Activities of Karoline GRASWANDER-HAINZ related to 2015/2233(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on Recommendations to the European Commission on the negotiations for the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA)
Amendments (43)
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 a (new)
Citation 5 a (new)
- having regard to its resolution on 8 September 2015 on the follow-up to the European Citizens’ Initiative Right2Water,
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – point i a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point i a (new)
(ia) to acknowledge the need for a more socially and environmentally sustainable and democratic approach to international trade agreements;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – point i b (new)
Paragraph 1 – point i b (new)
(ib) to stress the importance of the protection of workers, consumers and the environment as well as of universal access to public services particularly in the transport and delivery sector in the EU and its partner countries; to bear in mind that those regulations are not an economic burden, but essential rights; to underline that foreign service providers have to comply with EU and Member State social and labour legislation, as well as with collective agreements and with minimum wages; to stress that the destination country principle has to apply, however, this is without prejudice to more favourable provisions in legislation or collective agreements in the sending country; to acknowledge that the quality of services is intrinsically linked to the quality of employment and the regulatory frameworks in place, including collective agreements, labour rights and social legislation;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – point ii
Paragraph 1 – point ii
(ii) to ensure that the negotiations address transport and tourism sectors in a meaningful way and in a spirit of reciprocity; to keep in mind negative liberalisation experiences and to ensure the policy space to respond to negative developments in the transport sector, in the postal and courier sector; to ensure that European, national and local authorities retain the full right to introduce, adopt, maintain, repeal or extend any measures with regard to the commissioning, organisation, funding and provision of public transport; to exclude public services including public transport services comprehensively and unequivocally from the scope of the agreement;
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – point iii
Paragraph 1 – point iii
(iii) to promote negotiations on regulation that address issues such as transparency, deadlines, due process, non- discrimishow strong concerns in regard to the planned "enhanced regulatory disciplines" and domestic regulation provisions of the agreement; to reject the introduction of necessity tests for domestic regulation; in any case the agreement has to fully preserve the capacity of municipal, regional, national and redress, while continuing to require that foreign companies wishing to offer transport or delEuropean authorities to maintain, apply and extend regulations in the public interest such as high standards for the protection of labour, environmental and consumer interests as well as univerysal services within the European Union comply with existing regulatory standards obligations; to ensure that these standards cannot be deemed as unnecessary burdens to trade;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas any trade agreement must provide more rights and lowefair prices to European consumers, more rights and decent wages for workers and level the playing field for European companies;
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – point iv
Paragraph 1 – point iv
(iv) to address restrictions in the aviation sector regarding foreign ownership and control of airlines as well as cabotage rights imposed by certain countries; to pursue, as a long-term objective, binding international trade rules for the aviation sector and, in the event that important trade partners are reluctant to make substantial progress, to explore other options for ensuring that European carriers face fair competitive conditions;
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – point iv a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point iv a (new)
(iva) to recall that the proposal on groundhandling services at Union airports has been withdrawn by the Commission; to ensure, in this context, that commitments in TISA on ancillary services do not undermine current EU legislation on ground handling services regarding the degree of liberalisation;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the globalisation, servicification and digitalisation both of our economies and of international trade call for more just and fair policy action to enhance international rules in areas like tax evasion or social dumping;
Amendment 67 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – point vi a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point vi a (new)
(via) to stress that the annex on maritime transport should set only minimum standards and that parties are encouraged to adopt higher standards at their respective regulatory discretion; to ensure consistency with international standards, such as those endorsed by the International Maritime Organisation and the International Civil Aviation Organisation, and to oppose any lowering of these international benchmarks; to ensure the application of all respective ILO Standards like the Maritime Labour Convention and other Conventions relevant to logistics and transport;
Amendment 68 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – point vi b (new)
Paragraph 1 – point vi b (new)
(vib) to oppose any market access commitments with regard to road transport, in particular with respect to Mode 4, as they could lead to the movement of workers across borders without any employment protection and to the undercutting of superior labour legislation in host countries;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas trade in services ismust be an engine for jobs and growth in the EU and must contribute to decent working conditions and a fair distribution of income in the EU and its partner countries;
Amendment 71 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – point vii
Paragraph 1 – point vii
(vii) to promote increased access to third- country markets for delivery services while not jeopardising the existence of universal postal servicesarticularly stress the importance of the postal sector and the transport sector in view of the contribution they make to social, economic and territorial cohesion and to strengthen universal services.
