20 Amendments of Denis NESCI related to 2022/2188(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement establishes preferential arrangements in areas such as trade in goods and services, intellectual property, digital trade, road transport and aviation, public procurement, energy, social security coordination, law enforcement and judicial cooperation in criminal matters, fisheries, competition, mobility, investment, thematic cooperation and participation in Union programmes;
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas the Windsor Agreement covers a wide range of areas, such as customs, agri-food, medicines, state aid, VAT and excise duties;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca.. whereas on 27 February 2023, the European Commission and the UK Government reached political agreement on the Windsor Framework, which includes a comprehensive set of common solutions aimed at definitively addressing the practical challenges faced by Northern Ireland's citizens and businesses, as well as a commitment to preserve the Good Friday Agreement in all its parts;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Points out that the TCA, despite its lack of a regional dimension, provides a general framework for the UK’s participation in EU programmes, including Horizon Europe programme;; reiterates its call1to explore possibilities for the participation of parts of the UK in EU cohesion policy programmes; _________________ 1 European Parliament legislative resolution of 28 April 2021 on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, Texts adopted P9_TA(2021)0140.
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Recital K a (new)
Recital K a (new)
Ka. whereas on 17 May 2023 the Commission adopted a draft Memorandum of Understanding establishing a framework for structured financial services regulatory cooperation with the United Kingdom, and whereas the Memorandum will be submitted to the Council for final political endorsement before it can be signed by the Commission on behalf of the EU;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Recital K b (new)
Recital K b (new)
Kb. whereas the Memorandum of Understanding makes it clear that the European Union and the United Kingdom have a shared objective of preserving financial stability, market integrity and investor and consumer protection;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Believes that there is untapped potential for EU-UK subnational cooperation in areas of mutual interest, such as immigration, mobility – including of military personnel and assets, the sustainable management of the North Sea, the Channel and the Irish Sea, and climate action; supports dialogue and strategic cooperation between the EU and the UK on the most urgent common challenges from global security to strengthening energy security; stresses the need to support initiatives for bilateral and multilateral cooperation between EU and UK regions, such as the Straits Committee, possibly through a specific EU interregional cooperation fund, provided that the UK Government financially contributes to the fund;
Amendment 15 #
1. Notes that the Subsidy Control Act 1 1 2022 , which establishes a framework for meeting the UK’s international commitments on subsidy control, including those arising under the TCA, has received Royal Assent after being passed by the UK Parliament; expresses its concern about stated plans to introduce ‘free ports’, which risk contravening these commitments and could constitute impermissible State aid under the TCA2; calls for the Commission to monitor the situation closely and commence further infringement proceedings, if necessary; _________________ 1 Legislation.gov.uk, ‘'The Subsidy Control Act 2022: Chapter 23’', 28 April 2022. 2 The Financial Times, ‘EU to raise concerns over UK’s freeports scheme’, 30 November 2022.
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes the limited nature of the TCA in relation to financial services; recognises that this absence is a consequence of the UK’s unwillingness to discuss other areas of mutual interest as part of the TCA negotiations; notes that there are plans towelcomes the adoption by the European Commission of the draft Memorandum of Understanding establishing a framework for structured financial services regulatory cooperation with the UK; welcomes the establishing of a joint EU-UK financial regulatory forum to facilitate dialogue and cooperation on financial services issues3; recalls that this forum would not constpoints out that the purpose of the Forum will be, among other objectives, to facilituate a formal part of the TCA and will not provide the same level of access or cooperation as a comprehensive financial services aregulatory cooperation between the parties in order to enhance transparency and identify potential cross-border enforcement problems; recalls that such a forum would not be a formal part of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement; _________________ 3 Reuters, ‘EU restarts work on EU-UK regulatory forum after Northern Ireland deal’, 8 March 2023.
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Regrets the tensions that have arisen in Northern Ireland stemming from the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol and welcomes the fact that an agreement, referred to as the Windsor Framework, has been reached to remedy the implementation issues; hopes that the Windsor Framework will help strengthen relations between the parties by enabling them to fully exploit the potential of the TCA;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Underlines the importance of quantifying the effects of the TCA at regional level in order to adopt tailored measures for the most impacted regions and communities, businesses and producers;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Reiterates the fact that decisions on equivalence are not reciprocal and do not form part of the TCA; notes also the UK’s decisions on equivalence in respect of the EU and also in respect of other non-EU countries such as Switzerland, where mutual recognition status has been agreed; recalls that decisions on equivalence could benefit EU firms in terms of greater access to the UK market, including for banking and insurance; notes that the EU has only granted the UK equivalence status in one area – central counterparties – on a time- limited basis, recently extended until 2025; calls for further equivalence decisions to be considered; notes that as of October 2021, the EU had granted 22 equivalence decisions to the United States compared to one in the case of the UK4 ; supports the Commission’s position that decisions on equivalence should be made when they are in the EU’s interests; encourages the Commission to discuss further equivalence decisions in order to provide greater market access benefits to both EU and UK firms; hopes that the adoption of the Memorandum of Understanding will facilitate the resumption of equivalence assessments by the EU; _________________ 4 European Affairs Committee of the House of Lords, ‘1st Report of Session 2022–23: The UK-EU relationship in financial services’ , 23 June 2022.
