Activities of Eleonora FORENZA related to 2015/2038(INI)
Plenary speeches (2)
Social and environmental standards, human rights and corporate responsibility - A forward-looking and innovative future strategy for trade and investment (debate) IT
Social and environmental standards, human rights and corporate responsibility - A forward-looking and innovative future strategy for trade and investment (debate) IT
Reports (1)
REPORT on implementation of the 2010 recommendations of Parliament on social and environmental standards, human rights and corporate responsibility PDF (482 KB) DOC (192 KB)
Amendments (69)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2
Citation 2
– having regard to Articles 11, 153, 191, 207 and 218 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 a (new)
Citation 9 a (new)
– having regard to the European Ombudsman decision in case 1409/2014/MHZ on the European Commission’s failure to carry out a prior human rights impact assessment of the EU-Vietnam free trade agreement,
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Stress that EU trade and investment policies are interlink with social protection, development, human rights and environment policies; Calls on the Commission to respect the principle of Policy Coherence for Development in all external policies and specifically to include it in all treaties and develop legally binding mechanisms to ensure it;
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 a (new)
Citation 16 a (new)
– having regard to its report on Gender mainstreaming in the work of the European Parliament (A8-0034/2016),
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 21
Citation 21
– having regard to its resolution of 25 November 20150 on corporate social responsibility in international agreements13, __________________ 13 OJ C 99E, 3.4.2012, p. 101. OJ C 99E, 3.4.2012, p. 101.
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Recalls the 1986 UN Declaration on the Right to Development, which confirms the right to development as an inalienable human right; calls on the EU to respect the sovereignty of developing countries in setting policies aimed at responding to the demands of their populations, for human rights and dignityensuring people dignity and obligations and duties of all investors in order to guarantee internationally agreed social, environmental and human rights standards;
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 29 a (new)
Citation 29 a (new)
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 29 b (new)
Citation 29 b (new)
– having regard to the Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council Report on the Generalised Scheme of Preferences during the period 2014 – 2015 {COM(2016) 29 final},
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas current human rights clauses in free trade agreements and other economic partnership agreements are ineffective and usually not respected, which have a detrimental effect on gender equality;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Calls on the European Union and its Member States to promote binding measures to ensure that multinational corporations pay taxes in the countries in which their profits are generated and to promote compulsory country-by-country reporting by the private sector, thus enhancing domestic resource mobilisation capacities of countries;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas abolishing barriers to investments in form of legal rights, social standards, consumer protection and environmental regulations will lead to a ‘harmonisation’ towards lower labour standards, as well as privatisation of public services and the welfare sector, which will have a negative impact on gender equality;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas EU trade policies could contribute positively to the harmonisation process in the direction of implementation and development of human rights (HR), social and environmental sustainability; whereas it must be ensured that trade and investment agreements not reduce theirMember States ability to meet their HR, social and environmental obligations, which must prevail over investors and profits interests; whereas there is public concern about the detrimental impact on the concrete enjoyment of HR, environmental and labour standards of non-tariff barrier reduction; whereas the new generation of trade agreements risks acting as a back- door deregulation instrument;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Calls for a broad-based effective participation of women and women’s rights organisations and trade unions in trade consultations and negotiations as well as in trade policy-making and related implementation;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Calls for increased transparency and accountability to grassroots constituencies in the formulation of international trade rules and national trade policies, while ensuring consistency with respect for workers’ rights, human rights including women’s rights;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Finds regrettable the significant lack of adequate information and transparency as regards the actions of corporations and their impact on social and environmental standards and human rights; calls for an effective increase in the transparency of corporations and for independent ex-ante impact analysis prior to the signing of any trade agreement; calls for a new monitoring and enforcement mechanism to ensure corporations comply with social, environmental and human rights standards;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1c. Calls on the EU to ensure that trade policy does not overturn domestic regulations on social protection, consumer protection, public safety, public health and education, food safety, environmental protection and gender equality;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Calls on the EU for the systematic inclusion of binding, enforceable and non-negotiable human rights clauses, including girls and women´s rights, in the EU’s international agreements, including trade and investment agreements concluded or to be concluded;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas the increased impact of trade on human rights, social and environmental standards demands further development of effective actions to close the gap between the pronounced commitments and the effectiveness of the instruments put in place;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Bb. whereas, according to Article 208 of the TFUE, the EU and its Member States actually have a legal obligation to make their policies coherent with development objectives; whereas the level of integration of Commission trade policies with development, human rights and environment policies is not yet able to meet up the expectations raised by the 2010 resolutions;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B c (new)
Recital B c (new)