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas citizens’ trust in EU’s trade policy is a must, which can only be restored by ensuring the highest level of transparency, by maintainaccess to negotiating documents, by introducing constant dialogue with civil society, and by setting clear guidelines and participation standards in the negotiations;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)
Recital J a (new)
Ja. whereas the European Parliament has repeatedly called for overcoming the lack of transparency in negotiating processes related to international trade agreements such as the CETA, TTIP and TISA;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point a – point ii
Paragraph 1 – point a – point ii
ii. to reiterate its support for a comprehensive and balanced agreement, which should unleash the untapped potential of a more integrated global services market, while preventing social and economic dumping and fully guaranteeing compliance with the EU acquis; to shape globalisation and to create international standards, while fully preserving the right to regulate; to secure increased market access for European services suppliers in key sectors of interest, while accommodating specific carve-outs for sensitive sectors including all public services;
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point a – point viii
Paragraph 1 – point a – point viii
viii. to publish a sustainability impact assessment and, once the negotiations are finalised, to update it accordingly, taking specific account of its impact on citizens and workersrecall that the EU's negotiating mandate was proposed by the Commission and adopted by the Council without any impact assessment; to publish without any further delay the sustainability impact assessment while negotiations are on- going and as a precondition for the European Parliament approval; to involve social partners and civil society fully in finalising the sustainability impact assessment; to update it accordingly once the negotiations are finalised, taking specific account of its impact on citizens and workers; to include in this study a detailed assessment of the effect on the economy and labour conditions of the GATS since its entry into force, including a breakdown by mode of supply; to request Parliament’s research services to publish a comprehensive and informative study of the scope and potential impact of the TiSA negotiations, particularly on consumers and workers;
Amendment 210 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point a – point viii a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point a – point viii a (new)
viiia. to take the strong public concerns about the content and scope of already leaked negotiating texts seriously;
Amendment 225 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b – point i
Paragraph 1 – point b – point i
i. to exclude public services and culturs well as cultural and audio-visual services from the scope of the negotiations, and to seek the further opening of foreign markets in telecommunications, transport and professional services;
Amendment 249 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b – point iv
Paragraph 1 – point b – point iv
iv. to acknowledge thatreject the inclusion of any standstill and ratchet clauses do not apply to market access commiton any of the disciplines contained in the agreements;
Amendment 257 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b – point iv a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point b – point iv a (new)
iva. to use positive listing for all market access and national treatment commitments;
Amendment 260 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b – point v
Paragraph 1 – point b – point v
v. to undertake extremely limited commitments in Mode 1 so as to avoid regulatory arbitrage and social dumping; to ensure that European rules are fully respected when a company provides a service from abroad to European consumers; , particularly concerning sensitive sectors such as ICT; to ensure that European rules are fully respected and enforced on foreign providers established in third countries when a company provides a service from abroad to European consumers; to include provisions guaranteeing easy access to redress for consumers;
Amendment 276 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b – point vii
Paragraph 1 – point b – point vii
vii. to take a cautious approach in Mode 4, while bearing in mind that the EU has an offensive interest in the inward and outward movement of highly-skilled labour; to acknowledge that the labour clause maintains the legal obligation of foreign service providers to comply with EU and Member State social and labour legislation, as well as withreject any new commitment on Mode 4 beyond the GATS; Mode 4 must not be used to undermine labour standards or collective agreements; to enter into nor member states' ambitious commitments for those cases which underpin Mode 3 commitmenlity to conduct labour market needs tests;
Amendment 286 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b – point viii
Paragraph 1 – point b – point viii
viii. to acknowledge that by means of limitations and exemptions, each Party retains therespect Member States' sovereign right to choose which sectors to open to foreign competition and to what extent by means of limitations and exemptions; to refrain from pressuring Member States not to exercise this right in full;
Amendment 291 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b – point ix
Paragraph 1 – point b – point ix
ix. to exclude, in line with Articles 14 and 106 of the TFEU as well as protocol 26 to the TFEU, current and future Services of General Interest as well as Services of General Economic Interest from EU commitments the scope of the agreement through a carve-out located in its core text (including but not limited to water, waste management, health, social services, social security systems and education);, as the only means to ensure that European, national and local authorities retain the full right to introduce, adopt, maintain or repeal any measures with regard to the commissioning, organisation, funding and provision of public services; to apply this exclusion, irrespective of how the public services are provided and funded; to acknowledge that social security systems are excluded from the negotiations;
Amendment 301 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b – point x
Paragraph 1 – point b – point x
x. to introduce an unequivocal ‘gold standard’ clause, which could be included in all trade agreements and would clarifyensure that the public utilities clause applies to all modes of supply and to, any services considered as public services by European, national or regional authorities in any sector and irrespective of the service's monopoly status;
Amendment 386 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d – point i
