65 Amendments of Jude KIRTON-DARLING related to 2015/2233(INI)
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 15 a (new)
Citation 15 a (new)
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the TiSA negotiations arshould be aimed at achieving better international regulation, not lower domestic regulation;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas any trade agreement must provide more rights, contribute to sustainable development and lower prices to European consumers and level the playing field for European companies;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas any trade agreement must be a market opener for our companies abroad and a safety net for our citizens at home, while being an instrument for promoting corporate social responsibility globally;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas TiSA is an opportunity for the EU to consolidate its position as the world leader in the field, with 24 % of global trade in services and whereas the services sector employs close to 70% of the EU's labour force;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas trade in services ismust be an engine for jobs and growth in the EU;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas numerousunnecessary barriers to trade in services, which if translated into equivalent tariffs amount to 15 % for Canada, 16 % for Japan, 25 % for South Korea, 44 % for Turkey and 68 % for China, continue to prevent European companies from reaping the full benefits of their competitiveness; whereas the EU, where the tariff equivalent of services restrictions is only 6 %, is substantially more open than most of its partners;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas non-tariff barriers, which on average represent more than 50 % of the cost of cross-border services, disproportionately affect small and medium-sized enterprises, which often lack the human and financial resources necessary to overcome those obstacles; whereas the elimination of unnecessary barriers would facilitate their internationalisation as long as these barriers can be removed without jeopardizing the public policy objectives underpinning them;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas the globalisation of value chains increases the import content of both domestic output and exports, whereas trade in goods and trade in services are interlinked and global rules are needed to govern these global supply-chains ;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas citizens’ trust in EU’s trade policy is a must, whichhas been seriously undermined in recent years, and can only be restored by ensuring the highest level of transparency, by maintaining constant dialogue with social partners and civil society, and by setting clear guidelines in the negotiations;
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K a (new)
Recital K a (new)
Ka. whereas TiSA is currently being negotiated as a plurilateral agreement outside the remits of the WTO; whereas this implies that WTO institutions would not be available to settle disputes arising within TiSA;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K b (new)
Recital K b (new)
Kb. whereas ratification in certain Member States may require ratification by regional parliaments and/or parliamentary chambers representing the regional level;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point a – point i
Paragraph 1 – point a – point i
i. to consider the TiSA negotiations as a stepping-stone towards renewed ambitions at WTO level and therefore to secure the commitment of all TiSA participants to multilateralising the outcome of the negotiations; to present a concrete plan to achieve multilateralisation to the European Parliament before the conclusion of the TiSA negotiations;
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point a – point i a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point a – point i a (new)
ia. to reflect on the recent withdrawal of Uruguay from the TiSA negotiations; to ensure that special attention is paid to developing countries in this regard, and that TISA includes the provisions contained in GATS article IV;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point a – point ii
Paragraph 1 – point a – point ii
ii. to reiterate its support for a comprehensive and balanced agreement, which should unleash the untapped potential of a more integrated global services market, while preventing social and economic dumping and fully guaranteeing compliance with the EU acquis; to shape globalisation and to create international standards, while fully preserving the right to regulate; to secure increased market access for European services suppliers in key sectors of interest, while accommodating specific carve-outs for sensitive sectors including all public services;
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point a – point iii
Paragraph 1 – point a – point iii
iii. to push forguarantee multilateralisation by crafting GATS-compatible provisionsrejecting any provision that would be incompatible with the GATS and by accepting new parties conditional on their acceptance of the agreed rules and level of ambitions; to incentivise wider participation in the talks by granting interested parties observer status; to note that both the highest barriers and the highest growth potential regarding trade in services are to be found in the BRICS and the MINT countries; to recognise the importance of those countries for the EU, as export destinations with a rising middle class, as sources of intermediate inputs and as key hubs in global value chains; to open the way for the participation of China;
