93 Amendments of Jude KIRTON-DARLING related to 2015/2105(INI)
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 a (new)
Citation 2 a (new)
– having regard to its recommendations to the Commission for the negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and the Trade in Services Agreement of 8 July 2015 and 3 February 2016 respectively,
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Notes that 90% of world economic growth over the next 10-15 years will come from outside the EU and that large emerging economies will play a big role in this. Underlines, therefore, the need for Europe to have a solid forward-looking trade strategy that is embedded with coherent industrial policy and research and innovation agenda;
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 11 a (new)
Citation 11 a (new)
– having regard to the opinion of the Committee on International Trade to the report on Transparency, accountability and integrity in the EU institutions,
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 14 a (new)
Citation 14 a (new)
– having regard to Article 24 § 2 of the EU regulation 2015/478 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2015 on common rules for imports,
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 15
Citation 15
– having regard to the principle of policy coherence for development as stated in the TFEU,
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Stresses the importance of maintaining the high standards in terms of health and safety legislation and environmental standards in EU industry and manufacturing. Calls on the Commission to ensure trade agreements consolidate these standards and help create a level playing field internationally;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas openness to trade is a necessity for the European economy as most of the global wealth will be created elsewhere in the future but this must go hand in hand with a robust framework at home that ensures trade delivers for citizens consisting of effective trade defence and social flanking policies;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses the importance of SMEs to trade and investment, given that there are more than 600 000 SMEs in the EU, whichemploy more than 6 million people and directly export goods outside the EU, and account for one third of EU exports;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris agreement are of the highest importance for global sustainable development and EU trade policy has to contribute to the fulfilment of their key elements;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the common commercial policy (CCP) has undergone a profound change since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty in December 2009; whereas trade does not operate in isolation, but rather is linked to and dependent on many other polices; whereas negotiations on trade and investment agreements have changed and evolved over time; must go beyond simply cutting tariffs as complex challenges lie today in regulatory matters and convergence on international standards;
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Underlines the difficulties that EU SMEs have in tapping into the growth potential that international trade and investment agreements offer. Therefore calls on the Commission to encourage more SMEs to expand their businesses and to engage in extra-EU trade. Furthermore, calls on the Commission to provide user-friendly information on trade opportunities for SMEs and to provide them with the support needed to benefit from these opportunities including through EU structural funds;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Stresses the importance of ‘transition periods’ for industry sectors and SMEs to adjust to the impact of new international trade agreement. Calls on the Commission to ensure that the EU industry is given the support necessary to face this adaptation and for this transition to be taken into account already at negotiating stages;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas, in times of low economic growth, the contribution of foreign trade to the recovery of the European economy is of key importance in delivering concrete and measurable results and contributing to decent jobs and sustainable economic growth and equality in Europe and beyond;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)
Paragraph 2 c (new)
2c. Calls on the Commission to incorporate specific chapters in trade agreements to benefit SMEs´;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas trade can be a tool to increase potential economic output by permitting businesses to increase their supply to satisfy a growing external demand and without increasing public spending;
Amendment 27 #
3. Notes that sustainable production requires decent work and environmental, social and labour standards, as defined by the ILO Conventions, and must be an indispensable part of trade agreements; therefore calls for the introduction of binding and enforceable labour and environmental standards in all EU trade agreements;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas new-generation trade policy needs to respond to people’'s concerns; whereas trade can help fighting poverty and improve the living and working conditions of the people in Europe and in our trading partner countries whereby a fair and equitable wealth distribution in society is indispensable;
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses the importance of preventing the EU’s trading partners from engaging in anti-competitive practices, including social or environmental dumping, or the dumping of cheap products in Europe, as this could de-stabilise European industry, and for the EU to take all necessary measures to defend itself against unfair trading practices;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas on-going trade negotiations such as ACTA, TTIP, CETA and TiSA have brought European trade policy increasingly to the public’'s attention, and whereas more and more citizens are worried that European regulation and standards could be undermined by the CCP;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas the European Commission made a clear pledge that no trade agreement will ever lower levels of regulatory protection, that any change to levels of protection can only be upward and that the right to regulate will always be protected;
