Activities of Michel REIMON related to 2014/2228(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) (debate) DE
Shadow opinions (2)
OPINION on recommendations to the European Commission on the negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)
OPINION on recommendations to the European Commission on the negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)
Amendments (52)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Recital a (new)
Recital a (new)
- whereas the European Parliament has called for urgent global action to limit global warming below 2 °C1 a, meaning that a large quantity of fossil fuels, especially those with high greenhouse gas intensity, will have to remain underground; __________________ 1aEP Position on the COP 20 in Lima, Peru, 2014 (This is a recital (i.e. to be placed BEFORE 1.))
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph a
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph a
a. take immediate action to ensure that a comprehensive and ambitious agreement is reached on the TTIP enhancing fair competition on both sides of the Atlanticon both sides of the Atlantic economic and financial stability is at the core of government regulation and supervision and that the financial sector is at the service of the real economy and transition to a more socially and environmentally sustainable society;
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Recital a (new)
Recital a (new)
- whereas a lifting of the US export restrictions on oil and gas would lead to higher prices in the US through the EU- US price differential and is therefore highly unlikely; (This is a recital, i.e. to be placed BEFORE 1.)
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Recital a (new)
Recital a (new)
- whereas the quantitative difference in authorised US fuel exports with and without free trade clause is a mere 0, 12 bcm per day, a quantity - even if shipped to the EU - unlikely to have a significant impact on supply security;1 b __________________ 1b TTIP Impacts on European Energy Markets and Manufacturing Industries - Study for the ITRE Committee p.29, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/e tudes/STUD/2015/536316/IPOL_STU(201 5)536316_EN.pdf (This is a recital, i.e. to be placed BEFORE 1.)
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Recital a (new)
Recital a (new)
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Recital a (new)
Recital a (new)
- whereas the US has not signed the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; (This is a recital (i.e. to be placed BEFORE 1.))
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Recital a (new)
Recital a (new)
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Recital a (new)
Recital a (new)
- whereas the US has not ratified 175 out of 189 ILO conventions on international labour standards; (This is a recital (i.e. to be placed BEFORE 1.))
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Recital a (new)
Recital a (new)
- whereas the US has not signed the Energy Charta Treaty; (This is a recital (i.e. to be placed BEFORE 1.))
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Recital a (new)
Recital a (new)
- whereas the US has not signed the Basel Convention on Hazardous Waste Disposal, the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity, the 2000 Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, and the 2001 Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants; (This is a recital, i.e. to be placed BEFORE 1.)
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Calls on the Commission to maintain the objeensure that any potential agreement would not lead to higher rates of extractiveon of including a specific energy chapter in the TTIP which could significantly increase the EU’sfossil fuels and/or higher energy prices for citizen for the sake of prematurely and supposedly perceived trade or energy security benefits; points to the fact that alternative, cost-effective, domestic, job creating and climate protecting measures are available, namely the reduction of energy demand through energy efficiency and saving measures and the accelerated development of domestic renewable energy securityources;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph b
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph b
b. take immediate action to ensure that fretrade and fair competition on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as market access, is addressinvestment by financial actors on both sides of the Atlantic is regulated on the basis of the highest standards possible withibased on the existing or higher levels of protection, especially within areas such as health and safety, consumer, labour and, environmental legislation and consumer protection;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph c
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph c
c. take immediate action to include restricfoster greater transparency and information exchange regarding state aid rules and the allocations onf state aid in the agreement; propose greater transparency within state aid rules and, and more broadly the provision of direct and indirect subsidies including in particular tax rulings, while preserving policy space required for the development of public and promotional banks as well as other mechanisms for providing concessional access to finance within the allocation of state aidim of supporting projects with high social and environmental returns;
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph c a (new)
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph c a (new)
ca. take immediate action to ensure a comprehensive reform of the financial sector so as to tackle and prevent systemic risks;
