79 Amendments of Jude KIRTON-DARLING related to 2014/2228(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Citation (new)
Citation (new)
– having regard to its earlier resolutions of 23 October 2012 on trade and economic relations with the United States1, 23 May 2013 on trade and investment negotiations with the United States of America2, 12 March 2014 on the US NSA surveillance programme, surveillance bodies in various Member States and their impact on EU citizens’ fundamental rights and on transatlantic cooperation in Justice and Home Affairs3,
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Citation (new)
Citation (new)
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the Commission is currently negotiating on behalf of the European Union a deep, comprehensive and high standards trade and investment partnership agreement with the United States (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership – TTIP) that aims to foster and facilitate commercial exchange of goods and services and enhance investment through inter alia the removal of trade barriers; whereas a significant number of European citizens have voiced legitimate concerns that this agreement would threaten fundamental EU regulations, in particular in the fields of labour rights, environmental protection and food and safety standards
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 b (new)
Citation 7 b (new)
- having regard to the 3rd July 2014 judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (C-350/12 P) on access to documents of the institutions, and to the 6th January 2015 decision of the European Ombudsman closing her own- initiative inquiry (OI/10/2014/RA) concerning the European Commission on dealing with requests for information and access to documents (Transparency),
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas in order to contribute to the well-being of all European citizens the objectives of the TTIP is to increase trade and investment between the European Union and the United States;should be to regulate globalisation and support sustainable trade and investment flows in a balanced way across Europe, sustainable economic growth, decent jobs creation and promotion of the European Social Model
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 b (new)
Citation 9 b (new)
- having regard to the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions of the 20 October 2005, and to the Article 167 of the TFEU - Part III: Union policies and internal action - Title XIII: Culture,
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the negotiations have attracted unprecedented public interest, given the potential economic, social and political impact of the TTIP; and the secretive manner in which the negotiations have been conducted
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 b (new)
Citation 10 b (new)
- having regard to the opinion on "The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)" of the Committee of the Regions (ECOS-V-063) adopted during the 110th plenary session (11-13 February 2015), and to the 4th June 2014 opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on "Transatlantic trade relations and the EESC's views on an enhanced cooperation and eventual EU- USA FTA",
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Calls on the Commission to maintain the objective of including a specific energy chapter in the TTIP which could significantly increase the EU’s energy security; ensuring that such a chapter is fully compatible with the EU's current energy legislation, including climate change objectives.
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the Committee on Petitions has received a number of petitions raising concerns about the EU-US trade agreement (TTIP); whereas the petitioners’ main concerns are related to risks regarding the quality of food imports, the transfer of data from the EU to the US, in particular information allegedly collected by the US regarding natural and legal persons (the right of EU citizens to ‘digital self-determination’), transparency, economic impact, and protection of investorhe lack of transparency of the negotiations, the potential negative economic impact of TTIP, in particular in terms of employment and wages, and the transfer of public authorities’ right to regulate to corporations via the Investor- State Dispute Settlement mechanism (ISDS);
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas the European Commission received a total of nearly 150,000 responses to its public consultation on investment protection and Investor-to- State Dispute Settlement in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Agreement, 97% of which rejected the inclusion of ISDS in TTIP; whereas, unusually, many submissions came from individual respondents, which highlights the scale of public mobilisation over TTIP; whereas some respondents, such as trade unions or large civil society organisations represent a large number of individual members that is vastly in excess of the total number of responses received by the Commission;
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion
Recital D b (new)
Recital D b (new)
Db. whereas the European Ombudsman’s investigation of July 2014 regarding the transparency of the TTIP scrutinised the withholding of key documents and alleged granting of privileged access to certain stakeholders; whereas the European Ombudsman received more than 6000 emails in reply to its TTIP public consultation;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas an ambitious and balanced agreement with the US may support the reindustrialisation of Europe and help achieve the 2020 target for an increase of the EU’'s GDP generated by industry from 15 % to 20 %; whereas it has the potential to create opportunities especially for SMEs, micro enterprises, according to the definition of Recommendation COM 2003/361/CE, clusters and enterprises networks which suffer more from non- tariff barriers (NTBs) than larger companies; whereas an agreement between the two biggest economic blocs in the world has the potential to create standards, norms and rules which will be adopted at a global level, which would serve to the advantage of third countries as well;
