Activities of Lola SÁNCHEZ CALDENTEY related to 2016/2301(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the impact of international trade and the EU’s trade policies on global value chains
Amendments (21)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the EU is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights; whereas its action on the international scene, including its trade policy ‘shall be guided by [these] principles’1 and shall be aligned with development policy objectives according to the principle of policy coherence for development; _________________ 1 Treaty on European Union.
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that the increasing globalisation and the complexity of value chains enhances the importance of the role played by corporations in the enjoyment of human rights and environmental sustainability; notes also that corporate behaviour can strongly affect development and human wellbeing, in either a positive or negative manner;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Is deeply concerned by cases of human rights violations, especially those related to the most vulnerable groups such as women, and threats to environmental sustainability, committed as a result of corporations’' management decisions, as well as those corporate actions benefiting from third parties present or past human rights violations such as land grabs or displacements;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. calls on the Commission to ensure that all EU funded development projects, including blending projects, are not only fully aligned with the internationally agreed development effectiveness principles, but that they also fully respect the principle of free, prior and informed consent as established in the ILO Convention No. 169;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Reaffirms the urgent need to act in a continuous, effective and coherent manner at national, European and global level, in order to address effectively the legal problems resulting from the extra- territorial dimension of companies and of their conduct, and the related uncertainty as to where the liability for human rights violations lies; acknowledges, in this regard, the progress made since the establishment of the Bangladesh Sustainability Compact and calls on the Commission to expand such frameworks to other sectors and to enhance corporate social accountability and mandatory due diligence initiatives that expand the existing EU timber regulation, the new EU regulation on conflict minerals, into other sectors such as the garment sector.
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Calls on the Commission to continue to include the ratification of core ILO standards, health and safety inspection standards, and freedom of assembly and association in discussions on continued preferential trade with countries linked to the global supply chain for the garment sector, and to strengthen human rights, labour and environmental conventions under the Generalised System of Preferences; calls on the EU to ensure that human rights conditions linked to unilateral trade preferences such as GSP or GSP+ are effectively implemented and monitored;
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4 b. considers that the EU must include binding provisions in its trade agreements for improving the lives of workers, and stresses that a clause promoting the ratification and implementation of ILO conventions and the Decent Work Agenda, must be included in both bilateral and multilateral trade agreements;
Amendment 46 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Warmly welcomes the drafting of a binding UN Treaty on Business and Human Rights and reiterates its calls for the Member States and the EU itself to promote and proactively participate in this process;
Amendment 58 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the Member States to compel companies using raw materials or commodities that might have originated from conflict-affected areas (for example, so-called conflict minerals) to disclose their sourcing and use of such materials and to guarantee their traceability in a transparent manner;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L a (new)
Recital L a (new)
La. Whereas in the recent Commission Reflection Paper on Harnessing Globalisation the Commission acknowledges that Europe must act in order to more fairly share the benefits of globalisation in line with the principles of solidarity and sustainability
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 1 a (new)
Subheading 1 a (new)
Notes that the current European trade policy has not led to increased equality worldwide; urges the Commission to work towards a trade policy that first and foremost benefits people and workers by improving the labour, environmental and food safety standards; therefore urges the Commission to stop prioritising investors’ rights over people’s rights;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Is of the opinion that international binding rules for Multi National Companies (MNCs) are necessary; Welcomes the ongoing negotiations on a binding UN Treaty for Transnational Corporations and Human Rights; calls for the EUuropean Commission and Member States to engage constructively in these negotiations and to put all its efforts into achieving a positive result;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 3 a (new)
Subheading 3 a (new)
States that voluntary corporate social responsibility and self-regulatory mechanisms have in too many situations not led to a sufficient due diligence policy of MNCs and a proactive identification and mitigation of human rights and environmental risks;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Notes that the current public procurement directive makes it possible to set up social and environmental criteria; urges the Commission to update the public procurement directive from voluntary to binding obligations on environmental and social standards;
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Notes that the Commission and other EU institutions could by their public procurement policies have a major influence on the CSR behaviour of companies and other private partners; urges these institutions to lead by example and to implement a sustainable procurement policy in which they only offer service and product contracts to tenders with the highest environmental and social standards;
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 – point a
Paragraph 9 – point a
a) implementing fully Parliament’s recommendations of 2010 and 2016 with respect to TSD chapters in FTAs, including by developing an upgraded TSD chapter model with binding and enforceable provisions and sanctions in case these provisions are not met;
Amendment 185 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 – point c
Paragraph 9 – point c
c) including standstill clauses fixing a minimum level for social, food safety, environmental and safety standards in all EU FTAs;
Amendment 194 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 – point e
Paragraph 9 – point e
e) supplementing all these provisions with supporting measures for developing countries and rigorously monitoring their implementation in conjunction with the national parliaments and civil society and including complaint and appeal procedures;
Amendment 260 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Reiterates its call for the strengthening of import and supply chain controls to ensure that only child labour- free products enter the EU market; Emphasizes against this background that the aim of child labour free products could only be achieved if this goes hand in hand with the establishment of minimum living wages of the child’s family members;;
Amendment 268 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Notes that GVCs are an opportunity for firms in developing countries to develop a link with the global economy; stresses that complementary policies and accompanying measures are key to making this a reality; States that the application of the current GSP and GSP+, without binding rules on MNCs on human and labour rights and environmental protection, favours especially the MNCs and does not automatically lead to a higher welfare position of the country’s average citizens;
Amendment 281 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Expects the GSP mid-term review to clarify definitions and include additional tariff preferences for sustainably produced products; Calls for special attention towards the Export Processing Zones where labour rights and trade unions rights are often violated; urges the Commission in close cooperation with the ILO to address this issue in the review of GSP;