Bc. whereas the European Commission’s proposal for a new trade and investment strategy ‘Trade for All’ recognises the link between trade, human rights and social and environmental standards and insists on the need to make those rights and standards an integral part of the Union’s economic and commercial relations;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B d (new)
Recital B d (new)
Bd. whereas, as indicated in the 2010 recommendations, human rights and democracy should continue to be further integrated into EU policies with an external dimension, including trade and investment strategies that needs to be more carefully designed and implemented to protect, respect, enforce and consolidate human rights; whereas it is imperative to identify and remedy to the negative impact that trade agreements may have on the full enjoyment of social and human rights;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Considers it regrettable that a regulatory framework on the way corporations comply with human rights and obligations with respect to social and environmental standards is still lacking, which allow certain States and companies to circumvent them with impunity; finds it regrettable that current human rights clauses in free trade agreements and other economic partnership agreements are ineffective and are usually not respected; urges the Commission to further promote binding initiatives for responsible mining, logging and sourcing of commodities so as toand private sustainability-bound schemes throughout supply chains and to step-up environmental and social product and process life cycle analysis so as to improve consumers information and to effectively ensure the accountability of companies;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B e (new)
Recital B e (new)
Be. whereas the Human Rights clause has been used so far only to react to situations of major political instability and does not fully address the impact and consequences of trade and investment agreements; whereas the current format of the human rights clauses should allow a party to suspend its own obligation when needed to respect, protect and fulfil human rights;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B f (new)
Recital B f (new)
Bf. whereas transnational global retailers and enterprises have a great deal of responsibility, with the current production patterns, in improving the improvement of labour conditions and wages in producing countries;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Calls for the EU to follow UNCTAD´s Comprehensive Investment Policy Framework for Sustainable Development recommendations to ensure responsible transparent and accountable investments to not undermine social and environmental standards, human rights, development and people´s dignity, while guarantee respect of human rights, gender equality, decent work, union rights, environmental protection, social protection, universal access to quality goods and public services (paying particular attention to public and universal health coverage), social protection, universal access to medicines, and food and product safety;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B g (new)
Recital B g (new)
Bg. whereas public services plays a crucial role in ensuring basic and fundamental rights, such as the right to life, liberty, and personal security, the right to an adequate standard of living and the right to freedom of expression; whereas trade agreements can impact Member States’ capacity to provide quality Public Services by encouraging privatisation, restrict governments’ ability to regulate in the public interest and create new and powerful rights for large multinational corporations;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Stresses the need for sound and reliable data to evaluate the gendered impacts of different trade measures and instruments e.g. TTIP, TISA, CETA;
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls for the EU and Member States to engage actively in the work of the UN’s Human Rights Council on an international treaty to hold transnational corporations accountable for human rights abuses.
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas the 2030 Sustainable Development agenda recognises the crucial impact of trade policies in implementing its goals by covering number of policy areas such as the rules of origins the regulation of food, commodity markets and gender equality;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas the absence of any direct possibility for the EU civil society to bring up a complaint about HR violations associated with a trade agreement stands in stark violation of the EU Values as well as one of the main unsolved request of the 2010 recommendation;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C c (new)
Recital C c (new)
Cc. whereas the potential of GSP and GSP+ system to ensure ratification and implementation of human and labour rights conventions in developing countries can be improved by linking an economic incentive to the effective adoption and constantly monitoring of the implementation of core human and labour rights conventions;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C d (new)
Recital C d (new)
Cd. whereas the GSP+ beneficiaries adoption and implementation of the core human and labour rights conventions and treaties are based on so called scorecards; whereas such scorecards remain not accessible to relevant stakeholders and the public, including, including CSOs or labour rights organisations, thereby leaving out a key player in the process of monitoring the compliance with conventions in practice;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Calls for in-depth impact analyses, from a human rights, climate, gender equality and sustainability perspective, of the outcome of multilateral and bilateral trade agreements negotiated between the EU and third countries;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C e (new)
Recital C e (new)
Ce. whereas clear benchmarks, based on pre-established, well-defined and accessible criteria, should be incorporated into the GSP+ framework, would facilitate CSOs, EU and EU Member States in verifying any progress made by third countries;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C f (new)
Recital C f (new)
Cf. whereas, as a result of the Rana Plaza disaster, the EU, in cooperation with the Government of Bangladesh and the ILO, launched a Global Compact for Improvements in Labour Rights and Factory Safety in Bangladesh that seeks to improve labour, health and safety conditions for workers, as well as to encourage responsible behaviour by businesses in the ready-made garment industry in Bangladesh;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. General Remarks
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – introductory part
Paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. Encourages the Commission to bring strong pressure to bear with a view tostep up its efforts to build consensus towards a reform of WTO governance leading to:
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point a