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Underlines the importance of developing the trade relationship and bilateralbalanced trade and investment relations between the European Union and the United States of America in order to help growth and employment and generate new economic opportunitieswith adequate safeguards to provide the highest labour, social, health and environmental standards on a global level in order to generate new economic opportunities and regulate globalisation, so that social and environmental dumping is excluded;
Amendment 53 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the objective of reducing unnecessary regulatory incompatibilities between the EU and the USA in relation to goods and serviceslifting technical barriers to trade between the EU and the USA which are not justified by different approaches to protection and risk management, such as duplication of procedures, inconsistent product requirements and double testing;
Amendment 61 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. NoteDemands that regulatory compatibility is to be without prejudice to thedoes not in any way affect public authorities’ right to regulate in accordance with the level of health, safety, consumer, labour and environmental protection and cultural diversity that each side considers appropriate;
Amendment 65 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Commission to work on transatlantic harmonisation of standards and regulations that define the principles of public support for different energy sources; Furthermore, calls on the Commission to look beyond simply lifting export limitations, to explore ways of cooperating with large scale US energy research and development projects, such as ARPA-E, to help increase energy innovation;
Amendment 65 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – point e
Paragraph 1 – point e
e. Calls on the Commission to ensure that foreign investors from the EU are not disadvantaged in the USA, including in relation to investors from other third States (such as Canada, Mexicoare treated in a non- discriminatory fashion and have a fair opportunity to seek and achieve redress of grievances, Cwhina, India and TPP States), which already now, or in future on the basis of negotiations currently under way, enjoyle benefiting from no greater rights than domestic investors; to oppose the inclusion of ISDS in TTIP, as other options to enforce investorment protection and have access to mechanisms for the settlement of disputes between States and investorre available, such as domestic remedies;
Amendment 74 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes the fact that the Commission has made real efforts to make the TTIP negotiating process more transparent, especially in the light of the publication of the European directives for the negotiation on the TTIP (1103/13 CL 1); regrets that this essential document was only disclosed on 9 October 2014 while the negotiations started in June 2013; believes that this delay by the European Commission and the Council in disclosing such essential documents has to date hindered the development of an informed public debate on TTIP and has contributed to reinforcing negative perceptions of the European Union and its institutions in important parts of the general public;
Amendment 76 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Welcomes the decision of the European Ombudsman concerning its inquiry in relation to the European Commission’s efforts to make TTIP negotiations transparent and accessible to the public; calls on the Commission to rapidly implement the Ombudsman’s recommendations related to public access to consolidated negotiating texts, greater proactive disclosure of TTIP documents and increased transparency as regards meetings that Commission officials hold on TTIP with business organisations, lobby groups or NGOs.
Amendment 77 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Suggests that further steps are needed in order to continue the Commission’s efforts to increase transparency and to promote more comprehensive participation and involvement of the various stakeholders in the negotiating process and in particular of civil society and consumers organisations, given the potential impact TTIP will have on the lives of European citizens;
Amendment 83 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. SuggestBelieves that a more proactive approach to transparency on the part of the Commission couldis absolutely crucial in order to make the negotiating process more legitimate in the eyes of citiz, and urges the Commission to publish all negotiating documents, and encourages the Commission to publish documentsincluding US offers to the EU, in the fashion of standards practices for all international trade negotiations conducted within the frame of the World Trade Organisation, and make meeting information available;,
Amendment 85 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Deeply regrets that the access given to Members of the European Parliament to TTIP negotiating texts is extremely limited, as only a very partial selection of documents is made available to them, in a fashion that is not conducive to proper parliamentary scrutiny of the negotiations; highlights that documents available in the EP secured reading room do not contain any consolidated material or any text tabled by the US;
Amendment 92 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Regrets that the petition filed by over one and a half million Europeans was not qualified by the European Commission as a ‘European Citizens’ Initiative’, due to limitations contained in the ECI legislative framework; regrets that in effect these limitations entail that any ECI on trade issues could only be admissible after the entry into force of a trade agreement, and that ECIs aimed at influencing ongoing trade negotiations are not permitted in the current framework;
Amendment 99 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Points to the huge differentials between the USA and the EU in energy prices but also in per capita CO2 emissions; calls on the Commission, therefore, to provide energy-intensive sectors in the EU, including the chemicals industry, with appropriate measures maintaining current tariff rates over the longest possible period for a period of at least five years after the entry into force of the TTIP with a mandatory review clause;
