be the case, asks for a legislative initiative aimed at revising Council Directive 92/85/EEC as an immediate alternative, to be started under the Luxembourg presidency of the Council, in order to improve the health and safety of pregnant workers and workers who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding, thereby addressing demographic challenges while also reducing inequality between men and women;

5.

Notes the European Court of Justice judgment of 14 April 2015 regarding the Commission’s right to withdraw a proposal (Case C-409/13), which reaffirms the specific conditions to be fulfilled by the Commission, inter alia that it honour its obligation to state to Parliament and the Council the grounds for the withdrawal and to abide by the principles of conferral of powers, institutional balance and sincere cooperation, as laid down in the TEU;

6.

Reiterates its willingness to draft a separate directive establishing paid paternity leave of at least 10 working days and encouraging measures, legislative and otherwise, which enable men, and fathers in particular, to exercise their right to achieve work-life balance;

7.

Awaits the final assessment of Council Directive 2010/18/EU on parental leave and, in view of the available interim studies, calls for a revision of that directive as it is not reaching its target of reconciling private and professional life in order to achieve work-life balance for both parents, and especially women, who are impacted by the gender gaps in respect of pay, pensions and poverty;

8.

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

27.9.2016   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 353/41

—

having regard to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and its entry into force in the EU on 21 January 2011 in accordance with Council Decision 2010/48/EC of 26 November 2009 concerning the conclusion, by the European Community, of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (1),

—

having regard to the Code of Conduct between the Council, the Member States and the Commission setting out internal arrangements for the implementation by and representation of the European Union relating to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2),

—

having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,

—

having regard to the Commission staff working document entitled ‘Report on the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) by the European Union’ (SWD(2014)0182),

—

having regard to the List of Issues adopted by the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in relation to the initial report of the European Union (3),

—

having regard to the Commission communication of 15 November 2010 entitled ‘European Disability Strategy 2010-2020: A renewed commitment to a barrier-free Europe’ (COM(2010)0636),

—

having regard to its resolution of 25 October 2011 on mobility and inclusion of people with disabilities and the European Disability Strategy 2010-2020 (4),

—

having regard to the 2013 Annual Report of the European Ombudsman,

—

having regard to Articles 2, 9, 10, 19 and 168 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

—

having regard to Articles 3, 15, 21, 23 and 26 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,

—

having regard to Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation (5),

—

having regard to Rule 123(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.

whereas, as full citizens, persons with disabilities have equal rights and are entitled to inalienable dignity, equal treatment, independent living and full participation in society;

B.

whereas an estimated 80 million people in the European Union have a disability;

C.

whereas evidence from the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights consistently demonstrates that persons with disabilities face discrimination and barriers to exercising their rights on an equal basis with others;

D.

whereas people with disabilities are one of the most vulnerable groups in our society and their integration into the labour market represents one of the biggest challenges for social and labour market policies;

E.

whereas full inclusion and equal participation of persons with disabilities can only be achieved by taking a human-rights-based approach to disability at all levels of EU policymaking, implementation and monitoring, including intra-institutionally, and whereas the Commission must have due regard to this in future proposals;

F.

whereas, according to EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, 21 out of 28 Member States still impose restrictions on the full exercise of legal capacity;

G.

whereas an EU anti-discrimination directive was proposed by the Commission in 2008, but whereas it remains blocked in the Council;

H.

whereas the CRPD principles go far beyond discrimination, pointing the way towards the full enjoyment of human rights by all persons with disabilities in an inclusive society, and are also aimed at providing the necessary protection and assistance to enable families to contribute to the full and equal enjoyment of the rights of persons with disabilities;

I.

whereas the EU has formally ratified the CRPD, which has also been signed by all 28 EU Member States and ratified by 25 of them;

J.

whereas every year Parliament’s Committee on Petitions receives petitions dealing with discrimination on grounds of disability in access to employment, self-employment, public services and education;

K.

whereas people with disabilities are not a homogeneous group, and whereas policies and actions planned on their behalf should take account of that lack of homogeneity and of the fact that some groups, such as women, children and individuals who need more intense support, face additional difficulties and multiple forms of discrimination;

L.

whereas Parliament must take into consideration the fact that the provisions of the CRPD are minimum standards that allow the European institutions to go beyond them in order to protect persons with disabilities and to fight discrimination;

M.

