Activities of Sarah WIENER related to 2021/2178(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the future of EU-Africa trade relations
Amendments (12)
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Reiterates its call to shift to a trade in meat-and-carcass rather than live animals; recalls that the continent is currently amongst the top destinations for EU live animal exports;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Is concerned about the fragile integration of OACPS countries and the detrimental impacts of the EPAs for the survival of their agricultural producers, livestock keepers and fishermen; highlights the dependence of African states on food imports from the EU, particularly subsidised products that represent harmful competition for small- scale local agriculture; recalls its view that stable investment and (wo)manpower for developing a resilient African food chain for regional circuits under African ownership could best contribute to increasing the health and wellbeing of African people;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3 b. Calls on the Commission to enable OACPS countries, including with technical and financial support, to protect their infant industries, support small-scale farming and meet EU and international sustainability standards for exporting their agricultural products
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses that the EU-Africa relationship must move beyond the donor- recipient relationship to a relationship based on mutual cooperation and equal partnership; believes that the EU and Africa should cooperate as equals, empowering African nations to attain the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); notes especially SDG 2 Zero Hunger, which aims to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture, and on which goal progress has slowed in recent years;
Amendment 40 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Highlights that the agreement between the EU and the OACPS, initialled in April 2021, lacks mechanisms to enforce due diligence on environmental standards, human rights, and principle of free prior and informed consent, which are even more vital given the agreement's commitments to facilitate international investment agreements; stresses that the EU should take into account the different levels of development and ensure that its trade agreements are in coherence with regional economic integration priorities of the partners;
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5 b. Highlights the need for civil society participation in defining trade policy of both partners, to bolster transparency and accountability; calls for the multi-stakeholder approach to be ensured via specific mechanisms to involve civil society in the development of strategies and sectoral policies;
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Insists that EPAs are intended to go beyond boosting trade and are meant to enhance African countries’ ability to leverage trade opportunities for sustainable development and poverty reduction; stresses that all currently negotiated and future EPAs should include ambitious provisions on a binding and enforceable Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) chapter aligned with the Paris Agreement; stresses further the importance of including the objective of combating forced labour and child labour in TSD chapters of Union trade agreements, given its significance in the agricultural sector;
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Calls for an independent stand- alone complaints mechanism that is open to civil society actors, such as small farmers' cooperatives, where they can signal any breaches of rules, such as the dumping of milk powder or meat products that can sporadically collapse local markets;
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Notes that Article 208 TFEU obliges coherence between EU policies, in support of development policy; Calls for all EU trade instruments directed at OACPS countries to be aligned with the Policy Coherence for Development principle; Considers that EU support or trade partnership must not result in imposing certain models or technologies, which are often ill-adapted to other countries’ agriculture models, economies and crops, but must instead be based on collaboration, notably through training and exchanges of knowledge, giving farmers ownership, independence and right of initiative;
Amendment 58 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7 b. Calls for the implementation of PCD (policy coherence for development) obligations under Article 208 to be evaluated by the EU Ombudsman, including the work of the Commission's DG Trade e.g. chief trade enforcement office;
Amendment 60 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Recalls that Africa is home to exceptional biodiversity; expresses concern about the overexploitation of natural resources and its impact on biodiversity, and in particular the increasing pace of deforestation in Africa. , notably in primary forest of the Congo Basin, which in 2020 was second only to Brazil in terms of primary forest loss, as well as in Cameroon; Reiterates that European companies have a responsibility for their value chains and urges the EU to live up to its commitments and urgently present an ambitious legislative proposal on mandatory human rights, social rights and environmental due diligence obligations for all companies operating in the EU internal market;
Amendment 63 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Is concerned by the scale of land acquisition by foreign investors in Africa, which is concentrated in countries with weaker governance structures, and represents a threat for access to land as well as water; stresses that the EU should ensure that its trade instruments and agreements serve to improve the access to land of smallholder food producers and farmers, particularly women;