Amendment 103 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Highlights the sensitivity of certain areas of negotiation, such as the agricultural sector, where perceptions of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), cloning and consumer health are divergent between the European Union and the United States;, therefore calls for these areas not be subjected to regulatory cooperation and any additional rules on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards and Technical Barriers to Trade; in areas in which trade in sensitive sectors already occurs, such as GMOs, calls for the establishment of clear labelling rules that would reinforce consumer choice
Amendment 105 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Highlights the high levels of public scrutiny given to the agreement via petitions, which raised strong concerns about the transparency of the negotiations and the adverse negative effects on workers’ rights and public services including health care, social services, education, water and sanitation
Amendment 111 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Emphasises that consumer protection and compliance with higher European quality standards for foods and products should be at the centre of the negotiations on the TTIP., the highest standards of environmental protection and strictest control of industrial emissions in the EU and the US and the proper safeguards to protect citizens’ data, should be at the centre of the negotiations on the TTIP; negotiators should not consider any commitments on data protection within the framework of TTIP pending the conclusion of on-going legislative work in this field in the EU and US
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas many economic impact studies on TTIP should be taken with caution as they are built on computable general equilibrium economic models with very optimistic predictions about the capacity of the EU and the US to reduce regulatory barriers to trade; whereas the TTIP alone will not resolve economic problems in the EU and no false hopes and expectations should be raised in that respectthe real impact of TTIP on both EU and US economies is difficult to assess and hard to predict while negotiations are still ongoing; whereas there are contradictory economic impact studies on TTIP and they should be taken with caution as regards the capacity of the EU and the US to reduce regulatory barriers, unnecessary or unjustified, to trade and to support economic growth and job creation; whereas the TTIP alone will not resolve economic problems in the EU and no false hopes and expectations should be raised in that respect; whereas hopes and expectations on TTIP should be commensurate to the level of ambition that will be reached sector by sector in the negotiation;
Amendment 117 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
ba. therefore calls on the Commission to ensure that the competent EU authorities are involved in the control and verification of establishments, facilities and products eligible for exports to the EU with respect to the sanitary or phytosanitary requirement applicable in the EUs, and expresses concerns regarding the European Commission’s textual proposal to the US in this respect; recalls that in prior EU trade agreements, the EU retained the ability to audit and verify the control programme of other parties to the agreements; calls on the Commission to maintain this approach;
Amendment 152 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Reminds the Commission that while TTIP may have a positive impact on jobs and growth for the EU and US economies, this is by no means certain. The Commission should therefore work with trade unions and employers to develop training which will allow the workforce to reskill in light of the labour market impact of TTIP. The Commission should make clear how the Globalisation Adjustment Fund will be used to support this process.
Amendment 158 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Reminds the Commission that it is crucial for the Parties in TTIP to commit to the ratification and the full and effective implementation of the eight core conventions of the ILO. These labour rights must be enforceable through a monitoring process that has the full involvement of trade unions and is backed up with sanctions as the final penalty. TTIP should moreover be used to create a highest standards for labour rights in future trade agreements.
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas the EU's commitment to the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions and the Article 167 of the TFEU ensure and preserve the right of the EU and its Member States to establish and to implement cultural policies, as well as measures aimed at the protection and promotion of cultural diversity; whereas the United States are not signatories to the UNESCO convention;
Amendment 173 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Reminds the Commission, while welcoming the potential benefits of regulatory alignment and mutual recognition, including the establishment of common principles in standards and technical specifications in the area of ICT, about the importance of maintaining high levels of safety and security and the importance of maintaining current EU standards;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G c (new)
Recital G c (new)
Gc. whereas agriculture is at the heart of wider strategic issues such as food safety, sustainable development, societal choices and collective preferences and that the agricultural sectors in the EU and US differ considerably in many areas, such as consumer health aspects and food safety standards, including GMOs and hormone-treated meat;
Amendment 181 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Highlights to the Commission that regulatory cooperation must not be used to undermine these standards. TTIP must exempt public services from the market access and investment protection chapters of TTIP so foreign investors cannot challenge Member States for introducing new regulation for public services.
