Activities of Fiona HALL related to 2011/2056(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on an effective raw materials strategy for Europe
Amendments (13)
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 24 a (new)
Citation 24 a (new)
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 24 b (new)
Citation 24 b (new)
– having regard to the European Parliament resolution of 18 May 2010 on the EU Policy Coherence for Development and the ‘Official Development Assistance plus’ concept1, 1 P/_TA(2010)0174
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Is concerned over the negative effects the expiry of the GSP regulations could have on developing countries classified as vulnerable by the Commission, asthat the revamped Raw Materials Initiative does not refer to the GSP or GSP+ and does not propose alternative trade incentives for promotion of human rights, environmental standards and domestic reforms for countries falling outside of the scope of these schemes;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Notes that revenue from raw materials can play a crucial role in enabling Least Developed Countries to achieve the MDGs; calls on the Commission to help developing countries diversify their economies and reduce dependency on raw materials to protect exhaustible natural resources and to support Least Developed Countries with advice and capacity- building to enable effective alternative tax-generating mechanisms to be put in place;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Notes that the price volatility of commodities is to an extent the result of speculation;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Asks the Commission to quickly present a legislative proposal on transparency and accountability in the extractive industriesfor country by country reporting founded on the standards of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and EITI+ + and on the Dodd- Frank Act dealing with conflict mineralin the United States; recalls that this was proposed by the Committee on Development as a parliamentary priority within the framework of the structured dialogue on the Commission Work Plan for 2012; stresses that transparency, corporate social responsibility and a functioning administration benefit both extracting companies and the societies of resource- rich developing countries; urges the Commission to include in its proposal a requirement that extractive companies report on sales and profits, on a country-by-country basis, as well as taxes and revenues, in order to deter corruption and prevent tax avoidance; stresses that transparency, corporate social responsibility and a functioning administration benefit both extracting companies and the societies of resource- rich developing countries; calls on the Commission to develop a legislative proposal equivalent to Section 1502 of the Dodd Frank act, which requires companies which source minerals from the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighbouring countries to demonstrate the steps they are taking to ensure that their purchases of these minerals are not profiting armed groups which commit human rights abuses;
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Considers that the EU's Raw materials strategy should reflect differences between developed and major economies on one hand and Least Developed Countries on the other;
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Points out that artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) can play a vital role in local life, provide employment and support development goals when it is officially recognised, regulated, and supported; regrets the relative lack of knowledge and analytical tools in this area and underscores the need to increase its visibility, facilitate more effective ASM policy design and implementation, and monitor assistance efforts to help prevent poverty traps and conflicts associated with small-scale mining activities.; also calls on the EU and its Member States to support developing countries at both national and local level by making available expertise on sustainable mining practices, increased resource efficiency and reuse and recycling;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Notes that the RM challenges are also an opportunity to invigorate the EU’s industrial base and increase competitiveness via an ambitious industrial innovation strategy; notes that in the medium to long term increasing efficiencies, recycling and lowering resource use will be key to competitiveness, sustainability and supply security; highlights the importance of applying consistently the legally binding European Waste Hierarchy as set out in the Waste Framework Directive, which prioritises prevention, reuse and recycling, followed by recovery and disposal; remarks that social innovation, lifestyle changes and new concepts such as eco-leasing, chemical leasing and sharing should be supported by the Commission;
Amendment 258 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)
Paragraph 28 a (new)
28a. Considers that the EU's Raw Material strategy should reflect the differences between developed and major emerging economies on the one hand and Least Developed Countries on the other;
Amendment 262 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Concurs that development policy plays a role in helping countries turn their resource wealth into sustainable and inclusive growth, inter alia by enhancing governance and transparency; does not consider development policy an RM diplomacy tool; agrees that trade agreements should provide the necessary flexibility to support developing countries in creating linkages from the extractive industry towards local industry; believes that countries' resource sovereignty must be respected in this context; notes that revenue from RM can play a crucial role in enabling Least Developed Countries to achieve the Millennium Development Goals;
Amendment 266 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Calls on the Commission to help developing countries to overcome information asymmetry in negotiating RM and mining contracts through capacity- building; considers that an EU strategy on RM must be consistent with the overarching goal of eradication of poverty and policy coherence as enshrined in Article 208 of the Lisbon Treaty;
Amendment 271 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Stresses the role that corporate social responsibility plays by adhering to high environmental and social and labour standards abroad and applying best available technologies; calls on EU companies to develop an appropriate code of conduct for those operating in third countries; calls on the Commission to follow the example of the US Dodd-Frank bill concerning conflict mineralsby establishing a legally-binding requirement on extractive companies to publish their revenue payments to host countries for each project they invest in, in each country where they operate, and to consider going beyond the Dodd-Frank rules by including other sectors of the economy and other forms of data, such as profits and sales; calls on the Commission to establish similar rules to Dodd-Frank on the sourcing of conflict minerals from for example the DRC; supports the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI); believes that these standards should particularly be applied for projects receiving EU funding, such as from the EIB; calls on the Commission to strengthen the use of ‘fingerprinting’ technology in this context and to promote pilot projects based on the experiences of the ‘coltan fingerprint’;