10 Amendments of Joe HIGGINS related to 2009/2219(INI)
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Calls on the European Union to uphold the principles of managed and fair trade, rejecting protectionism that serves the interests of European big business or any attempt to undermine the legitimate comparative advantages of developing countries that do not undermine human and trade union rights, but applying a different interpretation of WTO Article XXIV to allow for the exemption of vulnerable manufacturing and other sectors from trade agreements where this is justified;
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Confirms that all trade agreements must require all parties to have ratified and effectively implemented at least the core conventions of the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Rights and Principles, and that the Sustainable Development chapter has the same binding status as the market access provisions and is subject to the same dispute-settlement mechanism;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes the use of Sustainability Impact Assessments, but deplores failures to act fully on their findings, as in west Africa; in the case of Colombia, with which country the EU should conclude no trade deal, given its record of human rights abuses, including the murder with impunity of many trade union activists; emphasises the EU's leverage to pursue concrete improvements in respect for labour and human rights in advance of trade agreements, as well as during their implementation;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Recognises that current and future trade agreements are being negotiated in the context of an economic depression; that off-shoring by multinational companies in search of higher profits accounts for a high proportion of job losses; and, that EU trade policy should seek to prevent an excessive or over-rapid decline in EU market share and employment has encouraged the 'race to the bottom' in workers' wages and conditions, as seen in recent judgments of the European Court of Justice in relation to Sweden, Germany and Luxembourg, and that the EU Globalisation Adjustment Fund is a complevtelsy in any given sector; calls for trade agreements to be concluded in the light of the scope for the EU's Globalisation Adjustment Fund to provide adequate assistance towards restructuringadequate response; calls for major enterprises which threaten substantial job losses to be taken into public ownership, while steps are taken to maintain cooperation with and assistance to developing countries;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Calls therefore for the European Union’s future trade strategy to preserve European commercial interests and for the EU andand that of its trading partners mutually to respect the application and implementation of clauses on human rights and social and environmental standards; considers that the EU should adopt a positive approach in its negotiations; underlines that including provisions on sustainable development, particularly in bilateral agreements, will benefit all parties;
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls for complaints about social problems to be the subject of public independent expert decisions, follow-up and review, involving representative workers' and community organisations;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4a (new)
Paragraph 4a (new)
4a. to this end calls for all trade agreements to require all parties to have ratified and effectively implemented at least the core conventions of the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Rights and Principles;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5a (new)
Paragraph 5a (new)
5a. Calls for any “Human Rights” or “Sustainable Development” chapters in Free Trade Agreements to have the same binding status as the market access provisions, and calls for those agreements to be subsequently ratified by all member states;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12a (new)
Paragraph 12a (new)
12a. Condemns the conclusion of a Free Trade Agreement with Colombia as being contrary to the notion of promoting human rights, given that the right to strike in Colombia is severely limited and two thirds of all trade unionists killed in the world each year are killed in Colombia – with more than 500 murdered since 2002;