Activities of Nicola CAPUTO related to 2018/2005(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Harnessing globalisation: trade aspects (short presentation) IT
Amendments (27)
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the Commission communication on a balanced and progressive trade policy to harness globalisation1 ; underlines the importance of this communication for a European agriculture sector that is suffering from unbalanced competition on both the EU and foreign markets; _________________ 1 with several global players which have developed intensive, export oriented and highly competitive farming systems; _________________ 1 COM(2017)0492. COM(2017)0492.
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Acknowledges that the EU is the single largest exporter of agri-food products; perceives in this context the double phenomenon that on one hand, there is the need to maintain its market orientation and its compatibility with WTO rules whilst, on the other, that specific agricultural sectors cannot withstand full trade liberalisation and unfettered competition with imports;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Reminds, that EU trade policy is not just about interest but also about values;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1c. Underlines that the trade and agricultural policies are intertwined and that the EU trade policy is a tool in promoting EU’s agricultural interests and therefore can contribute to the achievement of objectives of the common agricultural policy (CAP);
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 d (new)
Paragraph 1 d (new)
1d. Highlights that trade and agricultural policies lie at the core of implementing Agenda 2030 and its Sustainable Development Goals. Focusing on inclusive, free and fair trade policies and aligning trade with the SDGs can significantly contribute to eradicating poverty and hunger worldwide.
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 e (new)
Paragraph 1 e (new)
1e. Underlines that trade agreements and globalization can lead to increasing inequalities in and between countries, threatening ecological and social stability and fostering unsustainable production and consumption patterns. EU trade policy include the Agenda 2030 as their guiding principle to avoid negative impacts.
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 f (new)
Paragraph 1 f (new)
1f. Calls on the EU to systematically evaluate the impact of its trade policies on the objectives of sustainable development and calls for establishing an evaluation mechanism to assure policy coherence of all EU strategies and policies
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 g (new)
Paragraph 1 g (new)
1g. Acknowledges in this context that the WTO itself is a negotiating forum that offers rules and that the member countries themselves decide how far they want to go in removing trade barriers and distortions; reminds that with bilateral agreements the EU can set trade conditions over and above the WTO safety net;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses that harnessing globalisation should involve both strengthening global discipline to prevent unfair competition and distortions of trade in agriculture, and avoiding undue exposure of sensitive EU agricultural sectors to competition from imports of products that are not subject to similar standards, costs and constraints as regards, for example, environmental protection, fundamental labour rights and animal welfare;
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Urges that no trade agreement will ever lower levels of regulatory protection; stresses that consumer rights need to be safeguarded when comprehensive trade agreements are negotiated and concluded and consumer welfare should be added among the objectives of future agreements; calls therefore on a self- standing chapter on “trade and consumer” within trade agreements commit to a high level of consumer protection;
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Warns against the danger of a serious imbalance in the agricultural provisions of trade agreements, to the detriment of the EU, and against the temptation to use agriculture as a bargaining chip to secure increased access to third countries' market for industrial products and services;
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Highlights that trade agreements must be balanced, contain safeguards for EU sensitive agricultural sectors, promote fair competition and protect EU's geographical indications and its high environmental, food safety and animal welfare standards;
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Calls for common measures of product information and labelling, the introduction of a mandatory country-of- origin labelling scheme for meat;
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)
Paragraph 2 c (new)
2c. Urges to incorporate the precautionary principle as laid down in Article 191 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU in all trade agreements under negotiations and future agreements, to ensure a higher level of protection through preventative decision- taking in the case of risk to human health or the environment without restrictions from trade partners or the WTO whenever required;
Amendment 46 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 d (new)
Paragraph 2 d (new)