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. In light of the rapidly deteriorating situation in crucial industrial sectors, such as steel or ceramics, urges the European Commission and the Council of Ministers of the European Union to expedite as a matter of priority the reform of the EU’s trade defence instruments initiated in 2013; stresses that the European Parliament adopted its position on this reform on 5 February 2014 (2013/0103(COD)), which notably called for shortening the duration of anti- dumping investigations, extending the right to request trade defence investigations to workers’ representatives as well as employers’, and introducing exemptions to the lesser-duty rule in order to properly address cases of social and environmental dumping, in full compliance with WTO rules;
Amendment 50 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Believes that trade and investment policies can play a role in the development of the telecoms market and digital economy in Europe and bring clear benefits to EU consumers and businesses, including SMEs; stresses, however, that trade strategies must ensure that non-EU companies do not take advantage of the fragmentation of the EU market while aiming for full reciprocity for EU companies in foreign markets;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas by 2050 the EU-28 will account for only 15 % of the world’'s GDP, down from 23.7 % in 2013, and whereas by 2015 90 % of world economic growth will be generated outside Europe;
Amendment 55 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Calls on the Commission to address existing trade barriers in the digital economy, cross-border data flows, data storage and data and consumer protection in future trade and investment agreements, so as to ensure that the digital economy can continue to adapt and grow for the benefit of consumers, while acknowledging that data protection and the right to privacy are not a trade barrier, but fundamental rights, which are enshrined in Article 39 TEU and Articles 7 and 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, as well as in Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; calls on the Commission to incorporate comprehensive, unambiguous, horizontal, self-standing and legally binding provisions in all EU trade agreements fully exempting the existing and future EU legal framework for the protection of personal data;
Amendment 56 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Calls on the Commission to ensure that the right to enforce existing Intellectual Property legislation is preserved, in future trade agreements, particularly in the area of technology transfer;
Amendment 57 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5c. Calls on the Commission to ensure respect for the full range of employment and social rights, where services are exported from the EU, or imported into the EU;
Amendment 58 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the Commission to encourage European research bodies to engage more actively with potential partners outside the EU and to optimise investment in research and innovation;
Amendment 76 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Calls on the Commission to note the gender gap in entrepreneurship and to promote investment training and trade opportunities to bridge this gap; calls on the commission to include in all its impact assessment study the gender perspective and the need to tackle phenomena such as the glass ceiling and the gender pay gap;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Commission to regularly update its trade and investment strategy and to publicly present a detailed annualmid-term implementation report to Parliament to ensure it delivers on its promises;
Amendment 81 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Calls on the Commission to promote increased investment opportunities for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) entrepreneurship throughout Europe and to develop appropriate user- friendly information on trade opportunities, particularly for BAME entrepreneurs;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Urges the Commission to expedite its procedures so that negotiated trade agreements can be referred to Parliament within a shorter period of time and can therefore be provisionally applied or enter into force more swiftly;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Stresses that enhanced cooperation between regulators is key to facilitate trade and investment through the identification of technical barriers to trade and duplicated or redundant administrative burdens and formalities, which disproportionately affect SMEs, while not compromising the technical procedures linked to fundamental standards and regulations or procedures serving a public policy objective, preserving European standards on health, safety, consumer, labour, social and environmental legislation and cultural diversity and fully respecting the regulatory autonomy of national, regional and local authorities;
Amendment 84 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Notes the requirement in the Commission’s ‘Investment Plan for Europe’ to boost investment within the EU, and considers trade strategies to be an essential means of achieving this goal.; does not believe however that greater investment protection is needed in the EU in order to achieve this objective, as foreign investments are already fully protected under EU and domestic law, with appropriate redress mechanism already in place through the European judicial system;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Welcomes the Commission’'s attempts to increased transparency and openness at all stages of trade negotiations, such aand supports the Commission’'s TTIP transparency initiative; acknowledges that, after a number of requests from Parliament, the Commission enhanced the transparency of negotiations by providing all Members of the European Parliament and of the national parliaments access to classified negotiating documents and providing more information to stakeholders; recalls that enlarged access to classified information by Members of Parliament in the TTIP negotiations has strengthened parliamentary scrutiny, thereby allowing Parliament to assume its responsibility under the CCP even better; calls therefore for a widening of the Commission’'s