Activities of Christofer FJELLNER related to 2018/2084(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
WTO: the way forward (debate) SV
Amendments (5)
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Reiterates its full commitment to the enduring value of multilateralism and calls for a trade agenda based on free, fair and rule-based trade for the benefit of all, which supports the sustainable development agenda by including social, environmental and human rights aspects, and ensuring that multilaterally agreed and harmonised rules are uniformly applied to all and effectively upheld;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Considers that it is now a matter of urgency to proceed to the modernisation of the WTO in the light of the latest developments but also to the long lack of progress on the Doha Development Agenda, and to fundamentally review several aspects of the functioning of the WTO with a view to increasing both its effectiveness and its legitimacy; considers, in this perspective, that other WTO members, in particular our major trading partners, should be involved in the debate from the beginning;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Expresses its utmost concern over the fact that several posts on the Appellate Body remain vacant, severely constraining the work of this crucial body by threatening to undermine the current and proper functioning of the dispute settlement process, and calls firmly on the United States to resolve this situation in a way that allows for the expeditious replenishment of vacant Appellate Body seats; invites the Commission to come forward with concrete proposals on how to resolve the deadlock by addressing some of the concerns that have been raised, for example through transitional rules for outgoing members or, changes to the length of terms on the Appellate Body or, to the maximum time allowed before the publication of a report and to the setting of new case-law by the Appellate Body;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Shares the view that, as a way to address the root causes of the current crisis, it is necessary for the WTO to develop new rules to address current gaps in the rulebook in order to level the playing as regards subsidies and state-owned enterprises, investment market access and regulatory barriers to services and investment, including but not limited to conditional technology transfers, requirements of joint ventures and local content requirements; believes that in order to remain relevant, the WTO also needs to address new challenges in areas such as: e- commerce; digital trade; global value chains; public procurement; domestic regulation for services; micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs); and greater compatibility between trade, labour and environmental agendas; welcomes, in this regard, the joint statements that were adopted in Buenos Aires on e-commerce, domestic regulation, investment facilitation and women’s economic empowerment, as well as the work that has been done on these issues since then;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Takes the view that it is necessary to revise the functioning of the negotiating process by introducing more flexibility than has currently been the case under the consensus rule, while recognising that the Single Undertaking approach has limited the effectiveness of multilateral trade governance; expresses its support for the concept of flexible multilateralism, whereby WTO members interested in pursuing a certain issue where full consensus is not yet possible should be able to advance and conclude plurilateral agreements either through so-called WTO Annex 4 agreements, in accordance with Article II:3, Article III:1, and Article X:9 of the Marrakesh Agreement, or via ‘critical mass’ agreements that extend negotiated concessions to the WTO membership on a most-favoured-nation (MFN) basis; calls for the re-start of plurilateral negotiations, notably the Environmental Goods Agreement (EGA) and the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA);