28 Amendments of Margarida MARQUES related to 2021/2176(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas since the Lisbon Treaty, foreign direct investment has remained an exclusive competence of the European Union, as enshrined in Article 3(1)(e), Article 206 and Article 207 TFEU; whereas the EU’s international investment policy should be furtherneeds to accelerate and strengthen its reformeds to address the current challenges;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas, in order to attract investment, labour standards, respect for the environment and corporate social responsibility should not be lowered in the sustainable development chapters of EU IIA;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas foreign direct investment (FDI) in developing countries is a primary means of financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; whereas such capital can support job creation, and social and environmental improvements as set out in the SDGs;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G b (new)
Recital G b (new)
Gb. whereas the EU is a global leader in investment policy reform; whereas significant reform of investment policy has been undertaken at European and international level since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, at the insistence and with the support of the European Parliament; whereas the EU has launched and concluded IIAs with third countries, reformed investment protection provisions, replaced ISDS with ICS, launched multilateral negotiations for an investment court, proposed legislation to regulate foreign subsidies, and adopted legislation for the screening of inward foreign direct investment; whereas these developments are significant steps in the right direction for a modernised and sustainable investment policy; whereas much more remains to be done to advance this reform agenda;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Believes that the EU’s investment policy needs to meet the expectations of investors and beneficiary states, but also the EU’s broader economic interests and external policy objectives; considers that EU international investment policy needsshould continue to be reformed in order to address a variety of challenges and transform it into an integrated and coherent policy framework;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Underlines that investment can and should have a positive impact on sustainable development and create jobs; recalls that investment agreements should serve to facilitate investment, as well as provide a regulatory framework for minimum standards and commitments; points out that inbound and outbound investments need to meet the needs of the real economy; calls on the Commission to continue reviewing the EU’s investment policy to ensure consistency with the European Green Deal and the Sustainable Development Goals;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Points out that the definition of investment as codified in EU IIAs covers not only greenfield investments, but alsoshould not cover financial instruments that can be held for purely speculative purposes or for the extraction of rent;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Underlines that greater transparency and tighter controls on arbitration have been introduced with the ICS, including the creation of a permanent tribunal, a permanent appeal mechanism, a code of conduct and improved substantive provisions, such as reiterating the right to regulate, improving transparency and preventing arbitration for loss or expectation of profits;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Urges the Commission to exclude invensure consistments in fossil fuels or any other activities that pose significant harm to the environment and human rightcy between IIAs and EU environment policies, labour rights and human rights, in particular by excluding investments in fossil fuels from treaty protections, in particularcluding investor- state arbitration mechanisms, and by including in the sustainable development chapters provisions that help to comply with the Paris Agreement and international treaties on labour and gender equality;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Points out that even in the absence of legal proceedings, the explicit or implicit threat of recourse to investment arbitration can enhance the position of investors in negotiations with states (the ‘chilling effect’); calls on the Commission to follow the same line as in recent trade IIA and to clarify the right of the government to prioritise legitimate public policy objectives, even if it may affect the profit expectations of an investor;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Stresses that IIAs do not contain investor obligations; stresses that only foreign investors can launch investment cases against states; regrets the fact that having a case dismisseTakes note of provisions in IIAs for environmental, labour and corporate responsibility obligations for states and investors and the non-lowering of standards, but regrets that the reform of investor obligations has not kept pace with that of investor rights; notes that in the majority of IIAs, only foreign investors can launch investment cases against states; urges the Commission to accelerate multilateral discussions to expand investor obligations and its the best possible outcome for respondent stateenforcement, including through negotiations for a UN Binding Treaty on Business and Human Rights;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Stresses that EU and Member State IIAs must ensure full compatibility with the provisions of forthcoming instruments on sustainable corporate governance, forced labour and deforestation in order to advance the enforcement of investor obligations; notes that progress in these areas and the continued strengthening of EU IIA provisions should ensure that EU investors in third countries, in particular in developing countries, transparently demonstrate strategies to actively contribute to the achievement of the SDGs and the Paris goals, and are subject to accountability mechanisms, in particular by providing access to justice for victims in third countries;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Is concerned that recent EU IIAs still contain broadWelcomes recent reforms limiting protection standards, and underlines that EU IIAs should not allow protection standards which canto be used to challenge legitimate public policies; asks the Commission to further reform this area to only allow protection against discrimination, direct expropriation and, the gross denial of justice, and the specific cases of state abuses that EU investors in third countries may face; and to ensure that foreign investors are not accorded superior rights to those enjoyed by domestic investors;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Underlines the fact that EU IIAs negotiated after 2009 still include sunset clauses which prevent easy termination; points out thatcalls on Member States and the other contracting parties can agree to neutralise sunset clauses in current agreements and not to include sunset clauses in new investment agreements;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Underlines that the considerable damages awarded by investment tribunals have imposed a significant financial burden on respondent states; points out that the use of valuation methods generally used by adjudicators is highly controversial owing to their very wide margin of discretion and reliance on highly complex and inherently speculative assumptions; invites the Commission to review the provisions governing compensation in EU IIAestablish transparency rules and safeguards in relation to the provisions governing compensation in EU IIAs; encourages the Commission to include in the negotiations on the Multilateral Investment Court the introduction of rules setting out in a transparent manner