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Requests that the Commission ensures a policy of free trade with respect to fuels, including LNG and crude oilstance in its negotiations that are not leading to offsetting health, environmental and other risks related to the exploitation of shale gas, tar sand or other energy or industrial resources and raw materials to the US citizen; insists that EU acquis, for example on environmental legislation, consumer and data protection, must be upheld for all imported products and services;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph d
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph d
d. take immediate action to ensure that market access negotiations on financial services are combined withan upward convergence in financial regulation; supports high international standards in on- going cooperation efforts in other international fora;
Amendment 51 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph d a (new)
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph d a (new)
da. to refrain from additional market access commitments for financial services since interconnectedness, complexity and excessively big entities generate and spread systemic risks and represent a threat to financial stability;
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph e
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph e
e. take immediate action to ensure that aggressive tax planning, and distortion of competition by e.g. moving of headquarters across the Atlantic to obtain competition- distorting conditions, are addressed, and ensure that 'off-shore' funds whose managers operate on both side of the Atlantic are being required to established their headquarters 'on shore'; take immediate action for ensuring an automatic exchange of information and country-by-country reporting regarding tax matters in all sectors;
Amendment 55 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Objects to the imports of particularly high greenhouse gas intensive fuels such as LNG derived from shale gas and crude oil derived from tar sands, as this would jeopardize international climate commitments, put at odds European climate legislation and objectives, not be subject to the recommendations on unconventional fuels and infringe the Fuel Quality Directive;
Amendment 64 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph f
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph f
f. take immediate action to ensureavoid that systematic movement of capital across the Atlantic, in order to results in avoiding tax payments in the country of production and/or sale of goods or services, is addressed within the TTIP; ensure that capital controls are possible to prevent, and to deal with balance of payments or financial crises; underlines the need for enhanced transparency and granularity regarding balance of payments statistics across the Atlantic;
Amendment 64 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Commission to work on transatlantic harmonisation of standards and regulations that define the principles of public support for different energy sourcean agreement to end fossil fuel subsidies in line with the G20 commitments to phase out fossil fuel subsidies, specifically also on fuel tax exemptions for commercial aviation, and subsidies through export credit agencies and international financial institutions;
Amendment 68 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph f a (new)
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph f a (new)
fa. ensure that no jurisdiction with no or purely nominal taxes is included within the scope of the TTIP agreement;
Amendment 70 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph g
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph g
g. take immediunderlines thate action to ensure reciprocal market access for European companien imbalance of market access to public contracts in the United Staconstitutes; underlines that an imbalance of market accfair competition but recognizess tohat public contracts constitutes unfair competitionprocurement plays a key role regarding the fulfilment of missions of general interest;
Amendment 77 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph g a (new)
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph g a (new)
ga. ensure that the recently adopted EU rules on public procurement are shielded and supported in the framework of the negotiations, in particular regarding SMEs access to public contracts, the eligibility criteria based on the best 'quality-price' ratio instead of the cheapest price, reserved markets allocated to social economy undertakings, the possibility for contractual authorities to foster inter-community cooperation as well as to preserve thresholds for tendering exclusion from EU and international rules; to guarantee that EU undertakings are not discriminated whenever they apply to public procurement in the US and that they benefit of a transparent access equivalent to those applied to US undertakings in Europe as a consequence of public procurement rules in the EU;
Amendment 78 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph g b (new)
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph g b (new)
gb. to ensure the respect by contractual parties the obligation to favour short circuits and the circular economy so as to contribute to the respect of the environment;
Amendment 79 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph h
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph h
Amendment 81 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Calls on the Commission to exclude issues related to nuclear energy in its negotiations;
Amendment 82 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Calls on the Commission to insist on comprehensive certification for all biofuels in its negotiations according to ambitious sustainability criteria for biofuels, fully addressing indirect land use change, upstream emissions, social issues and links to the RED, FQD and RSF2 regulations and with a view to prohibit import of energy and food crops based biofuels;