transparency initiative to extend its key elements to all ongoing trade negotiations;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the Council to publish all existingpreviously adopted and future negotiating mandates as soon as they are adoptedwithout delay;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses that the involvement of civil society and stakeholdocial partners, including through appropriate public online consultations and communication campaigns, is crucial in order to strengthen the legitimacy of trade policy and to improve its content;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Stresses that, where possible, EU institutions documents should be published. Reminds that where confidential information is beyond the reach of public access it must be available to parliamentarians who scrutinise trade policy on behalf of citizens; considers that there should be clear criteria for classifying documents to avoid ambiguity and arbitrary decisions; notes that the case law of the ECJ makes it clear that where a document originating in an EU institution is covered by an exception to the right to public access, the institution must clearly explain why access to this document could specifically and effectively undermine the interest protected by the exception, and that this risk must be reasonably foreseeable and not purely hypothetical; calls on the Commission to implement the recommendations of the European Ombudsman of July 2015 with particular regard to access to documents for all negotiations;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Asks the Commission to where possible, conduct negotiations with no less transparency than those organised in the World Trade Organisation (WTO); stresses, however, that the Commission must also persuade negotiating partners to increase transparency at their end to make sure that this is a reciprocal process in which the EU's negotiating position is not compromised and to include the aspired level of transparency in its scoping exercises with potential negotiating partners; stresses that meaningful transparency can strengthen global support for rules-based trade;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Recalls that the CCP is to be conducted in the context of the principles and objectives of the Union’'s external action as set out in Article 21 TEU; recalls that the EU’'s trade and investment policy must be consistent with other external policies, such as development policy; stresses that the EU has a legal obligation to respect human rights, and should foster the sustainable economic, social and environmental development of trading countries; points out that in some cases trade and investment agreements may have negative effects contrary to the EU’'s external objectives as enshrined in the Treaties; is of the opinion that the EU has a responsibility to help tackle any negative impact caused by its CCP; recalls that only fair and properly regulated trade, if aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), could have potentialities for development and reduce inequality;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Stresses the co-legislator role played by the Parliament and therefore calls on the Commission to build upon and improve its cooperation with the Parliament and to enhance its efforts in order to constructively work with the other Institutions prior to taking decisions;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Urges the Commission to develop a comprehensive 'access to medicines- policy' across the policy areas such as trade, development, research and innovation and public health, which supports the effective implementation and realisation of Sustainable Development Goal 3;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Paragraph 7 c (new)
7c. Welcomes the Commission's support of the extension request for pharmaceutical intellectual property by LDCs until these countries no longer are considered LDCs; regrets the final WTO TRIPS Council decision to grant only a time limited extension of 17 years; asks the Commission follow through on its initial position by supporting all developing countries in making full and effective use of all flexibilities built into the TRIPS Agreement and recognised by the TRIPS Agreement and affirmed by the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS agreement and Public Health adopted on 14 November 2001, in order to be able to provide affordable medicines under their domestic public health programmes;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Recognises the Commission’'s efforts to strengthen sustainable development and promote human rights, labour and social standards and environmental sustainability worldwide through its trade and investment agreements but urges determined efforts to fully implement and enforce the corresponding chapters in practice; shares the Commission’'s view that the EU has a special social responsibility as regards the impact of its trade policies on least- developed countries (LDCs); calls on the Commission to adopt accompanying measures in trade agreements with developing countries;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Considers that in particular for partner countries undergoing an economic crisis above all the objective of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas (DCFTA) must be tangible and sustainable improvements to the living conditions of ordinary people;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Stresses that provisions on human rights and social and environmental standards, and a binding chapter on labour rights based on the ILO’'s core labour rights and corporate social responsibility (CSR), including the OECD principles for multinational companies and the UN Principles on Business and Human rights, must form an essential part of EU trade agreements9 [9]; calls on the Commission to include sustainable development chapters that are not only legally binding but also enforceable in all EU trade and investment agreements; points out that labour and environmental standards are not limited to Trade and Sustainable Development Chapters but must be effective throughout all areas of trade agreements; calls on the EEAS to systematically include dedicated labour attachés in its delegations abroad; [9] OJ C 99E, 3.4.2012, p. 31. __________________ 9 OJ C 99E, 3.4.2012, p. 31.
