Activities of Philippe LAMBERTS related to 2020/2023(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on recommendations on the negotiations for a new partnership with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Amendments (15)
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Believes it to be in both Parties’ mutual interests to establish an ambitious future economic partnership covering a wide number of sectors; underlines that, in any case, a level playing field must be ensured and EU standards safeguarded in order to avoid a ‘race to the bottom’ and the acquisition of unfair competitive advantages through the undercutting of levels of protection or other regulatory divergences; considers that any future framework should safeguard fair competition, investor and consumer protection, and the integrity of the single market, while respecting the EU’s regulatory regime and decision-making autonomy, given the high degree of economic integration and geographic proximity between the EU and the UK;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Reaffirms that, in any case, a level playing field must be ensured and agreements should be found on standards and future alignment of UK’s standards with the EU on competition and state aid control, relevant tax matters (including the fight against tax evasion, tax avoidance and money laundering) and financial services; calls for such EU standards to be safeguarded in order to avoid a ‘race to the bottom’ and the acquisition of unfair competitive advantages through the undercutting of levels of protection or other regulatory divergences; considers that any future agreement should safeguard fair competition, investor and consumer protection, and the integrity of the single market, while respecting the EU’s regulatory regime and decision-making autonomy;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5 c. Recalls that according to the Commission’s country report for the UK as part of the 2020 Semester process, the UK’s dividend tax regime and the UK’s high number of bilateral tax treaties are features that may be used by companies to engage in aggressive tax planning; notes as well that the UK is ranked high according to the Commission on indicators that identify a country as having features that can be used by companies for tax avoidance purposes; calls on the future agreement to specifically address this matter and lay out how the UK will remedy this situation in the future;
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 d (new)
Paragraph 5 d (new)
5 d. Notes that at the end of the transition period, the UK will be considered as a third country and will have to be screened by the Code of Conduct Group on Business Taxation according to the criteria established for the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions and could end up being listed if it is deemed not compliant;
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 e (new)
Paragraph 5 e (new)
5 e. Welcomes the requirements listed in Articles LAW.AML.130 and LAW.AML.131 of the Commission’s draft legal agreement regarding beneficial ownership transparency for legal entities and legal arrangements; recalls the outmost importance for both parties to ensure that information contained in central registries, is available according to the same standards as Directive (EU) 2018/843, especially taking into account its recital 42 on the notion of legitimate interest;
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 f (new)
Paragraph 5 f (new)
5 f. Calls on the Commission to include in its draft legal agreement for the future EU-UK relationship specific provisions regarding the supervision of financial and non-financial obliged entities in the context of the anti-money laundering framework; recalls the Commission’s Communication towards better implementation of the EU's anti- money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism framework and its report on the assessment of recent alleged money laundering cases involving EU credit institutions, concluding that EU anti-money laundering supervision was largely deficient;
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Recalls, in the context of financial services, that passporting rights, which are based on mutual recognition and harmonised prudential rules in the internal market, will cease to apply between the EU and the UK at the end of the transitional period; underlines that, thereafter, access to the European financial market must be based on equivalence decisions made within the EU’s legal framework, which should be provided only if the EU is satisfied that UK regulatory and supervisory regime and standards continue to be fully aligned to those of the EU; calls for the future agreement to include a mechanism to regularly check that conditions for granting the equivalence are being maintained over time; recalls that equivalence decisions can be withdrawn by the Commission unilaterally at any moment; recalls also its position in the report on relationships between the EU and third countries concerning financial services regulation and supervision that equivalence decision on financial services should be subject to delegated acts;
Amendment 66 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Is of the opinion that the future agreement has to include specific cooperation agreements between the ESAs and UK financial supervisory authorities to provide regular notifications of changes regarding the UK legal framework and its implementation;
Amendment 70 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6 b. Underlines that any future partnership with the UK should include robust prudential carve-outs in order to legally guarantee both parties’ rights to regulate in the public interest;
Amendment 72 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Amendment 75 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 d (new)
Paragraph 6 d (new)
6 d. Calls on the Parties to preserve the needs and interests of micro-enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises in the future agreement, especially with regard to market access facilitation including, but not limited to, compatibility of technical standards and streamlined customs procedures;
Amendment 77 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 e (new)
Paragraph 6 e (new)
6 e. Calls on both Parties to strengthen customs authorities’ capacity because of the higher risks of products being blocked at the border; stresses the importance in a future agreement to preserve the rules of the Union’s single market related to the customs union;
Amendment 78 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 f (new)
Paragraph 6 f (new)
Amendment 82 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Defends the need toCalls for extending the transition period, especially in light with delays caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, in order to allow enough time to conclude the negotiations on a comprehensive future partnership, while safeguarding citizens’ rights, legal certainty and economic and financial stability. ; reiterates its position that given the complexity of the negotiations and the limited timeframe, there is a real risk of a ‘cliff edge’ in economic areas where contingency measures or the international framework may not be a sufficient legal framework to prevent severe disruption;