34 Amendments of Helmut SCHOLZ related to 2018/2005(INI)
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 8 a (new)
Citation 8 a (new)
– having regards to the resolution 26/9 adopted by the UN Human Rights Council at its 26th session, and the decision “to establish an open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights, whose mandate shall be to elaborate an international legally binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises,”
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 8 b (new)
Citation 8 b (new)
– having regard to the United Nations’ Guiding principles on human rights impact assessments of trade and investment agreements,
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas income inequality levels have remained at historic highs, while in 2014 the average Gini coefficient of disposable household income reached the highest value on record in the last 30 years; therefore agrees with the EU Commission that globalisation poses challenges also because its benefits are spread unequally among people and regions, and that unless active steps are taken, there is a risk that globalisation would compound the effect of technological advances and the recent economic crisis and contribute to further widening inequalities and social polarisation;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas globalisation will look completely different seven years from today and virtually all sectors will have changeddue to disruptive innovations and rapid technological advancement and virtually all sectors will have changed; whereas the regulatory and legislative framework on national, regional and multilateral level lacks far behind the speed of these developments, putting important societal achievements at stake;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas globalisation has accelerated environmental degradation in many regions of our planet; whereas the continued increase of transport in goods in globalised trade is detrimental to achieving the goals agreed in the Paris Agreement on climate change;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Bb. whereas the last report of the Club of Rome 2017/2018 “Come ON!” suggests solutions to both global ecological and social crises, taking into consideration that measuring success in development just by GDP growth has proven inadequate to deal with the task of shaping globalisation challenges, and orientate therefore for new enlightening of both economic and environmental development and for introducing quickly the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) as benchmark;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas ‘open and fair trade’ and investment policies need a range of effective flanking policies in order to maximise the gains and minimise the losses of trade liberalisation for the EU and for third countries’ populations and economies; whereas the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in order to end poverty and to achieve social and environmental progress should become the decisive benchmark for the success of the Union’s trade policy and relations; whereas it is currently sufficient for a country to be an LDC in order to benefit from Everything But Arms trade preferences, regardless of that country’s government willingness to cooperate in achieving the SDGs;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas fair and ethical trade relations should become the normality in international economic relations;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the reflection paper entitled ‘Harnessing globalisation’ and its focus on easing access to the positive effects of globalisation while pointing out the need to counter the negative effects, and the growing scepticism among our population; deplores that the text falls short with regard to the necessary responses to those challenges, in particular the increasingly unequal distribution of wealth, the phenomenon of job losses as a result of relocations, market concentration, and technological development, an increase in environmental destruction, and loss of cultural diversity;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Stresses the need for a rebalancing in the era of globalisation and a growing interdependence in all nations and peoples between humans and nature, between markets and law, between private companies and public goods, between short-term and long-term thinking, between social justice and incentives for excellence;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Stresses that International Trade plays not only a decisive role on the economic development and cooperation of countries in the globalised economy, but has a fundamental influence on peace, social and ecological sustainable growth, employment, eradication of poverty and food security, human rights as well as fighting climate change; recognises therefore the growing responsibility of the EU to contribute to answer these challenges in its global trade and external relations;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1c. Points out the need for effectively strengthening the control of trading dual use goods, and for the consequent implementation of the Union’s International Arms Trade Treaty obligations;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes that the benefits of globalisation are unequally distributed between regions and within societies; notes that this is a reason for the rising scepticism or rejection of globalisation within societies; notes that the financial and economic crises had a particularly negative effect on mid-range incomes; expresses the view that the combination of a declining middle class, citizens’ fears over losing their social and economic position, and scepticism towards globalisation, can result in nationalist and authoritarian tendencies, which then lead to the promotion of protectionism as an easy answer to common fearif the citizens' concerns are constantly ignored by political parties in government and the consultancies advising them, appearing to be obsessed with a dogmatic demand for state-withdrawal from the economy, for radical market-opening and further deregulation, without even considering alternative forms of trade relations and other innovative solutions to tackle the very real challenges in our