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Stresses that Everything But Arms (EBA), the General System of Preferences (GSP) and the GSP+ schemes are tools which enable fundamental values to be upheld; insists on the importance of their effective implementation and monitoring and welcomes the Commission's commitment to strengthening cooperation with beneficiary countries in this regard;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10b. Calls on the Commission to develop legislation with the aim of forbidding imports of goods produced with any form of forced labour or modern slavery and in the meantime, strengthen import and supply chain controls on ethical grounds;
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Calls on the Commission to establish a structured and depoliticised process whereby consultations with a partner for suspected violations of obligations under trade and sustainable development chapters have to be launched according to clear criteria;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Highlights the importance of Domestic Advisory Groups (DAGs) and the involvement of civil society in joint fora under the free trade agreements (FTAs) that monitor and comment on the agreements' implementation and the parties respect for their commitments and obligations on human rights, labour standards and environmental protection; calls for the further strengthening of the work of DAGs; stresses that they should be fully independent; calls on the Commission to take measures to improve the work of DAGs such as providing financial resources, prior information and the possibility of using more advanced media in order to facilitate civil society participation; and to thoroughly take into account the Domestic Advisory Group's recommendations; calls on the EU to reinforce its monitoring capacity in the EPAs dedicated to sustainable development and human rights that ensure the proper and transparent involvement of civil society organisations;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Notes with concern that there has been little interest on the EU side so far among civil society to participate in certain EU civil society advisory groups provided for under the Agreements and calls on the Commission to draw appropriate conclusions to invigorate these mechanisms and ensuring their representative character in line with recommendations from the European Economic and Social Committee;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Recalls that the ILO estimates that 865 million women around the world, if better supported, could contribute more robustly to economic growth; notes that women-owned businesses represent an underutilised lever to boost competitiveness, accelerate business and sustain growth; states that trade policy can have differing gender impacts across the various sectors of the economy; and that more data on gender and trade is needed regrets that the Commission does not address the gender dimension of trade agreements in its ‘'Trade for All’' communication; calls on the Commission to step up its efforts to use trade negotiations as a tool to promote gender equality worldwide, as well as to ensure that both women and men can take advantage of the benefits of trade liberalisation and be protected from its negative effects; to this aim, the Commission should make sure that the gender perspective is included, horizontally, in all future trade agreements and also, as an essential part of the EU mainstreaming strategy and proposes, the Commission should guarantee a thorough monitoring and evaluation of the gender impact of the trade agreements in force;
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Calls on the Commission to make its trade and investment policy fully aligned with the ILO Decent Work Agenda;
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13b. Stresses that given the increased importance of animal welfare for EU citizens in terms both of public morals and consumers informed choice and its implications for the competitiveness of EU producers, animal welfare provisions should be strengthened in our free trade agreements;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Acknowledges that the internationalisation of the world’'s production system has resulted in new openings for economic development and an employment-based path out of poverty for hundreds of millions of people; recalls that, according to the ILO, around 780 million active women and men are not earning enough to be lifted out of poverty; underlines that the expansion of GVCs has created job opportunities but also propelled some supplier firms to ignore labour laws, engage workers in unsafe and unacceptable conditions, demand exhaustive working hours and deny workers their fundamental rights; recalls that these practices create unfair competition for suppliers that are compliant with labour laws and international labour standards and for governments that want to improve wages and living standards; concludes therefore that mutual respect for labour and environmental standards is an indispensable tool to ensure there is no race to the bottom; calls on the Commission to improve conditions in GVC in close cooperation with the ILOs; emphasises that the EU’'s further integration into GVCs must be driven by the dual principles of safeguarding the European social and regulatory model and securing and creating sustainable and equitable growth and decent jobs in the EU and for its partners;
Amendment 165 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Underlines that the emergence of GVCs has also led to a substantial increase of imported components in exports; consequently there are less incentives for countries to levy high tariffs as trade policy should not just open up exports, but also facilitate imports in order to stabilise value chains without prejudice to the legitimate use of trade defence instruments;
