Activities of Geert BOURGEOIS related to 2022/2188(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the implementation of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement
Amendments (5)
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Agrees with the Commission that the horizontal and product-specific rules in the TCA are satisfactory and that product- specific rules should not be revisited beyond technical adaptations, as these rules strike a fair balance while contributing to the Union’s overarching objective of achieving strategic autonomy in essential sectors; calls, however, for reasonable solutions to be found with regard to the upcoming changes to the rules of origin for electric vehicles, given the difficulties encountered by EU manufacturers in sourcing parts, in particular batteries, from within the EU; calls on the UK and the EU, as like-minded partners, to explore both bilaterally and within the WTO new avenues for cooperation on the supply of raw materials, energy, the development and standard setting of net-zero technologies and other global trade issuesf emerging technologies and other global trade issues; believes that the development of a EU macro-region for the North Sea would incite closer EU-UK cooperation in this respect;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Recalls that as a consequence of a separate sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) regulatory regime following its withdrawal from the EU, the UK is subject to all EU rules applicable to third countries not dynamically aligning with EU legislation; takes note of the fact that post-Brexit, the EU and UK remain important trading partners for agri-food products and that from January to October 2022, EU exports to the UK reached EUR 39.5 billion, a 15 % increase compared to 2021, while the UK was the third most important partner for the EU in terms of agri-food imports8 ; calls on the UK Government to considersupport an SPS agreement, as an alignment of this type would facilitate EU-UK agri-food trade, including trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland; _________________ 8 ‘Monitoring EU agri-food trade’, European Commission, Directorate- General for Agriculture and Rural Development, Brussels, 2022, https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/system/files /2023-01/monitoring-agri-food-trade- oct2022_en_1.pdf.
Amendment 56 #
23. Recalls that the TCA includes a chapter on the needs and interests of micro enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); acknowledges that the administrative burden associated with adapting to the new regime for trade under the TCA has impacted particularly heavily on these business, which have fewer resources to adapt to new trading arrangements; calls upon both parties to establish a SME contact point to help SMEs to facilitate trade and minimize administrative burden;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Commends the ongoing work of the Trade Partnership Committee and of the specialised and trade-specialised committees, and urges the parties to fully explore their potential as bilateral bodies established under the TCA, which can address all implementation issues in a direct manner; invites the Commission to continue the good practice of keeping the European Parliament fully and immediately informed of the ongoing work of and developments in these committees; incites both parties to also focus future works of the Trade Partnership Committee on topics discussed in the Trade and Technology Council the EU has established with the US on the one hand, and with India on the other;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Welcomes the amendment of the sunset clause in the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill which was and remains a cause of concern, and stresses that the European Parliament will continue following the legislative developments in the UK in this regard; calls for the strengthening of EU-UK regulatory cooperation to minimise likely divergences; calls on the Commission to continue to closely monitor regulatory divergences in the UK, which could pose a risk of non-compliance with the TCA, notably in areas relevant to the level playing field such as subsidy control, taxation, labour and social standards, the environment and climate; considers, in this context, that the active involvement of the business, SME and industry associations, DAG and the Civil Society Forum provides a valuable contribution to the process; highlights the particular challenge that monitoring and managing regulatory divergence poses for Northern Ireland;