38 Amendments of Helmut SCHOLZ related to 2012/2149(INI)
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 8 a (new)
Citation 8 a (new)
- having regard to its legislative resolution of 7 July 2010 on the Council position at first reading for adopting a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on novel foods, amending Regulation (EC) No 1331/2008 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 258/97 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1852/20012,
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 8 b (new)
Citation 8 b (new)
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the EU and the US are currently still each- others main trading partners, the two economies together accounting for about half of the global economic output and nearly a third of world trade flows, making it the largest economic relationship in the world; 1 Texts adopted of that date, P7_TA(2011)0314.
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas, although the economic relationships between the EU and the US are among the most open in the world, and although transatlantic markets are deeply integrated through large flows of trade and investment (with a bilateral trade volume of EUR 702.6 billion, and a bilateral investment stock valued at EUR 2.394 trillion, in 2011), there is a general consensus that the potential of the transatlantic relationship is far from being fully exploited,still potential for deepening the transatlantic relationship and economic integration; whereas the EU and US share common values, similarthe legal systems and high standards of labour and environmental protection, and should exploit these synergies to secure th, the labour standards, policies addressing climate change as well as environmental protection laws and enforcement structures vary considerably; whereas EU and US should explore potential synergies in order to foster the sustainable and inclusive growth and jobs both partners need, and whereas a study carried out in 2009 for the Commission identified the most important non-tariff measures that affect trade between the EU and the US, and result from differences in geography, language, preferences, culture or history, and estimated their economic impact, suggesting that the removal of half of such existing measures and regulatory divergences would translate into an increase in GDP of EUR 163 billion until 2018 on both sides of the North Atlantic, while a 25% alignment of NTMs and regulatory convergence was assumed to be more realistic;
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas according to an ILO study (Block, Berg, Roberts (2003) "Comparing and Quantifying Labor Standards in the United States and the European Union"), labour standards in the EU are higher than in the US, in particular in the areas of working time, paid-time off, occupational safety and health, employee involvement, and changes of ownership, while the only standards that are higher in the US than in the EU are those addressing minimum wages and collective bargaining;
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Bb. whereas the US continues to refuse to join efforts with the EU to fight climate change in an United Nations framework; whereas in Congress legislation has been introduced aiming to block the inclusion of US airlines flying to or from EU into the EU carbon trading scheme;
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B c (new)
Recital B c (new)
Bc. whereas the lack of adequate financial markets regulation in both the US and the EU has made possible the rapid spread of the financial crisis from the US to the EU economy, which led to the terrible consequences that most EU Member States, but also American people and many other nations around the world are facing today, including a dramatical increase unemployment and poverty; whereas the negative growth rates experienced in many EU Member States are related to the very strong links of their financial sector with the US financial sector, and whereas US based financial speculation continues to threaten the survival of the euro;
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the global economy remains vulnerable, with a negative impact on the everyday lives of people all over the world, affecting jobs, trade, development, and the environment, and whereas the ongoing financial and economic crises, both in the EU and in the US, are threatening the stability and prosperity of our economies and the welfare of our citizens, calling for a closer economic cooperation between the EU and the US, in order to combat and overcome these criseand coordinated regulation of the markets, in particular the financial markets, between the EU and the US, in order to combat and overcome these crises in close cooperation with other partners, and to lay the grounds for a sustainable and inclusive future growth that avoids the mistakes that let to the crisis;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the moderatesignificant growth of global trade exchanges with China and other emerging economies over the past three years has significantly contributed to mitigating the negative effects of the economic crisis, in particular in the EUseveral EU Member States and the US, proving that trade plays an important role in determiningproduction and supply chains and economic integration are reaching unprecedented global dimensions and that north Atlantic trade strategies need to incorporate to maintain positive relations to other important trading partners in the world in order to allow for sustainable and inclusive growth and employment;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the bipartisan letters sent to the US President by US Senators and by Members of the US House of Representatives urged the HLWG to quickly formulaterecommend ambitious proposals to remove unnecessary barriers to transatlantic trade and investment, and called for making increased trade and investment with the EU a prioritysteps to stimulate trade and investment, pointed out that simply eliminating tariffs between the US and EU could increase US goods exports to the EU by 17 percent over the next five years, and assessed that due to broadly similar levels of protection for consumers, workers, investors and the environment, closer cooperation between both sides' regulators could improve efficiency and effectively address non- tariff barriers to trade;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas in a bipartisan letter sent to the US President, 50 US Senators have expressed grave concern about the dangers posed by the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty, declaring their opposition to ratification of any arms trade treaty that restricts the rights of law- abiding American gun owners;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas also parts of the private sector in the US has expressed support for making Europe a priority in US trade policy again, and whereas thea number of private stakeholders in both the EU and the US have shown support for an ambitious and comprehensive agreement and expressed believe that advancing a closer EU-US economic cooperation would send a powerful pro- growth signal to investors and business within the EU and the US as well as internationally;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas the HLWG did not consult with trade unions, consumer protection organisations, farmers associations, environmental organisations, civil rights experts, academic institutions and civil society in general; whereas no social and environmental impact assessment