10 Amendments of Alessia Maria MOSCA related to 2018/2102(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Calls on the Commission to ensure that any future trade agreement provides a level playing field, particularly as regards competition and state aid; stresses that state aid should be allowed only in exceptional and justified cases that are regulated by law, so as not to distort competition on the market; recalls that “as companies go global, so must competition enforcers”, not least since the spread of ICTs and the emergence of the digital economy has led to excessive market and power concentration in some sectors; believes that global rules on competition and the highest level of coordination between competition authorities, including with respect to exchange of information in the course of competition proceedings, is a precondition for the development of global fair trade;
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls on the Commission to step up its efforts to show ambition in opening up international public procurement markets and in increasing European companies’ access to public-private partnerships in third countries; considers it necessary to reduce asymmetries in access to public procurement contracts between the Union and third countries, namely in the US and China; calls on all EU trade partners to allow non-discriminatory access for European businesses and workers to their public procurement markets; welcomes the renewed discussion on the International Procurement Instrument (IPI),which establishes the needed reciprocity in cases where trade partners restrict access to their procurement markets, and calls on the European Council for its swift adoption; supports the Commission’s efforts in opening up third countries’ public procurement markets through bilateral trade partnerships; recalls that companies operating in non-market conditions and driven by geopolitical considerations could virtually beat every competitor in European public procurement tenders; calls on the Commission to monitor public procurement tenders and prevent European businesses and workers to suffer from the unfair competition coming from state-orchestrated companies;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Points out that combating unfair trading practices, including through competition policy, is necessary to ensure a global level playing field which benefits workers, consumers and businesses, and is one of the priorities of the EU’s commercial strategy; emphasises that the reflection paper on harnessing globalisation states that the Union must take steps to restore fair conditions of competition; welcomes the inclusion of provisions on competition policies in the Economic Partnership Agreement with Japan and in the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with Canada, regrets however that these provisions remain limited in scope and do not provide for effective enforcement and dispute resolution; draws attention to the importance of incorporating ambitious provisions on competition in all trade agreements and of enforcing their implementation with a view to guarantee fair rules;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2 b. Welcomes the proposal for the establishment of a European framework for foreign direct investments screening considering it a useful instrument to protect European business of strategic interest from unfair trade practices that may harm security and public order and to safeguard the respect of fair competition principles in the EU;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)
Paragraph 2 c (new)
2 c. Emphasises the importance of the anti-subsidy instrument in tackling unfair global competition, and establishing a level playing field with EU state aid rules; in this context, regrets that in 2017 once again the People’s Republic of China registered the highest number of newly constituted trade barriers for European businesses and workers and the majority of European anti-subsidy cases;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the Commission to step up its efforts to promote fair competition, including by combating the unjustified use of tariff barriers and subsidies, in the global market through stronger cooperation with other countries at forums such as the WTO, the OECD, UNCTAD, the G20 and the World Bank; recalls the work undertaken at the WTO between 1996 and 2004 on the interaction between trade and competition policy and regrets that this issue has not been part of the WTO work programme since; stresses that provisions in WTO agreements such as GATS Article IX provide a basis to further cooperation amongst WTO members on competition matters; therefore calls for fresh progress to be made at the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference towards guaranteeing fair international competition;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Despite strongly believing in its fundamental role, expresses concern over the alleged inability of the WTO to tackle non-market economies and to address the competitive distortions provoked by subsidies and state intervention; welcomes the USA, Japan and EU’s tripartite action to reform it accordingly;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the Commission to increase its support for small and medium- sized enterprises in the EU so that they can both protect and enforce their rights in the event of unfair commercial practices, i.e. dumping and subsidisation by non-EU countries; in this respect, acknowledges the Commission’s effort to combat unfair competition in high-profile cases against well-known companies, but stresses that the enforcement of fair competition in the case of SMEs is also of the utmost importance;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Draws attention to the importance of effective, harmonised EU customs checks in combating unfair competition; recalls on the importance of avoiding port shopping and competition among Member States, therefore calls for a stricter and more homogenous implementation of the Union’s Customs Code; notes with concern the OLAF conclusions that the “UK customs’ continuous negligence” deprived the EU of EUR 1.987 billion in revenues in lost duties on Chinese merchandise and calls on the United Kingdom to pay the EUR 2.7 billion fine as requested by the European Commission;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses that the effective implementation of the sustainable development provisions of trade agreements is important for improving living conditions in partner countries and protecting European businesses from unfair competition; calls for the inclusion of binding and enforceable trade and sustainable development provisions in all bilateral trade partnership agreements currently negotiated by the EU; regrets the damages provoked by unfair competition, carbon leakage and delocalisation that resulted in a global surge of CO2 emissions and a lower employment rate in the EU; welcomes the introduction of environmental and social criteria in the reform of anti-subsidies and anti-dumping measures, nevertheless calls on the Commission to present a legislative proposal on the establishment of a European border carbon tax.