whereas access to work, coupled with non-discrimination in the workplace, is a fundamental element for a self-determined and independent life; whereas, despite all the existing programmes, initiatives and strategies at the EU level, the employment rate for people between the ages of 20 and 64 is higher than 70 %, while the employment rate for persons with disabilities is lower than 50 %; whereas the employment rate for women without disabilities is 65 %, compared with 44 % for women with disabilities;

N.

whereas paid employment is essential to enable persons with disabilities to lead an independent life, and whereas the Member States should therefore strive for wider access to employment for people with disabilities so that they can contribute to the society they live in, and should, as a precondition, provide inclusive education for all children with disabilities, including those with learning difficulties, in order to help them acquire a good educational grounding from primary school on so that they can follow a curriculum appropriate to their learning abilities, thereby giving them the opportunity to gain a solid educational background that can help them develop a career or secure a good job which enables them to live an independent life later on;

O.

whereas disability is an evolving concept that results from the interaction between people with impairments and attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others and with the same dignity;

P.

whereas, on the basis of Article 7 of the Common Provisions Regulation (CPR), in particular, accessibility for persons with disabilities must be taken into account throughout the preparation and implementation of programmes financed by the European Structural and Investment Funds, and whereas the same issues should be taken into consideration in the preparation and implementation of other EU funds;

Q.

whereas in some Member States the demand for social services is growing on account of demographic and societal changes, with increased rates of unemployment, poverty and social exclusion, including a lack of availability of quality services for persons with disabilities, which is having a negative effect on the ability of those with disabilities to live independently, inclusively and on an equal basis with others;

R.

whereas existing EU legislation relating to the rights of persons with disabilities should be better implemented and enforced in order to increase accessibility for all those with disabilities across the EU;

S.

whereas Parliament forms part of the EU Framework to promote, protect, and monitor the implementation of the CRPD, in accordance with Article 33(2) of the CRPD;

T.

whereas several civil society organisations submitted information to the CRPD Committee in relation to the List of Issues;

U.

whereas the Commission, as the focal point under Article 33(1) of the CRPD, has been designated to answer the List of Issues adopted by the CRPD Committee;

V.

whereas Parliament is the only directly elected body of the European Union representing European citizens and therefore fully complies with the Paris Principles, as stipulated in Article 33 of the CRPD;

1.

Assures the CRPD Committee that the European Parliament will respond to questions directly addressed to it, while also urging the Commission to take Parliament’s views into account when formulating its own answers to the committee;

2.

Considers it regrettable that the Code of Conduct was adopted by the Commission and the Council without the involvement of Parliament, with the result that Parliament has limited competences with regard to the monitoring of the CRPD;

3.

Calls on the Commission to formally consult on its answer to the List of Issues with all relevant institutions and agencies, including Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions, the Ombudsman and the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights;

4.

Calls on the Commission to invite the EU Framework to formally participate in the Constructive Dialogue;

5.

Highlights the fact that the proposal for an EU anti-discrimination directive seeks to protect people with disabilities against discrimination in social protection, health care and (re)habilitation, education and access to and supply of goods and services, such as housing, transport and insurance; deplores the lack of progress within the Council on this proposal and urges the Member States to work towards the adoption of a common position without any further delay;

6.

Notes that the lack of disaggregated data and statistics in relation to specific disability groups is a barrier to formulating adequate policies; calls on the Commission, therefore, to collect and disseminate statistical data on disability, disaggregated by age and gender, with a view to monitoring the situation of persons with disabilities across the EU in relevant areas of daily life, and not only in the field of employment;

7.

Notes that several civil society organisations submitted information to the CRPD Committee for the List of Issues; urges the Commission, therefore, to further develop a structured dialogue and to consult and cooperate with organisations representing persons with disabilities as part of the review process, including in formulating an answer to the CRPD Committee on its List of Issues, and in developing, implementing and monitoring EU policies in this area;

8.

Calls on those Member States which have not already done so to ratify the CRPD without delay;

9.

Calls on the Commission to present an ambitious proposal for a European Accessibility Act, with the full involvement of persons with disabilities throughout the legislative cycle, and stresses the need for this proposal to include a full range of policy areas with regard to the accessibility of goods and services for all EU citizens, fostering the independent living and full inclusion of people with disabilities and establishing an ongoing, effective and independent monitoring and enforcement mechanism;

10.

