Explicații scrise ale votului - a 8-a legislatură Claude MORAES

The vote to exempt British travellers from visa requirements was always going to secure a large majority in the European Parliament, so there was no danger of visa charges being introduced at this stage. However, British MEPs of all political parties opposed the inclusion of inaccurate and politically motivated references about the status of Gibraltar, which could open up the visa exemption regime to legal challenge in the future.
I was the original rapporteur on this subject and removed specifically because one country was determined to usurp the EU institutional processes to make a domestic political point. It is damaging to Parliament and the EU as a whole that this was allowed to happen.
Sadly, this is a clear example showing how much harder it will be for Britain to influence EU rule-making from the outside – even when those rules have a direct impact on British people.

. ‒ This resolution follows a large number of petitions received by the PETI committee on various health and environmental problems linked to the failure of Member States to implement waste legislation.
The strong mobilisation of youth around the world only confirms that we have to take our responsibility and solve the climate change crisis. Now it is time to act. Therefore, Labour MEPs voted in favour of this resolution stressing the need for Member States to do more to address waste management problems, calling on the EU to better enforce waste legislation and setting out clear recommendations to do so.

Labour MEPs backed the cross-party deal on the so-called Mobility Package, which includes new rules on posting of drivers, working and resting time, and cabotage.
Our aim is to improve the wellbeing of 3.6 million professional drivers in Europe. The S&D Group made continuous efforts to strike the right balance between protecting workers’ rights and safety and leaving enough room for enterprises to thrive, especially SMEs.
On the application of new posted worker rules to the road sector, the report includes new rules giving the same remuneration as local workers that should apply from a driver’s very first day of work in another country. That, with the exception of those trips that start and end in the driver’s country of origin.

Labour MEPs backed the cross-party deal on the so-called Mobility Package, which includes new rules on posting of drivers, working and resting time, and cabotage.
Our aim is to improve the wellbeing of 3.6 million professional drivers in Europe. The S&D Group made continuous efforts to strike the right balance between protecting workers’ rights and safety and leaving enough room for enterprises to thrive, especially SMEs.
New rules adopted on driving and rest time are a real victory for drivers and unions. According to the report, drivers should be allowed to return home every four weeks at the most, and that weekly rest must be spent away from the vehicle. This is another step towards a better work-life balance for our workers, better rest conditions and safer roads and passengers in Europe. The report also provides for a rapid introduction of the smart tachograph – a device that measures compliance with driving time limits – on all passenger and freight vehicles, ten years ahead of the deadline decided back in 2014! Posting of workers rules and cabotage will thus be easier to control as this newest type of tachograph will register the position of the vehicle and driver every 3 hours of cumulated driving time.

Labour MEPs backed the cross-party deal on the so-called Mobility Package, which includes new rules on posting of drivers, working and resting time, and cabotage.
Our aim is to improve the well-being of 3.6 million professional drivers in Europe. The S&D Group made continuous efforts to strike the right balance between protecting workers’ rights and safety and leaving enough room for enterprises to thrive, especially SMEs.
On cabotage – that is when a vehicle from another country carries out pick-ups and deliveries inside another Member State – the report provides for stricter rules that will foster fair competition on domestic markets. Cabotage will only be allowed for three days at a time, and the vehicle involved will then have to spend 60 hours in the Member State where their company is registered. This will reinforce transparency and workers’ rights by effectively tackling letterbox companies.

. ‒ The EU’s gas demand is around 480 billion m3, but the EU can only produce less than half of this gas, so the rest is imported from third countries. Supply security is crucial for the EU’s energy security and for the competitiveness of its industry, and this requires diversification and legal certainty for investment in pipelines.
Even though fossil fuels will gradually be phased out in the EU, the reality is that natural gas currently represents around a quarter of the Union’s overall energy consumption, and its supply must be guaranteed.
Labour MEPs voted in favour of the revision of the Gas Directive, which will bring the provisions on third-country pipelines into line with EU competition rules, contribute to the creation of a truly integrated internal gas market and, in general, bring more transparency and security with regard to gas supply.

. ‒ Ensuring that identity documents are tamper- and fraud-proof is a key element in the fight against terrorism and organised crime.
Throughout these negotiations we have engaged constructively and have managed to ensure key safeguards to protect citizens’ privacy. However, we could not support a final agreement pushed by the Council that made it mandatory for governments to collect and store fingerprints on all new ID cards.
Even though this regulation would not apply to the UK – since it only applies to Member States already issuing ID cards to their nationals, Labour MEPs voted against this report as this is an intrusive and unnecessary requirement and a clear redline for us.

Labour MEPs voted in favour of this report, which will give people the choice to shape their lives: raise children, take care of elderly family members, share domestic tasks and pursue a career.
This is one of the most important achievements of this parliamentary term and the first legislative file from the European Pillar of Social Rights. As a consequence of S&D’s constant pressure over the past five years, millions of Europeans can soon benefit from rules to better balance work and family: Ten paternity days for fathers, four months for each parent parental leave from which two months are not transferable which therefore ensures that both partners can spend time with their child, and five days a year for all workers to take care of their relatives or people in their household.
It is a matter of gender equality as it will unburden mothers and put an end to the gender pay gap.
This is also a huge step towards the more social and sustainable Europe that we fight for and a loud and clear answer to populists and nationalists who try to play on people’s fears.

Investing in people and ensuring nobody is left behind is paramount to us in the Labour Party. We want to ensure that children, young people and those most in need suffering from material deprivation are being taken care of and provided with equal opportunities to reach their potential.
Therefore, Labour MEPs voted in favour of this report to increase the budget dedicated to youth, social inclusion, the most deprived and the capacity building of social partners and civil society organisations.
Our Group has also put forward a new instrument within the European Social Fund to tackle the multidimensional aspects of child poverty: the European Child Guarantee with a dedicated budget of EUR 5.9 billion.

