Activities of Birgit SCHNIEBER-JASTRAM related to 2009/2218(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the EU Policy Coherence for Development and the ‘Official Development Assistance plus’ concept PDF (241 KB) DOC (160 KB)
Amendments (21)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2
Citation 2
– having regard to Title V of the Treaty on European Union and in particular Article 21(2) thereof, establishing the principles and objectives of the EU in international relations, and Article 208 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (Lisbon Treaty) that reaffirmsing the EU shall take account of the objectives of development cooperation in the policies that it implements which are likely to affect developing countries,
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation (new)
Citation (new)
– having regard to the conclusions of the General Affairs and External Relations Council of 18 May 2009 on supporting developing countries in coping with the crisis,
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation (new)
Citation (new)
– having regard to the Commission communication ‘Supporting developing countries in coping with the crisis’ (COM(2009)160),
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the OECD has proposed defining the concept of policy coherence for development (PCD) meanas ‘working to ensure that the objectives and results of a government’s development policies are not undermined by other policies of that government, which impact on developing countries, and that these other policies support development objectives, where feasible’1, and whereas the EU has developed a concept of policy coherence for development aimed at building synergies between EU policies other than aid and development objectives,
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas Article 208 of the Lisbon Treaty establishes poverty reductionTreaty on the Functioning of the European Union establishes the reduction and, in the long term, the eradication of poverty as the primary objective of EU development policy and whereas PCD works towards the Union’s development cooperation objectives through all its policies,
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Considers that all EU policy areas with an external impact must be designed to suppornot contradict the fight against poverty as well as the fulfilment of human rights, including social, economic and environmental rights and gender equality;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Stresses that the Council’s decision to selectupport the Commission proposal on adopting a more targeted, more strategic and partnership-based approach to PCD focusing its attention in particular on five broad areas for the PCD exercise in 2009 should not replaceaffect monitoring of the 12 traditional policy areas; furthermore calls on the Commission to identify incoherencies whenever they occur and suggest solutions;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Considers that it is necessary to provide for a procedure for complaioint of contact for citizens, private and non-governmental organisations and governments both in the EU and developing countries againstin case of failures of the Union to respect its PCD commitment; notes thatasks the European Ombudsman, who is independent of the European Commission,Commission and Council to consider the following propositions, that this point of contact could either be the European Ombudsman, who drafts an annual report and has investigative powers, including on his/her own initiative in respect of complaints coming from outside the EU when these fall within his/her mandate; whether it could be officers in the future European External Action Service, as they have the necessary contacts and the capacity of judgment on site as well as the necessary general overview in the European Head Office;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Takes the view that, if actions and measures within the EU’s development policy do not respect the principles and objectives laid downof the EU’s external action listed in Article 2081 of the Lisbon TreatyTreaty on European Union, this constitutes a breach of an obligation under the treatiesfor which an action may be brought before the Court of Justice of the European Union under Articles 263 and 265 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Demands a drasticProposes to further develop existing EU instruments for lowering of customs tariffs for imports from all developing countries and asks the Commission to link the EU’s import tariffs to respect for internationally agreed labour and environmental standards and the exemption of fair trade products from any import tarifflike the GSP-/GSP+- System and chapters in FTAs and EPAs and further integrate internationally agreed labour and environmental standards into those instruments;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Calls onAsks the Commission to exclude from ongoing FTA and EPA negotiationsconsider excluding any demand to developing countries to sign up to the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants from ongoing FTA and EPA negotiations, which restraints indigenous communities' access to and maintenance of biodiversity;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Urges the Commission to end its present TRIPS-plus approach in EPA negotiations regarding pharmaceuticals and medicines, to allow developing countries to provide medicines at affordable prices under domestic public health programmes;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Welcomes the mechanisms to enhance PCD within the Commission, namely the inter-service consultation system, the Impact Assessment process, the Sustainability Impact Assessment and the Interservice Quality Support Group; asks, however, which criteria DG Development used when deciding to overturn incoherent policy initiatives and asks for greater transparency as regards the outcome of inter-service consultations; asks for the information gathered in the Impact Assessments to be provided to the European Parliament in a more comprehensible form; demands, furthermore, that the European Parliament and developing countries should be more closely involved in these mechanisms;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Asks the Commission to start the impact assessments earlier, i.e. before the drafting process of policy initiatives is already far advanced and to base them on existing or especially conducted evidence- based studies as a prospective analysis is most useful and practical given the lack of data and the complexities of PCD; asks the Commission to include the results of the impact assessments in the Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI)’s Regional and Country Strategy Papers together with suggestions for follow-up;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Calls on the Commission to give the Commissioner for Development solthe responsibility of coordination for the programming and implementation of aiddevelopment assistance in all developing countries;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Calls forSuggests an inclusion of specific PCD commitments in every Presidency’s work programme;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Encourages the existing joint parliamentary assemblies, such as the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, to appoint standing rapporteurs for PCD and to draft an a biennuial PCD report in order to detect policy incoherencies;
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Asks for a clarification regarding the Commission´s Communication on Policy Coherence (COM(2009)458) concerning procedures for the transfer of technology, respecting intellectual property as well as averting a technological dependency of developing countries;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 b (new)
Paragraph 27 b (new)
27b. Asks for an institutional clarification regarding the Commission´s Communication on Policy Coherence (COM(2009)458) concerning an enhanced partnership and dialogue with the developing countries on the topic of PCD; asks whether this enhanced partnership would also include a mechanism for advising developing countries what they themselves can do to promote PCD and a plan for capacity building at country level to perform PCD assessments;
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 c (new)
Paragraph 27 c (new)
27c. Suggests a training of the European Commission´s staff and members of the European Council´s delegations in the field of PCD to achieve a higher awareness towards that policy goal;