27 Amendments of Jude KIRTON-DARLING related to 2018/2010(INI)
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the EU Trade Agreement with Colombia and Peru (the Agreement) is a rules-based relationship, anchored on common values and international standards for sustainable development, that has the potential of having a strong positive impact on the socio-economic development of the parties to the Agreement, on economic integration, on sustainable development, human rights and on bringing the countries and their citizens closer together;
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas Colombia continues to register the highest number of killings of trade unionists in the world, with 20 trade unionists killed in 2016, 19 in 2017 and 14 in 2018 (up to 27 August); whereas overall 2,200 violations against the right to life, freedom and integrity have been perpetrated against trade unionists between 2012 and 2017, according to the National School of Union Workers; whereas crimes committed against trade unionists remain all too often unpunished, with the Attorney General's office acknowledging impunity rate as high as 95% in 2015;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Recalls the importance of strengthening cooperation to preserve and to reinforce the multilateral trade system, as an essential pillar to achieve the SDG and to ensure an economic governance based on rules, ensuring a more fair, inclusive and sustainable trade; in particular, recalls its support for the WTO, stressing its role in creating economic stability and supporting growth and development, and calls on the Parties to make use of the dialogue fostered by the Agreement to identify and to develop joint strategies towards the necessary modernization of the WTO;
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Underlines the opportunity that the Agreement offers to reinforce cooperation andnot only interregional, but also interaregional cooperation and trade between Colombia, Peru and Ecuador;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Welcomes the integration of Ecuador into the Agreement and stresses the constructive role played in this process by Colombia and Peru, as an additional element to help strengthening regional integration, and stresses the constructive role played all parties to make of this process a success; recalls that the Agreement is still open to further accessions;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Is of the opinion that the Agreement is an opportunity to foster the peace agreement in ColombiaRecalls the potential benefits and the need to make the best possible use of the Agreement to help implementing the peace agreement and reconciliation process in Colombia, including specific challenges such as the diversification of the economy, productive development or the implementation of the land-use planning; Recalls that continuous and structured support to, and dialogue with, civil society is also key for the sustainability of peace from the ground up, particularly in rural areas;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes the fact that the Agreement opens markets for, inter alia, goods, services, government procurement and investment, thereby creating new empwhich built upon the principles of sustainable develoypment can create opportunities and contributing tofor quality employment, improved working conditions and living standards by liberalising and expanding trade and investment;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Points out that the Agreement has contributed to the modernisation and diversification of exports from Colombia and Peru and that it has had a positive impact on Colombian and Peruvian SMEs; Calls on the Parties to provide with regular and accurate data on the sectors and the degree of consolidation of the SMEs' activities to this regard;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Stresses that since the provisional entry into force of the Agreement, 1 155 Colombian companies – of which 328 are SMEs – and 2 328 new Peruvian companies – of which 90 % are SMEs – have begun to export to the EU; Calls on the Parties to further support the internationalization process of the SMEs and their reciprocal market access;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Takes the view that many SMEs in the EU, Colombia and Peru are not aware of the opportunities that the Agreement brings; calls, therefore, on the Commission and the Member StatParties to study the preference utilisation rate of SMEs in particular, and to take effective steps to better communicate the opportunities and benefits offered by the Agreement, including through the setting up of contact points and the establishment of a specialised website for SMEs; considers that a future revision of the trade agreement should consider the inclusion of a dedicated chapter on SMEs;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Welcomes the fact that EU exports of agricultural products to both countries have increased significantly since the provisional application of the Agreement; Recalls the importance of making trade more inclusive and facilitating an appropriate integration of small-scale farmers into value chains;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Recalls that safeguard clauses have been set for sensitive agricultural sectors and that, in this regard, more thorough and regular information on market developments should be made available by the Commission, both to the European Parliament and the industrial sectors concerned;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 – introductory part
Paragraph 13 – introductory part
13. Points out that further progress is needed, among others, on the following issues:
