Activities of Heidi HAUTALA related to 2015/2044(INI)
Legal basis opinions (0)
Amendments (53)
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 8 a (new)
Citation 8 a (new)
- having regard to the resolution of 26 June 2014, adopted in the UN Human Rights Council, which calls for the elaboration of an international legally binding instrument on Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with respect to human rights,
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 8 b (new)
Citation 8 b (new)
- having regard to the commitment by developed countries under the UNFCCC to scale up funding for mitigation, adaptation, technology development and transfer and capacity building in developing countries, and the commitment to provide new and additional funding amounting to USD 100 billion per year by 2020, recognising that the EU and its Member States provided over half of the total contributions of 10 billion USD in the run up to COP20 in Lima,
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 12 a (new)
Citation 12 a (new)
- having regard to the Foreign Affairs Council conclusions of 12 December 2013 on policy coherence for development,
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas developing countries’ potentials for domestic resource mobilisation are significant, but there are limits to what countries can accomplish on their own; whereas tax resources remain low in proportion of GDP in most developing countries, which are confronted with social, political and administrative difficulties in establishing a sound public finance system, thereby making them particularly vulnerable to tax evasion and avoidance activities of individual taxpayers and corporations;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas the possibility of enhancing domestic resource mobilisation is further weakened by the global liberalisation context, whereby developing countries compete with each other to offer lower tax rates to attract multinationals; whereas as a result, taxes on corporate profits have been declining around the world;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G b (new)
Recital G b (new)
Gb. whereas losses of financial resources by developing countries i.a. in terms of illicit financial flows and repatriated profits of foreign investors are estimated to have been more than the double of inflows of new financial resources since the financial crisis of 2008;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G c (new)
Recital G c (new)
Gc. whereas the setting-up of an intergovernmental body for tax cooperation under the auspices of the UN would enable developing countries to participate equally in the global reform of existing international tax rules ;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas private investment of major direct value for the pursuihas the potential to contribute to the achievement of the SDGs, has huge potential anreflected in UNCTAD's proposal for an Action Plan for SDG investment, provided that FDI is properly regulated can be encouraged in many ways, as reflected in UNCTAD’s proposal for an Action Plan for SDG investmentd linked to concrete improvements in the domestic economy, i.a. in terms of transfer of technology and the creation of training opportunities for the local labour force, including women and young people;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
Ia. whereas an international legally binding framework, would clarify the obligations of transnational corporations in the field of human rights, as well as of corporations in relation to States, and provide for the establishment of effective remedies for victims in cases where domestic jurisdiction is clearly unable to prosecute effectively those companies;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas the nature and impacts of private capital flows affects developing countries in many different ways, positive as well as negative; whereas financial flows to developing countries from private sources are significant but largely volatile, unevenly distributed and are often associated with outflows such as profit repatriation; whereas since 2010, repatriated profits have exceeded new inflows of Foreign Direct Investment; whereas illicit financial flows due to trade mispricing and other tax avoidance tactics contribute to a massive draining of domestic resources in developing countries;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)
Recital J a (new)
Ja. whereas there are macro-economic risks associated with short-term and volatile capital flows, which can trigger severe crisis in the currency market and financial sector and subsequently destabilise the real economy;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J b (new)
Recital J b (new)
Jb. whereas there has been a sharp increase in new debt taken on by developing countries, driven by MLICs and UMICs since 2006;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J c (new)
Recital J c (new)
Jc. whereas the European Court of Auditors Special Report 16 (2014) on the use of blending concluded that for nearly half of the projects examined, there was insufficient evidence to conclude that the grants were justified, while for a number of these cases, there were indications that the investments would have been made without the EU contribution;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K a (new)
Recital K a (new)
Ka. whereas efforts in the Third Financing for Development Conference that go beyond ODA should be seen as acts of advancing policy coherence for development (PCD) agenda;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K b (new)
Recital K b (new)
Kb. whereas most developing countries are excluded from decision-making of major international financial standard- setting institutions, such as the Financial Stability Board (FSB), while reform at the Bretton Woods institutions is slow and minor;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the UN Secretary-General’'s Synthesis Report and its transformative, human rights based, holistic and integrated approach to an ambitious global partnership;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Welcomes the recent Commission communication entitled ‘'A Global Partnership for Poverty Eradication and Sustainable Development after 2015’', for its comprehensiveness, for its policy coherence focus and for confirming that the EU is committed to playing its full part in this global partnership; however, regrets a certain lack of commitment regarding the timeline for future financial targets, the lack of progress on the subject of additionality of climate finance to the commitment to deliver 0.7% of GNI as aid and the lack of attention to inequality, innovative financing and problems related to debt and private sector financing;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Recalls the continuous work of EU and its Member States towards stronger Policy Coherence for Development (PCD); urges the EU to extend its PCD efforts to international fora and to ensure coherence with the post-2015 process and the SDGs;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Urges the EU and its Member States to re-commit without delay or negotiation to the 0.7 % of GNI target, with at least50% of ODA and 0.,2 %& of GNI being reserved for LDCs, and to present multiannual budget timetables for the scale-up to these levels by 2020;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses that the EU and other developed countries must honour their commitment to provide scaled-up, new and additional climate finance to developing countries reaching USD 100 billion per year by 2020; considering the difficulties to reach international agreement on the additionality of climate finance to the commitment to deliver 0,7 % of GNI as aid, the EU should propose intermediate steps to reach full additionality;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Calls on the EU to ensure that the human rights based approach is adopted in all climate financing and that climate financing instruments have strong safeguards policies and grievance mechanisms;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Urges Member States to use revenues raised through carbon markets to climate financing and development aid in developing countries, points out however that this mechanism faces major problems as the revenues have collapsed alongside the global price for carbon, in this context, considers that measures need to be taken to make the EU's Emission Trading System (ETS) a much more efficient instrument;
