12 Amendments of Judith SARGENTINI related to 2012/2225(INI)
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Underlines that investment policy raises two main challenges for developing countries: at the national level, investment policy needs to be included into development strategy, incorporating sustainable development objectives; at the international level, it is necessary to strengthen the development dimension of international investment agreements (IIAs) and balancing the rights and obligations of States and investors;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Regrets that, according to UNCTAD's World Investment Report 2012, some International Investment Agreements (IIA) concluded in 2011 keep to the traditional Treaty model that focuses on investment protection as the sole aim of the Treaty; however, welcomes the fact that some new IIAs include provisions to ensure that the Treaty does not interfere with, but instead contributes to countries' sustainable development strategies that focus on the environmental and social impacts of investment;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1c. Points out that the 2012 revision of the United States Model Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) turns the best-endeavour commitment not to relax domestic environmental and labour laws into a binding obligation;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 d (new)
Paragraph 1 d (new)
1d. Urges the EU and its Member States to strive for the integration of provisions on sustainability in its investment agreements in line with the adoption of and follow-up work on the 2011 UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights; the UNCTAD/FAO/World Bank/IFAD Principles for Responsible Agricultural Investment; the 2011 Revision of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises; the Doha Mandate adopted at UNCTAD's XIII Ministerial Conference in 2012 and the Rio+20 Conference in 2012;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 e (new)
Paragraph 1 e (new)
1e. Underlines that UNCTAD's World Investment Report 2012 indicates that IIAs are becoming increasingly controversial and politically sensitive, primarily owing to the spread of IIA- based investor-State arbitrations, which provokes growing discontent (e.g. Australia's trade-policy statement announcing that it would stop including Investor State Dispute Settlement clauses in its future IIAs); takes note of UNCTAD's observation that this reflects deficiencies in the system (e.g. excessively wide definitions of expropriation, insufficient guarantees in relation to the qualifications of arbitrators lack of transparency and high costs of the proceeding, and an unclear relationship between ISDS and State-State proceedings); also draws attention to the broad public concern about the usefulness and legitimacy of the ISDS mechanism;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 f (new)
Paragraph 1 f (new)
1f. Notes with concern the growing number of investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS) cases filed under IIAs, where investors have challenged core public policies, claiming that these policies have negatively affected their business prospects; against this background, considers it essential to reform IIAs to strengthen their development dimension, balancing the rights and obligations of States and investors, ensuring sufficient policy space for sustainable development policies and making investment promotion provisions more concrete and aligned with sustainable development objectives; considers that while a systematic assessment of IIAs remains to be done, multilateral dialogue on ISDS could help to develop a consensus for its reform; insists that any future European investment agreements must not cover international investor-state dispute settlement;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Recalls that mobilizing investment for sustainable development remains a major challenge for developing countries, particularly for LDCs; underlines, in this context, that UNCTAD has developed a comprehensive Investment Policy Framework for Sustainable Development (IPFSD) that puts a particular emphasis on the relationship between foreign investment and sustainable development;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Recalls that positive development impacts of FDI do not materialize automatically, but require i.a. adequate regulation that covers policy areas beyond investment policies per se, such as trade, taxation, intellectual property, competition, labour market regulation, environmental policies and access to land;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. SUrges the EU to design its trade agreements so as to foster responsible investor behaviour and guarantee compliance with best international practises of CSR and good corporate governance; in particular, stresses that, in order for growth to be inclusive and efficient in terms of poverty reduction, it should be pursued in sectors in which poor people are active, should benefit and empower women and should be associated with the creation of jobs as well as of micro and small businesses;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Welcomes the fact that a broad range of industries and trans-national companies have adopted codes of conduct detailing social and environmental performance standards for their global supply chains; recalls, however, that the proliferation and heterogeneous accounting, auditing and reporting standards of these codes make them difficult to compare; stresses that better implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights will contribute to EU objectives regarding specific human rights issues and core labour standards; hence, calls once more on the EU to strive for a clear international legal framework setting out the responsibilities and obligations of business with regard to human rights;
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Stresses that EU assistance to governments of third countries in implementing social and environmental regulation is a necessary complement to advancing the CSR of European businesses worldwide;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. 7. Notes the flaws inat after the implementation and follow-up of the regulations laid down for the ‘Kimberley Process’; emphasises the urgent need for a solid, transparent and reliable tracking system for gems and valuable minerals, such as coltan, so as to more efficiently prevent products that contribute to systematic breaches of human rights, or fuel conflict or unrest in developing countries, from entering the EU market;of the Kimberley Process for the certification of conflict diamonds', trade in natural resources is still fuelling rebels and human rights abuses are still taking place in mining areas, therefore emphasises the urgent need for a system of due diligence for gems and valuable minerals, such as so-called conflict minerals, so as to break the resource curse and increase the benefits for developing countries to trade their commodities.