Calls on the Member States to translate into national law the obligations derived from Article 12 of the CRPD, most specifically to ease any restrictions on their rights to cast their vote and to be elected;

11.

Urges the Council to accelerate its work on the proposal for a directive on the accessibility of public sector bodies’ websites, with a view to reaching a common position and further advancing towards the adoption of this piece of legislation, thereby increasing the accessibility of documents, videos and websites and providing alternative formats and means of communication;

12.

Recommends that EU funds be used to promote accessibility and e-accessibility for persons with disabilities, to promote a transition from institutional to community-based care, to develop quality social and health services, and to invest in capacity-building for organisations representing persons with disabilities;

13.

Notes its responses and actions in respect of the List of Issues raised in relation to the initial report of the European Union as part of the CRPD review:

14.

Stresses the need for enhanced political cooperation within the EU Framework, including the necessary financial and human resources to ensure that it can fulfil its tasks as outlined in the aforementioned Council decision, and urges actors within the EU Framework to allocate the requested resources to this task;

15.

Welcomes MEPs’ initiative of requesting that a joint report be drawn up on a regular basis by the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs and the Committee on Petitions in response to the recommendations of the CRPD Committee;

16.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.

27.9.2016   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 353/46

—

having regard to Council Directive 2000/29/EC on protective measures against the introduction into the Community of organisms harmful to plants or plant products and against their spread within the Community (1),

—

having regard to the scientific opinions of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on the risks to plant health posed by Xylella fastidiosa in the EU territory, with the identification and evaluation of risk reduction options, published on 26 November 2013 and 6 January 2015,

—

having regard to the Commission implementing decisions of 13 February 2014, 23 July 2014 and 28 April 2015 as regards measures to prevent the introduction into, and spread within, the Union of Xylella fastidiosa,

—

having regard to the reports by the Food and Veterinary Office of audits carried out in February and November 2014,

—

having regard to the question to the Commission on the outbreak of Xylella fastidiosa affecting olive trees (O-000038/2015 — B8-0117/2015),

—

having regard to Directive 2009/128/EC establishing a framework for Community action to achieve the sustainable use of pesticide (2),

—

having regard to Rules 128(5) and 123(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.

whereas Xylella fastidiosa is a highly dangerous immediate threat to the production in southern Europe of certain crops, including olive, almond and peach trees and ornamental plants; whereas, depending on the type of bacterium, it is a potential threat to vineyards, citrus trees and other crops and could lead to unprecedented and devastating losses, with dramatic economic, environmental and social consequences; whereas the strain infecting olive trees in the Apulia region is different from the isolates causing disease in grapevine or citrus in other parts of the world;

B.

whereas the bacterium is already causing severe damage to olive groves in the Apulia region of southern Italy, potentially threatening other crops and regions;

C.

whereas olive production is one of the Apulia region’s most important agricultural sectors, accounting for 11,6 % (or EUR 522 million) of the total value of agricultural production in the region and 30 % of the value of Italian olive production in 2013;

D.

whereas the presence of Xylella fastidiosa is causing severe economic damage, not only to olive producers but also to the entire chain of production, including cooperative and private mills, tourism and marketing activities;

E.

whereas the first notification of an outbreak of Xylella fastidiosa was made by the Italian authorities on 21 October 2013, since when an alarming number of trees have become infected;

F.

whereas the inspections carried out in Italy in February and November 2014 by the Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) of the Commission’s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety confirm that the situation has dramatically deteriorated and that a further spread of the bacterium cannot be ruled out;

G.

whereas no treatment is currently available to cure diseased plants in the field, and whereas affected plants tend to remain infected throughout their lives or to collapse quickly;

H.

whereas a large number of different plants could host the disease, including asymptomatic wild plants, in the European Union;

I.

whereas EFSA has emphasised that, given the difficulty of stopping the spread of Xylella fastidiosa once it affects a production area, preventive action focused on imports and containment of outbreaks should be prioritised, along with the reinforcement of research sharing;

1.

Notes that the implementing decisions taken before April 2015 by the Commission focused mainly on internal actions to fight the outbreak and did not include strong measures to prevent the entry of the disease into the EU from third countries;

2.

Calls on the Commission to take targeted measures against Xylella fastidiosa in order to prevent the import of infected material into the EU; welcomes the decision taken in April 2015 by the Commission to stop imports of infected coffea plants from Costa Rica and Honduras, and the restrictions adopted in respect of plant imports from affected areas in other third countries; asks for the application, if necessary, of stronger measures, including the authorisation of imports from pest-free production sites only;

3.