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Emphasises that ODA should remain the standard measure of financial efforts made;a stand-alone category in the post-2015 financing framework and remain additional to other forms of public and private spending; stresses that all donors should ensure that ODA represents genuine transfers to developing countries; in this context, supports the inclusion of concessional loans based on calculation of their grant equivalents, despite due consideration of total official support for development;
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Urges the European Commission, in a context where it has indicated its wishes to extend considerably the use of blending in future years, to implement the recommendations made by the European Court of Auditors Special Report on the use of blending and to evaluate the mechanism of blending loans and grants, particularly in terms of development and financial additionality, transparency and accountability;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Warns against using concessional loans for investments in social sectors such as health and education, as it can hamper the provision of services of general interests, especially for vulnerable population;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 c (new)
Paragraph 8 c (new)
8c. Points out that blending risks leading to a debt bubble, notably in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean countries with limited revenues to service their debt; accordingly, calls on donors to give the majority of their aid to LDCs in the form of grant;
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls for the EU and its Member States to promote an aid effectiveness agenda by reducing aid fragmentation through greater coordination between different aid mechanisms and donors and ensuring that all development finance is inclusive, pro- poor, gender-sensitive, environmentally sound and climate-proof;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Emphasizes the importance of channelling the finances for reducing inequalities between and within countries;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Stresses that domestic resource mobilisation must be a key source of financing for all developed and developing countries; emphasises the need for robust, fair and progressive tax systems to fulfil their human rights obligations, their international sustainable development commitments and to address inequality between and within countries;
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Stresses that tax resources are a more predictable and more sustainable source of financing than foreign assistance; accordingly, calls on the EU to support developing countries in mobilizing domestic resources and fighting tax evasion, so as to reduce their dependency on foreign assistance, while reducing their debt;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Encourages the Commission to strengthen the areas of tax administration, financial governance and public financial management through enhanced cooperation and capacity buildingNotes that tax systems in many developing countries are not in line with international standards (weak fiscal jurisdiction and inefficiencies in tax administration, high level of corruption, etc.); hence, encourages the Commission to enhance its capacity building assistance in the remit of DCI and EDF in the areas of tax administration, financial governance and public financial management (delete); likewise, deems that support shall be provided for the economic reconversion of developing countries that are tax havens; urges equally the Commission to upgrade its assistance to strengthen the judiciary and anti-corruption agencies in developing countries;,
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls for the EU and its Member States to actively crack down on tax havens, tax evasion and illicit financial flows while addressing tax dodging of transnational corporations and individuals, i.e. by building up developing countries’ capacity in detecting and prosecuting inappropriate tax practices; supports the setting-up of an intergovernmental body for tax cooperation under the auspices of the UN, with the aim of making automatic and multilateral exchange of information the global standards;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Points out that illicit outflows are a major explanation for developing country debt, while aggressive tax planning is contrary to the principles of Corporate Social Responsibility;
Amendment 165 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12b. Notes with concern that many developing countries find themselves in a very weak bargaining position in face of some foreign direct investors making extensive use of for tax subsidies and exemptions; deems that companies shall be required to make precise commitments in terms of positive spillover effect of their investment on local and/or national socio- economic development of the host country;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. CHighlights the EU’s responsibility in supporting a fair global tax system; which implies establishing effectively mandatory requirements for public country-by- country reporting of Transnational Corporations; establishing Public Registers of the Beneficial Owners of Companies, Trusts and similar legal entities; ensuring a fair distribution of taxing rights while negotiating tax and investment treaties with developing countries; likewise, considers that international corporate tax rules should include the principle that taxes should be paid where value is extracted or created;
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Notes with concern that Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) are still supporting a large amount of investments routed through tax havens, by relying heavily on financial intermediaries;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13b. Stresses the role of Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) to set an example of best practise in establishing the highest standards of responsible finance; in particular, deems that DFIs should only invest in companies and funds that are willing to publicly disclose beneficial ownerships and report back their financial accounts on a country-by- country basis;
Amendment 173 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Stresses the decisive importance of good governance, the rule of law, institutional framework and regulatory instruments; especially supports investment in capacity-building, education, health, including sexual and reproductive health and rights public services, social protection and the fight against poverty and inequality, including in terms of gender; recognises the need for infrastructures and selective public investments, as well as the sustainable use of natural resources, including by the extractive industries;
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Reiterates that a new set of indicators other than GDP is necessary in order to overcome new social and environmental challenges, and should include in particular the human development index, the Gini coefficient, the carbon footprint and the ecological footprint;
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)
Paragraph 14 b (new)
14b. Underlines that, in a context where export revenues fluctuate according to raw material price fluctuations, it is important to give developing countries policy space to increasing their capacity to resist external shocks and to implement countercyclical action plans to boost economy, by allowing them to use i.e. the tool of export taxation.