2d. Reminds that the precautionary principle as laid down within the framework of the WTO agreement does not reflect the precautionary principle as practised in Europe; demands therefore, in contrast to the WTO provisions in force, that precautionary measures can be adopted in the case of legitimate suspicion without a scientific proof (e.g. trade- restrictive measures like placing ban on imports, rejecting market authorisation, etc.) and therefore calls for the reversal of burden of proof of scientific evidence onto the proponent/developer/producer/importer of substances/products which have been considered to harm human health or are considered as environmental hazard in particular with regard to lower sanitary and phytosanitary standards, hygiene problems at meat-production facilities and with regard to possible pesticide residues;
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 e (new)
Paragraph 2 e (new)
2e. Calls for an improvement in the control of imports of goods to ensure they strictly meet European health, food safety, social and environmental rules notably by strengthening the checks on imported agri-foods at origin and upon their arrival in the EU;
Amendment 58 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Takes the view that, in the framework of trade agreements, a further opening-up of the EU market in sensitive agricultural sectors could have disastrous consequences for European producers; reminds therefore the Commission that it would be unacceptable to sacrifice the interests of European agriculture and its sensitive sectors in order to secure any trade agreement;
Amendment 62 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Urges to exercise utmost care when it comes to the liberalisation of the market access in vulnerable agricultural sectors and consideration of various procedures when it comes to the most sensitive products (including their exclusion);
Amendment 67 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Emphasizes our responsibility towards developing countries; calls on indicators that drive fair and sustainable trade for poor communities - not just trade for its own sake; reminds to integrate sustainable development goals into trade policy at all levels to avoid the risks of damage to livelihoods by giving real opportunities to developing countries and to ensure that development cooperation, which also aims to strengthen agricultural production in these countries, will not be undermined by trade agreements;
Amendment 83 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Emphasises the cumulative impact of the concessions that the EU has already made in the agricultural sector, in both multilateral and bilateral trade agreements, and calls for this impact to be taken into account when assessing what concessions could be offered to Mercosur;
Amendment 91 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Recalls its two resolutions of 26 October 2017 on the negotiating mandates for trade agreements with Australia and New Zealand2 and the emphasis placed by this Parliament on the need of “respecting the fact that there are a number of sensitive agricultural products which should be given appropriate treatment, for example, through tariff-rate quotas or allocated adequate transition periods, taking into proper consideration the cumulative impact of trade agreements on agriculture and potentially excluding from the scope of the negotiations the most sensitive sectors”; _________________ 2 Texts adopted, P8_TA(2017)0419 and P8_TA(2017)0420 respectively.
Amendment 97 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Reminds that the total number of farms in the EU has dropped by 26% from 2005 to 2013; points out that the agricultural production in some MS within the EU now takes place in fewer, larger and more capital-intensive farms and points out that this consolidation process is expected to be continued and already has and will continue to have an impact on the generational renewal in particular in the context with access to land and maintaining farm viability;
Amendment 101 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses the importance of strong coordination between Member States for the screening of foreign direct investment (FDI) on the EU market, especially in the areas of farmland and forests; draws attention to the need to avoid the excessive concentration of farmland and forests in foreign (non-EU) hands; recalls, in this respect, its resolution of 27 April 2017 on the state of play of farmland concentration in the EU3 ; _________________ 3 Texts adopted, P8_TA(2017)0197. Texts adopted, P8_TA(2017)0197.
Amendment 107 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls on the Commission to react strongly to US attacks against the WTO- compatible mechanisms of the CAP through the imposition of unjustified trade defence measures; recalls, in this respect, its resolution of 15 March 2018 on US measures on EU farm support under the CAP (in the context of Spanish olives)4 and expresses its concern with respect to the possible proliferation of such measures against other recipients of payments under the CAP; _________________ 4 Texts adopted, P8_TA(2018)0091.
Amendment 114 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Calls on the EU to make proposals in the World Trade Organisation that would promote transparency in industrial subsidies and limit the use of harmful subsidies in the agricultural sector;
Amendment 116 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Welcomes the Commission’s initiative to create an advisory group on EU trade negotiations composed of representatives of a wide and balanced group of stakeholders; insists on the need for thea strong representation of EU farming organisations in such a group in view of the major impact of most of the negotiations in question on the agricultural sector.
Amendment 123 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Asks the Commission to ensure that recommendations of the advisory group are binding and enforceable.