study on a potential EU-US trade agreement has been produced by the Commission;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas the development of common standards between the EU and the US would have an automatic positive spill- over yet uncertain effect on North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) countries, and a more harmonised regulatory environment between the EU and the US could be beneficial, in general; f based on best practice and higher quality solutions; whereas the US taking over REACH could set an excellent example for harmonised regulation; whereas significant progress in regulatory approximation through joint efforts of the EU and US legislators should be a precondition to starting to negotiate an FTA;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas the HLWG has jointly analysed a wide range of potential options for expanding transatlantic trade and investment, and has in its Interim Report of June 2012 reached the preliminary conclusion that a comprehensive agreement that addresses a broad range of bilateral trade and investment policies, as well as issues of common concern with respect to third countries, would, if achievable, provide the most significant benefit; whereas it remains uncertain how issues of common concern with respect to third countries can form part of a bilateral trade agreement; whereas without the existence of a decent social and environmental impact assessment, a sound decision in favour of entering into direct negotiations cannot be made;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas the EUin its determined to promote free, fair and open trade whilst, at the same time, asserting its interests in a spirit of reciprocity and mutual benefit, especially in relation to the world's largest economiesrelations with the wider world, the EU shall uphold and promote its values and interests and contribute to the protection of its citizens. It shall contribute to peace, security, the sustainable development of the Earth, solidarity and mutual respect among peoples, free and fair trade, eradication of poverty and the protection of human rights, in particular the rights of the child, as well as to the strict observance and the development of international law, including respect for the principles of the United Nations Charter;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M
Recital M
M. whereas the Commission has expressed hopes of starting possible negotiations already early in 2013 and to complete the negotiations before the end of the term of the current Commission; whereas this hope appears to be completely unrealistic, as even much simpler agreements took more than three years to be negotiated;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M a (new)
Recital M a (new)
Ma. whereas the duration of negotiations for deep and comprehensive trade agreements disqualify them as short term measures for job creation, at least outside the negotiating teams;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Considers that trade and foreign investment must be better used to stimulate smart, strong, sustainable, balanced, inclusive and resource-efficient growth, leading to higher job creation and increasing the welfare of people across the world; welcomnotes the commitment of the G8 and G20 leaders to open trade and investment, expand markets and resist protectionism in all its forms, which are necessary conditions for susta; notes that according to the monitoring group installed by the G20, the past year has not witnessed any slowdown in the imposition of new trade restricting measures by G-20 economies, as the pressure of actors on the financial markets on G-20 and EU Member States continued global economic recovery, jobs and development; ; notes that the saving of banks by a state is considered a protectionist measure; notes that the specific trade concerns mentioned most often were related to REACH;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Considers that the EU should not concentrate on its relations with the US to the detriment of its relations with other regions and partners in the world, but should instead give higher priority to raising the level of economic and political relations with regions, that might be less powerful but are sharing more of the European view concerning peace, development, environment, democracy, including economic democracy, and cultural diversity;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the ongoing joint discussion between the EU and the US on how to work collectively to increase growth potential and foster financial stability in order to create high quality jobs; underlines that in order to ensure long-term prosperity and employment, a joint commitment, and effort, is needed to create new opportunities for businesses both large and small, and to capitalise on the advantages offered by the uniquely integrated transatlantic marketir already today very much integrated transatlantic market; is concerned that the HLWG does not seem to investigate other options for concerted action for jobs and growth stimulation like joint public investment strategies and measures to address issues like excessive interest rates or innovative state income generating schemes like the Tobin tax;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Calls for negotiations between the EU and the US and other partners on how to work collectively to tackle the environmental crisis and climate change; calls also for more joint commitment to achieve financial market stability;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. WelcomNotes the Interim Report of the HLWG and the preliminary recommendations contained therein, and agrees that a comprehensive agreement should include an ambitious reciprocal market opening in goods, services and investment, and address the challenges of modernising trade rules and enhancing the compatibility of regulatory regimes; encourages the HLWG to continue its work preparing an ambitious yet feasible set of objectives and concrete deliverables for the negotiations of such a comprehensive bilateral trade and investment agreement, which would be consistent with (and supportive of) the WTO frameis aware that neither all EU Member States nor all Members of the European Parliament and of the US Congress are equally enthusiastic about this proposal; is sceptical whether a WTO compatible agreement covering substantially all trade is in reach, and encourages the HLWG therefore to prepare instead a feasible set of objectives and concrete deliverables for common measures to stimulate inclusive and sustainable growth and decent work;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses the importance of continuing with the strengthening of transatlantic economic relations but without threatening EU policies, including in fields such as environmental standards, cultural diversity, social and labour rights, public services or geographical indications, among othergriculture and consumer protection, especially with regards to innovative food sectors such as GMOs and products from cloned animals and their descendents; emphasises that while the specific interests and sensitivities of both partners must be safeguarded in a balanced way, there are many areas where progress would be greatly beneficial and necessary, in particular as regards the removal of trade barriers, the introduction of measures to ensure better market access and appropriate investment conditions, the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR), the opening up of public procurement markets to