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point a – point iv
Paragraph 1 – point a – point iv
iv. to carry outacknowledge that, as the negotiations are carried out on a preferential basis and to limit, the benefits of the agreement will be limited to TiSA parties until it is multilateralised; to take into account that unanimous approval is required from WTO members in order to multilateralise a plurilateral agreement;
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point a – point viii
Paragraph 1 – point a – point viii
viii. to publish a sustainability impact assessment and, once the negotiations are finalised, to update it accordingly, taking specific account of its impact on citizens and workersrecall that the EU's negotiating mandate was proposed by the Commission and adopted by the Council without any impact assessment; to publish without any further delay the sustainability impact assessment while negotiations are on- going and as a precondition for the European Parliament approval; to involve social partners and civil society fully in finalising the sustainability impact assessment; to update it accordingly once the negotiations are finalised, taking specific account of its impact on citizens and workers; to include in this study a detailed assessment of the effect on the economy and labour conditions of the GATS since its entry into force, including a breakdown by mode of supply; to request Parliament’s research services to publish a comprehensive and informative study of the scope and potential impact of the TiSA negotiations, particularly on consumers and workers;
Amendment 225 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b – point i
Paragraph 1 – point b – point i
i. to exclude public services and culturs well as cultural and audio-visual services from the scope of the negotiations, and to seek the further opening of foreign markets in telecommunications, transport and professional services;
Amendment 239 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b – point ii
Paragraph 1 – point b – point ii
ii. to ensure reciprocity at all levels; to condition any further commitments beyond the EU’s current level of openness on the other parties’ proportionate offers; to support the use of horizontal commitment- related provisions as a means to set a common level of ambitions, and to take note that such minimum requirements would set clear parameters for countries interested in participating;
Amendment 249 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b – point iv
Paragraph 1 – point b – point iv
iv. to acknowledge thatreject the inclusion of any standstill and ratchet clauses do not apply to market access commiton any of the disciplines contained in the agreements;
Amendment 257 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b – point iv a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point b – point iv a (new)
iva. to use positive listing for all market access and national treatment commitments;
Amendment 260 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b – point v
Paragraph 1 – point b – point v
v. to undertake extremely limited commitments in Mode 1 so as to avoid regulatory arbitrage and social dumping; to ensure that European rules are fully respected when a company provides a service from abroad to European consumers; , particularly concerning sensitive sectors such as ICT; to ensure that European rules are fully respected and enforced on foreign providers established in third countries when a company provides a service from abroad to European consumers; to include provisions guaranteeing easy access to redress for consumers;
Amendment 271 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b – point vi
Paragraph 1 – point b – point vi
vi. to take an ambitious approach in Mode 3 by seekingsecure the removal of third-country barriers to establishment, such as foreign equity caps and joint venture requirements; to retain the current overall level of limitations and reservations to Mode 3 commitments on the EU market;
Amendment 276 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b – point vii
Paragraph 1 – point b – point vii
vii. to take a cautious approach in Mode 4, while bearing in mind that the EU has an offensive interest in the inward and outward movement of highly-skilled labour; to acknowledge that the labour clause maintains the legal obligation of foreign service providers to comply with EU and Member State social and labour legislation, as well as withreject any new commitment on Mode 4 beyond the GATS; Mode 4 must not be used to undermine labour standards or collective agreements; to enter into nor member states' ambitious commitments for those cases which underpin Mode 3 commitmenlity to conduct labour market needs tests;
Amendment 286 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b – point viii
Paragraph 1 – point b – point viii
viii. to acknowledge that by means of limitations and exemptions, each Party retains therespect Member States' sovereign right to choose which sectors to open to foreign competition and to what extent by means of limitations and exemptions; to refrain from pressuring Member States not to exercise this right in full;
Amendment 291 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b – point ix
Paragraph 1 – point b – point ix