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Asks the Commission to properly involve the regional and local authorities in the process of scrutinising the implementation of the TCA; suggests that the EU and UK create a cooperation body for local and regional authorities within the framework of the TCA to foster communication and collaboration between the local and regional authorities.
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Notes the desire of the British Government to adopt divergent regulation from the EU in respect of financial services, including by way of the Financial Services and Markets Bill5, which proposes to repeal, replace, or amend retained EU law in the area of financial services and to delegate greater responsibility to UK regulators; welcomnotes the EU’s recent progress on legislation in respect of financial services, even where this maycould result in regulatory divergence from the UK, including with respect to cryptocurrencies, taxonomy, listing and anti-money laundering; acknowledges that the UK and the EU may adopt different regulatory approaches in the area of financial services and may not necessarily maintain a harmonised regulatory regime; supportnotes the EU’s legislative progress in this area, even where this maycould result in regulatory divergence from the UK; stresses, however, the benefits of future regulatory cooperation; _________________ 5 UK Parliament, ‘Financial Services and Markets Bill’, 11 May 2023.
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. NoteMaintains that the TCA offers the EU an opportunity to develop and strengthen its own financial services infrastructure and expertise in order to foster business competitiveness, economic stability and consumer protection; strongly supports the completion of the capital markets union and the banking union, based on an approach that is outward-looking, innovative and competitive, in order to ensure the flow of investments and savings in all Member States to the benefit of citizens, businesses and investors; recalls that the City of London remains a major centre for financial services with a global reach6 ; recognises the importance of a strong financial services sector for both the EU and the UK and supports efforts to enhance the EU’s financial services infrastructure and expertise; _________________ 6 Reuters, ‘London is top global finance centre but lags in key areas, says study’, 27 January 2022.
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Calls on the EU to work with international partners, including the UK and other major global financial centres, to promote common rules and standards in the area of financial services in order to facilitate cross-border trade and ensure the stability of the financial system;
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Strongly supports continued cooperation between the EU and the UK in areas related to economic and monetary affairs that are of mutual interest, including tackling money laundering, terrorist financing and customs fraud, countering harmful tax regimes, implementing sanctions and promoting global financial stability;
Amendment 65 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. RegretsConsiders regrettable the lack of specific structures for dialogue and engagement between the EU and the UK in the area of financial services; recalls the commitment, in the first Joint Declaration accompanying the TCA, to signing an MoU on financial services regulatory cooperation between the EU and the UK, which would not be a legal document but would provide a basis for regular, structured engagement; notes that this memorandum has not yet been signed; stresses also that should it prove impossible for the Memorandum of Understanding on financial services regulatory cooperation to be finalised or signed, then reasonable alternatives should be considered for facilitating structured dialogue and regular engagement between the EU and the UK in the area of financial services, in order to promote effective and stable cooperation.
Amendment 71 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Welcomes the successful signing of bilateral MoUs between EU and UK regulators and supervisors at both EU and Member State levels, including between the Financial Conduct Authority and the European Banking Authority and the European Securities and Markets Authority, a multilateral MoU with EU and European Economic Area national competent authorities and individual MoUs with national competent authorities9; calls for an MoU establishing a forum for regulatory cooperation in the area of financial services between the EU and the UK to be signed; recognises that such a memorandum would provide a structured platform for addressing any regulatory issues that may arise in the future, such as sharing information on regulatory developments, exchanging views on macro-prudential developments and risks to financial stability, and exchanging information on efforts to prevent and combat money laundering and terrorist financing in relation to the financial services sector; _________________ 9 The Financial Conduct Authority, ‘MoUs with European authorities in the areas of securities, investment services and asset management, insurance and pensions, and banking’, 4 January 2021.
Amendment 80 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Strongly reiterates the importance of protecting the Good Friday Agreement and supporting peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland; recalls the UK Government’s threatened actions, which would be deemed to be in violation of the TCA, particularly with respect to the Northern Ireland Protocol as contained in the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill 2022, in which the UK Government proposed removing the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the EU over the Protocol, and for which the Commission commenced infringement proceedings against the UK; recogniseswelcomes the fact that an agreement has been reached on the Windsor Framework10 and that the British Government has announced its intention to suspend work on the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill and to allow it to lapse. _________________ 10 His Majesty’s Government, ‘The Windsor Framework: A new way forward’ (Windsor framework: a new way forward), February 2023.