Paragraph 1 – point a
(a) effective cooperation of the WTO with other UN agencies, and in particular with the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development, the High Commissioner for Human Rights and with the ILO,
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b
Paragraph 1 – point b
(b) a reform of WTO trade policy review mechanisms to include the impact on the social, environmental and HR dimension in the implementation of multilateral and plurilateral agreements based on the ILO, UN Human Rights Council and MEAs guidelines and reports as well as on the assessment of economic impacts based also on alternative economic models instead of a single mainstream model;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the European Commission to step up its efforts towards policy coherence between EU trade, labour, development and environmental policies in all the treaties in ways consistent with international commitments to HR, decent work, gender equality and environmental sustainability, introducing binding and effective mechanism of policy assessment and review as well as with provisions aimed at better coordinate development aids with trade policy;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 1 a (new)
Subheading 1 a (new)
Regrets the very limited progress in the cooperation between ILO and WTO, encourages the Commission to continue to advocate towards a closer cooperation through the granting of ILO of official observer status and towards the institution of a trade and decent work committee
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 1 b (new)
Subheading 1 b (new)
Reiterates the importance to advocate towards the ILO and UNHRC permanent participation in Trade Dispute settlements panels of the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) related to relevant breaches of international labour convention and Human Rights (HR)
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 1 c (new)
Subheading 1 c (new)
Considers that the investment arbitration systems as currently constituted is not a fair, independent, and balanced method for the resolution of disputes between sovereign nations and private investors; consider insufficient the revision exercise put forward by the Commission and calls to overcome the current investor-state dispute settlement by the creation of an international investment court where the judges would be bound to give priority to the UN Charter and the core United Nations human rights treaties; a court that would have competence to examine suits brought by investors against states and by states against investors and that would allow mutual counter-claims. A standing international investment court that would replace the system of multiple ad hoc arbitral tribunals with a single institutional structure established by treaty in the framework of the United Nations system
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Welcomes the Commission and Council’s efforts to insert legally binding HR clauses into all the free trade agreements (FTAs) in accordance with the common approach; considers fundamental that the Council makes it public and regrets that HR clauses are not included in treaties such as those with Korea and Canada (CETA) or in the TTIP and Vietnam negotiationsas well as calls the Commission and Council to ensure that the common approach is followed also in ongoing negotiations such as the TTIP;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 – introductory part
Paragraph 5 – introductory part
5. Remains concerned about the too limited effects of traditional HR clauses in ensuring that the EU fulfils its HR obligations and commitments despite the recommendations expressed in the 2010 resolution; calls on the Commission and the Council to comprehensively rethink the protection and guarantees offered to HRuman Rights in FTAs and IPAs and to propose a new model for a set of binding HR clauses, in particular through:
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 – point b
Paragraph 5 – point b
(b) introduction of mechanisms for mandatory periodic HR impact assessments, including done in accordance with the guiding principles developed by the UN special rapporteur on the right to food, as well as through the establishment of an inter-institutional committee,
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 – point c
Paragraph 5 – point c
(c) a civil society permanent monitoring mechanism that is dedicated to dealing with the HR impact of the agreement,
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 – point d
Paragraph 5 – point d
(d) the possibility of introducing direct domestic complaint mechanisms enabling individuals and communities whose HR are affected by trade and investments to address the EU without excessive bureaucratic burdens;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Regrets the lack of involvement of the European Parliament in assessing the compliance of Free Trade Agreements with Human Rights obligations and calls the council to consult with the European Parliament concerning any decisions to revise or even suspend the application of an agreement if this is necessary;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – introductory part
Paragraph 6 – introductory part
6. FAcknowledges the inclusion of Trade and Sustainable Development chapters (TSD) in all the trade agreements of the EU; Underlines the needs to strengthen their enforceability and to better mainstream their provisions throughout the agreement in line with the 2010 recommendations; in this regards, firmly demands that all future EU trade agreements have sustainable chapters (TSD) with:
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – point a
Paragraph 6 – point a
(a) a preliminary commitment by each of the parties to ratify and transpose into national law and to implement the eight core and four priority ILO Conventions as well as the 12 international environmental agreements listed in Annex VIII of Regulation 978/2012,
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – point b
Paragraph 6 – point b
(b) a generalcomplaint procedure and a dispute settlement mechanism directly accessible to the social partners and civil society,;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Calls the European Commission to improve the effectiveness of the existing domestic advisory groups and dialogue with civil society mechanisms also trough a substantial information and advertising campaign to maximise the participation of the groups concerned; recalls the need that all the domestic advisory groups are fully independent and that their work should be regularly reported and assessed by the parties’ Parliaments;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Regrets the Commission decision to finalise the agreement with Vietnam before the conclusion of the human rights impact assessment (HRIA) and fully endorses the conclusions of the European Ombudsman in this regard;
