Activities of Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO related to 2015/2105(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on a new forward-looking and innovative future strategy on trade and investment
Amendments (38)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 (new)
Paragraph -1 (new)
-1. Welcomes the general thrust of the future trade strategy presented by the Commission in the document ‘Trade for all. Towards a more responsible trade and investment policy’, in particular its focus on a value-based approach aiming at safeguarding the European social and regulatory model at home and using trade agreements and preference programmes as levers to promote, around the world, European values like sustainable development, human rights, fair and ethical trade and the fight against corruption;
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Stresses the link between the single market and EU trade policy, and the fact that open and free global trade is essential to making the single market function and growat EU common trade policy should be fully compatible with other EU policies and objectives and highlights the importance of the link between the single market and EU trade policy; believes that an open, fair and free global trade could strengthen internal and external EU competitiveness, sustainable and durable growth and social cohesion;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Emphasises that future trade agreements should take into account Parliament’sthe resolutions of the European Parliament on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership of 8 July 2015 and on the Trade in Services Agreement, of 3 February 2016 which remain valid for the future EU trade policy, in particular as far as the protection of public services is concerned as it is part of a European model to fight against inequalities;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Stresses the link between the single market and EU trade policy, and the fact that a dynamic, open and freeair global trade system is essential to making the single market function and grow; However, notes that this system needs effective, fair, transparent and strong global rules; Highlights that the multilateral rule-based system under the WTO is the most legitimate mean of managing and expanding trade relations in a more transparent and democratic way;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Emphasises that, given the EU’'s status as the largest economy in the world, trade is its strongest policy tool for promoting European values abroad while creating jobs and growth at homesustainable and responsible trade can be a tool for promoting European values abroad; points out that a new future EU strategy on trade and investment paired by a coherent EU industrial policy, internal market and the economic policies will add value within the EU by fostering economic growth, investment and creating jobs;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Points out that the new trade strategy shall be conducted in the interest of European consumers and in a coherent manner with the principles, objectives and initiatives of the Union´s external actions;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Stresses that the new EU trade strategy should promote wealth distribution, help fighting against poverty and social and economic inequality and contribute to reinforce the rule of law, labour standards, human rights and fundamental freedoms at the same time as it creates economic growth and prosperity;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)
Paragraph 2 c (new)
2c. Points out that the trade policy should be accompanied by appropriate internal EU policies in order to allow consumers and workers in the EU to fully benefit from trade to be equipped with adequate social safety net; recalls the need for EU trade policy to be consistent with the EU´s commitments on human rights and to respect OIT international labour conventions;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 d (new)
Paragraph 2 d (new)
2d. Points out that investment in education and innovation are key for the EU to compete successfully on the global markets while maintaining high levels of employment under fair conditions; stresses that social consequences of market opening must not only be addressed but foreseen and absorbed in a way that workers have the skills and tools needed to adapt to new challenges ; Considers therefore essential to invest in education and long life learning;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Welcomes the fact that the strategy reflects an understanding that protectionism has no place in the EU’s internal or external policies and that European goods and services are part of global value chains which make protectionist measures self-defeatingthat European goods and services are part of global value chains; calls on the Commission and Member States to strengthen cross-border value chains of goods and services enhancing the competitiveness of our economies and economic growth by reducing unjustified trade barriers;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Stresses the importance of ensuring that the EU and its trading partners play by equal rules; recalls that the EU must use all tools at its disposal to stand firm against unfair competition and non- compliance with both WTO principles and commitments taken by its trading partners;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Calls on the Commission to ensure that possible adjustment costs in the EU labour market are countered by a timely intervention on the side of the Commission supporting the affected sectors, regions or Member States; this support could be achieved through EU funding, including an adapted European Globalisation Adjustment Fund with an adequate budget;
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Calls on the Commission to take steps to protect regional production structures in developing countries in cases in which the Sustainable Impact Assessment indicates that these might be endangered as a consequence of trade agreements;
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Calls on the Commission on one hand to support SMEs going global and to make available more internationalization tools, which would result in increased export capacity, and on the other hand to ensure protection of SMEs from unfair trading practices;