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 c (new)
Paragraph 14 c (new)
14c. Reiterates its call to phase out fossil fuels subsidies and to reallocate its funds i.e. to environmentally sound and climate- proof projects;
Amendment 188 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Calls for greater financing of research and development in science, technology and innovation in developing countries; in addition, calls for the review of all intellectual property rights regimes that have been introduced in developing countries through Free Trade Agreements, to identify any adverse impacts i.e. on public health, the environment and technology transfer;
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Stresses the importance of favourable conditions for private enterprise in developing countries, while protecting public interest through regulation; calls for alignment of the private sector with the sustainable development goals through appropriate partnerships, financial instruments, incentives and mandatory rules on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), agreed international standards such as the International Labour Organization (ILO) standards, mandatory due diligence and country-by-country reporting on effective implementation on UN guiding principles on Business and Human Rights;
Amendment 214 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Insists that the EU’s support and cooperation with the private sector can and must contribute to reducing poverty and inequality and promote human rights, environmental standards and social dialogue, climate commitments and social dialogue; in this context, reiterates its call for the establishment for a legally binding framework to regulate the work of transnational corporations and to provide appropriate protection, justice and remedy to the victims of human rights abuses directly resulting from or related to the activities of some transnational corporations and other businesses enterprises;
Amendment 218 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Calls for the EU to set up an investment regulatory framework thatwhich reflects UNCTAD’s comprehensive Investment Policy Framework for Sustainable Development (IPFSD) so as to stimulates responsible, transparent and accountable investment which contributes to the development of the domestic private sector in developing countries;
Amendment 225 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls on the Commission to support increased access to finance for micro, small and medium enterprises in developing countries, while respecting the policy space of countries to implement prudent macro-economic policy;
Amendment 231 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Calls for the adoption of an ‘SDG partner’ framework and international standards and criteria for blending projects and public-private partnerships (PPPs) that will ensure that such projects respectbased on the guiding principles on business and human rights, the best international practices and the internationally agreed development effectiveness principles;
Amendment 235 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Supports increased market access for developing countries, especially LDCs, as it can strengthen the private sector and create incentives for reform; urges the Commission to ensure that trade and investment agreements, especially with developing countries, LDCs and fragile states, are aligned with the SDGs; emphasises that such agreements should be subjected to SDG impact assess, uphold all parties human rights obligations and respect host countries policy space to regulate within the scope of public interest and regional integration; emphasises that such agreements should be subjected to mandatory ex-ante and ex- post SDG impact assessments; insists upon the need to grant special and differential treatment to developing countries and LDCs in trade agreements; supports the Commission’s suggestion of updating its Aid for Trade Strategy in light of the outcomes of the post-2015 negotiations so as to build productive capacities of recipient countries;
Amendment 237 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Acknowledges the right of all countries, particularly developing countries, to impose temporary capital restrictions to prevent financial crisis caused by short-term and volatile private financial flows; calls for the removal of constraints to this right from all trade and investment agreements, including at the WTO;
Amendment 245 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Recalls the role of civil society, including NGOs, as an essential development partner; calls for an increased civil society voice in the discussions of development priorities and the set-up of operations on the ground; and in contributing to the forming, monitoring, accountability and review of this agenda; highlights this especially on connection of the Addis Ababa conference; recalls that only by recognising the important role of access to information and civil society, both as enablers for good governance and social accountability and as service providers, it will be possible to ensure the universality and inclusiveness of the global partnership;
Amendment 252 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Recalls the UN’s central role, in complementarity with other existing institutions and forums, in global economic governance and development; supports efforts to further enhance the voice and representation of developing countries in multilateral institutions and other norm- and standard-setting bodies, especially in international financial institutions;
Amendment 257 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Insists that sustainable debt solutions must be facilitated through a multilateral legal framework for sovereign debt restructuring processes with a view to alleviating the debt burden; urges the EU to push for the implementation of the UNCTAD principles of responsible sovereign debt transactions for both borrowers and lenders; in addition, recalls that illegitimate and odious debts should be cancelled;
Amendment 264 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Calls for a review of international organisations’ programmes and instruments of financial assistance for development in order to align them with the new SDGs; urges, notably, the European Investment Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to increase low-income countries’ levels of access to their concessional facilitiesestablish the highest standards of responsible financing and to gear their resources more closely to the needs of developing countries, including through mutually effective pro-poor lending facilities;