Regrets the fact that very often the Commission does not react quickly enough to prevent the entry into the EU of plant diseases from third countries; urges the Commission, therefore, to verify the source of the infection and to review the EU official phytosanitary control system in order to protect and safeguard our territory;

4.

Urges the Commission, especially in view of the onset of summer, to take effective measures to avoid the spread of Xylella fastidiosa within the EU, in particular by targeting the crops most at risk, while not neglecting other crops that could also be seriously affected by the disease, and underlines the importance of the provisions of Article 9 of the implementing decision of 2015 in this regard;

5.

Calls on the Commission and the Member States to compensate producers for eradication measures and loss of revenue — which involves losses in terms not only of agricultural production but also of cultural heritage, history and tourism-related activities;

6.

Asks the Commission and the relevant authorities to make use of all possible funds and instruments to assist the economic recovery of the affected areas; calls on the Commission to identify incentives for producers implementing preventive measures;

7.

Calls on the Commission to ensure that sufficient financial and human resources are available to implement the relevant strategies, including financial support for farmers to apply appropriate agricultural practices for the management of Xylella fastidiosa and its vectors; urges the Commission to promote intensified research efforts without delay, including through increased international networking and by making funds available for research institutes, with a view to increasing scientific knowledge of Xylella fastidiosa and positively identifying the nature of the link between the pathogen, the symptoms and the development of disease;

8.

Underlines the need to run information campaigns in potentially affected areas of the EU in order to sensitise those involved not only in the agricultural sector but also in the horticultural sector, including retailers of ornamental plants, professional gardeners and their customers;

9.

Considers that, especially in view of the onset of summer, the Commission and the Member States should warn travellers about the risks of introducing infected plants from countries affected by Xylella fastidiosa into the EU;

10.

Calls for greater means to be made available to ensure the detection of harmful organisms at points of entry into the EU; furthermore, encourages the Member States to increase the number of regular inspections with a view to preventing the spread of Xylella fastidiosa outside the demarcated areas;

11.

Calls on the Commission to provide an open database, with a list of institutions and competent authorities at EU and Member State level, for the exchange of information and experience, including best practices, as well as for rapid alerting of the competent authorities and the taking of necessary measures;

12.

Calls on the Commission to draft, in a transparent manner, comprehensive guidelines for the implementation of preventive and disease control measures, with clear indications of their scope and duration, based on existing experience and best practices, that can be used as a support tool by the competent authorities and services in the Member States;

13.

Asks the Commission to report to Parliament annually, or at any time if the situation evolves, on the threat posed to EU producers by Xylella fastidiosa and other organisms that are a danger to agricultural production;

14.

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

27.9.2016   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 353/49

—

having regard to its previous resolutions on Zimbabwe, notably that of 7 February 2013 (1),

—

having regard to the local EU statements on the abduction of Itai Dzamara of 11 March 2015 and 9 April 2015,

—

having regard to the declaration by the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, on behalf of the EU, of 19 February 2014 on the review of EU-Zimbabwe relations,

—

having regard to Council Decisions 2014/98/CFSP of 17 February 2014 (2) and 2015/277/CFSP of 19 February 2015 (3) amending Decision 2011/101/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against Zimbabwe,

—

having regard to the statement by the spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) of 18 January 2013 on recent attacks on human rights defenders ahead of elections,

—

having regard to the Global Political Agreement signed in 2008 by the three main political parties, ZANU PF, MDC-T and MDC,

—

having regard to the Council of the European Union conclusions of 23 July 2012 on Zimbabwe and to Council Implementing Decision 2012/124/CFSP of 27 February 2012 (4) concerning restrictive measures against Zimbabwe,

—

having regard to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights of 27 June 1981, which Zimbabwe has ratified,

—

having regard to the Constitution of Zimbabwe,

—

having regard to the Cotonou Agreement,

—

having regard to Rules 135(5) and 123(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.

whereas on 9 March 2015 Itai Dzamara, a prominent Zimbabwean human rights activist, leader of the Occupy Africa Unity Square movement and dissident of President Mugabe, was reportedly abducted by five unidentified armed men in the suburbs of Harare; whereas his whereabouts remain unknown and there is serious concern for his safety and the protection of his rights;