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Acknowledges that in order for the EU to secure its place in global value chains a joined-up strategy across different areas of economic policy is needed; stresses the importance to ensure responsible management of supply chains, to tackle aggressive corporate profit shifting and tax avoidance strategies that profit from the fragmentation of value chains; Calls on the Commission for further and ambitious measures against aggressive tax planning and tax avoidance (tax rulings) which distort trade and competition, in order to promote balanced trade and fair competition between Member States and with third countries;
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3c. Highlights the importance of promoting innovation and quality as an added value of European products; notes that the recognition in trade agreements of geographical indications should be a priority, it equally notes that the extension of geographical indications to non- agricultural products could be a tool to encourage international trade expansion; notes that this tool could be effective to fight against commercial frauds and counterfeiting of goods at the same time as it fosters R+D and competitiveness for our businesses;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Agrees with the Commission on the need to take a holistic yet ambitious approach to public procurement while ensuring a level playing field for an equal and fair access to it, urges the Commission to defend EU rules and standards when negotiating trade and investment agreements with non EU- countries;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Emphasises that, as a minimum, the legislation on the posting of workers andtogether with other national and EU labour and social legislation, as well as collective agreements, should be applicable to contractual service suppliers and business sellers accessing the EU; calls on the Commission to ensure that all workers, irrespective of their home country, enjoy the same labour rights as nationals in their host country and that the principle of equal pay for equal work at the same place is respected; in this respect calls on the Commission to ensure that the Directive on the posting of workers is revised in a way so that the principle of equal pay for equal work at the same place is given full effect;
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Agrees with the Commission on the need to take a holistic yet ambitious approach to public procurement and believes that the amended proposal of the European Commission on an International Procurement Instrument (IPI) could be an important tool to secure reciprocity in the field of International Public Procurement market;
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Calls on the Commission to include a safety clause preventing companies from circumventing or undermining the right to take industrial action through the use of workers from third countries during negotiations on collective agreements and labour disputes and allow Member States to apply any necessary safeguards should pressure be put on domestic wages, the right of domestic workers be endangered or other agreed standards be infringed;
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Agrees with the Commission on the need to take a holistic yet ambitious approach to public procurement; given the legislation on public procurement in the EU which came into force in 2016 and the possibility of reciprocal open market access for public procurement, calls for the achievements of the new directive on public procurement to be put into practice; points out that the fundamental principles for public in-house consultations, public-public cooperation and public-private partnership management systems should always be clearly defined and exempted from the Public Procurement Directive, as regards both the general economy and public utilities (water, energy, transport and the post office); points out, further, that the MEAT criteria applied in the legislation make it possible to use social, labour, quality and environmental considerations as award criteria in public procurement procedures, that they are therefore particularly significant and that they should take priority over purely cost-based decision-making;
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Calls on the Commission to ensure that nothing will prevent the EU and its Member States from maintaining, improving and applying labour and social regulations, collective agreements as well as legislations regulating the entry of natural persons into, or temporary stay in, its territory;
Amendment 46 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. WelcomesStresses the importance of the Commission’'s pledgecommitment that no trade agreement will lower EU consumer protection standard, labour and environmental standards , which constitute the core of the European social model, while guaranteeing full compliance with the EU acquis;
Amendment 49 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes the Commission’'s pledge that no trade agreement will lower consumer protection standards and will continue to closely monitor that the ongoing negotiations respect this pledge;
Amendment 50 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Rejects any further liberalisation of the GATS Mode 4 commitmentsCalls on the Commission to ensure that Mode 4 commitments must only apply to the movement of highly-skilled professionals, such as persons holding a university or equivalent Masters degree or employed in a senior managerial role, for a specific purpose, for a limited period of time and under precise conditions stipulated by the domestic legislation of the country where the service is performed and by a contract respecting such domestic legislation; to reject any further liberalisation of the GATS Mode 4 commitments and to consider a revision of Directive 2014/66/EU on the conditions of entry and residency of third country nationals in the framework of an intra- corporate transfer in order to avoid abuse and social dumping;
Amendment 51 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Agrees with the Commission that trade policy can work only if Europe continues its focus on better regulation, cutting red tape and increased competition within the single marketremoving obstacles to the completion of the single market; welcomes the Commissions´ commitment upon which every significant initiative in the field of trade policy will be subject to a sustainability impact assessment; reminds the importance of carrying ex post evaluations and highlights that impact assessments and evaluations including appropriate consultation of all stakeholders are crucial for the formulation of sound, transparent and evidence-based trade policies;
