Activities of Peter KOUROUMBASHEV related to 2017/2065(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on Towards a digital trade strategy
Amendments (19)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Recital 1 a (new)
Recital 1 a (new)
– having regard to the E-commerce Directive 2000/31/EC
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Recital 1 b (new)
Recital 1 b (new)
– having regard to the Communication of the Commission on tackling illegal content online (COM(2017)555)
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Notes that technology and the internet facilitate an inclusive economy, allowing even the smallest businesses in the most remote regions to trade globally directly and in this respect calls on the European Commission to pursue 21st century trade agreements that recognize the fundamental advancement of technology and the internet.
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Takes note of the ongoing negotiations of the legislative files on the Digital Market and calls on the European Commission to ensure the coherence between the new EU Digital Single Market and its external policies so as to achieve an integrated approach in trade negotiations. Highlights that Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) should not be the exclusive cooperation mechanism to facilitate digital trade.
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Stresses the need of simplification and alignment of rules through a technologically progressive and transparent model of e-governance of administrative procedures. Calls on the Member States to advance rapidly their e- governance polices, legislation and practice.
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Digital connectivity enhances the volume of trade, but a prerequisite for the online merchants is an efficient delivery system, underlines in this respect that the EU supports harmonised labels, that can lead to better and more efficient cross- border tracking services. Welcomes the open IT standards developed within CEN and suggests that the European Commission promotes such effective tools with international trade partners to reduce the costs of cross-border delivery and benefit ultimately end-users and consumers.
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Underlines, that while EU trade agreements have to increasingly tackle "behind the border barriers" beyond tariffs they must preserve the primary function of regulations to pursue the public interest and be limited to facilitating trade and investment through the identification of unnecessary technical barriers to trade, duplicated or redundant administrative burdens, which disproportionately affect SMEs, while not compromising the technical procedures and standards on health, safety, consumer, labour, social and environmental protection and cultural diversity; recalls that corresponding mechanisms must be based on enhanced information exchange and improved adoption of international technical standards, and lead to increased convergence, whilst under no circumstances undermining or delaying the democratically legitimised decision- making procedures of any trading partner
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Underlines the need to tackle all forms of digital protectionism, including unjustified data localisation requirements, as such protectionism is contrary to the EU’s data protection rules; draws the attention to the fact that it is essential to ensure that the principle of net neutrality is respected, as an open and neutral internet is key to preventing concentration of market power in the digital economy, ensuring ease of entry to small and medium-sized internet-based business owners;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Recognises that the principles of the E-commerce Directive (2000/31/EC) have been crucial in developing the digital economy and in guaranteeing freedom of speech and freedom of conduct of businesses; stresses that online intermediaries should not be imposed with a general obligation to monitor the information which they transmit or store, nor a general obligation actively to seek facts or circumstances indicating illegal activity; however, they should cooperate to swiftly detect, remove and prevent the reappearance of illegal content and guarantee the fair remuneration of authors and rights holders, for instance by providing an appeal mechanism to allow users and copyright holders to signal unlawful third-party content or by improving the use of filters They should also avoid that legal content is taken down mistakenly, by introducing counter-notice mechanisms.
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Stresses that trade agreements should encourage the use of advanced technologies, the interoperability of systems and predictable contractual relations; calls to increase cooperation between regulators
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Stresses the need of digitalisation of customs information and management via on-line registration and operation of information, in respect of international standards, e-certification and on-line payment of customs duties, to scale down on trade costs, facilitate clearance at the border and cooperation in fraud detection. Calls the European Commission to encourage and request from our trade partners the digitalisation of customs procedures together with compatibility of customs systems in parallel with the reduction of tariffs.
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Stresses the importance of the compatibility and interoperability of payment systems and clear rules on taxation and duties; considers that the number of small consignments exempted from VAT has increased dramatically and EU business face competitive disadvantages from importers, including VAT fraud and its impact on loss of revenues for the EU. Calls on the Commission to review the exemption and apply effective VAT procedures
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Underlines the fact that even though the Single Digital Market strategy addresses many of the problems facing digital trade, European companies still face significant global obstacles such as non-transparent regulations, government intervention or unjustified data location and data storage; some of the key actions of the Digital Single Market Strategy, such as the European cloud initiative and the copyright reform, have an international dimension that could be addressed in a European Digital Trade Strategy;
Amendment 51 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Highlights that the digital economy should be regarded as part of a EU taxation agenda and calls on the European Commission to ensure that multinationals in the digital sphere are subject to a fair, efficient and growth- friendly corporate tax system and are taxable in the countries where economic activity takes place and income is generated
Amendment 58 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 9 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Considers that data flows are indispensable to trade in services and the digital economy but should never compromise the EU’s acquis on data protection and the right to privacy. Recalls that data and the right to privacy are not a trade barrier but a fundamental right
Amendment 59 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Reiterates that forced data localisation can be a protectionist tool and as such can translate into a trade barrier, which favours large incumbents, puts SMEs in disadvantaged position and distorts competition and is to the detriment of consumers, calls for the inclusion of a provision for free flow of non-personal data in trade agreements and encourages practises such as cloud storage, facilitating an easier accessibility to the involved parties without major barriers
Amendment 60 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9b. Stresses that globally telecommunications companies are not only providers of their own products and services but also enablers for other sectors, by providing the essential connectivity infrastructure for functioning and growing in the digital economy especially with a view innovative to business models and in this respect urges the EC to continue incorporating provisions in trade agreements with similar levels of access as is available in the EU. Considers that trade partners with pro-competitive telecoms networks will increase trading opportunities to the EU and will also contribute to the digital divide of less development countries with low levels of access to the internet
Amendment 61 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 c (new)
Paragraph 9 c (new)
9c. Further calls on the Commission to promote rule-based competition in the telecommunication sector, guaranteeing the independence of regulators and ensuring a fair and non-discriminatory access to telecom networks by European undertakings that will increase choice for consumers. Strongly supports the principle of non-discriminatory access to internet and encourages the European Commission to actively promote this principle at a multilateral level and on FTAs.
Amendment 62 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 d (new)
Paragraph 9 d (new)
9d. Highlights that globally digital trade in goods is confronted with the problem of counterfeiting and urges the EC to promote initiatives such as an open system IT-trust mark to boost the trust of consumers in the e-merchants and ensure a level playing field. Encourages the use of instruments such as the Memorandum of Understanding on the online sale of counterfeit goods.