Amendment 200 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 8 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Calls on the Commission to publish, in a broad range of easy to access formats, all possible negotiating texts and documents, including documents relating to any possible energy chapter, thereby providing maximum levels of transparency for European citizens;
Amendment 203 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Calls on the Commission to remove the Investor-to-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) clause from the negotiating text; especially considering the strong opposition from EU Citizens, as expressed in the Commission's 2014 ISDS Public Consultation and the widespread abusive practice with regard to these clauses by corporate interests including energy producers;
Amendment 211 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Calls on the Commission to ensure that Europe's current standards of social, environmental, worker and consumer rights, as well as levels of public health, are not lowered, compromised, nor negatively impacted in any way by the implementation of any possible TTIP agreement;
Amendment 215 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 c (new)
Paragraph 8 c (new)
8c. Calls on the Commission to all guarantee the validity of Geographic Indicators (G.Is) as part of the TTIP agreement, including non-agrarian products; reminds the Commission of the economically vital, higher value that G.I status brings;
Amendment 243 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point a – point i
Paragraph 1 – point a – point i
(i) to ensure that TTIP negotiations lead to a deep, comprehensive, ambitious, balanced and high-standard trade and investment agreement that would promote sustainable growth with shared benefits across EU Member States, support the creation of high-quality jobs for European workers, directly benefit European consumers by ensuring a high level of existing and future labour, social and environmental standards, fight tax evasion, tax avoidance and tax havens, increase international competitiveness, and open up new opportunities for EU companies, in particular SMEsmicro and SMEs, and contribute to attracting more foreign investments in the EU; the content of the agreement is more important than the speed of the negotiations, which should in any case take into account the developments in the global international arena;
Amendment 260 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point a – point ii
Paragraph 1 – point a – point ii
(ii) to emphasise that while the TTIP negotiations consist of negotiations on three main areas – ambitiously improving reciprocal market access (for goods, services, investment and public procurement at all levels of government), reducing NTBs and enhancing the compatibility of regulatory regimes, and developing common rules to address shared global trade challenges and opportunities – all these areas are equally important to be included in a comprehensive package; TTIP should be ambitious and binding on all levels of government on both sides of the Atlantic, the agreement should lead to lasting, fair, genuine market openness on a reciprocal basis and trade facilitation on the ground, and should pay particular attention to structural means of achieving greater transatlantic cooperation while upholding regulatory standards and preventing social and environmental dumping, including through a structured system of pre and post impact assessment and evaluation procedures, including a precise gender assessment;
Amendment 307 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b – point i
Paragraph 1 – point b – point i
(i) to ensure that the market access offers in the different areas are equally ambitious and reflect both parties’' expectations, as market access for industrial goods, raw materials, energy, agricultural products, services and public procurement is equally important in all cases and a balance is needed between the different proposals for these areas;
Amendment 321 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b – point ii
Paragraph 1 – point b – point ii
(ii) to aim at the elimination of all duty tariffs, while respecting sensitive products on both sides; on sensitive products, asks the Commission to provide an assessment of the concessions undertaken in all agreements already concluded and those under negotiation; sensitive products should be subject to a special and differential treatment which should consist on either maintaining the current tariff lines or excluding them from the negotiations;
Amendment 397 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b – point vi
Paragraph 1 – point b – point vi
(vi) to ensure an adequate carve-out of sexplicit exclusion of public services from the scope of application of TTIP as referred to in article 14 TFEU, through the introduction of an extensitive services such as public services and public utiliticarve-out in the core text of the agreement of all public services, current and future, covering all non-economic Services of General Interest as well as Services of General Economic Interest (including water, healthbut not limited to water, health, social services, social security systems and education) allowing, to ensure that national and local authorities enough room for manoeuvre to legislate in retain the full ability to introduce, adopt, maintain or repeal any measures with regards to the commissioning, organisation, funding and provision of public services as provided in article 106 TFEU and Protocol 26 TFEU; this exclusion should apply whether the services in question are organised as a monopoly, operating under exclusive rights or otherwise, and whether public interest; aly and privately funded and/or organised; notes the joint declaration reflecting negotiators’' clear commitment to exclude these sectors from the negotiations would be very helpful in this regard; ;
Amendment 411 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b – point vi a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point b – point vi a (new)
(via) in particular, to adhere to the provisions of Article 168 TFEU: "Union action shall respect the responsibilities of the Member States for the definition of their health policy and for the organisation and delivery of health services and medical care. The responsibilities of the Member States shall include the management of health services and medical care and the allocation of the resources assigned to them;
Amendment 427 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b – point vii
Paragraph 1 – point b – point vii
(vii) to combine market access negotiations on financial services with convergence in financial regulation on the highest level, in order to support the introduction of necessary regulation to prevent financial crises and in order to support ongoing cooperation efforts in other international forums, such as the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision; to ensure that these cooperation efforts do not limit the EU and member states regulatory and supervisory sovereignty, including their ability to ban certain financial products and activities;
