Activities of Pedro SILVA PEREIRA related to 2022/2188(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the implementation report on the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement
Amendments (21)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) concluded between the EU and the UK is of unprecedented nature and scope and establishes preferential arrangements in areas such as trade in goods and in services, intellectual property, digital trade, road transport and aviation, public procurement, energy, social security coordination, law enforcement and judicial cooperation in criminal matters, fisheries, competition, mobility, investment, thematic cooperation and participation in EU programmes, along with a prudential carve-out;
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas the Withdrawal Agreement and the TCA constitute a common framework for the UK’s relationship with the EU; whereas both agreements have been agreed on and ratified by the EU and the UK and are legally binding treaties under international public law; whereas the TCA is predicated on the full implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement, now revised by the Windsor Framework;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Recalls that the Withdrawal Agreement and the TCA constitute a common framework for the UK’s relationship with the EU; notes that both agreements have been agreed on and ratified by the EU and the UK and are legally binding treaties under international public law; further recalls that the TCA is predicated on the full implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement, now revised by the Windsor Framework;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes the limited nature of the TCA in relation to financial services; recognises that this absence is a consequence of the UK’s unwillingness to discuss other areas of mutual interest as part of the TCA negotiations; notes that there arwelcomes the plans to establish a joint EU-UK financial regulatory forum to facilitate dialogue and cooperation on financial services issues3 ; recalls that this forum would not constitute a formal part of the TCA and willshould not provide the same level of access or cooperation as a comprehensive financial services agreement; _________________ 3 Reuters, ‘EU restarts work on EU-UK regulatory forum after Northern Ireland deal’, 8 March 2023.
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Reiterates the fact that decisions on equivalence are not reciprocal and do not form part of the TCA; notes also the UK’s decisions on equivalence in respect of the EU and also in respect of other non-EU countries such as Switzerland, where mutual recognition status has been agreed; recalls that decisions on equivalence could benefit EU firms in terms of greater access to the UK market, including for banking and insurance; notes that the EU has only granted the UK equivalence status in one area – central counterparties – on a time- limited basis, recently extended until 2025; calls for further equivalence decisions to be considered; notes that as of October 2021, the EU had granted 22 equivalence decisions to the United States compared to one in the case of the UK4 ; supports the Commission’s position that decisions on equivalence should be made when they are in the EU’s interests; encourages the Commission to discuss further equivalence decisions in order to provide greater market access benefits to both EU and UK firms; expresses concern about the UK de- regulation trends in the field of financial services and their impact on equivalence decisions; _________________ 4 European Affairs Committee of the House of Lords, ‘1st Report of Session 2022–23: The UK-EUrelationship in financial services’, 23 June 2022.
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Notes the desire of the British Government to adopt divergent regulation from the EU in respect of financial services, including by way of the Financial Services and Markets Bill5 , which proposes to repeal, replace, or amend retained EU law in the area of financial services and to delegate greater responsibility to UK regulators; underlines that further regulatory divergences may have a negative impact on financial cooperation between the UK and the EU and could undermine financial flows and the activities of financial entities; welcomes the EU’s recent progress on legislation in respect of financial services, even where this may result in regulatory divergence from the UK, including with respect to cryptocurrencies, taxonomy, listing and anti-money laundering; acknowledges, however, that the UK and the EU may adopt different regulatory approaches in the area of financial services and may not necessarily maintain a harmonised regulatory regime; supports the EU’s legislative progress in this area, even where this may result in regulatory divergence from the UK; stresses, however,tresses the benefits of future regulatory cooperation; _________________ 5 UK Parliament, ‘Financial Services and Markets Bill’, 11 May 2023.
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Notes that the TCA offers the EU an opportunity to develop and strengthen its own financial services infrastructure and expertise; strongly supports the completion of the capital markets union and the banking union, based on an approach that is regulated, outward-looking, innovative and competitive; recallnotes that the completion of the third pillar of the Banking Union will support the overall objectives of strengthening the Union’s positioning on financial and capital markets and calls for the establishment of a fully-fledged European Deposit and Insurance Scheme (EDIS); acknowledges that the City of London remains a major centre for financial services with a global reach6 ; recognises the importance of a strong financial services sector for both the EU and the UK and supports efforts to enhance the EU’s financial services infrastructure and expertise; _________________ 6 Reuters, ‘London is top global finance centre but lags in key areas, says study’, 27 January 2022.
