European Parliament 2014-2019

Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

2018/0166R(APP)

18.10.2018

OPINION

of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

for the Committee on Budgets

on the interim report on the MFF 2021-2027 – Parliament’s position in view of an agreement (COM(2018)0322 – 2018/0166R(APP))

Rapporteur for opinion: Ivo Belet

AD\1166413EN.docx PE625.523v02-00

EN United in diversity EN PA_Consent_Interim

PE625.523v02-00 2/7 AD\1166413EN.docx EN SUGGESTIONS

The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety calls on the Committee on Budgets, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions into its report:

1. Stresses the importance of, and the Union’s role in, preserving, protecting and improving the quality of the environment, and tackling climate change, the degradation of ecosystems and biodiversity loss; points out that the Union must deliver on its commitment to be a front runner in implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which provide a global roadmap for more sustainable, equitable and prosperous societies within planetary boundaries; recalls the Union’s obligations under the Paris Agreement, and the urgent need to make the transition to a low-carbon, sustainable circular economy;

2. Believes that negotiations on own resources and the multiannual financial framework (MFF) 2021-2027, also in the context of Brexit, provide an opportunity to make the income side of the Union budget more sustainable and transparent, to make the Union more autonomous and, ultimately, to make better use of the Union budget’s transformative power; calls for a fundamental reform of the own resources system, for all rebates to be scrapped and for new funding sources that are fully in line with the Union’s policies on, inter alia, the environment, health and the climate, to be introduced;

3. Underlines that LIFE is the main programme supporting the implementation of Union legislation on the environment and climate action; notes that a significant share of the proposed budget increase for the LIFE Programme for 2021-2027 is directed towards the new Clean Energy Transition sub-programme; supports the establishment of a comprehensive programme for a clean energy transition, but considers that this should not be to the detriment of funding for nature and biodiversity, the circular economy, and climate adaptation and mitigation; reiterates its call for the financial resources for the LIFE Programme to be at least doubled to EUR 6.442 billion in constant (2018) prices, and calls for the establishment of dedicated envelopes for biodiversity and the management of the Natura 2000 network;

4. Welcomes the proposed increase in the budget earmarked for Horizon Europe and, in particular, the dedicated envelopes for research and innovation in Health (EUR 6.83 billion), Climate, Energy and Mobility (EUR 13.31 billion), and Food and Natural Resources (EUR 8.87 billion); reiterates, however, its call for the 9th Framework Programme to be financed more heavily with a budget of at least EUR 116.895 billion, while maintaining the share of the Climate, Energy and Mobility cluster (15.94 %) and the Food and Natural Resources cluster (10.63 %), and increasing the share of the Health cluster to at least 9.7 % in line with the 8th Framework Programme; calls, furthermore, for significant funding to be allocated to fundamental research in these fields;

5. Welcomes the substantial increase for the Connecting Europe Facility – Energy to EUR 7.675 billion in constant (2018) prices for 2021-2027;

6. Expresses serious concern over the proposed reduction in funding for the health

AD\1166413EN.docx 3/7 PE625.523v02-00 EN programme; reiterates its call for the health programme to be restored as a robust stand- alone programme with increased funding in the next MFF 2021-2027, in order to implement the SDGs on public health, health systems and environment-related problems, and ensure an ambitious health policy with a focus on cross-border challenges, including, in particular, a thorough increase in common Union efforts in the fight against cancer, the prevention of chronic diseases, combating anti-microbial resistance and ensuring easier access to cross-border healthcare;

7. Regrets that there is a risk of falling short of the current climate-related spending target and notes, in this context, the proposed increase of this target to at least 25 % of the Union’s budget for 2021-2027; calls, however, for a more ambitious climate-related spending target of 30 % of the Union’s budget for 2021-2027 in order to achieve and implement the objectives of the Paris Agreement, as well as to reflect the increased importance and urgency of climate action and the need for further climate diplomacy actions, and calls for the development of a reliable and transparent tracking method; calls, furthermore, for measures to ensure that the structure and execution of the Union’s budget does not run contrary to achieving the climate and energy targets of the Union;

8. Insists that the MFF 2021-2027 should exclude any direct or indirect support for fossil fuels;

9. Is concerned about the proposed 5 % decrease in financial resources for the decentralised agencies under the remit of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the European Environment Agency (EEA), the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA)); calls for the decentralised agencies to be allocated more financial and human resources, at least at the level of 2014-2020 in real terms, where appropriate and based on their individual needs, in particular if new tasks are allocated, such as in the case of the ECHA and EEA; highlights the importance of sufficient funding for these agencies to strengthen science-based regulation and improve public confidence in Union policy-making;

10. Reiterates that the mission of the EEA is to help the Union and the Member States make informed decisions about protecting and improving the environment, integrating environmental considerations into economic policies and moving towards sustainability; underlines that the Commission has allocated additional tasks to the EEA, including, but not limited to, monitoring new legislation and policy developments on the low carbon economy, the circular economy agenda and the implementation of the SDGs, and stresses that this should be appropriately reflected by the financial envelope of the agency, which should at least be categorised as stable in real terms in the budget for 2021-2027;

11. Welcomes the proposal for an own resource based on non-recycled plastic packaging waste; underlines that its steering effect must give priority to the prevention of waste generation in line with the waste hierarchy, and calls on the Commission to look into the possibilities of directing its revenues towards achieving the packaging waste recycling targets; calls for effective registration and control mechanisms and a