Amendment 90 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Points to the huge differentials between the USA and the EU in energy prices but also in per capita CO2 emissions; calls on the Commission, therefore, to provide energy-intensive sectors in the EU, includ, that are, according to Commission analysis mainly linked to national tax policies for specific domestic reasons chosen by the respective Member States 1 c; but also in per capita CO2 emissions; calls on the Commission, and also its transatlantic counterparts, to do away with pork-barrel politics ing the chemicalir negotiations iandustry, with appropriate measures maintaining current tariff rates over the longest focus on a common welfare approach based on concepts such as sustainability, the precautionary principle, the internalization of external costs and resposnsible period after the entry into force of the TTIP;ility towards future generations; __________________ 1c Subsidies and costs of EU energy https://ec.europa.eu/energy/sites/ener/files /documents/ECOFYS%202014%20Subsid ies%20and%20costs%20of%20EU%20en ergy_11_Nov.pdf
Amendment 91 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph i
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph i
Amendment 104 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Reminds the Commission of the objective to reduce EU greenhouse gas emissions by 80-95% by 2050 1 d and therefore insists that ambitious and binding energy efficiency measures as well as the promotion of renewables are the economically and environmentally most sustainable options to achieve this goal; __________________ 1dEuropean Council Conclusions March 2011
Amendment 108 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph i a (new)
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph i a (new)
ia. is of the firm opinion that a possible TTIP agreement should not contain any investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism, as the given level of investment protection in the EU and in the US is fully sufficient to guarantee legal security;
Amendment 110 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Calls on the Commission not to undermine the EU standardisation process, for example in the field of energy labelling policies and energy efficiency measures; Considers the opportunities to better converge the measurement standards on both sides of the Atlantic in order to ease the verification of performances by industry and to enhance market surveillance cooperation between EU and US economies and calls for the level of performance to be achieved to be based on the most ambitious set of measures in relation with each constituency, to reflect their specific consumption patterns;
Amendment 114 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph i b (new)
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph i b (new)
ib. ensure that financial legislation and regulation is not subject to enforcement under TTIP chapters on regulatory cooperation and excluded from court challenges or dispute settlements procedures under the TTIP agreement;
Amendment 114 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4c. Highlights the process and standards elaborated under the EU energy labelling and Eco-Design Directives, which should not be compromised on;
Amendment 115 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 d (new)
Paragraph 4 d (new)
4d. Objects any regulatory cooperation body and underlines the sovereignty of the respective national and EU bodies for regulatory processes, including the European Parliament, especially regarding policy objectives, impact assessments and democratic decision making processes, with its provisions on transparency and participation of societal stakeholders;
Amendment 119 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. CRecalls onthat only 13% of SMEs are active outside the EU, while 25% are active exclusively within the EU internal market; points to the negative impact that any possible TTIP agreement is likely to have on non-export oriented SMEs; Demands the Commission to therefore ensure that the priorities and concerns of SMEsall types of SMEs, whether export oriented or not, are fully taken into account in the TTIP negotiations e.g. by means of comprehensive, ex-ante impact assessments orand targeted public consultations; calls on the Commission to ensure protection and enhancement of pro-SMEs policies and support schemes;
Amendment 132 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Calls on the Commission to ensure that the economic, social and environmental impacts of any possible agreement are examined through impartial and independent ex-ante impact assessment with clear involvement of stakeholders and civil society;
Amendment 133 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph k
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph k
k. stress the need to uphold the EU’'s tradition for organising its public services, and call for an exclusion of public services and services of general interest, including publicly-supported financial services providers, from the agreement;
Amendment 139 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Requests thatCalls on the Commission facilitateto examine how more active participation of EU firms in US public procurement could be facilitated as this can contribute to stimulating private-sector innovation and to the emergence of new, high-growth innovative companies and sectors; is against demands that would jeopardise establishment or continuation, in the US, the EU or in the Member States, of pro- SMEs policies and support schemes such as those improving access to public procurement of SMEs, green or regional procurement;
Amendment 147 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph l
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph l
l. propose that there should be no obligation in TTIP to expose sensitive sectors to competition, including in the field of financial services; is of the opinion that sovereign debt instruments should be excluded from the scope of the investment treaty.