B.

whereas in the months prior to his abduction, Mr Dzamara had led a number of peaceful protests against the deteriorating political and economic situation in Zimbabwe; whereas two days before, Mr Dzamara addressed a political rally organised by the opposition party Movement for Democratic Change — Tsvangirai (MDC-T), calling for mass protests against the worsening repression and economic situation in the country, petitioning President Mugabe to resign and calling for reforms to the electoral system;

C.

whereas until now the government has remained silent on Mr Dzamara’s disappearance, which has raised suspicion among the public that the state might be responsible; whereas the ruling party ZANU-PF is denying his forced disappearance and denounces it as an act staged by opposition parties;

D.

whereas a High Court judgment of 13 March 2015 ordered the Zimbabwean authorities to mount a search for Mr Dzamara and report progress to the court every two weeks until his whereabouts are determined; whereas this High Court order has been ignored by the authorities responsible for acting upon it, and the state authorities have yet to comply with this ruling;

E.

whereas Mr Dzamara had been assaulted on several occasions by supporters of the ruling party ZANU-PF and uniformed police officers; whereas in November 2014 about 20 uniformed police handcuffed and beat Mr Dzamara to unconsciousness, also assaulting his lawyer, Kennedy Masiye;

F.

whereas 11 people were detained in Harare on 27 April 2015 after taking part in a procession in support of the missing Itai Dzamara; whereas the activists were arrested and held for six hours;

G.

whereas after the abduction his wife, Sheffra Dzamara, petitioned the High Court in Harare to force the police and the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) to search for her husband; whereas during the hearing the police and CIO denied any knowledge of Dzamara’s whereabouts; whereas Sheffra Dzamara reported in early April that unidentified men were keeping her under constant surveillance and that she feared for her life;

H.

whereas the current situation in Zimbabwe as regards human rights and democracy is worsening and harassment and human rights abuses against human rights defenders, journalists and members of civil society in Zimbabwe are continuously reported;

I.

whereas the police often misuse existing laws, such as the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) and the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), to ban lawful public meetings and gatherings;

J.

whereas freedom of assembly, association and expression are essential components of any democracy;

K.

whereas in February 2015 the EU resumed its aid to Zimbabwe, in the form of a EUR 234 million National Indicative Programme aimed at helping Zimbabwe become a more democratic and prosperous country, while the European Council has decided to uphold some of the sanctions against Zimbabwe; whereas only President Robert Mugabe, his wife and one defence company remain subject to the asset freeze and travel ban; whereas an EU arms embargo also remains in effect;

L.

whereas on 16 March 2013 a new constitution was adopted by referendum, with the stated aim of cleaning up politics, but in practice progress is slow and the human rights situation remains vulnerable;

1.

Strongly condemns the forced disappearance of human rights defender Itai Dzamara and calls for his immediate and unconditional release;

2.

Urges the Government of Zimbabwe to take all necessary measures to find Mr Dzamara and bring all those responsible to justice; calls on the government to fully comply with the High Court order directing them to search for Mr Dzamara;

3.

Calls on the Zimbabwean authorities to ensure the safety and security of his wife and family, and his colleagues and supporters;

4.

Is deeply concerned at reports by human rights organisations of increasing political violence and harassment of political opposition, and at the severe restrictions and intimidation faced by human rights defenders, who are often beaten by the police and arrested on false charges; regrets that, since the last elections and the adoption of the new constitution in 2013, little progress has been made with regard to the rule of law and in particular towards reforming the human rights environment;

5.

Urges the Zimbabwean authorities to investigate allegations of excessive use of force and other human rights abuses by police and state officials, and to hold them to account;

6.

Recalls the overall responsibility of the Zimbabwean Government for ensuring the safety of all its citizens; calls upon the authorities of Zimbabwe to implement the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and regional human rights instruments ratified by Zimbabwe;

7.

Recalls that under the Global Political Agreement (GPA) Zimbabwe committed to ensuring that both its legislation and its procedures and practices are in accordance with international human rights principles and laws, including freedom of assembly, association and expression;

8.

Acknowledges the establishment of the Zimbabwean Human Rights Commission, but is concerned that it has not been given any significant capacity with which to act independently and fulfil its objectives as regards the pressing human rights issues facing the country;

9.