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Believes that trade policy must ensure a transparent production process throughout the value chain, as well as compliance with fundamental environment, animal welfare, social and safety standards; stresses the need for mandatory due diligence throughout the supply chain; welcomes the Commission’'s desire to work closely with the ILO and the OECD to develop a global approach to improving working conditions especially in the garment sector; underlines the importance of identifying and assessing new sectoral or geographic opportunities for additional responsible supply chain partnerships; looks forward to the Commission’'s upcoming communication on CSR; and calls on the Commission to move from voluntary initiatives to binding obligations;
Amendment 187 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Calls on the Commission not to request provisional application of trade agreements, including trade chapters of association agreements, before European Parliament gives its consent; recalls that it cwould seriously undermine Parliament’'s rights and create potential legal uncertainty vis-à- vis the agreement’'s other signatory and the economic operators concerned; recalls and welcomes the Trade Commissioner's commitments in this regard but strongly urges to formalise this arrangement in the new inter-institutional agreement;
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Considers that in the case of mixed agreements the already tested practice whereby an agreement is only applied provisionally after the European Parliament has granted consent while awaiting national parliaments' ratification is the best balance of democratic oversight and efficiency;
Amendment 192 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Insists that the monitoring, evaluation and follow-up of existing agreements become a key priority of the CCP; calls on the Commission to reallocate resources in order to enable DG Trade to better monitor trade agreements which need to be implemented considering the growing negotiating agenda;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Calls on the Commission to improve the quality and accuracy of both ex-ante and ex- post assessments and to review their methodology; stresses the need to always submit a deep sustainability impact assessment, including on human, social and environmental rights, for any trade policy initiative, in particular in light of the recent Ombudsman's recommendation in complaint 1409/2014/JN on the EU-Vietnam FTA; welcomes the commitment of the Commission to undertake in-depth analysis of the potential effects of new FTAs on LDCs and calls on the Commission to put forward measures to ensure that the benefits of trade accrue to developing countries; expresses its concern at the lack of interim and ex-post assessments and that the quality of the existing ones is very low, as demonstrated in the European Court of Auditors Special Report 02/2014; insists that high-quality interim and ex-post evaluations be carried out in respect of all trade agreements in order to allow policymakers, stakeholders and European taxpayers to assess whether trade agreements have achieved the intended results; asks the Commission to provide data on the impact of the trade agreements which have been concluded with special regard to SMEs and the creation of decent jobs;
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Notes that limited improvements were achieved at the 10th WTO Ministerial Conference in Nairobi in 2015; recognises the differences among WTO members on how to proceed as regards the Doha Round, including the need to consider new approaches to solve outstanding issues; welcomes the interest of some WTO members in starting to address new negotiating areas; believes that the outcome of the Nairobi Ministerial Conference provides an opportunity to give new life to the WTO’'s negotiating function; urges the Commission to take the initiative in reforming and strengthening the WTO in order to ensure greater effectiveness, transparency and accountability including by strengthening coordination with the ILO and other Environment and Human rights related UN Agencies;
Amendment 213 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Believes that it is vital to conclude the longstanding Doha Round with its developing mandates fulfilled; recalls the crucial role of Aid for Trade (AfT) in trade-related capacity building and technical assistance to developing countries and LDCs; in this regard, calls on the EU and its Member States to commit to increase AfT, enabling developing countries to benefit from a bigger share of the value added in GVCs; calls on the Commission to address fair and ethical trade in the upcoming revision of Aid for Trade strategy; welcomes the EU engagement of targeting EUR 400 million in funding over 5 years to support and provide technical assistance to developing countries, especially LDCs, in their efforts to implement the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement;
Amendment 217 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Considers plurilateral negotiations within the WTO such as the Information Technology Agreement and the Environmental Goods Agreements to be the second-best option; emphasises that trade policy should also be used as a tool for increasing the competiveness of environmentally beneficial products; stresses the importance of maintaining an open door of any plurilateral initiative so interested WTO members can join and of multilateralising the ‘'green goods’' initiative and of considering whether bilateral or unilateral trade agreements could provide premium preferences for environmental goods;
Amendment 223 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Calls for a strong and effective parliamentary dimension of the WTO in order to enhance the transparency of the organisation and to strengthen the democratic legitimacy of global trade policy; urges the WTO to make full use of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO, ensuring that parliamentarians have access to all the information they need to carry out their oversight role effectively and contribute meaningfully to trade policies;
