Activities of James NICHOLSON related to 2014/2228(INI)
Plenary speeches (2)
Negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) (A8-0175/2015 - Bernd Lange)
Negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) (debate)
Amendments (13)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the EU agricultural sector is a very sensitive and essential part of the TTIP negotiations and one in which the EU, which already enjoys a significant trade surplus with the US, stands to benefit greatly from new or increased market access opportunities;
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas it is important for European agriculture to secure a mutually beneficial trade deal with the US in order to advance Europe’s position as a key player on the global market without jeopardising the current quality standards of European agricultural products and future improvement of those standards, while preserving the European agricultural model and ensuring its economic and social viability;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas respect for European food safety and, human, plant and animal health, animal welfare, environmental and consumer protection standards will be a fundamental tenet of the negotiations for European agriculture;
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – point a
Paragraph 1 – point a
a. prioritise an ambitious and balanced result of the negotiations for agriculture, the three maina sector which must not be used as a bargaining chip in efforts to secure access to the US market for other sectors and the key components of which (market access, geographical indications and sanitary and phytosanitary measures) should be tackled early and in parallel in the negotiation process, whilst maintaining food safety standards and consumer protection, in order to give Parliament enough timesufficient time and clarity to discuss and evaluate this chapter with stakeholders and, European citizens, civil society and social partners, focusing in particular on farmers and small family holdings;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – point b
Paragraph 1 – point b
b. firmly commit to the strict preservation of current and future standards on food safety and human health, plant health and crop and environmental protection, consumer protection and animal health, and welfare as defined under EU legislation, and ensure that fundamental values of the EU such as the precautionary principle are not underminedthe enhancement of these standards is in no way hampered in the future and that fundamental values of the EU such as the precautionary principle and sustainable farming are not undermined, and EU citizens can continue to have confidence in the traceability and labelling of products on the EU market ;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – point c
Paragraph 1 – point c
c. ensure a positive and ambitious final outcome of the negotiations for agriculture, reflecting both the offensive and defensive interests of the EU agricultural sector concerning the abolition or reduction of both tariff and non-tariff barriers, including in particular sanitary and phytosanitary standards and procedures, securing a strong position for high quality European products so that EU producers make genuine gains in terms of access to the US market and consider that measures to protect consumers and their health or maintain food safety should not be regarded as non-tariff barriers;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – point d
Paragraph 1 – point d
d. secure a level playing field, treating as sensitive those products for which or sectors for which direct and indirect competition would expose EU agricultural producers to excessive pressureincluding smallholder farmers, either in the EU as a whole or individual regions thereof, to excessive pressure or unfair competition, for example in cases where regulatory conditions and related costs of production, such as animal housing requirements, in the EU diverge from those in the US, and consider all possible options for treatment of all sensitive products including tariff reduction and limited tariff rate quotas;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – point e
Paragraph 1 – point e
e. secure significantly improved protection of EU geographical indications and better consumer information as an essential element of a balanced agreement, taking the rappropriate legal protection on the US market for EU geographical indications and quality EU agricultural products, and measures to deal with improper use, misleading information and practices, and secure protection regarding the labelling, traceability and genuine origin of agricultural products as an essential elevament chapter of the CETA with Canada as a good exampleof a balanced agreement;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – point f
Paragraph 1 – point f
f. engage in a fully transparent, timely and comprehensive manner with allthe European Parliament, all national parliaments and the agricultural stakeholders on all aspects of the negotiations and ensure compliance with all legislation on which our European agricultural and social model is based.
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – point f a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point f a (new)
fa. submit without delay a clear and objective study on the impact of TTIP on European agriculture, sector by sector, particularly its impact on small family farms and engage in a timely and transparent manner with research institutions, both public and private, that work in the area of food safety and can provide considerable input to all aspects of the negotiations.
Amendment 141 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – point c
Paragraph 1 – point c
c. ensure a positive final outcome of the negotiations for agriculture reflecting both the offensive and defensive interests of the EU agricultural sector concerning the abolition or reduction of both tariff and non-tariff barriers, including in particular sanitary and phytosanitary standards and procedures, and adopting a strong position for high-quality European products, so that EU producers make genuine gains in terms of access to the US market;
Amendment 163 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – point d
Paragraph 1 – point d
d. secure a level playing field, treating as sensitive, those products from sectors such as, but not limited to, the pigmeat, poultry and suckler beef sector, for which direct competition would expose EU agricultural producers to excessive pressure, for example in cases where regulatory conditions and related costs of production in the EU diverge from those in the US, and consider possible options for the treatment of sensitive products, including tariff reduction and limited tariff rate quotas;
Amendment 207 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – point e a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point e a (new)
ea. take into account that US farm income support in times of global price volatility could put EU farmers at a competitive disadvantage and that EU crisis management measures should be re- evaluated in order to reflect changing market conditions;