Amendment 151 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Stresses that regulatory policy coordination cannot be taken as a pretext for lowering the level of ambition on issues of vital importance for EU citizens such as the safety and wellbeing of employees, or the protection of the environment; is against the promotion of a deregulation agenda with the excuse of reducing administrative and regulatory burdens and trade barriers for industry and SMEs; calls on the Commission not to lower its level of ambition with regard to EU public policy objectives and regulations in the field of environmental, social and health and safety standards and calls on the Commission to upheld, protect and strengthen them;
Amendment 154 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph l a (new)
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph l a (new)
la. urges therefore the Commission to negotiate a general prudential carve-out that guarantees financial stability and covers public policy objectives such as the restructuring of banks and other financial institutions and guarantees general access to affordable financial services and provide adequate financing for the transition toward climate friendly economies;
Amendment 158 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph l b (new)
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph l b (new)
lb. urges that regulatory cooperation on the financial sector is carved-out from TTIP but is continued outside the context of a trade and investment agreement while fully respecting the democratic decision-making processes on both sides regarding the ongoing cooperation agenda;
Amendment 159 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Recalls that decisions on legal conflicts about fundamental rights may only be made by competent ordinary courts; is of the firm opinion that a possible TTIP agreement should not contain any investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism, as the given level of investment protection in the EU and in the US is fully sufficient to guarantee legal security;
Amendment 160 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph l c (new)
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph l c (new)
lc. recalls the need for transparency in the negotiations throughout the entire process; reminds the Commission of its obligation , according to TFEU Art 218.10 which the ECJ in a recent ruling has been confirmed as of statutory character, to keep Parliament fully informed on an immediate basis at all stages of the negotiations; urges the Commission to work towards an agreement with the US Administration regarding the access of all Parliamentarians to the consolidated negotiation texts; insists on access for the public to relevant negotiation documents from all parties, with the exception of those which are to be classified with clear justification on a case-by-case basis, in line with Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents;
Amendment 161 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Reminds the Commission, while welcoming the potential benefits of regulatory alignment and mutual recognition, including the establishment of common principles inof the importance of maintaining high levels of safety and security and that the negotiations should lead to alignment to the higher standards in e-commerce without impeding on the EU ICT standardsisation and technical specifications in the area of ICT, about the importance of maintaining high levels of safety and securitycreation processes, the intellectual property rights (IPR) legislative process and the protection of the cultural sector;
Amendment 180 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Asks the Commission to keep in mind that the consent of the European Parliament to a possible agreement could also be endangered as long as the blanket mass surveillance activities are not completely abandoned and an adequate solution is found for the data privacy rights of EU citizens, including administrative and judicial redress 1 e ; __________________ 1e § 74 of the Parliament Resolution of 12 March 2014
Amendment 188 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Reminds the Commission, regarding ICT services, that it is of particular importance that the TTIPnegotiations aim at ensureing a level playing field with equal access for EU service companies to the US market and with an obligation on US service providers to respect the rules applicable to EU companies when providing services in Europe or to European customers. In this regard, commitments in service sectors entailing a high degree of data flows - such as e- commerce, telecoms and financial services - should be discussed only once the ongoing negotiations on Safe Harbor and the Data Protection Umbrella Agreement are successfully concluded;
Amendment 195 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Stresses that negotiations with the United States on most IPR issues are not desirable from the EU point of view, as legal traditions and rules differ, such as on copyright or patent protection for instance, while the levels of protection are already well developed; recalls that trade secret protection, which is not considered as an IPR in the vast majority of the EU Member States, but is in the US, should not be discussed in the context of IPR; reminds the Commission that it is key for EU producers, both from an economic and a cultural standpoint, that there is full recognition and protection of geographical indications (GIs);
Amendment 208 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Recalls the need for transparency in the negotiations throughout the entire process; reminds the Commission of its obligation, according to TFEU Art 218.10 which the ECJ in a recent ruling has been confirmed as of statutory character, to keep Parliament fully informed on an immediate basis at all stages of the negotiations; urges the Commission to work towards an agreement with the US Administration regarding the access of all Parliamentarians to the consolidated negotiation texts; insists on access for the public to relevant negotiation documents from all parties, with the exception of those which are to be classified with clear justification on a case-by-case basis, in line with Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents 1 f; __________________ 1f OJ L 145, 31.05.2001, p.43
Amendment 214 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 c (new)
Paragraph 8 c (new)
8c. Calls on the Commission to release to the European public those documents that are accessible to both negotiation parties, in order to allow European citizens to be properly informed; further advocates the possibility to create processes for citizen to express their opinion and accommodate these during the negotiation process;