ensure full reciprocity, and the convergence onexchange of best practice and cooperation in public procurement, and the exploration of options for mutual recognition of certain regulatory standards; considers that such an intensification of economic relations would also allow for greater alignment of EU and US approaches towards addressing global economic challenges;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Calls for joint efforts to reduce military spending in order to free means for concerted public investment strategies into sustainable and inclusive growth and decent work;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Expresses deep concerns about the lack of responsibility of the EU authorities to oppose the unilateral collection of data by the US authorities through multiple mechanisms such as PNR, and Swift;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4c. Calls for speeding up the work on common industrial standards, recommends the promotion of joint research initiatives, and increased people- to-people contacts by launching exchange programmes for youth and students, teachers, researchers and academics, labourers, management, administrators, artists and media people; recommends the establishment of mutual business facilitation centres offering services in particular to SMEs and aiming to increase the cooperation and integration of the economies;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Recognises that even though the average tariffs on transatlantic trade in goods are comparatively low, there is an interest in both thsome EU and US business communities to eliminate remaining tariffs; takes the view, however, that a tariff-only free trade agreement would not be ambitious enough; supports the goal proposnotes the option mentioned by the HLWG of eliminating all duties on bilateral trade, with the objective of achieving a substantial elimination of tariffs upon entry into force of the agreement and a phasing out of all but the most sensitive tariffs in short time-frame, which could deliver significant gains, consideris aware that a number of sectors ing thate EU-US bilateral trade to a large extent consists of intra-firm trade, and enhance the global competitiveness of the EU and US companies on the world stage as well as in the US would reject this approach; emphasises that such decisions cannot be made without a high quality social and environmental impact assessment and consultation of the civil society and citizens both in the US and EU;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Supports the view that given the low average tariffs, the key to unlocking the potential of the transatlantic relationship lies in the tackling of non-tariff barriers (NTBs), consisting mainly of customs procedures and behind-the-border regulatory restrictions; supports the ambition proposed by the HLWG to move progressively towards an even more integrated transatlantic marketplace, while recognisingRecognises that no agreement could resolve all existing regulatory issues immediately and while fully respecting the right of each side to regulate in a manner that ensures the protection of health, safety and environment at the level that each side deems appropriate;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Recognises that unnecessary differences and overly burdensome regulatory standards serve as significant barriers to trade, and that additional growth could follow from addressing such barriers, reiterates however that when these differences have arisen due to EU policies grounded in strong democratic, cultural and socio-economic principles, like in the case of data protection, including cloud computing, or innovative food sectors such as GMOs and products from cloned animals and their descendents, this should be respected; underlines the need to avoid creating new (even if unintended) barriers to trade and investment, especially in key emerging technologies and innovative sectors; supports efforts towards upstream regulatory cooperation on standards, regulatory coherence, and better alignment of standards, to further promote trade and growth that could improve efficiency and effectively address NTBs;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Recognises that expanding trade in services, and taking steps to promote investment and procurement, can bring additional benefits to both economies, as well as create opportunities for collaboration on trade issues of common concern; expects from the HLWG to address in its final document also all issues relating to Mode IV;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on both parties to open up further their respefor the exchange of best practivce publicand cooperation in procurement markets to each other in order to ensure full reciprocity, and supports the goal proposed by the HLWG of enhancing business opportunities through substantially improved access to public procurement opportunities at all levels of government on the basis of national treatment; recalls the significance for transatlantic trade of open procurement markets that offer equal access to all suppliers,, in respect to the highest social, environmental and cultural regulations and consumer protection at all levels of government of both partners; recalls the significance of equal access in particular tof small and medium- sized enterprises (SMEs); reiterates the view that EU SMEs should have the same level of advantages and possibilities as regards public tenders in the US as they enjoy inside the EU;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Supports, in principle, the aim proposed by the HLWG also to develop new trade rules in a number of areas, as this could be ofwhich, having relevance to both, bilateral commerce as well as, as well as to third countries, must include from the very beginning the participation of all interested trading partners and regions and so contribute to rule- making both in the context of third-country policies and trade agreements and at the multilateral level;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Reiterates its full commitment to the multilateral trading system, and to the WTO as the guarantor of a rules-based trade; takes the view, however, that due to the persistent deadlock with regard to the original architecture and objectives of the DDA, the debatein negotiations between the US, India and Brazil with regard to the DDA, the EU should strive to mediate; invites Congress to a joint debate with the European Parliament on how to strengthen the WTO, and on how to prepare it for the upcoming challenges, must be resumed as soon as possible; ;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Considers that the transatlantic dialogue, in order to be successful, needs to be further intensified at all levels, and that high-level meetings, not only between the Commission and US Administration but also between members of relevant committees of Parliament and the US Congress, should be held on a more regular basis and must be transmitted to the public in full transparency;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Is committed to working closely with the Council, the Commission, the US Congress, the US Administration and theall stakeholders including the variety of economic sectors, trade unions, civil society organisations and academics, to achieve the full economic potential of the transatlantic economic relationship in order to create new opportunities for businesses and workers on both sides of the Atlantic and strengthen EU and US leadership in the global economy;