9 Amendments of Åsa WESTLUND related to 2012/2224(INI)
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the EU’s trade policy towards developing countries seeks to better integrate them into the international trading system, but lacks clearly defined development objectives and therefore risks, instead, destroying local production and increasing dependence on commodity exports;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the negotiations on Economic Partnership Agreements are far behind schedule, overall progress is still weak and morea fresh focus on development in the negotiations, rather than a time limit, is needed to remedy this situation;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas the development benefits of better functioning internal and regional trade may be as significant asgreater, in many instances, than those of increased external trade; whereas regional trade in Africa largely involves processed goods, while external trade is focused on raw materials;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Welcomes the Commission's recognition of the need to support the participation of small producers and businesses; points to the market potential of Fair Trade schemes and the efficiency of such schemes in facilitating social development
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Welcomes the Commission's facilitation of fair and ethical purchasing choices by public authorities through the Public Procurement Directives; encourages the Commission to give contracting authorities the policy space to make informed pro-development procurement choices in the current revision of the Public Procurement Directives; proposes that the Commission creates more momentum for Sustainable Public Procurement at the international level;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Stresses the importance of timely and well-prepared National Development Strategies and impact assessments, and calls on the European Commission to implement the guidance prepared by the UN rapporteur on the right to food which calls for the use of Human Rights Impact Assessments - 'Guiding Principles on Human Rights Impact Assessments of Trade and Investment Agreements' - when concluding trade and investment agreements, to ensure that these are consistent with obligations under international human rights instruments;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Believes that the focus should be on content, in the negotiations on Economic Partnership Agreements, instead of on deadlines; states that, for agreements to lead to development, a more flexible approach is needed on the part of the EU, encouraging diversification of ACP countries’ economies, with increased processing activities and increased regional trade;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Calls on the Commission to dispense with the requirement that ACP countries may not introduce export restrictions on raw materials, in the negotiations on Economic Partnership Agreements, as it risk increasing dependence on exports of raw materials and lessening incentives to engage in processing activities and diversify the economies of those countries; states that export restrictions can be used as a development tool so as to promote the processing of raw materials and lessen dependence on exports of unprocessed raw materials;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Urges the EU, other aid donors, partner country authorities and local and international private actors in developing countries to explore possible areas of cooperation for sustainable development in order to maximise the development output of business activities; and to include civil society organisations at all levels of discussions;