Amendment 445 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b – point viii
Paragraph 1 – point b – point viii
(viii) to ensure that the EU’s acquis on data privacy is not compromised through the liberalisation of data flows, in particular in the area of e-commerce and financial services; to ensure that no commitments on data flows are taken up before European data protection legislation is in place; to guarantee that any possible commitment taken on data flow is matched by extensive provisions on local presence and local content; therefore, recommends that the Commission takes immediate action to incorporate in the agreement a comprehensive, unambiguous and legally binding horizontal clause that fully exempts EU rules on the protection of personal data from all chapters of TTIP, with a reference to Article XIV of the GATS, and without any condition;
Amendment 453 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b – point viii a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point b – point viii a (new)
(viiia) to aim at the mutual recognition of professional qualifications in order to enable EU and US professionals to practice on either side of the Atlantic and to facilitate mobility of investors, professionals, high-skilled workers and technicians between the EU and the US in sectors covered by TTIP;
Amendment 472 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b – point x
Paragraph 1 – point b – point x
(x) to keep in mind that, as specified in the mandate, the agreement shouldall not riskcontain any provisions that prejudicinge the Union’'s cultural and linguistic diversity, including in; to therefore ensure that the audiovisual and cultural services sector, and thats well as existing and future provisions and policies in support of the cultural sector, in particular in the digital world, are kept out of the scope of the negotiations in accordance with the principle of technological neutrality, are kept out of the scope of the negotiations; to exclude subsidies or government support to audiovisual, educational and cultural services and its industries, including "digital products", from any commitments taken in chapters related to telecommunication, investment or e- commerce;
Amendment 489 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b – point xi
Paragraph 1 – point b – point xi
(xi) to ensurake an ambitious approach to the tchat account is taken of the discrepancies in thepter on public procurement, with a view to remedying, in line with the principle of reciprocity, the major disparity currently existing in the degree of openness of the two public procurement markets on both sides of the Atlantic andand to significantly opening up the US market, still ruled under the Buy American Act of 1933 on the basis of the international undertakings entered into under the Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) and of the removal of the restrictions currently applying at federal, state and administrative level alike in the United States; emphasises, in particular, the need to guarantee that undertakings entered into by the US federal authorities will be honoured at all political and administrative levels; to ensure that account is taken of the huge interest on the part of European companies in obtaining, notably SMEs, in obtaining non- discriminatory access to public contracts in the US both at federal and state level, for example for construction services, traffic infrastructure and goods and services while respecting sustainability criteria for procurement on both sides, inter alia; to ensure the compliance of the chapter with the new EU public procurement and concession package entering into force in 2016directives, notably as regards the definition of public-cooperation, exclusions, SMEs access and the use of the MEAT criteria;
Amendment 507 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b – point xii
Paragraph 1 – point b – point xii
(xii) to ensure that public authorities have the opportunity to adopt socially and ecologically responsible procurement policies, and that procurement provisions do not hinder the ability of public authorities to address societal and environmental needs; to ensure that public procurement policies are kept in line with ILO Convention 94 regarding labour clauses in public contracts; to promote EU-US cooperation at the international level in order to promote sustainability standards for public procurement, inter alia in the implementation of the recently revised Government Procurement Agreement;
Amendment 524 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b – point xiv
Paragraph 1 – point b – point xiv
(xiv) to ensure that the negotiations on rules of origin aim at reconciling the EU and US approaches; givenwhile guaranteeing the cnonclusion of the negotiations for the Comprehensive Economic and T-cumulation of already granted concessions in other trade Aagreement (CETA) between EU and Canada and the potential upgrade of the EU-Mexico free trade agreement, the possibility and scope of cumulation will need to be considereds in order not to weaken the protection of sensitive products;
Amendment 546 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point c – point i
Paragraph 1 – point c – point i
(i) to ensure that the regulatory cooperation chapter promotes an effective, pro- competitive economic environment through the facilitation of trade and investment while developing and securing high levels of protection of health and safety, consumer, labour and environmental legislation and of the cultural diversity that exists within the EUsecures the highest level of protection of health and safety including food safety and quality, consumer, labour and environmental legislation and of the cultural diversity that exists within the EU while promoting an effective, pro- competitive economic environment through the facilitation of trade and investment; to reject any downward harmonisation of standards, or the mutual recognition of non-equivalent standards; to ensure that regulatory cooperation does not undermine the state's right to regulate; to ensure that the process of regulatory cooperation is designed in the most transparent and inclusive way possible, involving in particular social partners; negotiators on both sides need to identify and to be very clear about which regulatory meastechnical procedures and standards are fundamental and cannot be compromised, which ones can be the subject of a common approach, which are the areas where mutual recognition based on a common high standard and a strong system of market surveillance is desirable and which are those where simply an improved exchange of information is possible, based on the experience of one and a half years of ongoing talks; negotiators should ensure that regulatory cooperation will not translate in a slowdown of legislative processes and that it will not cover sectors excluded from the negotiation nor national or sub-central regulatory acts;
