13 Amendments of Klaus BUCHNER related to 2015/2038(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas Article 21 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) reaffirmstates that the EU’s external actions will be guided by the principles of democracy, the rule of law, the universality and indivisibility of human rights and fundamental freedoms, respect for human dignity, the principle of equality and solidarity,Union shall define and pursue common policies and actions, in order to consolidate and support democracy, the rule of law, human rights and the principles of international law; and that the Union shall respect these principles and pursue these objectives in the development and coimpliance with the UN Charter and international lawementation of its external action and of the external aspects of its other policies;
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the Commission's proposal for a new trade and investment strategy, "Trade for All", recognises the link between trade, human rights and social and environmental standards has becomeand insists on the need to make those rights and standards an integral part of the EU’s economic and commercial relations; whereas the EU’s human rights and democracy policy in third countries should continue to be mainstreamed through othershould however continue to be better integrated into EU policies with an external dimension, includingnotably the trade policy;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas trade and human rights canmay reinforce each other, and the business community has, while obliged to respect human rights, may also have an important role to play in promoting human rights and democracy; whereas strengthening trade relations may enhances mutual underst the rule of law, good governance and respect for human rights, provided that trade and ing and common values such as the rule of law, good governance and respect forvestment policies are carefully designed and implemented to protect, respect and enforce human rights; whereas this positive dynamic also depends on the EU ensuring guarantees to prevent and provide remedies to the possible negative impacts of its policies and action on human rights;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recalls that the EU is committed itself to promoting and respecting human rights and democracy in its relations with third countries; stresses, therefore, that the advancement of human rights and democratic principles should be supported through in all EU policies, including trade policy, and all relevant EU external financing instruments;
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. RecommendWelcomes, therefore, that the EU’s trade strategy be a tool for the promotion of European values and interests in third countries; welcomes, therefore, the enhancement of trade agreements and trade preference programmes as levers to promote human rightse enhancement of trade agreements and trade preference programmes as levers to promote human rights, but regrets that trade and investment agreements still fail to expressly oblige businesses and investors to respect international human rights law and to provide for complaint mechanisms for the populations and individuals whose human rights are affected by EU trade and investment;
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Regrets that EU trade and investment agreements do not reaffirm nor fully protect both the right and the obligation of States to regulate in order to enhance and fulfil human rights; calls on the EU to propose new human rights clauses and mechanisms in order to deal with those shortcomings, provide complaint mechanisms for affected populations and their representatives and ensure that human rights are protected including in any (state-to-state or investor-state) dispute settlement mechanism set up in EU agreements;
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes the Commission’s efforts to fulfil its commitment to including human rights for impact assessment studies of legislative and non-legislative proposals, implementing measures and trade agreements; regrets however that these impact assessments still present shortcomings, notably regarding their capacity to influence the outcome of trade and investment policies; reiterates that impact assessments should lead to enhancing the human rights protections and mechanisms set up in trade and investment agreements and policies; calls, furthermore, calls on the Commission to systematically carry out such human rights impact assessments and to improve their quality and comprehensiveness;
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Reiterates its support for the systematic introduction of human rights clauses in all international agreements between the EU and third countries; and deplores the fact that despite the unanimous endorsement of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights by the Human Right Council in 2011, the number of human rights abuses linked to business activity continues to grow; calls on the Commission to report regularly on the state of implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights by EU Member States;
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Calls on the EU to support civil society in third countries in contributing to impact assessments and in assessing the human rights impact of the trade and investment agreements that the EU is negotiating in the countries concerned;
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls, furthermore, on the Commission to systematically monitor the implementation of the human rights clauses andreview and assess the impact of its trade and investment policies on human rights and to set up the needed safeguards to prevent and remedy the negative impacts, also by amending these agreements when needed; calls on the Commission to report regularly to Parliament on partner countries’ respect for human rights and core ILO standards;
Amendment 46 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Calls on the Commission to set up adequate monitoring and enforcement mechanisms to ensure companies and investors comply with human rights, centralise complaints made by affected populations and civil society organisations, and report on the provision of remedies for violations of rights;
Amendment 50 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes the Commission’s efforts to support the implementation of the UN’s Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights and the UN Global Compact and at the same time to encouragecalls on all trading partners to comply with these international principles; considers that more efforts should be made to recognise binding and enforceable due diligence requirements and considers that the access to remedies remains the weak link of the national action plans and EU strategy under the UNGP; calls on the Commission to propose legislative initiatives on mandatory due diligence for companies and to address and reinforce all aspects of access to remedies (including access to justice, legal aid, access to information, burden of proof) as a matter of priority;
Amendment 51 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Deplores the obstructive behaviour by EU member states in relation to the establishment of the Open-ended Inter- Governmental Working Group (IGWG) on the elaboration of an international legally-binding instrument on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights; welcomes the work so far of the IGWG and calls on the EU and its Member States to constructively engage in the negotiations;