the compensation to be paid by states;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Stresses that the increasing recourse by investors to third parties to finance their litigation in exchange for a return in the outcome of an award (third-party funding) is adding incentives to increase the number of claims; invitestakes note of progress to make third-party funding for investor-state disputes more transparent, and calls on the Commission to support the restriction of third- party funding for investor-state disputes or even to propose measures to restrict this practice which encourages speculation on awards;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls Draws attention to the Menumber States to terminate or modernise anyof existing Member State bilateral investment treaties thatwhich contain ISDS, any treaties that contain protection standards beyond protection against direct expropriation, nationality-based discrimination or the gross denial of justice, and any treaties that protect fossil fueoutdated provisions and standards including overly broad protection standards, ISDS, and transparency provisions which fall below the modernised EU standard; Calls on the Member States to terminate their bilateral investment treaties or modernise them to bring them into line with the new approach set out in EU IIAs, including preparations to conduct future cases through the Multilateral iInvestments Court;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Points out that delays in Member State ratification of EU IIAs delays the replacement of BITs with transparent and modern provisions that equally protect all EU investors in third countries; calls on Member States to swiftly ratify concluded EU investment agreements; notes that continued delays in the entry into force of EU IIAs seek to undermine the credibility of the Union as an effective international actor;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Calls on the Commission to ensure that all of the Member States’ bilateral investment treaties are fully compatible with EU law; supports the Commission in strictly applying the conditions for authorising the negotiation, signature and conclusion of new agreements by Member States; including transparently demonstrating the compatibility of BIT provisions with minimum EU standards;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Points out that the ECT is the most litigated investment agreement in the world today; welcomes efforts to modernise the ECT and the EU’s position to exclude protection for most fossil fuel investments; emphasises that the reformed ECT should also include the addition of renewable/clean hydrogen to the list of protected energy materials; notes that investments considered ‘significantly harmful’ under the EU taxonomy would remain protected according to the EU’s position; underlines that amending the ECT requires unanimity of all contracting parties voting at the annual conference;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Urges the Commission to ensure that a revised ECT will immediately prohibit fossil fuel investors from suing contracting parties for pursuing policies to phase out fossil fuels in line with their commitments under the Paris Agreement; urges the Commission to ensure that in the revised ECT the investment protection is only granted to real investors and not to purely financial or speculative investors; calls on the Commission and the Member States to start preparing for the possibility of a coordinated exit from the ECT, including with an impact assessment to assess the potential effects of withdrawal, with a view to formal submission to the Council in the event of the negotiating objectives not being achieved by June 2022;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Welcomes the Court of Justice’s clarification that ISDS provisions in the ECT are not applicable in the case of intra- EU disputes; notes with concern that the Achmea ruling did not deter arbitration tribunals from continuing to hear intra-EU investment disputes; welcomes the recent declarations from the Commission and a majority of Member States reflecting the Achmea ruling; supports the request from several Member States for a ruling from the Court of Justice, and considers this should offer definitive clarification on the issue to prevent any future intra-EU arbitration being admissible under the ECT; urges the Commission to make its best efforts to assert these judgments in the existing intra EU arbitration proceedings;
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Is concerned that many Contracting Parties seem not to share EU ambitions in the field of climate change mitigation, sustainable development and energy transition, despite the fact that all of them are also signatories of the Paris Agreement; urges the Commission to ensure the alignment of the ETC with the Paris Agreement and the objectives of the European Green Deal, while preserving the EU’s ability to develop public policy measures consistent with its commitment to become the first climate neutral continent by 2050;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Notes that in the context of theSupports the ongoing negotiations in UNCITRAL Working Group III discussions,in which the EU and its Member States are pursuing the establishment of a standing mechanism to resolve investment disputes: the multilateral investment court; stresses, however,welcomes the global lead the EU is providing in these negotiations; notes that this proposal does not cover the modernisation of substantive protection standards; considers the institutional structure of the MIC should be a first step towards establishing binding interpretations and the reform and modernisation of substantive protection standards, including robustly protecting the right to regulate;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. CStrongly criticises the significant delay in the ratification and implementation of the UN Convention on Transparency in Treaty-based Investor- State Arbitration; calls on the Member States to adopt without delay the proposal for a Council decision on thefor its conclusion, on behalf of the EU, of the UN Convention on Transparency; points to recent rulings of the ECJ on exclusive and shared competences in Trelaty-based Investor- State Arbitraion to international treaty ratification which may offer guidance on unblocking the ratification of this Convention;
Amendment 159 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 4 a (new)
Subheading 4 a (new)
Investment facilitation
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Underlines the importance of maintaining, strengthening and implementing the clauses in the new EU IIAs that prohibit the lowering of standards, as they are critical to avoid a "race to the bottom" in countries attracting foreign investment; calls on the Commission to analyse their effectiveness further, in particular in developing countries, to ensure that tax policy and development finance are aligned to support a "race to the top"; notes that tax revenues are crucial for developing countries to provide basic public services; and urges the Commission to work at multilateral level to promote sustainable investment facilitation which is not pursued through competitive tax breaks among others by continuing its work on the Joint Initiative on Investment Facilitation for Development in the framework of the WTO that aims to increase the participation of developing and least-developed WTO members in global investment flows;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 b (new)
Paragraph 22 b (new)
22b. Is of the opinion that investment facilitation is a good instrument to improve the EU's competitiveness and economic growth; calls on the Commission to use this tool to strengthen the EU's strategic autonomy, in particular the energy, raw materials and semiconductor sectors, especially in the current geopolitical climate;