Amendment 560 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point c – point i a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point c – point i a (new)
(ia) to take into account the fact that non- tariff barriers (NTBs) constitute one of the main issues in the negotiations for the EU; to ensure that negotiations in this area are conducted with the highest standards of transparency, including an inventory of all NTBs that are likely to be lifted by the agreement; recalls that certain non-tariff barriers in Europe are directly linked to European citizens' collective preferences and lifestyles, and should therefore be kept;
Amendment 569 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point c – point ii
Paragraph 1 – point c – point ii
(ii) to base negotiations on SPS and TBT measures on the key principles of the multilateral SPS and TBT agreements; to aim in the first place at increasing transparency and openness, strengthening dialogue between regulators and strengthening cooperation in international standards-setting bodies; to recognise, in negotiations on SPS and TBT measures, the right of both parties to assess and to manage risk in accordance with the level either deems appropriate in order to protect human, animal or plant life or health; to respect and uphold the sensitivities and fundamental values of either side, such as the EU’s precautionary principleensure the consideration of other legitimate factors than risk assessment in food policy making, such as the farm to fork approach, and to verify, control and audit the implementation of their own SPS standards; to respect and uphold the sensitivities and fundamental values of either side, such as the EU’s precautionary principle and to ensure that parties will preserve the right to conduct a hazard- based approach, particularly with regards to cosmetics and chemicals;
Amendment 593 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point c – point iii
Paragraph 1 – point c – point iii
(iii) with regard to the horizontal regulatory cooperation chapter, to give priority to fostering bilateral cooperation between regulatory bodies through enhanced information exchange and to promote the adoption, strengthening and timely implementation of international instruments, on the basis of successful international experiences such as, for instance, ISO standards or under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe’'s (UNECE) World Forum for Harmonisation of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29); to establish that the prior impact assessment for the regulatory act, as defined in the horizontal provisions on regulatory cooperation, should also measure and prioritise the impact on consumers and, the environment next toand gender relations over its impact on trade and investment; to handle the possibility of promoting regulatory compatibility with great care and only without compromising legitimate regulatory and policy objectives;
Amendment 610 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point c – point v
Paragraph 1 – point c – point v
(v) to fully respect the established regulatory systems on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as the European Parliament’'s role within the EU’'s decision-making process and its democratic scrutiny over EU regulatory processes when creating the framework for future cooperation while at the same time being vigilant about a balanced involvement of stakeholders within the consultations included in the development of a regulatory proposal; in order to avoid that neither Party exercise any veto power before any regulatory proposal has been officially tabled by the other Party; to specify the role, the composition and the legal quality of the Regulatory Cooperation Council, taking into consideration that any direct and compulsory application of its recommendations would imply a breach of the law-making procedures laid down in the Treaties; to also oversee that it fully preserve the capacity of national, regional and local authorities to legislate their own policies, in particular social and environmental policies;
Amendment 634 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d – point ii
Paragraph 1 – point d – point ii
(ii) to ensure that the sustainable development chapter is binding and enforceable and aims at the full and effective ratification, implementation and enforcement of the eight fundamental conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and their content, the ILO’s Decent Work Agenda and the core international environmental agreements; provisions should be aimed at improving levels of protection of labour and environmental standards; an ambitious trade and sustainable development chapter should also include rules on corporate social responsibility based on the Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and a clearly structured civil society involvement;
Amendment 640 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d – point ii
Paragraph 1 – point d – point ii
(ii) to ensure that the sustainable development chapter aims atis binding and enforceable and makes the full and effective ratification, implementation and enforcement of the eight fundamental conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and their content, the ILO’s Decent Work Agenda and the core international environmental agreements a condition of the agreement; provisions should be aimed at improving levels of protection of labour and environmental standards; an ambitious trade and sustainable development chapter should also include rules on corporate social responsibility based on the Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and a clearly structured civil society involvement;
Amendment 649 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d – point iv
Paragraph 1 – point d – point iv
(iv) to ensure that labour and environmental standards are made enforceable, by building on the good experience of the EU-Korea free trade agreement and good and effective practices in the US’s free trade agreements and national legislation; to ensure that the implementation of and compliance with labour provisions is subjected to an effective monitoring process, involving social partners and civil society representatives; to ensure that the trade and sustainable development chapter is subject to the general dispute settlement mechanism contained in the future agreement;
Amendment 653 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d – point iv a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point d – point iv a (new)
(iva) requests the inclusion of a human rights clause used in many agreements to ensure that the principles of human rights and democracy are applied.
Amendment 656 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d – point iv b (new)
Paragraph 1 – point d – point iv b (new)
(ivb) stresses that trade agreements must under no circumstances be allowed to undermine labour and social law and collective agreement provisions. Possible negotiations on mode IV must be bound to functioning cross-border cooperation in administration and justice in Labour and Employment Law issues as a condition for the guarantee of collective agreement wages and working conditions. It must be possible to make any lack of enforcement by the contractual parties subject to dispute settlement including sanctions.
Amendment 665 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d – point v a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point d – point v a (new)
(va) to ensure that the place of work principle is guaranteed. National labour and social law as well as collective agreement provisions must be upheld in the case of temporary posting and placement of workers; the conditions of temporary postings and placement should be well defined in TTIP;
Amendment 669 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d – point vi
Paragraph 1 – point d – point vi
(vi) to ensure that the economic, social, territorial and environmental impact of TTIP is examined through a thoroughcomprehensive trade sustainability impact assessment with clear involvement, consultation and participation of stakeholders and civil society, as well as local and regional authorities; asks the Commission to conduct comparative in- depth impact studies for each Member States;
Amendment 681 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d – point vii
Paragraph 1 – point d – point vii
(vii) to ensure that in course of the negotiations the two sides examine ways to facilitate natural gas and oil exports, so that TTIP would abolish any existing export restrictions on energy between the two trading partners, thereby supporting a diversification of energy sources aiding the development a more secure energy mix;
Amendment 686 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d – point vii
Paragraph 1 – point d – point vii
(vii) to ensure that in course of the negotiations the two sides examine ways to facilitate natural gas and oil exports, so that TTIP would abolish any existing export restrictions on energy between the two trading partners, thereby supporting a diversification of energy sources; to also retain the EU's right to categorize fuels according to their lifecycle CO2 impact and to keep in mind the EU's own climate change goals;
Amendment 697 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d – point viii
Paragraph 1 – point d – point viii
(viii) to ensure that the right of either partner to govern the exploration and exploitation of energy sources as well as the right to govern production of energy remains untouched by any agreement, but that non- discrimination is applied once exploitation is decided; to keep in mind that nothing in the agreement should undermine legitimate national collective preferences, such as the prohibition of hydraulic fracturing, in accordance with the precautionary principle; access to raw materials as well as to energy should also be granted on a non-discriminatory basis for companies from either the EU or the US and quality standards for energy products must be respected;
Amendment 704 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d – point ix
Paragraph 1 – point d – point ix
(ix) to ensure that TTIP supports the use and promotion of green goods and services, thereby tapping into the considerable potential for environmental and economic gains offered by the transatlantic economytransition to a low-carbon, secure and competitive energy system. The transition of the energy system will only be possible with a significant development of renewable energy sources and reduction of energy demand through energy efficiency, thereby tapping into the considerable potential for creating new jobs in the "green economy", fostering economic growth and protecting the environment;
Amendment 714 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d – point x
Paragraph 1 – point d – point x
(x) to ensure that TTIP serves as a forum for the development of common ambitious sustainability standards for energy production, always taking into account and adhering to existing standards on both sides; to steps up efforts for research and innovation, including in Energy R&I, and explore ways of cooperating with large scale energy research and development projects, such as the U.S, Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), to help increase energy innovation in this field for both sides; to ensure that TTIP also serves as a forum for the exchange of knowledge and information to collect data and address barriers hindering the uptake of low- carbon and environmentally friendly technologies;
Amendment 735 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d – point xii
Paragraph 1 – point d – point xii
(xii) to ensure that, should TTIP contains a comprehensive chapter on investment it includinges provisions on both market access and investment protection; thean investment chapter should aim at ensuring non- discriminatory treatment for the establishment of European and US companies in each other’s territory, while taking account of the sensitive nature of some specific sectors; it should also address investors' obligations and responsibilities by referring, inter alia, to the OECD principles for multinational enterprises, the OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) action plan and to the UN principles on Business and human rights as benchmarks;