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Recognises that universal access to quality public services and common goods such as water and sanitation, education, healthcare and medicines is a key component of Member States’ capacity to guarantee human and social rights; asks the Commission and Member States to refrain from including in trade agreements a ‘negative list’ approach for public services commitments as well as ‘standstill’ and ‘ratchet’ mechanisms that could threaten states’ capacity to reverse achieved liberalisation floors;
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Calls on the Commission and Member States to ensure that its trade and investment policies and agreements comply with international standards and obligations on human rights including the rights of indigenous peoples such as the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP);
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11b. Supports the European Commission commitment towards the elimination of the worst form of child labour; welcomes the adoption of the Staff Working Document and encourages the implementation of measures such as labelling child-labour-free products, trade preferences given to countries that meet certain labour standards and import prohibitions concerning products made by using the worst forms of child labour;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 c (new)
Paragraph 11 c (new)
11c. Asks the Commission to take into consideration recommendations related to UPR (Universal Periodic Review), the UN Human Rights Council’s process which involves a review of the human rights records of all UN Member States, before defining trade relations with third parties;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 d (new)
Paragraph 11 d (new)
11d. Urges the European Commission (EC) to actively engage with CSOs, human rights defenders and trade unions, in Brussels and in third countries, during all phases of the GSP+ eligibility process, eligibility – i.e. application, monitoring, and review – and the EC should provide clear information on how third parties can submit input. This is of particular importance during the application stage, which may be the point at which the conditionality of GSP+ are taken most seriously by applicant countries;
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 e (new)
Paragraph 11 e (new)
11e. Urges the Commission to make more accessible its Scorecards, not only to highlight specific issues in the beneficiary countries, but also allowing CSOs to work on improving these identified issues: asks the Commission to clarify, by means of a delegated act, the standard procedure to define a systematic violation of the GSP+ core convention and treaties:
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 f (new)
Paragraph 11 f (new)
11f. Asks the Council and the Commission to monitor, assess and report to the European Parliament also the effectiveness and implementation of the EBA and GSP arrangements and their capacity to fight against human and labour rights breaches;
Amendment 178 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Urges the EU to reconsider its intellectual property rights (IPRs) policy with a view to a less stringent interpretation of property rights and a clear recognition of governments’ power to apply additional requirements in drawing up domestic legislation and to adopt and use intellectual property flexibilities in order to realise HR; calls Member States to address barriers created by policies and intellectual property rights (IPRs) and facilitate access to and the deployment of technology;
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Regrets the lack of real progresses in in the development of schemes to differentiate products according to their production process and method (PPM) and sustainability criteria to ensure their environmental and social effectiveness as well as the compliance with the WTO rules and asks the Commission and Member States to progress in this regard;
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13b. Reiterates the request to make sure that any measure adopted by a Party in the framework of the COP21 Agreement or relating to any of the principles or commitments contained in Articles 3 and 4 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, will not be subject to any existing or future treaty of a Party to the extent that it allows for investor-state dispute settlement;
Amendment 185 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Recalls the intrinsic link between climate change and deforestation caused by unsustainable and illegal commodities extraction; calls on the Commission to guarantee the effective implementation and enforcement of FLEGT and EUTR including the obligation to legality in timber supply chains;
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15b. Welcomes the Commission’s decision to initiate a feasibility study for an European Action Plan on Deforestation and Forest Degradation and instructs the Commission to ensure that any future actions undertaken on deforestation free commodity supply chains (such as soya, palm oil, bio-fuels, beef and leather) envisage compliance with international standards and obligations on the environment and human rights, including the rights of indigenous peoples, such as UNDRIP and Free Prior Informed Consent;
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Regards as insufficient the efforts towards the inclusion of CSR clauses in the TSD chapters and asks the Commission to step up its efforts towards achieving compliance by companies, throughout their supply chains, and full respect for ILO core labour standards and internationally recognised CSR standards, in particular the recently updated OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the ten principles of the United Nations Global Compact, the ISO 26000 Guidance Standard on Social Responsibility, the ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles Concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy, and the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights;
Amendment 199 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Welcomes the adoption of initiatives such as the Sustainability Compact for Bangladesh and the Commission’s flagship initiative on responsible management of the supply chain in the garment sector, taking into account already existing national initiatives in Germany, the Netherlands, France and Denmark, and believes that it is crucial for the EU to act as global champion of supply chain responsibility;
Amendment 207 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Believes it is crucial to ensure increased access to information on the conduct of enterprises; considers it fundamental to introduce a mandatory reporting system which provides information linking all the actors within the value chain of a single product, from the production place to the retailers; and due diligence for EU companies that outsource their production to third countries;