25 Amendments of Maria ARENA related to 2018/0093M(NLE)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 a (new)
Citation 7 a (new)
- having regard to European Parliament resolution containing the European Parliament’s recommendations to the Commission on the negotiations for the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) of 3 February 2016;
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 b (new)
Citation 7 b (new)
- having regard to Protocol 26 to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union on services of general interest;
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 c (new)
Citation 7 c (new)
- having regard to its recommendation following the inquiry on money laundering, tax avoidance and tax evasion P8_TA-PROV(2017)0491;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas within the ASEAN region Singapore is by far the EU’s largest partner, accounting for slightly under one third of EU-ASEAN trade in goods and services, and roughly two thirds of investments between the two regions; whereas, according to expert NGOs such as the Tax Justice Network Singapore continues to offer a range of secrecy offerings; full tax exemption for foreign- sourced income received in Singapore by any individual not resident in Singapore; absence of capital gains, gift or estate taxes; quasi-territorial tax system that exempts from individual income tax all foreign-sourced income not remitted to Singapore; wide array of tax treaties with other countries and, partly, as a result of this, has become a major turntable for so- called "round tripping" with India;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
G a. Whereas financial services should not be treated as any other service as they imply the creation and distribution of risks; whereas in the financial realm regulations refer to the effective ability of national regulators to control these risky activities of cross-border actors; whereas the inclusion of financial services in free trade agreements seeks to liberalise international capital movements regardless of their origin and could therefore enhance the financialisation of our economies and increase the interconnection between major financial institutions, at the risk of significantly facilitating the spread of future crises;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
I a. whereas the economic impact analysis of the EU-Singapore FTA, conducted by the European Commission in 2013, states that Singapore´s GDP could increase by 0.94%, or 2.7 billion and EU GDP by 550 million;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. WelcomesTakes note of the signing in Brussels, on 19 October 2018, of the FTA;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes that negotiations were originally concluded in 2012 and regrets the long delay in bringing forward the agreement for ratificationbut ratification was delayed due to the request to the Court of Justice for an opinion to determine whether the EU-Singapore FTA is an “EU-only” or “mixed” agreement;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Stresses that EU trade agreements should be put in the service of sustainable development for the many and to protect consumers, workers and the environment, to create decent jobs, to fight money laundering, tax evasion and the financing of terrorism, to uphold EU standards, safeguarding public services and respecting democratic procedures whilst boosting EU export opportunities; therefore a fundamental change in the current trade paradigm is of utmost importance, putting sustainability on equal footing with economic interests;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Is concerned that further liberalisation of financial services through free trade agreements could potentially hamper global financial stability; stresses that the strengthening of financial regulations and cooperation in supervision must be pursued through the many existing international bodies and bilateral organisations explicitly charged with this mandate and not through trade agreements, whose primary goal is to increase production and exchange; Regrets the “self-cancelling” terminology included in the prudential carve out clause.
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Recalls that trade Agreements should include a binding Tax Good Governance Clause that would reaffirm the Parties’ commitment to implementation of agreed international standards in the fight against tax evasion and avoidance, money laundering and the financing of terrorism, , on obligations for country-by-country reporting, automatic exchange of information and the establishment of public registers of beneficial ownership;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Welcomes Singapore’s signing on 21 June 2017 of the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) for implementing the global standard for the automatic exchange of information for tax purposes and its notification to the OECD on 30 June 2017 of its intention to activate automatic exchanges under that agreement with all the EU Member States for which there was no bilateral agreement for the same purpose in place; is concerned that according to Oxfam, Singapore still features as a prominent tax haven used globally by multinationals to avoid paying tax in the countries where they operate.
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Stresses the improved access under this agreement to Singapore’s public procurement market as compared to under the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA); stresses that ecological and social criteria, including gender equality criteria, should be applied in awarding public procurement contracts;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Stresses that the agreement recognises the right of Member States at all levels to define, finance and provide public services and does not prevent governments from bringing any privatised service back in to the public sector; Regrets however that public services are not fully excluded from the scope of the agreement; Underlines the preference for a gold standard clause that unequivocally carves out public services from all trade and investment obligations;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10 a. Demands that any provisions on Mode 4 (temporary movement of natural persons) must be subject to an effective international cooperation of the legal authorities for the enforcement of social and employment legislation, collective wage agreements and minimum wages;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Underlines that the agreement safeguards the EU’s right to apply its own standards to all goods and services sold in the EU and upholds the EU’s precautionary principle; Stresses that nothing in the agreement should prevent the application of the precautionary principle in the European Union as set out in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Firmly underlines that all imports from Singapore into the EU must respect all standards imposed on EU products;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Expects that both parties commit to ensure high levels of environmental and labour protection; calls on the EU and Singapore to take all necessary actions to implement the Sustainable Development Goals;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Emphasises that this is a progressive trade agreement andNotes that both Parties committed in the trade and sustainable development (TSD) chapter to ensure a high level of environmental and labour protection; Deplores that a sanction-based mechanism to effectively enforce sustainable development related provisions has not been included in the TSD chapter;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Recallgrets that the Parties committed to make sustained efforts towardsSingapore has not ratified the three outstanding ILO core conventions (on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise, on Discrimination and on Forced Labour) before the negotiations have been concluded; Calls on Singapore to ratifying and effectively implementing the three outstanding fundamental ILO conventions; welcomes as soon as possible; takes note of the information provided so far by the Government of Singapore in relation to its compliance with the three outstanding ILO conventions, namely those on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise, on Discrimination and on Forced Labour, and expects and calls on Singapore to further engage with the ILO with a view to progressing towards full alignment with their content and ultimately pursuing their ratification;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Welcomes the commitment to effectively implement multilateral environmental agreements such as the Paris Agreement on climate change and to the sustainable management of forests and fisheries; Points out that the EU- Singapore agreement could be an instrument to combat climate change and to accelerate and intensify the actions and investments needed for a sustainable low carbon future; regrets that no binding measures or targets are included in the agreement; calls on the Commission to introduce binding greenhouse gas emissions targets, including through the use of a sanctions based mechanism;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Stresses that regulatory cooperation is voluntary and by no means should limit the right to regulate or open the door to any kind of regulatory chill or weakening of the level of protection of labour, the environment, consumers, the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism, health and food safety in order to encourage or attract trade; Stresses the importance of excluding sensitive regulations; Underlines that any cooperation should not undermine the internal legislative process in the EU, including appropriate consultations of EU stakeholders, nor affect in any way the prerogatives of the European Parliament under the EU Treaties;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Stresses that the involvement of civil society in monitoring the implementation of the agreement is crucial and calls for a swift establishment of domestic advisory groups following the entry into force of the agreement and for a balanced representation of civil society therein; calls on the Commission to allocate more resources to these mechanisms and to provide support to ensure constructive participation of civil society;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17 a. Recalls that the European Court of Justice has stated, in its 2/15 Opinion on EU-Singapore FTA that trade and sustainable development chapters have a direct and immediate effect on trade and that a breach on sustainable development provisions authorises the other Party to terminate or suspend the liberalisation provided for on other provisions of the FTA;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Calls on the Commission to trigger the general review clause of the agreement as sooboth parties to start working immediately on an effective sanction mechanism in cas possiblee of sustained violations in order to strengthen the enforceability of labour and environmental provisions including through a sanctions-based mechanism as a last resort;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18 a. Suspends the consent procedure in respect of the draft agreement for a period of one year from the moment of adoption of this decision to substantially improve the TSD-chapter;