Activities of Georgios PAPASTAMKOS related to 2010/2110(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Agriculture and international trade (short presentation)
Reports (1)
REPORT on EU agriculture and international trade PDF (256 KB) DOC (172 KB)
Amendments (21)
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the EU has unilaterally made a substantial reduction in its export refunds, with their share of the CAP budget falling from 29.5 % in 1993 to only 1.2 % in 2009, and with the proportion of export refunds on the value of agricultural exports falling from 25% in 1992 to only 0,9% in 2009; whereas some key trading partners are continuing to make considerable use of other forms of export incentives,
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas the ruling of the WTO panel on sugar was one of the main drivers of the 2006 EU sugar reform and is still having a severe impact on trade in sugar; whereas the Common Market Organisation for sugar respects all EU trade commitments; whereas in the space of three years the EU has changed from being the second largest exporter of sugar to the second largest net importer, mainly for the benefit of developing countries (LDCs and ACPs),
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L a (new)
Recital L a (new)
La. whereas the world sugar market is one of the most volatile agricultural commodity markets and is dominated by one country (Brazil); whereas EU sugar production provides visibility to the world market and secures regular internal supply of high quality and sustainable products to European users,
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L b (new)
Recital L b (new)
Lb. whereas the EU is promoting sustainable production of renewable energy, through requirements to be applied by the end of 2010; whereas the EU already imports more than 25% of its fuel bioethanol consumption, excluding bioethanol imported in the form of mixtures with the aim of circumventing import duties; whereas the Commission has to ensure that there is a balance between internal bioethanol production and imports in accordance with Article 23(5)(a) of the Renewable Energy Directive (Directive 2009/28/EC1),
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M a (new)
Recital M a (new)
Ma. whereas EU trade agreements with third countries must, above all, be balanced and must safeguard EU sectors that are experiencing difficulties – in particular the fruit and vegetables, livestock and cereals sectors, in which incomes have fallen substantially – and, at the same time, offer them genuine export opportunities,
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M a (new)
Recital M a (new)
Ma. whereas the 4th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control will be held in November 2010; whereas a public consultation has been launched on the possible revision of the Tobacco Products Directive (Directive 2001/37/EC1); whereas several WTO Members have raised the issue of the conformity with the TBT Agreement of the Canadian Bill C-32, which essentially leads to the ban of all traditional blended tobacco products, except the ones using solely Virginia tobacco, the single variety produced in Canada and used in the manufacturing of Canadian tobacco products,
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Considers that standards equivalent to those applied in the EU must be imposed on imports so as to ensure that EU farmers compete on a level playing field and EU citizens are effectively protected; underlines the need for tighter import controls at borders and for checks on production and marketing conditions carried out by the Food and Veterinary Office in countries exporting to the EU to be stepped up;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Urges the Commission proactively to promote the EU’s offensive agricultural interests and to make it easier for EU products to gain access to third-country markets, given the vast export potential of the EU’s high quality agri-food products; underlines, inter alia, the need to step up promotion programmes, including through an increase in the percentage of EU cofinancing; notes that these measures are WTO-compatible, falling as they do into the ‘green box’;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Considers that, in a bid to secure a successful outcome to the DDA, the EU made an extremely generous offer on agriculture, which cannot be increased, but this was not reciprocated by an equivalent level of ambition from other developed and advanced developing countries;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Deplores the absence of progress on the establishment of a multilateral register for wines and spirits as well as on the extension of the protection of geographical indications to all agricultural products; recalls that these elements are sine qua non for a balanced outcome to the agricultural negotiations; emphasises the need for the principles underpinning the EU’s agricultural product quality policy to be promoted more widely at multilateral and bilateral level;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Considers, with regard to the ‘chlorinated poultry’ dispute, that the importation of such products into the EU would be contrary to the public demand in the EU for safe products and to the principles underpinning the European food model;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Calls on the Commission strongly to defend the inclusion of geographical indications (GIs) as an essential part of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA); regrets that, in the framework of recently concluded or ongoing trade negotiations, only a ‘short list’ of EU GIs is to be protected by our trading partners; points out that, in line with the Global Europe strategy, bilateral agreements must secure enhanced international protection for geographical indications through WTO+ provisions;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Regrets that the Commission is not willing to require, in the framework of trade agreements, that equivalent standards be imposed on imported goods; considers that these agreements must provide at least for compliance with international obligations and standards (such as sanitary and phytosanitary standards) and draws attention to Parliament’s firm position on this matter;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Points out that any additional bilateral EU sugar market access concessions granted to third countries (for example Latin America countries and Ukraine) will be destabilising for the EU sugar market and will cause preference erosion for LDCs and ACP countries; is all the more concerned by the fact that such concessions, when granted to net importing countries, encourage swap mechanisms; calls on the Commission to continue to exclude sugar and sugar-derived products, including ethanol, from the scope of bilateral negotiations;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Deplores the recent Commission proposal to grant Pakistan a tariff rate quota at zero duty for exporting to the EU 100 000 tonnes of ethanol per year for a period of 3 years; stresses that this proposal, contrary to its declared intentions, would not provide a direct and immediate aid to the Pakistani people suffering from the monsoon rains; considers also this proposal detrimental to the nascent and sensitive EU renewable energy industry and therefore not consistent with the EU climate change, energy and rural development policies, nor with the EU multilateral trade negotiations;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Considers it unacceptable that the Commission resumed negotiations with Mercosur without making publicly available a detailed impact assessment and without engaging in a proper political debate with the Council and the Parliament; calls for a study into the impact of these negotiations on European agricultural sectors and regions to be produced and discussed before any tariff proposals are exchanged between the EU and Mercosur; points out that, given the agricultural implications of the negotiations, a link with the Doha Round must necessarily be established; calls accordingly on the Commission not to conclude the negotiations with Mercosur until the WTO round has been brought to a close, as stipulated in its mandate;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Is of the opinion that the level of market integration in the Mercosur customs union is currently insufficient to guarantee an adequate circulation of imported goods within the region; takes the view that an agreement would not yield any real dividends in the absence of provisions ensuring full and effective circulation of goods within the Mercosur area;
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)
Paragraph 30 a (new)
30a. Urges the Commission to study the various reports published by the Brazilian National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) on the widespread use in Brazil of pesticides that are banned in the EU and most other parts of the world, which highlight the grave health risks stemming from this practice;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Is concerned about concessions made on fruit and vegetables within the Euro- Mediterranean agreements on products which show the same seasonal fluctuations as European products; maintains, in this connection, that the complementarity between the growing seasons in southern and northern Mediterranean countries should continue to be a guiding factor in the liberalisation of agricultural trade within the Union for the Mediterranean;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 a (new)
Paragraph 32 a (new)
32a. Stresses that, while tobacco products must be governed by a strict regulatory framework, the regulation of ingredients in tobacco products at the EU and at the international level must follow a proportionate, risk-based approach on the basis of scientific evidence; warns against any non-science based ban on all ingredients, leading essentially to the ban of European traditional blended tobacco products, which would have severe socioeconomic repercussions for EU tobacco growers (of oriental and burley varieties), without a benefit for public health;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 a (new)
Paragraph 33 a (new)
33a. Calls on the Commission to take due account of this resolution when drafting and implementing its future trade strategy;