ix. to exclude, in line with Articles 14 and 106 of the TFEU as well as protocol 26 to the TFEU, current and future Services of General Interest as well as Services of General Economic Interest from EU commitments the scope of the agreement through a carve-out located in its core text (including but not limited to water, waste management, health, social services, social security systems and education);, as the only means to ensure that European, national and local authorities retain the full right to introduce, adopt, maintain or repeal any measures with regard to the commissioning, organisation, funding and provision of public services; to apply this exclusion, irrespective of how the public services are provided and funded; to acknowledge that social security systems are excluded from the negotiations;
Amendment 301 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b – point x
Paragraph 1 – point b – point x
x. to introduce an unequivocal ‘gold standard’ clause, which could be included in all trade agreements and would clarifyensure that the public utilities clause applies to all modes of supply and to, any services considered as public services by European, national or regional authorities in any sector and irrespective of the service's monopoly status;
Amendment 338 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point c – point ii
Paragraph 1 – point c – point ii
ii. to acknowledge that data protection is not a trade barrier, but a fundamental right, enshrined in Article 39 TEU and Article 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, as well as in Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; to acknowledgensure that GATS Article XIV, which fully exempts the existing and future EU legal framework for the protection of personal data from these negotiations, will be replicated in the TiSA core text; in addition, to insert a legally binding horizontal clause in TiSA to guarantee full respect of these fundamental rights, taking due account of recent developments in the digital economy and in full compliance with the European Court of Justice's ruling with respect to the Safe Harbour Agreement;
Amendment 357 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point c – point v
Paragraph 1 – point c – point v
Amendment 378 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point c – point vii
Paragraph 1 – point c – point vii
vii. to address persistent regulatory asymmetries regarding the telecommunications sector, by preventing parties from imposing foreign equity caps, by laying down pro-competitive wholesale access rules for incumbent operators’ networks, by providing clear and non- discriminatory rules for licensing and securing genuine access to last mile infrastructures in export markets for EU telecom providers, by guaranteeing the independence of regulators, and by supporting an extensive definition of telecommunications services covering all types of network;
Amendment 383 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point c – point viii
Paragraph 1 – point c – point viii
viii. to strongly support provisions on international mobile roaming; to increase publicly available information regarding retail rates in the short run; to make the case for maximum caps in the long run; to push for online consumer protection, in particular vis-à-vis unsolicited commercial electronic messages; to include provisions directly aimed at lowering the cost of international calls and messages and to provide for effective means of redress for consumers;
Amendment 386 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d – point i
Paragraph 1 – point d – point i
i. to ensure that nothing will prevent the EU and its Member States from maintaining, improving and applying their labour and social regulations, as well as their legislation on entry and temporary stay; and that international labour standards, as defined in the International Labour Organisation's fundamental conventions, as well as collective agreements, are respected; to guarantee that these labour rights are made fully enforceable through a monitoring process that has the full involvement of trade unions; to guarantee Member States' sovereign right to take or refuse to take commitments under Mode 4;
Amendment 389 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d – point i a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point d – point i a (new)
ia. to include a clause on control and enforcement mechanisms so as to deter and prevent companies from infringing labour and social rights, including collective agreements and to propose EU legislation ensuring liability in sub- contracting chains, covering EU companies as well as companies from third-countries;
Amendment 392 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d – point i b (new)
Paragraph 1 – point d – point i b (new)
ib. to urge Member States to increase the staffing levels of, and the resources available to, their labour inspectorates and to meet the target of one inspector for every 10 000 workers, as recommended by the ILO, as well as to impose more severe penalties on firms that fail to comply with their obligations concerning fundamental rights (including remuneration, working hours and OHS); considers that the penalties in such cases must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive;
Amendment 393 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d – point i c (new)
Paragraph 1 – point d – point i c (new)
i c. to guarantee full compliance with the principle of equal remuneration for equal work in TISA; to ensure that all workers, irrespective of their home country must, as a minimum, enjoy the same rights, conditions of employment and salaries as nationals in the place of work;
Amendment 394 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d – point i d (new)
Paragraph 1 – point d – point i d (new)