societies;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Points out that in its reflection paper on “Harnessing Globalisation”, the European Commission rightly refers to the negative aspect of globalisation of companies abusing differences in living, social, environmental, tax and other standards outside Europe and inside Europe by relocating production or their tax address to their competitive advantage, in order to maximise profit, and that this has led to factory closures, job losses, and downward pressure on workers' pay and conditions, leaving a lasting impact on those laid off, their families and the wider region;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes that the economic importance of China and other Southeast Asian countries ihas growingn significantly; understands that this leads to a relative loss of importance for the present global economic centres of Europe and North America; , and calls on both to adapt quickly to the new situation, and to embrace new opportunities to manage joint problems in a cooperative approach; recalls that the economic success stories of East and Southeast Asia, as well as of post-war Europe and North America began with controlled and only gradual market opening, and a strong presence of the state in key industries and the provision of public services, as this was considered necessary for the state of development of the respective economy; points out the right of developing countries of today to define by themselves the speed and degree of world market integration of their economy and economic actors; welcomes the announcement by the EU and the people's Republic of China to mutually exchange market access and investment offers at the upcoming EU- China Summit, as well as to concretely cooperate on reform to help the World Trade Organization meet new challenges and to further develop rules in key areas relevant for the global level playing field, such as industrial subsidies;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Points out that increasing protectionism in the United States and beyond, as well arestrictive economic policy measures in the United States and the active hindrance of dispute settlement in the WTO by the Trump administration, has weakened the WTO for the time being; calls on the European Commission to show flexibility when it comes to reforming the appellate body, but to insist on maintain a two-step settlement mechanism; deeply deplores the lack of consideration for the needs and expectations of developing countries in international agreements, shows the weakness of the WTO; underlines the lack of integration of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the world trade agendathe DOHA Development Round, which has led to stagnation and a weakness of the WTO system; is outraged about the irresponsible lengthiness of debates on necessary regulatory reform in the WTO in response to technological change and questions the quality of negotiators; underlines the lack of integration of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the world trade agenda, and calls therefore to increase the importance of other elements in the United Nations System such as ILO, UNIDO, WIPO, FAO, WHO and UNESCO, but also UNCTAD in a new and broad-based approach to binding dispute settlement;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Notes the importance of engaging in the restructuring of the world economic order and of respecting the needs of developing countries, as well as of the economically and socially deprived in developed countries, while stressing that the aim of fulfilling the SDGs and the conditions of the Paris Agreement must provide the overarching framework;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Notes that the recent reform of EU trade defence instruments must be checked regarding its capacity as a protective measure against arbitrary proterectionism of trade barriers, on top of its ability to protect against social, environmental, and tax dumping;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Notes that, as a reply to globalisation-induced job losses, a reform of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund is needed; points out the urgent need for an independent and credible ex-post assessment of the Union's FTAs entered into force regarding gains and losses in decent jobs in both the European Union Member States and the partner economies, and stresses that the findings should be used for improved assessments of further trade agreements;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls on the Commission to meetstop responding scepticism expressed towards globalisation with a credible initiative on transparencysimply calling the citizens uniformed, and calls for more democracy in decision making on economic production and trade; calls for an increase of democracy debate and transparency by involving national parliaments prior to Council decisions, instead of trying to exclude them from the ratification process by tailoring the FTAs for this purpose; calls for improved consultation of civil society, alongside a credible initiative on transparency; stresses the need to improve the methodology of sustainability assessment studies;
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Calls on Council and Commission to assess and debate the impact of the whole international trade policy on environment and climate change and to come up with proposals for possible improvements and alternatives;
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls on the Commission to include sustainability-related measures in every chapter of trade agreements and not to reduce them to one toothless chapter; calls on the Council and Commission to be more ambitious when negotiating with industrialised partner countries regarding the ILO conventions to be referenced in the agreement; demands that in sustainable development chapter in future trade agreements with the EU, an article should state that each Party shall promote compliance with and effectively enforce its labour law through appropriate government action, such as: I. establishing and maintaining effective labour inspection services, including by appointing and training inspectors; II. monitoring compliance and investigating suspected violations, including through onsite inspections; III. requiring record keeping and reporting; IV. encouraging the establishment of worker-management committees to address labour regulation of the workplace; V. providing or encouraging mediation, conciliation and arbitration services; and, VI. initiating, in a timely manner, proceedings to seek appropriate sanctions or remedies for violations of its labour law;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Calls on the Commission to develop ambitious proposals to make fair and ethical trade principles the guiding standard of the Union's international trade relations;