Paragraph 1 – point d – point i
i. to ensure that nothing will prevent the EU and its Member States from maintaining, improving and applying their labour and social regulations, as well as their legislation on entry and temporary stay; and that international labour standards, as defined in the International Labour Organisation's fundamental conventions, as well as collective agreements, are respected; to guarantee that these labour rights are made fully enforceable through a monitoring process that has the full involvement of trade unions; to guarantee Member States' sovereign right to take or refuse to take commitments under Mode 4;
Amendment 389 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d – point i a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point d – point i a (new)
ia. to include a clause on control and enforcement mechanisms so as to deter and prevent companies from infringing labour and social rights, including collective agreements and to propose EU legislation ensuring liability in sub- contracting chains, covering EU companies as well as companies from third-countries;
Amendment 392 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d – point i b (new)
Paragraph 1 – point d – point i b (new)
ib. to urge Member States to increase the staffing levels of, and the resources available to, their labour inspectorates and to meet the target of one inspector for every 10 000 workers, as recommended by the ILO, as well as to impose more severe penalties on firms that fail to comply with their obligations concerning fundamental rights (including remuneration, working hours and OHS); considers that the penalties in such cases must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive;
Amendment 393 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d – point i c (new)
Paragraph 1 – point d – point i c (new)
i c. to guarantee full compliance with the principle of equal remuneration for equal work in TISA; to ensure that all workers, irrespective of their home country must, as a minimum, enjoy the same rights, conditions of employment and salaries as nationals in the place of work;
Amendment 394 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d – point i d (new)
Paragraph 1 – point d – point i d (new)
id. to include a clause preventing companies from circumventing or undermining the right to take industrial action, through the use of workers from third countries during negotiations on collective agreements and labour disputes;
Amendment 396 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d – point ii
Paragraph 1 – point d – point ii
ii. to recall that Mode 4 commitments must only apply to the movement of high-level professionals for a specific purpose, for a limited period of time and under precise conditions stipulated by a contract and by domestic legislation; therefore rejects any changes to the Mode 4 rules as defined in the GATS, including with respect to economic needs tests;
Amendment 426 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point e – point i
Paragraph 1 – point e – point i
i. to aim at reinforcing financial stability, ensuring adequate protection for consumers, including their data privacy, and guaranteeing fair competition between financial services providers;
Amendment 461 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point f – point i
Paragraph 1 – point f – point i
i. to ensure a high level of ambibalanced regulation inof the transport sector, which is critical to the sustainable development of global value chains; to increase the speed, reliability, security and interoperability of transport services, to the benefit of business customers and individual users and workers;
Amendment 473 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point f – point iv
Paragraph 1 – point f – point iv
iv. to exclude any provisions facilitating the entry and stay of professional drivers from the scope of the Annex on road transport; to reject any demands to take any Mode 4 commitments in the road transport sector;
Amendment 477 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point f – point v
Paragraph 1 – point f – point v
v. to ensure consistency with international standards, such as those endorsed by the International Maritime Organisation and the International Civil Aviation Organisation, and to oppose any lowering of these international benchmarks; to ensure the application of all ILO Conventions relevant to the logistics and transport sectors, such as the Maritime Labour Convention;
Amendment 487 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point g – point i
Paragraph 1 – point g – point i
i. to fully preasservet that European, national and local authorities’ have the right to regulate to adopt policies in the public interest and that this should not be subject to additional necessity tests beyond those foreseen in GATS article VI; provisions on domestic regulations should not be more restrictive than the general proportionality obligation enshrined in the EU Treaties;
Amendment 540 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point h – point i a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point h – point i a (new)
ia. to allow participating countries to modify or withdraw a commitment in their schedule if they can negotiate a substitute commitment with all other parties, by analogy to the provisions of GATS article XXI;
Amendment 543 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point h – point i b (new)
Paragraph 1 – point h – point i b (new)
ib. to include a dispute settlement mechanism in TiSA to be used until the agreement is multilateralised and the WTO dispute settlement mechanisms become available;
Amendment 560 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point i – point i
Paragraph 1 – point i – point i
i. to ensure the highest level of transparency, dialogue and accountability, and to emulate the document disclosure policy of the WTO, whereby all negotiating documents are made available to the public;
Amendment 567 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point i – point ii
Paragraph 1 – point i – point ii
ii. to ensure that the members of Parliament’s Committee on International Trade receive all the negotiating documents related to TiSA as well as Commission internal assessments including briefing documents, minutes and summaries of negotiating rounds;
Amendment 580 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point i – point iv
Paragraph 1 – point i – point iv
iv. to welcome theensure serious and continuous engagement of the EU institutions with social partners and a wide range of stakeholders throughout the negotiation process;
Amendment 599 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Requests the European Commission to provide a detailed response to all the concerns raised in this resolution within three months of its adoption;