Amendment 56 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Acknowledges that transparency in trade is fundamental for consumers trust to better regulation and in order to reinforce public trust within the EU and the legitimacy of EU trade policy abroad; thus, considers it essential that transparency should apply at all stages of the negotiating cycle;
Amendment 59 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Welcomes the TiSA and TTIP negotiations, calls for them to be completed swiftly, and underlines the need to ensure greater market access for European service providers; Calls for progress in the negotiations on the agreements of TiSA and TTIP to be consistent with the lines set out in the European Parliament's resolutions of 8 July 2015 containing the European Parliament’s recommendations to the European Commission on the negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)1a and Recommendations to the European Commission on the negotiations for the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA)1b especially as regards to the exclusion of services of general interest and services of general economic interest; a high level of consumer protection and labour and environmental standards; and also what concerns to a new public system for resolving disputes; ____________________ 1aP8_TA-PROV(2015)0252 1bP8_TA-PROV(2016)0041
Amendment 63 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Calls on the Commission to ensure that labour standards are made enforceable by guaranteeing that the implementation of and compliance with labour provisions is subjected to an effective monitoring process, involving social partners and civil society representatives; where disputes arise regarding labour provisions, these disputes should be subject to a dispute settlement mechanism, including the possibility of imposing trade sanctions, and with due consideration for the ILO supervisory bodies and reference to ILO jurisdiction;
Amendment 65 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Calls on the current and future exclusion of services of general interest and services of general economic interest from trade agreements (including, but not limited to, water, health, social services, social security systems and education, waste management and public transport); welcomes the commitment by the Commission upon which it will not require governments to privatise any service nor prevent them from renationalising once privatised services, nor expanding the range of public interest services they offer to citizens;
Amendment 69 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Calls on the Commission to ensure the highest level of transparency, dialogue and accountability; keeping the European Parliament fully and immediately informed at all stages of the negotiations, ensuring the serious and continuous engagement of the EU institutions with all relevant stakeholders throughout the whole negotiation process as well as with national parliaments and regional and local authorities; furthermore calls on the Commission to encourage EU negotiating partners to equally act in widening transparency thus ensuring the democratic foundation of trade policy, strengthening EU citizens trust and preventing misinformation;
Amendment 70 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Welcomes the strategy’'s focus on the global digital market and preventing the development of new unjustified barriers to trade in digital goods and services; supports, in line with data protection rules, all measures to increase the free flow of data; however recalls that data protection rules are not a barrier to data flows but a fundamental right and that the latter should never compromise the EU´s acquis on the former;
Amendment 77 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls for negotiations – in parallel to trade agreements – on greater mobility for professionals, recognition of professional qualifications, and visa facilitationSupports greater mobility for professionals, recognition of professional qualifications, and visa facilitation; Considers that the internal market should ensure the free movement of people; asks the Commission together with the Member States to promote a European mobility that ensures freedom of movement, the principle of equal treatment, and equal access to regulated professions while ensuring fair working conditions for all Europeans;
Amendment 82 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls for negotiations – in parallel to trade agreements – on greater mobility for professionals, recognition of professional qualifications, and visa facilitation; calls for strict compliance with the Services Directive in the context of the provision of services, and calls, in that connection, for Article 16 to be complied with and enforced, as only on this basis are comprehensive consumer, employee and environmental protection and security of implementation for providers possible;
Amendment 86 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Encourages the use and creation of further international technical standards, and all efforts aimed at ensuring the full engagement of our trading partners in international standardisation bodies; safeguarding high EU standards and preserving the current level of protection of the EU legislation.
Amendment 92 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Emphasise that trade policy should focus on delivering growth, creating jobs and fostering innovation in order to addresses the concerns of those who feel they are losing out from globalisation; to this end, it is considered essential for this new strategy to improve conditions "for all" - citizens, consumers, workers and the self-employed as well as business, especially SMEs, and the poorest in developing countries;
Amendment 96 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Stresses the needCalls on the Commission to increase efforts to unblock the reform of trade defence instruments.; deplores that the Council has not been able to advance on the reform of trade defence instruments, keeping in mind that a modern and robust trade defence regime is also very important for jobs in Europe;
Amendment 97 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11b. Stresses that the EU´s new trade strategy cannot be limited to opening new negotiations but must also ensure the proper implementation of negotiated agreements and combat the rise of new unjustified non-tariff barriers among the EU and its trading partners, which limit the effective access of companies to foreign markets;