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Supports the aims of the Commission’s proposed review of the European Market Infrastructure Regulation in respect of improving EU-based capacity and infrastructure in the area of euro clearing; recognises that the majority of euro clearing taking place outside the EU represents a strategic risk; recognises also that any forced relocation could risk disruption, market fragmentation, retaliatory measures, loss of competitiveness and reduced liquidity; and be detrimental; is, however, concerned that close to 90% of euro clearing takes place in the city of London and calls for the co-legislators to support action in this area in a manner that is effective, and proportionate and without disruption; advocates for a balanced approach that addresses the strategic risks of euro clearing outside the EU, while minimising potential disruptions to the market;
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Is concerned that the Union relies heavily on certain third country Central Counterparty Clearing Houses (CCP) and that despite having over 52 CCPs authorised under EMIR, central clearing is usually concentrated in a small number of CCPs outside the EU;1a calls on the Commission to explore all options to step up recognition of EU based CCPs that are authorised to clear all asset classes; _________________ 1a Commission Staff working document, impact assessment report accompanying document Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Regulations (EU) No 648/2012, (EU) No 575/2013 and (EU) 2017/1131 as regards measures to mitigate excessive exposures to third-country central counterparties and improve the efficiency of Union clearing markets and Proposal for a DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Directives 2009/65/EU, 2013/36/EU and (EU) 2019/2034 as regards the treatment of concentration risk towards central counterparties and the counterparty risk on centrally cleared derivative transactions SWD(2022) 697 final, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal- content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52022SC0 697
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. MCalls on the Commission to assess the level of protection of EU geographical indications in the UK and maintains its call for both parties to activate the ‘rendez- vous’ clause on the future protection of geographical indications registered after 2021;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Reiterates that the TCA is the delicate outcome of long and difficult negotiations and it should therefore be fully implemented in good faith, equally to the Withdrawal Agreement, in particular the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland, and the recent Windsor Framework, for the mutual benefit of both parties; calls on both parties to fully exploit its huge potential to facilitate EU-UK trade to the greatest extent possible, while bearing in mind that the advantages of membership in terms of access to the EU single market and to the Customs Union, as well as of participation in other common and flanking policies, cannot, under any circumstances, be replicated through an FTA;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Takes note of the further postponement of the implementation of certain UK import procedures and checks on products coming from the EU; calls on the UK Government to clarify the schedule and requirements in order to avoid further uncertainty for businesses and to digitalize and simplify UK customs procedures to the extent possible, in order to avoid further frictions in trade between the EU and the UK; highlights that customs cooperation between the EU and the UK is important in order to support compatibility in customs legislation and procedures, and to promote trade facilitation;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Recalls that as a consequence of a separate sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) regulatory regime following its withdrawal from the EU, the UK is subject to all EU rules applicable to third countries not dynamically aligning with EU legislation; takes note of the fact that post-Brexit, the EU and UK remain important trading partners for agri-food products and that from January to October 2022, EU exports to the UK reached EUR 39.5 billion, a 15 % increase compared to 2021, while the UK was the third most important partner for the EU in terms of agri-food imports8 ; calls on the UK Government to consider an SPS agreement, as an alignment of this type woulexpedite the transition to a digital system for sanitary and phytosanitary certificates, and to consider an SPS agreement, as an alignment of this type would reduce the administrative and financial burden on both sides, and facilitate EU-UK agri-food trade, including trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland; _________________ 8 ‘Monitoring EU agri-food trade’, European Commission, Directorate- General for Agriculture and Rural Development, Brussels, 2022, https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/system/files /2023-01/monitoring-agri-food-trade- oct2022_en_1.pdf.
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Commends the ongoing work of the Trade Partnership Committee and of the specialised and trade-specialised committees, and urges the parties to fully explore their potential as bilateral bodies established under the TCA, which can discuss subjects of shared strategic importance and address all implementation issues in a direct manner; invites the Commission to continue the good practice of keeping the European Parliament fully and immediately informed of the ongoing work of and developments in these committees;
Amendment 60 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Recognises that the close economic links between Ireland and Northern Ireland will continue despite the latter being part of a designated third country; supports an acknowledgement of these economic links, including with respect to the supervision of transactions between both jurisdictions; calls for measures to ensure that such links are not disrupted by any changes in regulatory or legal frameworks; emphasises the importance of maintaining close economic ties and minimising disruption in the aftermath of Brexit, particularly with respect to this relationship;
Amendment 64 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Recognises that following the entry into force of the TCA, a number of financial services firms based in London announced intentions to establish a new presence in and relocate some assets to the EU; notes that estimates suggest that 44 % of the UK’s largest financial services firms have announced plans to move some staff or operations7 , however only 7 000 jobs have been relocated outside of London thus far – far below the initial estimates of 75 0008 ; supports the efforts of the Member States to seek to attract post- Brexit business investment and notes that several EU cities have been the focus of post-Brexit financial service industry investment, including Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Luxembourg and Dublin; acknowledges that this fragmentation means that the benefits of a concentrated ecosystem and cluster effect that characterise London have not yet been recreated in the EU; _________________ 7 Study – ‘Recent trends in UK financial sector regulation and possible implications for the EU, including its approach to equivalence’, European Parliament, Directorate-General for Internal Policies, Policy Department for Economic, Scientific and Quality of Life Policies, 8 February 2023. 8 EY, ‘EY Financial Services Brexit Tracker: Movement within UK financial services sector stabilises five years on from Article 50 trigger’, 29 March 2022, London; European Affairs Committee of the House of Lords, ‘1st Report of Session 2022–23: The UK-EU relationship in financial services’, 23 June 2022.
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Calls on the Commission to keep the European Parliament fully and immediately informed about all complications that may jeopardise the level playing field and fair competition for EU businesses and workers;
Amendment 81 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Strongly reiterates the importance of protecting the Good Friday Agreement and supporting peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland; recalls the UK Government’s threatened actions, which would be deemed to be in violation of the TCA, particularly with respect to the Northern Ireland Protocol as contained in the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill 2022, in which the UK Government proposed removing the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the EU over the Protocol, and for which the Commission commenced infringement proceedings against the UK; recognpraises that an agreement has been reached on the Windsor Framework10, which will ensure a flexible but effective implementation of the NI Protocol and respect for the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement while safeguarding the integrity of the EU’s single market, and that the British Government has announced its intention to suspend work on the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill and to allow it to lapse. _________________ 10 His Majesty’s Government, ‘The Windsor Framework: A new way forward’, February 2023.
Amendment 84 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Calls on the Commission, in coordination with the European Central Bank, the European Supervisory Authorities, the European Systemic Risk Board and the Single Resolution Board, to keep the Parliament fully informed on the monitoring of the implementation of the TCA and of all relevant market developments in financial services, in order to identify potential market disruptions and threats to financial stability, market integrity and investor protection in a timely manner.