Amendment 225 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Calls on the Commission to focus in a balanced way on the conclusion of the on-going trade negotiations while being mindful of their cumulative effects, in particular via the different rules of origin, and finding an appropriate balance between protecting sensitive agricultural sectors and the offensive interests of the Union as one of the biggest agri-food exporters , and to show the potential benefits of the concluded trade agreements before launching new FTA negotiations; reminds the Commission to carry out a thorough, impartial and unprejudiced ex- ante evaluation of European interests before deciding on future FTA partners and negotiation mandates;
Amendment 252 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Underlines, in the context of the current talks on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and the EU- Japan FTA, the high importance of focusing on core soffensitive issuenterests such as the protection of geographical indications (GIs) and public procurement when negotiating FTAs as part of ambitious, balanced and comprehensive packages;
Amendment 265 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Insists that trade negotiations follow a tailor-made regional trade strategy, in particular vis-à-viswithin Asia, Africa and Latin America, which have been identified by the Commission as crucial regions for European economic interests; recalls that Europe and Latin America are natural allies with a combined population of one billion people generating a quarter of global GNP; points out that the potential of this partnership has been insufficiently exploited; welcomes the fact that the Commission’'s new trade and investment strategy puts a key focus on Latin America;
Amendment 275 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Calls on the Commission to start negotiations for an investment agreement with Taiwan in parallel with the one with China; underlines that, in the context of the migration challenges, special focus should be put on the post-Cotonou framework and regrets that this aspect was not mentioned in the communication; asks for further impetus to be given to negotiating FTAs with both Australia and New Zealand;
Amendment 278 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)
Paragraph 28 a (new)
28a. Stresses the importance of deepening and redefining the EU's relationships with its partners on the African continent and in the Caribbean and Pacific region; regrets that the communication "Trade for All" does not make any reference to the Cotonou Agreement, which expires in 2020, and stresses that the human rights clauses in the EPAs and trade agreements with a link to the Cotonou Agreement should not lose their effect after the 2020 expiration date; calls on the EU to engage in a broad consultation and dialogue process, including with ACP countries, about the post-Cotonou framework;
Amendment 287 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Stresses that further trade liberalisation measures require the EU to be able to respond even more effectively to unfair trading practices and ensure a level playing field; underlines that TDIs must remain an indispensable component of the EU’'s trade strategy; recalls that the current EU trade defence legislation dates back to 1995; stresses that the Union’'s trade defence system needs to be modernised urgently; points out that EU trade defence law must be more effective, adapted to today’'s challenges and trade patterns, investigations must be shorter, and also increase transparency and predictability; regdeplorets that the TDI modernisation proposal is blocked in the CouncilCouncil has been unable to deliver on this essential piece of legislation; regrets that the Commission does not refer at all to the need for TDI modernisation in its ‘'Trade for All’' communication; calls on the Council to boost its effortsreak the stalemate regarding TDI modernisation urgently on the basis of the European Parliament's position, especially at a time when China is firmly requesting recognition of MES, and asks the Commission to present a new proposal;
Amendment 292 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)
Paragraph 29 a (new)
29a. Calls on the Commission to quicken the pace of investigations in order to accelerate the adoption of provisional and definitive trade defence measures, to open investigations "ex officio" and to impose measures on the ground of the "threat of injury" where the evidence justifies this, to eliminate the lesser duty rule which is not an obligation under WTO law, and to allow all European social partners, including not only business leaders but also trade unions, to urge the Commission to open anti-dumping investigations;
Amendment 303 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Calls on the Commission not to take any measures without a prior deep and comprehensive impact assessment tackling all the possible effects and consequences on employment, growth and the environment; recalls that it is fundamental that the Commission coordinates closely with other WTO partners on the issue;
Amendment 305 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Regrets that not enough hasConsiders that more needs to been done to comprehensively address European industries’' needs and that the EU manufacturing sector is too often placed behind the services and financial sectors; emphasises that trade policy must ensure a level playing field for European industry, provide access to new and emerging markets and facilitate upward convergence on standards while reducing double certification; calls on the Commission to ensure coherence between the EU’'s trade and industrial policies and to promote the development and competitiveness of European industry with particular reference to the reindustrialisation strategy;
Amendment 309 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 a (new)
Paragraph 33 a (new)
33a. Recalls the importance of GIs in promoting traditional European agri-food products, protecting them from harmful free-riding practices, guaranteeing consumers´ rights and conscious choices, and safeguarding rural producers and farmers, with particular reference to SMEs;