PE625.523v02-00 4/7 AD\1166413EN.docx EN clarification of the calculation method;

12. Calls for a significant share of the increasing emissions trading system (ETS) auctioning revenue, from phase 4 (2021) onwards, to be considered as a Union own resource and to be gradually directed towards Union projects for cross-border electricity infrastructure that are in line with the Union’s climate and energy goals, renewable energy and storage, as well as investments in breakthrough low-carbon innovation in industry; considers that this should be a gradual exercise, in order to avoid putting pressure on national budgets dedicated to climate and energy policy (as 50 % of revenues are earmarked for this purpose in the ETS Directive (Directive 2003/87/EC));

13. Calls, in parallel, for the exploration of a possible carbon border adjustment mechanism as a new own resource for the Union’s budget, which would also have the effect of ensuring a level playing field in international trade and reducing the offshoring of production, while internalising the costs of climate change into the prices of imported goods;

14. Believes that, in the absence of harmonised international measures for kerosene taxation, a carbon content-based aviation levy should be explored at Union level to provide further incentives for research, development and investment in more efficient, low-carbon aircraft and fuels, and in order to curb growing emissions in aviation, while ensuring a level playing field in the transport sector;

15. Encourages ongoing efforts to establish a financial transaction tax (FTT) and believes that a share of a common FTT should be used as a future own resource;

16. Calls for 25 % of the budget of the Structural Reform Support Programme (SRSP) to be transferred to the Structural Funds to enable it to be channelled towards additional support for carbon-dependent regions affected by the necessary structural transition to a low-carbon economy; considers that these regions should have access to this additional support to help them achieve the PO2 objectives of the Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund, in order to facilitate a just transition; notes that the aim is to support such regions, in particular those which are not already eligible for support in the framework of the Modernisation Fund under Directive 2003/87/EC, by promoting the redeployment, re-skilling and up-skilling of workers, education, active labour market policies as well as development of new jobs, for example through start-ups, in close dialogue and coordination with the social partners;

17. Underlines that the expenditure and revenue side of the next MFF should be treated as a single package, and that no agreement can be reached with Parliament on the MFF without an agreement on own resources.

AD\1166413EN.docx 5/7 PE625.523v02-00 EN PROCEDURE – COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

Title Interim report on the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027 – Parliament’s position with a view to an agreement References 2018/0166R(APP)

Committee responsible BUDG

Opinion by ENVI Date announced in plenary 5.7.2018

Rapporteur Ivo Belet Date appointed 10.7.2018

Discussed in committee 10.9.2018

Date adopted 18.10.2018

Result of final vote +: 44 –: 6 0: 2

Members present for the final vote Marco Affronte, Pilar Ayuso, Zoltán Balczó, Ivo Belet, Paul Brannen, Soledad Cabezón Ruiz, Nessa Childers, Miriam Dalli, Angélique Delahaye, Mark Demesmaeker, Stefan Eck, Bas Eickhout, José Inácio Faria, Karl-Heinz Florenz, Francesc Gambús, Arne Gericke, Jens Gieseke, Andrzej Grzyb, Jytte Guteland, Urszula Krupa, Giovanni La Via, Jo Leinen, Peter Liese, Susanne Melior, Rory Palmer, Gilles Pargneaux, Piernicola Pedicini, Bolesław G. Piecha, Pavel Poc, John Procter, Julia Reid, Frédérique Ries, Annie Schreijer-Pierik, Davor Škrlec, Renate Sommer, Nils Torvalds, Adina-Ioana Vălean, Damiano Zoffoli Substitutes present for the final vote Giorgos Grammatikakis, Rebecca Harms, Martin Häusling, Anja Hazekamp, Jan Huitema, Merja Kyllönen, Carolina Punset, Christel Schaldemose, Keith Taylor, Tiemo Wölken, Carlos Zorrinho Substitutes under Rule 200(2) present Sophia in ‘t Veld, Kati Piri, Mirja Vehkaperä for the final vote

PE625.523v02-00 6/7 AD\1166413EN.docx EN FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL IN COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

44 +

ALDE Carolina Punset, Frédérique Ries, Nils Torvalds, Mirja Vehkaperä, Sophia in ’t Veld

EFDD Piernicola Pedicini

GUE/NGL Stefan Eck, Anja Hazekamp, Merja Kyllönen

PPE Pilar Ayuso, Ivo Belet, Angélique Delahaye, José Inácio Faria, Karl-Heinz Florenz, Francesc Gambús, Jens Gieseke, Andrzej Grzyb, Giovanni La Via, Peter Liese, Annie Schreijer-Pierik, Renate Sommer, Adina-Ioana Vălean

S&D Paul Brannen, Soledad Cabezón Ruiz, Nessa Childers, Miriam Dalli, Giorgos Grammatikakis, Jytte Guteland, Jo Leinen, Susanne Melior, Rory Palmer, Gilles Pargneaux, Kati Piri, Pavel Poc, Christel Schaldemose, Tiemo Wölken, Damiano Zoffoli, Carlos Zorrinho

VERTS/ALE Marco Affronte, Bas Eickhout, Rebecca Harms, Martin Häusling, Keith Taylor, Davor Škrlec

6 -

ECR Mark Demesmaeker, Arne Gericke, Urszula Krupa, Bolesław G. Piecha, John Procter,

EFDD Julia Reid

2 0

ALDE Jan Huitema

NI Zoltán Balczó

Key to symbols: + : in favour - : against 0 : abstention

AD\1166413EN.docx 7/7 PE625.523v02-00 EN