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12b. Congratulates the Commission for its decision to establish the new Award for the European City of Fair and Ethical Trade;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Notes that impact assessments conducted before the start of negotiations must take their possible effects on the fulfilment of the SDGs into account; notes that national sustainability strategies and implementation plans for the Paris Agreement must form the starting point for impact assessments; points out that every single provision of an agreement and its possible impacts must be checked on its compatibility with the SDGs; notes that if parts of an agreement hamper the fulfilment of the SDGs or the Paris Agreement, adjustments must be made; notes that breaches of sustainability provisions must be counterweighted by corrective measures or lead to a sanction- based dispute settlement; deplores in this context that the Union and most member States have failed to reach the 0.7 target in financing of development cooperation;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Notes that, in line with SDG 17, the Commission must reform its system for implementing policy coherence for development, including a reform of its international trade policy, and the related intra-institutional consultation process; calls for a mandatory PCD assessment attached to trade-related legislative proposals;
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Points out that the ratification and implementation of the ILO’s core labour standards and the Paris Agreement must be a precondition for the implementation of anyopening of any negotiation of a free trade agreement, and their implementation shall become a benchmark for measuring the success of the economic relation established by the agreement; notes that organised civil society and social partners should be included in the formative stages of agreements, the implementation phase and the monitoring phase after implementation via bilateral meetings with the negotiating partners; notes that in case of a breach of the sustainability provisions of an agreement, the dispute settlement mechanism must be accessible to civil society as well as the negotiating partners;
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Calls on the Commission to finance aid for trade measures only in countries that have transposed at least the ILO core labour standards into their national legislation, and fight effectively against the exploitation of child labour;
Amendment 178 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Asks the Commission to meet the growing complexity of value chains and the increasing interdependence of producers with clear transparency and diligence obligations for the whole supply chain; Stresses the importance of decent wage levels and decent safety at work standards for a sustainable global trade system and new global production chains; reminds the Commission in this regard of its communication Promoting Decent Work for All;
Amendment 185 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Calls on the Commission to be committed, in accordance with the four strategic objectives of the ILO Decent Work Agenda, to respecting, promoting and realising the fundamental principles and rights at work and international labour standards; employment and income opportunities; social protection and social security; and social dialogue and tripartism, in all partner countries along the value chains related to EU based corporations;
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Notes that, in view of attacks on the multilateral world economic order, it is vitally important to preserve this order since any backsliding into protectionism would be damaging and would lead to trade warthe related international institutions and international law by the Trump administration, it is vitally important to preserve and further develop rules-based multilateral cooperation, and to resist pressure to join the current U.S. administration in a trade war against Europe's international partners, which would be damaging for all countries involved and their citizens;
Amendment 202 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Notes that free, mutually fair and sustainable trade is economically desirable and has vital political implications; notes that it is important for Europe to use trade asimprove its trade policy to become an instrument for the promotion of democratic and sustainable development, and diversified economies in the states of the Eastern Partnership as well as the African states, and developing countries in general; deeply regrets the absence of meaningful TSD chapters in several of the EPAs concluded by the Union; Is aware that developing countries have established economic development as a cross cutting national policy goal, laid out in their respective strategies and initiatives; asks the Commission to work on increasing governments' capacity to incorporate issues linked to sustainable and inclusive economic development into their national trade strategies and programmes; Considers export taxes on non-processed raw materials a legitimate instrument of national industrialisation policy schemes;
Amendment 210 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Urges the Commission to progress with proposals to make TSD provisions enforceable and to provide practical and adequate mechanism to achieve results in conflicts in all existing or future trade deals;
Amendment 212 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)
Paragraph 18 b (new)
18b. Reiterates its call for a reinforced engagement of the EU and its Member States in the deliberations within the UN regarding a Binding Treaty on Business and Human Rights;