Labour MEPs voted in favour of this report reconfirming the EP position on the need for the establishment of clear rules with regard to the reintroduction of internal borders in the Schengen area in the event of a serious threat to the public order or to internal security.
Currently, several Schengen states have been misusing and misinterpreting existing rules and carrying out controls at internal borders lasting more than three years, despite a two-year maximum period, therefore putting the Schengen system at risk.

After two years of unsuccessful negotiations for the EU’s ratification of the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, the EPLP along the S&D Group, pushed today for a resolution seeking an opinion from the Court of Justice.
Violence against women remains at unacceptably high levels across the EU and we observe today in some Member States a backlash on women’s rights and fierce opposition to the ratification of the Istanbul Convention. It is a shame, as it would provide a coherent legal framework to better protect and support victims of gender-based violence.
Therefore, Labour MEPs voted in favour of this resolution seeking an opinion from the Court of Justice to decide whether the accession to the Istanbul Convention as proposed by the Council – in particular the legal base and splitting of the accession decision – is compatible with the Treaties. We hope it will unlock the current stalemate and leave Member States with no excuses for not defending women’s rights.

I voted in favour of this report which confirms the European Parliament’s will to include Kosovo in a visa free regime with the EU, and calls on the Member States to finally adopt their position.
Kosovo is the last country in the Western Balkans whose citizens still face lengthy and expensive visa procedures while travelling to a country in the Schengen area. Although the European Commission already last July confirmed that Kosovo had fulfilled all the required conditions, and immediately after the European Parliament gave Kosovo the green light with a strong majority for visas to be abolished, the Council has still not acted.

Labour MEPs voted in favour of this report which establishes the Creative Europe programme for 2012 to 2027.Creative Europe is the only EU direct programme for the cultural, creative and audiovisual sectors.

Labour MEPs voted today in favour of a new ‘Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument’ (NDICI) that merges most of the EU’s current external financing instruments into one broad tool to assist third countries in our neighbourhood and beyond. As proposed by the European Parliament, it would assist third countries with EUR 93 billion during the 2021-2027 period. It’s an increase of almost EUR 4 billion compared to the European Commission initial proposal. The NDICI funds will foster the cooperation with our closest neighbours and other non-EU countries all over the world.

Labour MEPs voted in favour of this report. The new financial Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA III) devoted to support the candidate and potential candidate countries during the next long-term EU budget 2021-2027. The European Commission has proposed to increase the envelope of pre-accession funds to €14.5 billion. The Socialists and Democrats consider this is a good start for further negotiations. However, we expect the EU to be more ambitious as pre-accession funds are a long-term investment into the European future of both the enlargement countries and the EU itself.

Labour MEPs voted in favour of the report on the European Regional Development Fund and Cohesion Fund (ERDF-CF) backed today in Plenary by a large majority. This is a vital step to boost the crucial role of the ERDF-CF: the biggest European public investment tool, one fourth of the whole Multiannual Financial Framework spending over the next 7 years 2021-2027.
The objective of the European Regional Development Fund and Cohesion Fund is to create one million jobs (as achieved in the 2007-2013 period) and in a broader extent to raise the level of all the 274 European regions in areas including innovation, climate action, transport and social issues.
We have always been at the forefront of the fight for a fair, just and sustainable investment programme to tackle the upcoming challenges in society. We are proud to have achieved further flexibility within the current framework of Stability and Growth Pact for the public investments.

Labour MEPs are strongly committed to the transition to a low-carbon economy that will save money for consumers through lower fuel costs; contribute to curbing climate warming and improve human health; and ensure EU and UK manufacturers lead the way in industrial and technological innovation.
Labour MEPs also backed social measures to make sure that no one is left behind during this transition. Targeted programmes at EU, national and regional levels for re-skilling of workers, as well as education and job-seeking initiatives in regions and communities most affected by the transition.
With time running out in the fight against climate change, this legislation can ensure investment in new, innovative developments in low-carbon technologies, which can foster economic growth, boost job creation, and improve citizens’ health and wellbeing.

Labour MEPs voted in favour of this report, which aims to prevent and reduce plastic waste from single-use plastic products and plastic-containing fishing gear. The proposal focuses on the 10 single-use plastic items found most frequently on beaches and on fishing gear, which together account for around 70% of plastic marine litter.
The amount of plastic waste in the marine and oceanic environment is increasing: plastic makes up 80-85% of the total marine litter and, based on the counts of objects found on the beaches, 43% of waste found on European beaches consists of 10 single-use plastic items, while another 27% is made up of fishing gears containing plastic.

Labour MEPs voted in favour of this report. Today’s vote is a further step to protect millions of workers from exposure to carcinogenic and mutagenic substances. This will improve the working conditions for workers across the EU and prevent thousands of cases of ill health at the workplace.

Back in 2017, wishing to strengthen combined transport, this Parliament asked the Commission for clear, modern and comprehensible rules that can be implemented by the authorities. MEPs called on the Commission to revise the Combined Transport Directive to increase multimodal transport, eliminate unfair practices and ensure compliance with the social legislation relating to combined transport. Today, by voting in favour of this proposal, we are welcoming and endorsing the Commission’s efforts in this direction. And while not all aspects of the text are ideal, it is extremely important to us that there is clear reference to its link to the three related legislative proposals of the mobility package. We are of the opinion that in order to guarantee the social protection of drivers and to ensure the well-functioning of the internal market with fair and equal competition between EU Member States and operators, the provisions concerning the road leg of combined transport should be fully coordinated with the provisions concerning cabotage and the posting of drivers.