Activities of Edouard FERRAND related to 2017/2192(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT Recommendation to the Council on the proposed negotiating mandate for trade negotiations with Australia PDF (330 KB) DOC (66 KB)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the recommendation relating to the negotiating mandate for the conduct of the EU trade negotiations with Australia
Amendments (21)
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas Australia is a party to the concluded negotiations for a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the future of which remains uncertain, and the ongoing negotiations on a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in East Asia, uniting Australia’s most important trading partners; whereas Australia has had a free trade agreement in place with China since 2015, which could subsequently act as a bridge for the import of Chinese products into the European Union;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Underlines the importance of deepening relations between the Member States of the EU and the Asia-Pacific region for economic growth within Europe and stresses that this is reflected in the EU’s trade policy; recognises that Australia is a key part of this strategy and that widening and deepening trade relations can help to meet this goal;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Calls for greater transparency in the negotiations and for the national parliaments to be kept informed of progress and for all national governments to be given access to all negotiation documents so as to enable them to follow the process in full transparency;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the Commission to conclude, as soon as possible, its assessments of the potential impact of such a trade deal on the economies of each Member State, with a view to being able to evaluate thoroughly the possible gains and losses from the enhancement of the EU- Australia trade and investment relationships, for the benefit of citizens and businesses on both sides, and particularly the benefit of the farming sector, including in the outermost regions and the overseas countries and territories;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls on the Council not to authorise the Commission to start negotiations for a trade an investment agreement and an investment protection agreement with Australia on the basis of the outcome of the scoping exercises and with clear targets;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls on the Commission and the Council to clearly distinguish between an agreement on trade and the liberalisation of foreign direct investment (FDI), only containing issues under exclusive EU competence, and a second agreement on investment protection, including on FDI and non-direct investment, which would be subject to an Investment Court Systemnot to interfere in matters falling under the competence of the Member States;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on the Commission, when presenting the finalised agreements for signature and conclusion, and on the Council, when deciding on signature and conclusion, to fully respect the distribution of competences between the EU and its Member States; and to respect states' constitutions and decisions;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls on the Commission to conduct negotiations as transparently as possible and fully respecting best practice as established in other negotiations; requests that the Council make the negotiating mandate public and for the national parliaments to be fully and actively involved in the decision-making process;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Emphasises that an ambitious agreement must address, in a meaningful way, investment, trade in goods and services (drawing on recent Parliament recommendations as regards reservations of policy space and sensitive sectors), e- commerce, public procurement, energy, state-owned enterprises, competition, regulatory issues such as sanitary and phytosanitary barriers, as well as technology research;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Asks the Commission to set out a uniform approach for agriculture and to publish its analyses as soon as possible, thus enabling an objective assessment of the potential advantages and disadvantages for European producers to be made, including an estimate of the impact on employment and of the possible introduction of specific aid for European supply chains;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 – point a
Paragraph 14 – point a
(a) Real market access opportunities for both sides to each other’s goods and services market through the elimination of regulatory barriers: nothing in the agreement, however, should prevent either side from regulating to achieve legitimate policy objectives; considering, in this respect, that no EU trade agreement hasmust ever privatisedlead to the privatisation of public services, such as water, education, health and social services, nor decreased our high European health, food, consumer, environmental, labour and safety standards, nor constrained public funding of the arts and culture, education, and health and social services;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 – point d a (new)
Paragraph 14 – point d a (new)
(da) A dedicated chapter taking into account the needs and interests of European farmers since the elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers will cause a certain amount of damage to their livelihoods;points out that Australia has a very competitive, export-focused agricultural sector;reiterates out that, on average, the farms there are larger than their European counterparts;emphasises, therefore, that securing increased access to the vast EU market through the removal or lowering of tariff and non- tariff barriers in the sector will undoubtedly be a priority for Australia;thus takes the view that the EU must refrain from making any sort of commitment concerning the most sensitive agricultural products, such as beef, veal, sheepmeat, cereals, dairy products or special sugars;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 – point d b (new)
Paragraph 14 – point d b (new)
(db) A dedicated chapter taking into account the interests of consumers;reiterates that consumer protection should be a core principle of any trade agreement;
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 – point g
Paragraph 14 – point g
(g) A balanced outcome in the agriculture and fisheries chapters which gives due consideration to the interests of all European producers and consumers, for instance by introducing appropriate quotas in the most sensitive sectors; considers that only then can it boost competitiveness and be beneficial to both consumers and produceWarns all stakeholders against the wholesale opening-up of the agriculture and fisheries sectors, in particular, bearing in mind that the overriding concern is to protect the interests of European producers and consumers in those sectors;
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 – point g – point i (new)
Paragraph 14 – point g – point i (new)
(i) Emphasises that it is important to recognise that all European geographical indications should be protected effectively, and placed at the heart of the negotiations;notes that the ‘coexistence’ mechanism for GIs – used where similarly named private trademarks are on the market in third countries – does not provide sufficient protection for EU products on the market, giving consumers a vague and misleading impression of the origin of food products;calls on the Commission, furthermore, where it does not come forward with any protection mechanisms, to consider excluding from free trade agreements any EU agricultural sectors the survival of which would be threatened by market competition or which have experienced specific crisis situations in recent years;
Amendment 165 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Looks forward to the launch of negotiations with Australia and to following them closely and contributing to their successful outcome; rReminds the Commission of its obligation to inform Parliament immediately and fully at all stages of the negotiations (both before and after the negotiating rounds); is committed to addressing the legislative and regulatory issues that may arise in the context of the negotiations and the future agreement; reiterates its fundamental responsibility to represent the citizens of the EU, and looks forward to facilitating inclusive and open discussions during the negotiating process;
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Recalls that Parliament will endeavouris bound to monitor the implementation of the future agreement;