Calls therefore for concerted action by the international community, in particular the Southern African Development Community (SADC); considers that this regional organisation has an important role to play as guarantor to the GPA, insisting inter alia on the implementation of the agreement and in particular Article 13 thereof, so as to ensure non-partisan action by the police and other security forces;

10.

Urges the Zimbabwean Government and President Mugabe to comply with their international obligations and the provisions of the international treaties that have been signed by Zimbabwe and that guarantee respect for the rule of law and the fulfilment of civil and political rights;

11.

Asks the EU to step up its political dialogue on human rights on the basis of Article 8 of the Cotonou Agreement, and notably to encourage the government to repeal or appropriately amend the Public Order and Security Act and the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, in order to bring an end to their abuse;

12.

Deplores the absence of a strong and enforceable human rights clause in the interim Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) concluded with four Eastern and Southern African (ESA) states, including Zimbabwe;

13.

Notes the lifting of sanctions decided by the EU and supports the targeted measures that currently remain in place against the President and his wife, as well as the arms embargo, which are a response to the political and human rights situation in Zimbabwe;

14.

Believes that the promotion of democracy and the protection of human rights and the rule of law are essential if Zimbabwe is to become a free and prosperous country;

15.

Calls on the EU delegation in Harare to continue to offer its assistance to Zimbabwe in order to improve the human rights situation; insists that the EU must ensure that the development funding to Zimbabwe effectively addresses the needs of the population, notably through civil society organisations, and that political and economic reforms financed by it are implemented;

16.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Council, the Commission, the governments and the parliaments of the Member States, the EEAS, the Government and Parliament of Zimbabwe, the governments of the South African Development Community, the African Union Commission, the Pan-African Parliament, the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly and the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth.

27.9.2016   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 353/52

—

having regard to its previous resolutions on Burma/Myanmar and the Rohingya, in particular those of 20 April 2012 (1), 13 September 2012 (2), 22 November 2012 (3) and 13 June 2013 (4), and to its resolution of 23 May 2013 on reinstatement of Myanmar/Burma’s access to generalised tariff preferences (5),

—

having regard to its resolution of 5 February 2009 on the situation of Burmese refugees in Thailand (6),

—

having regard to the statement by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) of 6 May 2015 concerning Rohingya mass graves in Thailand,

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having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 10 December 1948,

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having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) of 1966,

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having regard to the 1951 UN Convention on the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol thereto,

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having regard to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Human Rights Declaration, notably paragraphs 13, 15, 16 and 18 thereof,

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having regard to the UNHCR appeal of 15 May 2015 to regional governments to conduct search-and-rescue operations, in which it warned of ‘a potential humanitarian disaster’,

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having regard to Rules 135(5) and 123(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.

whereas in an escalating region-wide crisis, it is estimated that thousands of Rohingya and other refugees are still on boats in the Andaman Sea and the Strait of Malacca, some abandoned by their traffickers with little food or water, and are being pushed back into the sea when their boats enter territorial waters;

B.

whereas on 1 and 4 May 2015 the military police discovered the bodies of at least 30 ethnic Rohingya Muslims in a suspected human trafficking camp in the Sadao district of Songkhla Province, close to the Thai-Malaysian border; whereas another camp with at least five other graves was found some days later;

C.

whereas Rohingyas continue to suffer from persecution and discrimination and to be arbitrarily deprived of their citizenship in Burma/Myanmar, and therefore remain stateless; whereas on 1 April 2015 the Burmese Government rescinded their temporary identity cards, stripping them of voting rights; whereas impunity continues to prevail in cases of crimes and atrocities against them;

D.

whereas the Rohingya have been leaving Burma/Myanmar in large numbers since an outbreak of violence in 2012 left neighbourhoods razed and claimed hundreds of lives; whereas many of those who escaped fell into the hands of trafficking gangs that operate within the Bay of Bengal;

E.

whereas according to the UNHCR periodic report of 8 May 2015, some 25 000 Rohingyas and Bangladeshis boarded smugglers’ boats between January and March 2015; whereas this is almost double the number of people who did so over the same period in 2014;

F.

whereas several thousand Rohingyas have fled by sea to escape persecution, and whereas hundreds have lost their lives in sinking boats or by being pushed back into the sea;

G.

whereas since the crackdown the human traffickers have turned to sea routes; whereas there are an increasing number of cases of migrants being abandoned at sea by their traffickers;

H.

