3. Deplorestheexploitationofthe‘Zanatrial’bythosewhowishtoimpedethereformprocessin
Turkey;
4. StressesthatthiscaseissymbolicofthegapwhichexistsbetweentheTurkishjudicialsystemand
thatoftheEuropeanUnion;
5. Condemnsthebreachesoftherightsofdefencewhichhaveoccurredduringthenewtrialagainst
LeylaZanaandothers,suchasthepresenceoftheStateProsecutorinalltheroomswherethejudgeswererequiredtotakedecisionsconcerningtheaccused,thefailuretoacknowledgetherightoftheaccusedtobereleasedinaccordancewiththeECHRjudgmentof17July2001,andtheinabilityofthedefencetochecktheveracityoftheaccusationsmadebytheStateProsecutor;
6. CallsfortheimmediateabolitionoftheStateSecurityCourts,andcallsontheTurkishparliamentary
andgovernmentalauthoritiestotakepracticalstepstodealwiththisissue;
7. HopesthattheTurkishfinalCourtofAppealwillquashthesentenceimposedonMrsZanaandthe
threeotherformerTurkishMPsofKurdishorigin;
8. CallsontheTurkishauthoritiestograntanamnestytoallthoseimprisonedfortheirpoliticalviews;9. InstructsitsPresidenttoforwardthisresolutiontotheCouncil,theCommissionandtheTurkish
GovernmentandParliament.
P5_TA(2004)0378
Broadguidelinesofeconomicpolicy
EuropeanParliamentresolutionontheCommissionrecommendationonthe2004updateoftheBroadGuidelinesoftheEconomicPoliciesoftheMemberStatesandtheCommunity(forthe
2003-2005period)(COM(2004)238/dashC5-0183/2004/dash2004/2020(INI))
TheEuropeanParliament ,
/dash havingregardtotheCommissionrecommendation(COM(2004)238/dashC5-0183/2004),/dash havingregardtoArticle99(2)oftheECTreaty,/dash havingregardtotheCommissionreportontheimplementationofthe2003-2005BroadEconomic
PolicyGuidelines(COM(2003)170),
/dash havingregardtoitsresolutionsof12March2003onthestateoftheEuropeaneconomy/dashprepara-
toryreportwithaviewtotheCommissionrecommendationonBroadEconomicPolicyGuidelines(
1)
andof15May2003ontheCommissionrecommendationontheBroadGuidelinesoftheEconomic
PoliciesoftheMemberStatesandtheCommunity(forthe2003-2005period)(2)andtoitsresolution
of the 23October 2003 on the outcome of the European Council meeting held in Brussels on16/17October2003(
3),
/dash having regard tothe Commission’sSpring Economic Forecasts2004-2005forthe euro area, the
EuropeanUnionandtheAccedingandCandidatecountries,
/dash havingregardtotheCommissionreporttotheSpringEuropeanCouncil(COM(2004)29),/dash havingregardtoitsresolutiononthesituationoftheEuropeaneconomy,reportonthebroadguide-
linesforeconomicpoliciesof26February2004(
4),
/dash havingregardtoitsresolutionontheSpringSummit:follow-uptoLisbonof26February2004(5),
(1) OJC61E,10.3.2004,p.294.
(2) OJC67E,17.3.2004,p.295.
(3) P5_TA(2003)0459.
(4) P5_TA(2004)0116.