Amendment 745 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d – point xiii
Paragraph 1 – point d – point xiii
(xiii) to ensure that investment protection provisions are limited to post- establishment provisions and focus on non- discrimination and fair and equitable treatment; standards of protection and definitions of investor and investment should be drawn up in a precise manner; stresses that substantive provisions shall, inter alia, protect the right to regulate in the public interest, clarify the meaning of indirect expropriation and prevent unfounded or frivolous claims; free transfer of capital should be in line with the EU treaty provisions and should include a prudential carve-out in the case of financial crises;
Amendment 762 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d – point xiv
Paragraph 1 – point d – point xiv
(xiv) to ensure that foreign investors are treated in a non-discriminatory fashion and have a fair opportunity to seek and achieve redress of grievances, which can be achieved withoutle benefiting from no greater rights than domestic investors; to oppose the inclusion of an ISDS mechanism; such a mechanism is not necessary in TTIP given the EU’s and the US’ developed legal systems; a state-to- state dispute settlement system and the use of national courts are the most appropriate tools to address investment disputin TTIP, as other options to enforce investment protection are available, such as domestic remedies;
Amendment 791 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d – point xv
Paragraph 1 – point d – point xv
(xv) to ensure that TTIP includes an ambitious balanced Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) chapter that includes stronga limited amount of protection of precisely and clearly defined areas of IPR, including enhanced protection and recognition of European Geographical Indications (GIs), and reflects a fair and efficient level of protection such as laid out in the EU’s and the US’s free trade agreement provisions in this area, while continuing to confirm the existing flexibilities in the Agreement on Trade- Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), notably in the area of public health by ensuring affordable prices for medicines, medical devices and health services; to ensure that patents are excluded from diagnostic, therapeutic and chirurgical methods; to ensure strong protection and recognition of European Geographical Indications (GIs), which guarantee the origin and the full traceability of products for consumers and protect the know-how of producers;
Amendment 803 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d – point xv a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point d – point xv a (new)
(xva) to include in the negotiations the agreement on wine between the EU and the United States concluded in 2006, and to remove in this sectoral agreement the 17 designations on semi-generic names;
Amendment 826 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point e – point i
Paragraph 1 – point e – point i
(i) to continue ongoing efforts to increase transparency in the negotiations by making more negotiation proposals available to the general publicimplement all the recommendations of the European Ombudsman to further enhance the legitimacy and transparency of the negotiating process by fully complying with the rules on public access to documents; to continue ongoing efforts to increase transparency in the negotiations by making more negotiation proposals available more proactively and comprehensively to the general public on its website, and by ensuring more balanced and transparent public participation;
Amendment 836 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point e – point ii
Paragraph 1 – point e – point ii
(ii) to translate these transparency efforts into meaningful practical results, inter alia by reaching meaningful arrangements with the US side to improve transparency, including access to all negotiating documents, inter alia consolidated texts and minutes from meetings, in order to allow Members of Parliament and the Member States to develop constructive discussions with stakeholders and the public; parties to the negotiations should justify any request not to disclose a negotiating proposal;
Amendment 844 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point e – point iii
Paragraph 1 – point e – point iii
(iii) to promote an even closer engagement with the Member States with the aim of forging their active involvement in better communicating the scope and the possible benefitimplications of the agreement for European citizens and in order to ensure a broad, fact-based public debate on TTIP in Europe with the aim of exploring the genuine concerns surrounding the agreement;
Amendment 860 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point e – point iv a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point e – point iv a (new)
(iva) to fully involve National Parliaments and keep them regularly informed on the negotiations, especially since, given the scope of the ambition for the agreement, it is likely TTIP will be considered a 'mixed- type' agreement and thus require a ratification process in EU Member States including, in some cases, at the regional level;