id. to include a clause preventing companies from circumventing or undermining the right to take industrial action, through the use of workers from third countries during negotiations on collective agreements and labour disputes;
Amendment 396 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d – point ii
Paragraph 1 – point d – point ii
ii. to recall that Mode 4 commitments must only apply to the movement of high-level professionals for a specific purpose, for a limited period of time and under precise conditions stipulated by a contract and by domestic legislation; therefore rejects any changes to the Mode 4 rules as defined in the GATS, including with respect to economic needs tests;
Amendment 400 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d – point ii a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point d – point ii a (new)
iia. to guarantee that Directive 96/71/EC on the posting of workers, together with other national and EU labour and social legislation as well as collective agreements, should be applicable to contractual service suppliers and business sellers accessing the EU, today and in the future, through the Mode 4 provisions in GATS;
Amendment 403 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d – point ii b (new)
Paragraph 1 – point d – point ii b (new)
iib. to propose a revision of Directive 2014/66/EU on the conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals in the framework of an intra-corporate transfer in order to avoid abuse and social dumping;
Amendment 404 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d – point iii
Paragraph 1 – point d – point iii
Amendment 420 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d – point vi a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point d – point vi a (new)
via. to present detailed information on the number and type of service providers currently operating in the EU under Mode 4, including the duration of their stay;
Amendment 426 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point e – point i
Paragraph 1 – point e – point i
i. to aim at reinforcing financial stability, ensuring adequate protection for consumers, including their data privacy, and guaranteeing fair competition between financial services providers;
Amendment 436 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point e – point ii
Paragraph 1 – point e – point ii
ii. to step upcommit parties to TiSA to the implementation and application of international standards for the regulation and supervision of the financial sector, such as those endorsed by the G20, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the Financial Stability Board, the International Organisation of Securities Commissions and the International Association of Insurance Supervisors; to bind TiSA parties not signatory to the WTO Understanding on Financial Services to equivalent rules;
Amendment 445 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point e – point iv
Paragraph 1 – point e – point iv
iv. to ensure that this agreement does not limit the EU’s ability to ban certain financial products in line with its regulatory framework or to adopt any measure it deems necessary to regulate financial markets;
Amendment 451 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point e – point v
Paragraph 1 – point e – point v
v. while stressing the need to increase worldwide access to financial services, to exclude cross-border financial services from the EU’s commitments until there is convergence in financial regulation at the highest level, except in very limited and justified caseto exclude cross-border financial services from the EU’s commitments;
Amendment 461 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point f – point i
Paragraph 1 – point f – point i
i. to ensure a high level of ambibalanced regulation inof the transport sector, which is critical to the sustainable development of global value chains; to increase the speed, reliability, security and interoperability of transport services, to the benefit of business customers and individual users and workers;
Amendment 473 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point f – point iv
Paragraph 1 – point f – point iv
iv. to exclude any provisions facilitating the entry and stay of professional drivers from the scope of the Annex on road transport; to reject any demands to take any Mode 4 commitments in the road transport sector;
Amendment 477 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point f – point v
Paragraph 1 – point f – point v
v. to ensure consistency with international standards, such as those endorsed by the International Maritime Organisation and the International Civil Aviation Organisation, and to oppose any lowering of these international benchmarks; to ensure the application of all ILO Conventions relevant to the logistics and transport sectors, such as the Maritime Labour Convention;
Amendment 487 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point g – point i
Paragraph 1 – point g – point i
i. to fully preasservet that European, national and local authorities’ have the right to regulate to adopt policies in the public interest and that this should not be subject to additional necessity tests beyond those foreseen in GATS article VI; provisions on domestic regulations should not be more restrictive than the general proportionality obligation enshrined in the EU Treaties;
Amendment 496 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point g – point ii
Paragraph 1 – point g – point ii
