15 Amendments of Maria ARENA related to 2018/0358M(NLE)
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Underlines that economic development and multilateralism are important tools to improve people’s lives; points out that one of the objectives of the IPA is to strengthen the economic, trade and investment relationship between the EU and Viet Nam in accordance with the objective of sustainable development, and to promote trade and investment in a manner that is mindful of high levels offull compliance with human rights, environmental and labour protection and relevant internationally recognised standards and agreements;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the enhanced political dialogue between the EU and Viet Nam and the upgraded potentialpossibility to address human rights concerns in the framework of the institutional mechanisms established under Article 35 of the PCA and Article 13 of the FTA; believes that those articles provide the necessary tools to address human rights concerns related to the IPAtakes note that even if a Party may unilaterally take appropriate measures when it considers that the other Party has committed a material breach of the PCA, these measures are in full discretion of the parties and have been used in very exceptional circumstances;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses that under Article 35 of the PCA, the Parties agree to cooperate in the promotion and protection of human rights, including with regard to the implementation of international human rights instruments to which they are parties; notes with concern that it has proved to be insufficient as serious human rights violations have continued since the entry into force of the PCA;
Amendment 17 #
4. Fully supports the human rights dialogue between the EU and Viet Nam, which is a very effective way to discuss issues related to human rights; regrets the lack of any tangible result after several rounds of EU- Vietnam human rights dialogues; further regrets that on at least two occasions Vietnam detained activists right before the dialogues; calls for the strengthening of the annual EU-Viet Nam human rights dialogue with the involvement of local and international civil society and taking into account information received from relevant international organisations; calls for the dialogue to be geared around concrete deliverables; notes with concerns that Vietnamese independent civil society has been violently repressed and largely operates underground for fear of persecution and retaliations;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Underscores the importance of the IPA in contributing to raising living standards, promoting economic growth and stability, helping advance the rule of law, good governance, sustainable development and respect for human rights in Viet Nam, while also enabling the EU to foster its objectives of peace and stability in the region.
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Regrets that the European Commission conducted negotiations with Vietnam towards an IPA without carrying out a human rights impact assessment, thereby violating its own commitments and obligations, and calls on the Commission to carry out one, prior to the entry into force of the agreement
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Regrets that the regimes instituted by the investment protection agreement has insufficient clauses to compel states to respect, protect and implement human rights and have limited guarantees for people whose fundamental rights are violated by the investor or the host State to have an effective recourse;
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5c. Calls, for the establishment of an independent complaint mechanism, providing affected citizens and stakeholders with effective recourse in order to address potential negative impacts on human rights;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 d (new)
Paragraph 5 d (new)
5d. Notes that ICS jurisprudence is insufficient to secure an interpretation conform to human rights standards and investment tribunals have often not taken them into account adequately;
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 e (new)
Paragraph 5 e (new)
5e. Believes that the asymmetrical nature of the ICS system, the lack of human rights obligations of investors and the exorbitant costs associated with ICS limit the access and the remedy for civil society; requires that this system does not restrict the ability of the State to fulfil its obligation to protect human rights or prevent businesses from respecting these rights;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 f (new)
Paragraph 5 f (new)
5f. Calls to reform the ICS system in order to ensure that this investment tribunal is able to systematically and rigorously apply international human rights law, environmental and labour law and gives sufficient weight to international human rights obligations and the accountability of corporate investors to respect human rights;
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 g (new)
Paragraph 5 g (new)
5g. Regrets that Amicus Curiae can not be considered an effective participation since investment tribunals have full discretion to determine whether they accept amicus curiae and this possibility is often rejected or limited by the courts;
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 h (new)
Paragraph 5 h (new)
5h. Calls for a binding and enforceable clause in the IPA for States to protect human rights including by regulating and controlling enterprises and a mandatory clause recalling that businesses have to comply with international human rights and environmental standards;
Amendment 40 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 i (new)
Paragraph 5 i (new)
5i. Calls the EU and Viet Nam to cooperate to develop an action plan to fight child labour, including the necessary due diligence framework for enterprises;
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 j (new)
Paragraph 5 j (new)