Amendment 310 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 b (new)
Paragraph 33 b (new)
33b. Acknowledges the success story of GIs in protecting European workers and producers from unfair practices and therefore calls on the Commission to extend GIs to non-agri products;
Amendment 313 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34
Paragraph 34
34. Recalls that the EU plays a leading role in the services sector; stresses that the opening up of new market opportunities must be an essential element of the EU’'s international trade strategy; stresses that including services in trade agreements is of the utmost importance, as it gives opportunities to European companies and domestic employees; while also excluding, in line with Articles 14 and 106 TFEU and Protocol 26, current and future services of general interest and services of general economic interest from the scope of application of any agreement; fully reiterates its recommendations for the negotiations of a Trade in Services Agreement in this regard with the emphasis on the ultimate goal of a multilateral agreement;
Amendment 324 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35
Paragraph 35
35. Shares the Commission’s viewConsiders that the temporary movement of professionals has become essentialis a factor to increasing business internationally; stresses that a labour mobility chapter should be included in all EU trade and investment agreements; recalls however that Mode 4 commitments must only apply to the movement of highly skilled professionals for a specific purpose, for a limited period of time and under precise conditions stipulated by the domestic legislation of the country where the service is performed and by a contract respecting such domestic legislation while ensuring that nothing will prevent the EU and its Member States from maintaining and improving labour standards and collective agreements";
Amendment 329 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36
Paragraph 36
36. Welcomes the Commission’'s intention to use trade policy to tackle new forms of digital protectionism and to set rules for e-commerce and cross-border data flows in compliance with EU data protection and privacy law and safeguarding fundamental rights; believes that much more needs to be done to create a climate favourable to e-commerce and entrepreneurship within the EU; stresses that ensuring regulatory cooperation, reducing online fraud, mutual recognition and harmonisation of standards in the digital trade sector is vital;
Amendment 338 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37
Paragraph 37
37. Is aware that the inclusion of provisions relating to financial services in trade agreements has raised concerns regarding their potential negative effects where money laundering, tax evasion and avoidance are concerned; supports the Commission in its fight against corruption; insists that clauses on corruption, money laundering and tax fraud be included in all trade and investmentthe Commission and Member States address anti money laundering, anti-corruption and anti-tax evasion and tax avoidance rules, including country-by- country reporting obligations and automatic exchange of information in appropriate international agreements;
Amendment 345 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38
Paragraph 38
38. Emphasises that a forward-looking trade policy must pay greater attention to the specific needs of SMEs and ensure that they can fully benefit from trade and investment agreements; recalls that only a small share of European SMEs are able to identify and exploit the opportunities that globalisation and trade liberalisation offer; notes that only 13 % of European SMEs have been internationally active outside the EU but recognises that SMEs already account for one third of EU exports; supports initiatives to facilitate the internationalisation of European SMEs , therefore insists on the benefits of a Chapter on SMEs in all future FTAs, also, but believes that new ways need to be explored on how to better assist SMEs in their sale of goods and services abroad; stresses that SMEs need more tailor-made support, starting in Member States;
Amendment 347 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38 a (new)
Paragraph 38 a (new)
38a. Asks the Commission to better support the internationalisation of SMEs by developing specific and clear guidebooks for SMEs about the opportunities and benefits offered by each trade agreement concluded by the EU;
Amendment 351 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39 a (new)
Paragraph 39 a (new)
39a. Reminds with regard to regulatory cooperation that the corresponding mechanisms must be based on enhanced information exchange and improved adoption and implementation of international instruments and lead to increased convergence on international technical standards whilst under no circumstances undermining or delaying the democratically legitimised decision- making procedures of any trading partner;
Amendment 354 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 41
Paragraph 41
41. Calls on the Commission to assess and improve the existing tools regarding subsidiarity, non-duplication and complementarity in relation to respective Member State programmes and European value-added before developing further instrumentstand-alone actions to support the internationalisation of SMEs; stresses that the Commission should submit an independent evaluation of all the existing programmes to Parliament;
Amendment 359 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42
Paragraph 42
42. Stresses the importance of further debate with stakeholders and Parliament on the Commission’'s proposal for the Investment Court System in order to better clarify its impact on the ‘'right to regulate’', the annual costs for the EU budget and its compliance with the EU legal order, the power of the EU courts in particular, and more specifically the EU competition rules; shares the ambition of establishing in the medium term a multilateral solution to investment disputes and calls on this to be built-in to all on-going bilateral negotiations; regrets that the ICS proposal does not include an investors' obligation provision;