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Notes that both countries have raised specific concerns about their ability to meet certain food safety standards required for the EU market, in particular as regards recent EU legislative proposals on cadmium levels in cacao, endocrine disruptors, novel foods, and palm oil, which risk having a social impact in some of the countries’ poorestmost vulnerable areas, where such production tends to be concentrated; Calls on the EU, Colombia and Peru to strengthen and to make the best use of financial and technical cooperation in order to help meeting the given challenges;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Recalls that the Trade and Sustainable Development chapter of the EU-Colombia and Peru Trade Agreement includes legally binding provisions to effectively implement human rights, labour and environmental protection standards; Welcomes the fact that the Agreement has set the path for a regular dialogue on the implementation of the shared commitments; Regrets, however, the lack of enforceability of this chapter; Calls on the Parties to make use of the review clause included in the Agreement to introduce a suitable and effective dispute settlement mechanism, including sanctions as a deterrent measure to be used, as last resort, in the case of serious breaches, and enabling social partners and civil society to participate appropriately;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Insists on the effectiveneed to implementation of, effectively and through concrete action plans, the specific provisions related to the road map on human, environmental and labour rights, as called for in its resolution of 13 June 2012 on the EU trade agreement with Colombia and Peru, such as enforcing and implementing legislation and policy measures that guarantee; In particular, recalls the commitment by the Parties to implement and to enforce standards on freedom of association, the right to bargain collectively and, strict and effective labour inspections, violence against social and ethnic leaders and the protection of the environment through the appropriate prevention, control and enforcement mechanisms;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Welcomes the efforts made by Colombia to fight impunity in cases of criminal offences including through improved investigations; Condemns, however, the persisting violence against human rights defenders, environmental activists, trade unionists, ethnic and community leaders, with an increased rate of offences against women;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)
Paragraph 16 b (new)
16b. Likewise, condemns the violence against human rights defenders, social and ethnic community leaders, and particularly violence against women in Peru and calls for increased efforts to solve this persisting scourge;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 c (new)
Paragraph 16 c (new)
16c. Recalls the obligation of the EU, as enshrined in Art. 8 of the TFUE, to mainstream a gender perspective in all its policies, including Trade; Welcomes the fact that all the EU, Peru and Colombia have signed the Joint Declaration on Trade and Women’s Economic Empowerment issued on the Occasion of the WTO Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires, in December 2017; Calls on the Parties to visibly reinforce the gender focus of the Agreement and, particularly, stresses the need to carry out evaluations on the basis of gender- disaggregated data; Call on the Parties to include, in a future revision of the Agreement, a specific chapter on gender and trade;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Acknowledges that an agreement concluded in 2017 between the Colombian Government and the public sector trade unions brought about improvements for more than one million workers; Expresses its concern about the particularly low level of trade Union membership and the increase of the unilaterally determined salary and benefit schemes ("pactos colectivos") over collective bargaining agreements;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Welcomes the fact that, according to the OECD’s Trade Union Advisory Committee, there has been an increase in the number of inspectors in Colombia; Stresses the need for increased resources in order to guarantee effective labour inspections; calls on the Commission and the EEAS to support Colombia in its efforts to strengthen labour inspections, which represent an enormous challenge for the Colombian Government given that the state had lost control of parts of the country during the long armed conflict, and expects that additional and effective controls are carried out, especially in rural areas;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. ExpressesWelcomes the efforts and commitments expressed by Peru to reinforce the implementation of its commitments under the Trade and Sustainable Development chapter of the Agreement; Expresses, however, its concerns over the lack of effective implementation in Peru of certain aspects of the chapter on trade and sustainable development (TSD) with regard to both labour and environmental provisions, and e; Especially as regards thregrets the lack of effective implementation of ILO conventions 87 and 98, which are fundamental; on the Freedom of Association, the Right to Organise and to Collective Bargaining, which are fundamental, as well as the Right to Prior Consultation of the Indigenous peoples and expresses its concerns over recent legislative changes that may lead to the weakening of environmental protection;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Welcomes the latest measures taken in Peru to improve labour inspections and encourages the country to keep on reinforcing efforts, following the ILO recommendations;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Recalls that the TSD chapter of the Trade Agreement envisages that each Party shall establish Domestic Advisory Groups or committees relevant for matters related to labour, the environment and sustainable development, comprising independent representative civil society organisations, with balanced representation of economic, social and environmental stakeholders; Welcomes the decision of Colombia to create a consultation group independent of the government; calls on Peru to establish a similarly independent domestic advisory group, as an indispensable and essential element for the full implementation of the Agreement;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Welcomes the decision by the representatives of the EU and Andean Domestic Advisory Groups to hold annual joint meetings, that will allow for an improved exchange of information and best practices and the preparation of joint recommendations to be presented to the Parties; Considers that this practice should be included in the institutional setting all EU Trade Agreements;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Calls onNotes the Commission to continue to implement fully the 15-point plan to make TSD chapters more effective and recalls the need to continue its dialogue with the different actors involved, including the European Parliament in order to design and ensure an effective enforcement mechanism for the human rights, labour and environmental protection commitments;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Notes with concern the significant share of the informal economy in both Peru and Colombia, especially among women; emphasises the need to develop effective policies in order to reduce its share and considers that the Agreement could help in that regard, by helping to create more formal jobs, among others, by reinforcing measures to facilitate the economic activities SMEs;