8 Amendments of Fabio Massimo CASTALDO related to 2018/0256M(NLE)
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Recalls that the United Nations and the EU and its Member States do not recognise the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Morocco over Western Sahara; stresses that Western Sahara is a separate and distinct territory in relation to any State, including the Kingdom of Morocco, according to the EU Court of Justice; insists therefore that this fundamental aspect of the ECJ ruling is duly taken into account in the agreement, including in its implementation at technical level; underlines furthermore that Western Sahara is on the United Nations’ list of non-self-governing territories and that the EU and its Member States must respect the legal and political framework applicable under international law to such territories;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses that it is important for this agreement to give guarantees regarding respect for international law, including human rights, for the Sahrawi people and in the territories concerned and to respect the judgments handed down by the Court of Justice of the European Union;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Recalls the obligation under article 21 of the Treaty of the European Union for the EU and its Member States to respect the principles of the United Nations Charter and international law; underlines in this respect that article 2 of the UN Charter includes the respect for the principle of self-determination of peoples; recalls that under this principle, the Sahrawi people has the right to the permanent sovereignty over their natural resources and to the territorial integrity of Western Sahara;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. NotStresses that this agreement does not imply recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara and that the EU’s position remains that of supporting UN efforts to secure aan urgent, fair, and lasting and mutually acceptable settlement of the Western Sahara conflict, on the basis of the right to self-determination of the Sahrawi people and in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions; reiterates, therefore, its full support to the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, Mr Horst Köhler, in helping the parties to achieve this settlement;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes that during inclusive consultations led byExpresses serious doubts about the ways in which the Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS) with a wide variety ofhave conducted consultations with Western Saharan local representatives, civil society organisations and other organisations and bodies, broad support was expressed for the socio-economic benefits the proposed tariff preferences would bringin particular owing to their lack of inclusiveness and the fact that during the consultations neither the Commission nor the EEAS visited Western Sahara; believes that in any case these consultations and the supposed socio-economic benefits the proposed tariff preferences would bring are not sufficient to meet the conditions set by the Court of Justice of the European Union which explicitly stated in its ruling that for the agreement to be applied to Western Sahara the specific consent of the Sahrawi people was needed rather than a simple consultation; considers that this consent has not been given and that the agreement as proposed is therefore illegal;
Amendment 60 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Notes that 94 Saharawi civil society organizations denounced the agreement that was negotiated between the Commission and the government of Morocco;
Amendment 76 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Takes good note of the exchange of letters and acknowledges the efforts of the Commission and the EEAS in trying, within the remit of their competences, to evaluate the benefit for the population and to ascertain their consent to this agreement; stresses, nevertheless, that, as highlighted by the Court of Justice of the European Union, the benefit for the population, in the absence of the specific consent of the Sahrawi people, is irrelevant for the approval of the agreement; stresses that more could be done to improve the traceability of products coming from Western Sahara; invites the Commission services, therefore, to engage further with the Moroccan authorities to improve this aspect, notably in order to produce clear and reliable statistics.;
Amendment 80 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Expresses its rejection of the agreement;