Amendment 370 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43 a (new)
Paragraph 43 a (new)
43a. Emphasizes that the EU investment policy has to tackle broader issues than merely investment protection but addressing also investment facilitation and governance, thus, ensuring foreign direct investment serves the recently adopted Sustainable Development Goals; considers investor obligations based on inter alia the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Corporate Social responsibility and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights an indispensable part if a such an investment policy; urges Member States to work towards progress within the UN on the elaboration of a legally binding instrument on business and human rights;
Amendment 373 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43 b (new)
Paragraph 43 b (new)
43b. Considers the connection between trade and investment agreements and double taxation treaties to be seriously underexplored and calls on the Commission to study closely any effects such tools may have on each other and on wider policy coherence in the fight against tax evasion;
Amendment 375 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44
Paragraph 44
44. Calls for the elimination of the current imbalances as regards the degree of openness of public procurement markets between the EU and other trading partners; calls on the Commission to go even further in seeking an ambitious and reciprocal opening up of international public procurement markets, while guaranteeing the exclusion of services of general economic interests and making sure states remain free to adopt qualitative rules for their procurement procedures including social and environmental criteria; stresses that European economic operators, but especially European SMEs, need better access to public contracts in third countries;
Amendment 382 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45
Paragraph 45
45. Welcomes the Commission’'s amended proposal for a regulation on the access of third-country goods and services to the Union’'s internal market in public procurement, which is an important tool for ensuring a level playing field in the market access of third countries and strongly regrets that Member States governments have been holding up the original proposal; calls on the Commission to achieve reciprocity in access to public procurement markets with all trading partners;
Amendment 392 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47
Paragraph 47
47. BelievEmphasises that better harmonized and more efficient customs procedures in Europe and abroad could help to facilitate trade, to meet respective trade facilitation requirements, and to fight against forgeries, illegal and counterfeiting of goods entering in the single market, which distortundermines EU economic growth and seriously exposes EU consumers; welcomes the Commission’'s intention to enhance cooperation between customs authorities; calls once more on the Commission and the Members States to set up a unified EU customs service for a more effective application of customs rules and procedures throughout the customs territory of the EU;
Amendment 394 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 48
Paragraph 48
48. Underlines that trade agreements and the decline in tariff rates that follows expose customs to greater security and protection concerns; emphasises that adequate communication and strong coordination is essential; Customs agencies should treat trade transactions involving non-cooperative tax jurisdictions with the highest level of scrutiny;
Amendment 404 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 50
Paragraph 50
50. Shares the OECD’'s view that open trade and investment policies need a range of effective flanking policies in order to maximise the gains and minimise the losses; urges the Members States and the Commission to do much more to complement trade opening by a range of supporting measures in order to ensure inclusive growth – such as education, active labour market policies, public investment, supporting research and development, infrastructure development and social protection;
Amendment 410 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 51
Paragraph 51
51. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to conduct thorough ex ante and ex post analysis on the basis of sector-by-sector and regional impact assessments for all trade agreements and relevant legislative files to anticipate negative effects on the labour market within the Union and to find more sophisticated ways of introducing mitigating measures to redevelop industries and regions that lose out, with a view to achieving a more equitable distribution of and ensuring broad-based gains from trade; emphasises that in this respect the European Structural and Investment Funds, and in particular both the European Regional Development Fund and the European Social Fund, can play an outstanding role; points out that the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund could also be an important instrument if reformed and shaped in a way that it is adequately funded;
Amendment 413 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 51 a (new)
Paragraph 51 a (new)
51a. Points out that the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund could also be an important instrument; believes however that the current use of the EGF to tame the adverse impacts in some sectors resulting from increased international competition is not satisfactory; stresses that this instrument should be reformed and adequately funded whereby it proactively anticipates risks and adaptation of sectorial, regional and national production structures in cases in which the sustainable impact assessment indicates that these might be endangered as a consequence of trade agreements;