(5) P5_TA(2004)0114.30.4.2004EN C104E/1061 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanUnion
Thursday22April2004
/dash havingregardtothePresidencyconclusionsoftheLisbonEuropeanCouncilof23and24March
2000,theGothenburgEuropeanCouncilof15and16June2001andtheBarcelonaEuropeanCoun-cilof15and16March2003,
/dash havingregardtothePresidencyConclusionsoftheBrusselsEuropeanCouncilsof20and21March
2003,of16and17October2003andof25and26March2004,
/dash havingregardtotheCommunicationfromtheCommission‘AEuropeanInitiativeforGrowth,Invest-
ing in Networks and Knowledge for Growth and Jobs, Final Report to the European Council
(COM(2003)690)’,
/dash havingregardtotheopinionoftheEuropeanEconomicandSocialCommitteeontheAssessmentof
theexperiencesgatheredbytheEESCtoevaluatetheeconomic,socialandemploymentimpactofstructuralreformsintheEU(ECO/109,CESE1406/2003),
/dash havingregardtothereportoftheCommitteeonEconomicandMonetaryAffairs(A5-0280/2004),
A. whereasgrowthinwordtradehasexperiencedastrongreboundof5%in2003andisexpectedto
acceleratetoalmost8%in2004-2005,whereasworldGDPgrowthisestimatedtohavebeenat3,7%in2003andworldeconomicactivityshouldexpandat4,5%in2004,
B. whereasregionaldistributionofworldgrowthwidenedin2003,withstronger-than-expectedcon-
tributions coming from the USA, the CIS, OPEC, Asia and the acceding countries; whereas therecoveryintheUSisexpectedtocontinuewithgrowthat4,2%in2004,whereastheeconomicoutlookforAsia(excludingJapan)remainsinthevicinityof7%in2004-2005withstrikinggrowthratesinIndiaandChina,andLatinAmericaisexpectedtodoubleitsgrowthratein2004,
C. whereas the world-wide growth reboundis stillfragile, especially in the USA, where the present
monetaryandfiscalpolicymaywellprovenottobesustainableoveralongperiod,andmayresultinadifficultandpainfulphaseoffiscalconsolidation,
D. whereastheEuropeanUnionisexperiencingthemostprotractedperiodofweakgrowthsincethe
secondworldwar,withthreeyearsofeconomicslowdownandstagnationorevenrecessioninsomelargerMemberStates,whereas,bycontrastwiththeaveragegrowthrateoftheworldof3,7%ofGDP,theEuropeanUnion’sgrowthratehasbeenjust0,8%andtheEuroareagrowthrateonly0,4%ofGDPin2003,
E. whereastheCommissionforecaststhreeyearsinarowareboundtoaveragegrowthratesof1,7%to
1,8%fortheEuroareaand2%fortheEU;whereasfortheEuroarea,therecentreboundismainlydrivenbyasurgeinthegrowthofexports,whiledomesticdemandhassofarbeennegativeduetolowprivateconsumptionandthreequartersofadownwardtrendininvestmentthatwasonlybrokeninthefourthquarterwheninvestmentfinallypickedup;
F. whereasthenewMemberStateshaveexpandedonaverageat3,5%ofGDPin2003asaccession
unleashedfavourablegrowthdynamics;
1. ApprovestheCommission’spositionthattheBroadEconomicPolicyGuidelines2003-2005remain
validbutmustbemorefocusedonstructuralreforms,investmentandmoreandbetterjobs,welcomestheEuropeanActionforGrowthandcallsforadditionalmeasurescomplementingtheinitiativeatnationallevel,inparticularinthefieldsofhumanresources,R&Dandinnovation;
2. RepeatsitsconvictionthatapplicationoftheStabilityandGrowthPactisneededtobringEurope’s
economymoreswiftlybackintobalance;urgesthoseMemberStateswhosebudgetisnotinsurplusorisatleastinbalancetoundertakeallnecessarystepstoachievetheseaims;C104E/1062 EN30.4.2004 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanUnion
Thursday22April2004
3. WelcomesthefocusinthisupdateontheintegrationofthetennewMemberStatesintotheecon-
omicpolicyco-ordinationframeworkandthecompletionoftheexistingstrategywiththeinclusionofcountry-specificrecommendationsforthetennewMemberStates;
4. PointsoutthatthecurrentEUbudgetspendingof0.8%ofGDPmaybeexceeded,insistingthat
thereisroomtospendasmuchas1,24%ofGDP2004-2006andstillkeepwithinthepresentfinancialperspective2000-2006andtheLisbonobjectives,andretainfullpromotionoftheEuropeanStructuralFundswithallLisbonobjectivesduringthesecondphaseoftheprogrammeperiod2000-2006;
5. CallsontheCounciltotakeaccountofthefollowingmodifications:
COMMISSIONRECOMMENDATION MODIFICATIONSBYPARLIAMENT
Modification1
PartI,Chapter1,Title
1. Theexistingstrategyremainsvalid. 1. The existing strategy remains valid , BUT MUST BE
MOREFOCUSEDONSTRUCTURALREFORMS,INVEST-MENTANDMOREANDBETTERJOBS.
Modification2
PartI,Chapter1,paragraph2
Againstthebackgroundoftheresultsofafirstassessmentof
thefollow-upgiventothe2003-2005BEPGsaspresentedintheImplementationReportandtheguidancefromtheSpring2004 European Council, this recommendation updates andcompletestheexistingstrategy. Nomajorpolicyadjustments
are deemed necessary that would warrant a changein thegeneral guidelines. The focusin thisupdate is onthe inte-
grationofthetennewMemberStatesintotheexistingecon-omicpolicycoordinationframework.Againstthebackgroundoftheresultsofafirstassessmentof
thefollow-upgiventothe2003-2005BEPGsaspresentedintheImplementationReportandtheguidancefromtheSpring2004 European Council, this recommendation updates andcompletestheexistingstrategy. Thegeneralguidelines2003-
2005remainvalidbutmustbefocusedevenmoreonboost-ingeconomicgrowthresultinginjobcreationandproductiv-itygrowth.Inviewoftheprolongedphaseofeconomicslow-down and the disappointing growth rates and speed ofrecoveryascomparedtootherregionsintheworld,Europemuststrengtheninternaleconomicgrowthandincreasethefocus on strengthening economic, social andenvironmentalsustainability.ThiswillnotonlyhelptoreduceEurope’svul-nerabilitytothenegativeimpactsoftheappreciationofthe
Euro and other external shocks and risks such as inter-
nationalterrorismbutalsofacilitatetheintegrationoftheinternal market and the real economic convergence of allMembersStates,includingthe10newMemberStatesintheinternalmarket.Thesecondfocusinthisupdateisontheinte-
grationofthetennewMemberStatesintotheexistingecon-omicpolicycoordinationframework.
