2. Stresses the need to define the Single Market as the third pillar of the European Semester in order to cover a clear set of priorities related to the real economy; believes that the definition and achievement of these priorities is essential to stimulate growth and bridge the present gap from reaching the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy, while ensuring economic convergence between Member States inside and outside the euro area and in core and peripheral areas of the EU;

12. Believes that the financing of waste recycling infrastructure should take priority over the financing of waste dumping and incineration, but should also of course take into account the needs of each individual community; encourages European municipalities and local authorities, the plastics industry, and the recycling and waste management sector to make all possible efforts to motivate and incentivise citizens and businesses to adopt a circular economy concept with regard to plastic waste, beginning with a wide debate on planned obsolescence, by promoting easy and effective separation collection, reuse and recycling schemes and esta ...[+++]blishing adequate collection points for plastic waste, especially in coastal and environmentally vulnerable areas, starting out in terms of priority from those areas that the Member States have declared to be protected areas and/or national parks; also believes they could make a major contribution towards harmonising plastic waste management activities throughout Europe by agreeing on common standards and practices; calls on regional authorities to cooperate in integrated waste management planning where it is both environmentally and financially viable, and to promote in particular the establishment of ‘agricultural collection centres’ for plastic waste streams from agriculture (e.g. greenhouse plastics);

To ensure the sustainable development of rural areas, it is necessary to focus on a limited number of core priorities relating to knowledge transfer and innovation in agriculture, forestry and rural areas, to farm viability, to the competitiveness of all types of agriculture in all regions and promoting innovative farm technologies and the sustainable management of forests, to the organisation of the food chain, including the processing and marketing of agricultural products, to animal welfare, to risk management in agriculture, restoring, preserving and enhancing ecosystems that are related to agriculture and forestry, to the promotion ...[+++]of resource efficiency and the shift towards a low carbon economy in the agricultural, food and forestry sectors, and to promoting social inclusion, poverty reduction in and the economic development of rural areas.

With that aim in view, a rebalancing of activities between coastal and inland areas, between urban and rural areas and between readily accessible and isolated areas is essential and must be included among the priorities for cohesion policy as implemented by this Regulation.

The resources devoted to axis 4 (Leader) should contribute to the priorities of axes 1 and 2, and in particular of axis 3, but also play an important role in the horizontal priority of improving governance and mobilising the endogenous development potential of rural areas.

In this context, I would like to give a vote of confidence to the general rapporteur for the Committee on Budgets, as long as he, of course, takes on board to the greatest extent possible the priorities set out by the Committee on Foreign Affairs, which are balanced, given that they seek an equitable distribution between different geographical areas, and aim to respond to the European Union’s various commitments on the international stage.