whereas thousands of Rohingya people and other migrants continue to be smuggled through Thailand and from other countries in the region by human traffickers, in some cases including corrupt local Thai authorities, and to be held captive in inhuman conditions in jungle camps in southern Thailand, where they are tortured, starved and beaten to death by their captors to extort ransoms from their families and relatives, or sold into human slavery;

I.

whereas the UNHCR has called for a joint response in the wake of the Rohingya mass graves in Thailand, urging countries in the region to strengthen cooperation on counter-smuggling and counter-trafficking measures while ensuring the protection of victims;

J.

whereas the Rohingya issue was not discussed during the recent 26th ASEAN Summit, held from 26 to 28 April 2015 in Malaysia;

K.

whereas from 2010 to 2015 the Commission’s Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO) provided some EUR 57,3 million in humanitarian aid to vulnerable people in Rakhine State; whereas in 2015 ECHO is funding projects throughout Rakhine State to address some of the most urgent needs among the Rohingya in the northern townships, including food and nutrition, basic health services and the supply of other basic household items, and to support the population displaced since 2012;

L.

whereas ECHO has allocated EUR 325 000 to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) since 2013 to provide food, basic household items, health care and protection to some 3 000 Rohingya men, women and children detained in Thailand;

1.

Expresses its deepest concern over the plight of Rohingya refugees and the humanitarian crisis taking place at the moment on the high seas and in the territorial waters between Myanmar, Bangladesh, Thailand and Indonesia, and is shocked by the findings following the recent exhumation of dozens of bodies from mass gravesites near human trafficking camps in southern Thailand; extends its condolences to the families of the victims;

2.

Calls on the Thai authorities to hold immediate, full and credible criminal investigations into the mass graves of Rohingya Muslims and, if necessary with UN assistance, to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice;

3.

Welcomes the acknowledgement by the Government of Thailand of the problem of human trafficking in Thailand and the region, and of the complicity of certain corrupt authorities in smuggling humans; calls on the Government of Thailand and its officials to end any complicity with the criminal gangs trafficking Rohingya people and other migrants in Thailand;

4.

Calls on all countries in the region to strengthen cooperation on counter-smuggling and counter-trafficking measures while ensuring the protection of victims; underlines the important role ASEAN can play in this regard; encourages the governments of states in the region to participate in the upcoming regional meeting on the migrant situation, which will be hosted by Thailand on 29 May 2015 in Bangkok; welcomes the drafting of the ASEAN Convention Against Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (ACTIP), which should be endorsed by ASEAN leaders in the course of 2015;

5.

Calls on all countries in the region to sign and ratify the UN Convention on the Status of Refugees and to provide Rohingya asylum seekers at least with temporary protection, while supporting the Burmese Government in finding long-term, equitable solutions to the underlying causes;

6.

Further calls on the Government of Burma/Myanmar to change its policy and take all necessary measures to end persecution of, and discrimination against, the Rohingya minority; reiterates its earlier calls for the amendment or repeal of the 1982 Citizenship Law in order to give Rohingyas equal access to Burmese citizenship;

7.

Welcomes the long overdue statement of 18 May 2015 by the spokesperson for Aung San Suu Kyi’s opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), that the Government of Burma/Myanmar should grant citizenship to the Rohingya minority;

8.

Urges the leaders of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand to make saving the lives of migrants and refugees stranded on vessels in the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea a top priority, and welcomes the declaration by Malaysia and Indonesia of 20 May 2015 that they will give temporary sanctuary to migrants found at sea;

9.

Welcomes the aid provided by the European Union and international organisations such as the UNHCR to the Rohingya in Myanmar/Burma and Thailand, and the EU humanitarian assistance provided to internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Arakan/Rakhine State, to undocumented Rohingya and vulnerable host populations in Bangladesh and to Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants currently being held in immigration detention centres (men) or social welfare centres (women and children) in Thailand;

10.

Calls on the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to address this issue at the highest possible political level in her contacts with Thailand and Burma/Myanmar and with other ASEAN member countries;

11.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Government and Parliament of Burma/Myanmar, the Government and Parliament of Thailand, the Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, the UN Special Representative for Human Rights in Myanmar, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the UN Human Rights Council and the governments and parliaments of other states in the region.

27.9.2016   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 353/55

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having regard to the Cotonou Agreement,

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having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

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having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,

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having regard to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights,

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having regard to the Swaziland Industrial Relations Act, 2000 (amended),

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