Modification3
PartI,Chapter2,Title
2. IMPROVEDECONOMICBACKGROUND. 2. IMPROVED ECONOMIC BACKGROUND SLOWLY
LEADINGTOARECOVERYINTHEEUROPEANUNION
Modification4
PartI,Chapter2,Paragraph4
Overall,economicdevelopmentsareinlinewiththeprevailing
expectationswhenadoptingthemedium-termeconomicpolicystrategy:theeconomyisrecovering,albeitatamoderatepace,Overall,economicdevelopmentsareinlinewiththeprevailing
expectationswhenadoptingthemedium-termeconomicpolicystrategy:theeconomyisrecovering,albeitatamoderatepace,30.4.2004EN C104E/1063 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanUnion
Thursday22April2004
andtheoutlookfor2004-2005doesnotpointtoanymacro-
economicimbalancesrequiringapolicychange.Atthesametime,theforecastillustratesthestillslowadjustmentcapacity
oftheEUeconomyandthelowlevelofpotentialgrowth.Itis
therefore essential that the improving economic conditionsshouldbefullyseizedupontomakedecisiveprogressinclos-ingthe‘deliverygap’intermsofdiscrepancybetweenenvis-agedandeventuallyadoptedstructuralreformmeasures.Thecurrentpick-upineconomicactivitycouldbefurtherunder-pinnedbysoundmacroeconomicpoliciesandbydeterminedimplementationofallthegrowth-enhancingeconomicreformsoutlinedatthe2003-2005BEPGs.andtheoutlookfor2004-2005doesnotpointtoanymacro-
economicimbalancesrequiringapolicychange.Atthesametime,theforecastillustratesthestillslowadjustmentcapacity
oftheEUeconomyandthelowlevelofpotentialgrowth.Itis
therefore essential that the improving economic conditionsshouldbefullyseizedupontomakedecisiveprogressinclos-ingthe‘deliverygap’intermsofdiscrepancybetweenenvis-agedandeventuallyadoptedstructuralreformmeasures.Thecurrentpick-upineconomicactivitycouldbefurtherunder-pinnedbysoundmacroeconomicpoliciesandbydeterminedimplementationofallthegrowth-enhancingeconomicreformsoutlined at the 2003-2005 BEPGs. More emphasis should
however beput oninvestment ineducation,skills,lifelonglearning, innovation, research and development, and in anindustrial policy with a special focus on SMEs, renewableenergyandenvironmentallyfriendlytechnology.
The Environmental Technology Action Plan should be
speedilyimplemented.
Furthermore,withtheenlargement,socialandregionalcohe-
sionarenowevenmorecentraltotheLisbonAgenda.Stra-tegiesthathaveadecisiveimpactonrealeconomicconver-gence,thereductionoftheinformalsector,socialexclusionandtheeradicationofpovertymustbereinforced.
Investments aimed at enhancing growth could also be
financedbyanimprovementinthecollectionofpublicreve-
nues,focusingonthewidespreadproblemoftaxfraud,whichdeprivesMemberSatesofconsiderablefiscalresources.TheCommissionshouldworkwithMemberStatestoestablishaco-operationandbenchmarkingsystemtocombattaxfraudandunfairtaxcompetition;
Negotiationsonappropriateandequitablemeasuresleading
toanincreaseintheadaptabilityofworkers,flexibility instandardcontracts andmore security innon-standardcon-tracts,attractingmorepeopletoandkeepingmorepeopleinemployment, increasingtheoverallflexibility ofthelabourmarketandincreasinginvestmentsinhumanresourcesarekeystoachievingeconomicandsocialsuccess.
Modification5
PartI,Chapter3,Section3.1,paragraph2
The new Member Stateswill need toseek a strong synergy
betweenthenecessarystructuralreformsandmacroeconomicpoliciesthatunderpinstability.Exchangerateregimesconsti-tuteanimportantpartoftheoverall economic-andmonetary
policy framework and shouldbe oriented towards achievingThe new Member Stateswill need toseek a strong synergy
betweenthenecessarystructuralreforms, investmentandmac-
roeconomic policies that underpin stability and growth.