ii. to promote good governance and foster good practices in administrative and lregisulativeory processes, by encouraging the wide take-up of measures that strengthen the independence of decision-makers, and increase the transparency of decisions, and reduce red tape; to stress that consumerand democratic accountability of decisions; to stress that consumer, health and environmental protection and safety and labour rights must be at the centre of regulatory endeavours;
Amendment 506 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point g – point iii
Paragraph 1 – point g – point iii
iii. to recognise that the domestic regulation chapter isprovisions, as provided in the GATS, might be necessary to prevent parties from implementing disguised trade barriers and imposing unnecessary burdens on foreign companies, in particular when they apply for different types of permits;
Amendment 518 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point g – point v
Paragraph 1 – point g – point v
v. to request and publish a legal opinion prior to Parliament’s vote on the final agreement, with a view to thoroughly assessing the two Annexes on domestic regulation and transparency in light of EU law, EU principles and international jurisprudence, and to assess whether the legal obligations set in these chapters are already respected in the EU, and whether necessity tests limit public authorities' right to regulate;
Amendment 523 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point g – point vi
Paragraph 1 – point g – point vi
vi. to clearly define the law-making principles of transparency and objectivity so as to ensure that these concepts do not turn into catch-all provisions; in particular, to ensure that provisions contained in any transparency annex do not affect pricing mechanisms;
Amendment 532 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point g – point x
Paragraph 1 – point g – point x
x. to oppose any proposals calling for the mandatory submission of legislative proposals to third parties prior to their publication; to bear in mind that stakeholders have different access to resources and expertise, and to ensure that the introduction of a voluntarily stakeholder consultation process in TiSA does not create a bias towards the better funded organisations;
Amendment 534 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point g – point x a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point g – point x a (new)
xa. to reject the inclusion of a Most Favoured Nation Clause (MFN) in TiSA;
Amendment 535 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point g – point x b (new)
Paragraph 1 – point g – point x b (new)
xb. to secure full transparency as to the conditions prevailing in TiSA participants' markets in particular with respect to regulation applicable at sub- federal level;
Amendment 540 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point h – point i a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point h – point i a (new)
ia. to allow participating countries to modify or withdraw a commitment in their schedule if they can negotiate a substitute commitment with all other parties, by analogy to the provisions of GATS article XXI;
Amendment 543 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point h – point i b (new)
Paragraph 1 – point h – point i b (new)
ib. to include a dispute settlement mechanism in TiSA to be used until the agreement is multilateralised and the WTO dispute settlement mechanisms become available;
Amendment 546 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point h – point ii
Paragraph 1 – point h – point ii
ii. to endeavour to include a regulatory chapter on government procurement with a view to maximising the participation of European companies in foreign tenders and to safeguard the ability of public authorities in the EU to discriminate on the basis of environmental and social criteria; to deplore the lack of transparency regarding non-European calls for tenders and to denounce the lack of reciprocity in this area, as illustrated by the preferential treatment granted to domestic companies in several countries; to encourage the ratification and implementation of the WTO Government Procurement Agreement and its 2011 revision; to call upon the Member States to reinvigorate discussions on the proposed international public procurement instrument;
Amendment 560 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point i – point i
Paragraph 1 – point i – point i
i. to ensure the highest level of transparency, dialogue and accountability, and to emulate the document disclosure policy of the WTO, whereby all negotiating documents are made available to the public;
Amendment 567 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point i – point ii
Paragraph 1 – point i – point ii
ii. to ensure that the members of Parliament’s Committee on International Trade receive all the negotiating documents related to TiSA as well as Commission internal assessments including briefing documents, minutes and summaries of negotiating rounds;
Amendment 580 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point i – point iv
Paragraph 1 – point i – point iv
iv. to welcome theensure serious and continuous engagement of the EU institutions with social partners and a wide range of stakeholders throughout the negotiation process;
Amendment 590 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point i – point v a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point i – point v a (new)
Amendment 599 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Requests the European Commission to provide a detailed response to all the concerns raised in this resolution within three months of its adoption;