Exchange rate regimes constitute an important part of theoveralleconomicandmonetarypolicy frameworkandshouldC104E/1064 EN30.4.2004 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanUnion
Thursday22April2004
COMMISSIONRECOMMENDATION MODIFICATIONSBYPARLIAMENT
real-and sustainable nominal convergence. Participation in
ERMII,atsomestageafteraccession,shouldhelpthoseendea-vours. A credible monetary policy will allow for a further
declineinlong-terminterestrates thatisconducivetoboththe
muchneededhighlevelofinvestmentandfiscalconsolidation.be oriented towards achieving realand sustainable nominal
convergence.ParticipationinERMII,atsomestageafteracces-sion,shouldhelpthoseendeavours.Acrediblemonetarypolicy
willallowforafurther loweringoflong-terminterestratescon-
ducivetoboththemuchneededhighlevelofinvestmentandfiscalconsolidation.
Modification6
PartI,Chapter3,Section3.3,paragraph3
Overall,soundeconomicpoliciesmakeanimportantcontribu-
tiontosocialsustainabilityasjobsplayavitalroleinliftingpeopleoutofpovertyandsocialexclusion. InthenewMember
States,additionalemphasis mustbeputonmodernisingsocial
protectionsystemsandimprovingtheskillsoftheworkforce,with a view to increasing participation rates and improving
mobility.Thelowemploymentratesofbothyoungandolder
workersrequire specialattentioninthisrespect.Pronouncedregionaldisparitiesneedtobeaddressed,notablybyensuringefficientinvestmentsandanappropriatewagedifferentiation
(reflectingdifferencesinproductivity).Inaddition,thebusinessenvironment has to be improved, particularly by capacitybuilding measures in public administration.This shouldalsoenhancetheefficiencyintheuseofEUStructuralandCohe-
sionfunds.Overall,soundeconomicpoliciesmakeanimportantcontribu-
tiontosocialsustainabilityasjobsplayavitalroleinliftingpeopleoutofpovertyandsocialexclusion. Likethepresent
MemberStates,thenewMemberStates mustputadditional
emphasis on modernising social protection systems andimprovingtheskillsoftheworkforce,withaviewtoincreas-
ing participation rates and improving mobility. The low
employment rates of both young and older workers requirespecialattentioninthisrespect.Pronouncedregionaldisparitiesneedtobeaddressed,notablybyensuringefficient investment
andappropriate wagedifferentiation(reflectingdifferencesinproductivity).Inaddition,thebusinessenvironmenthastobeimproved,particularlybycapacitybuildingmeasuresinpublicadministrationandmeasuresinsupportoflifelonglearning .
ThisshouldalsoenhanceefficiencyintheuseofEUStructuralandCohesionfunds.
Modification7
PartI,Chapter3,Section3.3,Paragraph4
Thesubstantialinvestmentsinenergyandtransportinfrastruc-
turethatareneededinmostofthenewMemberStatesaimatreducingtheenvironmentalimpactsofenergy andtransport
useandimprovingenergyefficiency.Suchinvestmentswillbe
crucial as their energy intensities exceed those of currentMemberStatesbyafactorofalmost4,seeTable3,inspiteofimprovementsofasmuchas6%peryearoverthelastdecade.Inparticular,itwillbeessentialtotakefullaccountofthecostsofenvironmentaldamageininvestmentdecisions,includingbyreducing energy subsidies and introducing appropriate taxesandcharges,forexampleforenergyconsumptionand/ortrans-portuse.Thesubstantialinvestmentsinenergyandtransportinfrastruc-
turethatareneededinmostofthenewMemberStates must
befocussedonreducingtheenvironmentalimpactsof trans-
port,energyuseandproductionaswellas improvingenergy
efficiency.SuchinvestmentswillbecrucialasenergyintensitiesexceedthoseofcurrentMemberStatesbyafactorofalmost4,seeTable3,inspiteofimprovementsofasmuchas6%peryearoverthelastdecade.Inparticular,itwillbeessentialtotake full account of the costs of environmental damage ininvestment decisions, including by reducing energy subsidiesfornon-renewableformsofenergy andintroducingappropri-
atetaxesandcharges forsuchenergyresources ,forexample
forenergyconsumptionand/ortransportuse. CurrentMember
Statesmustdramaticallyincreasetheireffortstofulfilthe‘Kyotocommitments’ofreducinggreenhousegasemissionsby8%by2010.
6. InstructsitsPresidenttoforwardthisresolutiontotheCouncilandCommission,andthegovern-
mentsandparliamentsoftheMemberStates.30.4.2004EN C104E/1065 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanUnion
Thursday22April2004
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