14 Amendments of Pierre SCHAPIRA related to 2007/0289(CNS)
Amendment 8 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2 a (new)
Recital 2 a (new)
(2a) By helping the developing countries' economies to diversify and to become more involved in world trade, the generalised system of preferences (GSP) should help to reduce poverty in those countries. From this point of view it constitutes a key development instrument.
Amendment 9 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 21 a (new)
Recital 21 a (new)
(21a) The rules on origin should be revised to take into account cross-regional and global cumulation and the possibility for a country to be eligible for GSP, GSP+ and Everything But Arms (EBA) preferential treatment even if it is not the final country for export, provided that significant value is added to the goods in that country. When such revision is carried out, the requirement for double processing in the case of certain products should be abolished.
Amendment 10 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 21 b (new)
Recital 21 b (new)
(21b) The Commission should as a priority strive within the World Trade Organisation for an agreement harmonising the rules on origin, pursuant to which developing countries and the least-developed countries receive preferential treatment.
Amendment 11 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 3
Article 8 – paragraph 3
3. The Commission shall keep under review the status of ratification and effective implementation of the conventions listed in Annex III. Before the end of the period of application of this Regulation and in time for discussion on the next Regulation, the Commission shall present, to the Council, a report on the status of ratification and implementation of such conventions for each country, including recommendations by monitoring bodies. Where necessary the Commission shall attach to its report recommendations concerning the adoption by a given country of additional measures designed to ensure that a convention is actually implemented.
Amendment 12 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 1
Article 10 – paragraph 1
1. The Commission shall examine the request accompanied by the information referred to in Article 9(2). When examining the request the Commission shall take account of the findings of the relevant international organisations and agencies. It may ask the requesting country any questions which it considers relevant, and mayshould verify the information received with the requesting country or with any other relevant sources, including the European Parliament and representatives of civil society such as the social partners.
Amendment 13 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 4
Article 10 – paragraph 4
4. Where a requesting country is not granted the special incentive arrangement, the Commission shall give the reasons, if that country so requests and shall inform the requesting country and the European Parliament.
Amendment 15 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17, paragraph 1
Article 17, paragraph 1
1. Where the Commission, the European Parliament or a Member State receives information that may justify temporary withdrawal and where the Commission or a Member State considers that there are sufficient grounds for an investigation, it shall inform the Committee and the European Parliament and request consultations. The consultations shall take place within one month.
Amendment 16 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 - paragraph 3
Article 18 - paragraph 3
3. The Commission shall seek all information it considers necessary, including the available assessments, comments, decisions, recommendations and conclusions of the other European institutions and of the relevant supervisory bodies of the UN, the ILO and other competent international organisations. These shall serve as the point of departure for the investigation into whether temporary withdrawal is justified for the reason referred to in Article 15(1)(a). The Commission may verify the information received with economic operators, representatives of civil society (including the social partners) and the beneficiary country concerned
Amendment 17 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 - paragraph 1
Article 19 - paragraph 1
1. The Commission shall submit a report on its findings to the Committee. and to the European Parliament.
Amendment 18 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 - paragraph 4
Article 19 - paragraph 4
4. Where the Commission considers temporary withdrawal to be necessary, it shall submit - after having informed the European Parliament - an appropriate proposal to the Council which shall decide within two month’s time by a qualified majority. In the case referred to in paragraph 3, the Commission shall submit its proposal at the end of the period referred to in that paragraph.
Amendment 19 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 20 - paragraph 7
Article 20 - paragraph 7
7. Where exceptional circumstances requiring immediate action make an investigation impossible, the Commission may, after informing the Committee and the European Parliament, take any preventive measure which is strictly necessary.
Amendment 20 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 22 - paragraph 1
Article 22 - paragraph 1
1. The Commission shall inform the beneficiary country concerned as soon as possible of any decision taken in accordance with Article 20 or 21 before it becomes effective. The Commission shall also notify the Council, the European Parliament and the Member States thereof.
Amendment 21 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 26a (new)
Article 26a (new)
1. The Commission shall keep Parliament periodically informed with regard to: (a) trade statistics between the European Union and GSP beneficiary countries; (b) the status of ratification and implementation of the conventions included in Annex III by each country benefiting from the special incentive arrangement. Where appropriate, the Commission will include recommendations on whether additional steps for the effective implementation of a convention should be taken by a specific country; (c) relevant information on progress towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, especially in Least-Developed Countries. 2. The Commission shall prepare an impact-assessment study of the effects of the GSP covering the period from 1 January 2009 to 1 January 2011. The study shall be transmitted to the Committee, the European Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee by 1 March 2011. 3. The Commission, after consulting the Committee, will specify the content of the impact-assessment study referred to in paragraph 2, which shall include the views of the beneficiary countries and in any event shall contain at least the following elements: - an in-depth statistical analysis of GSP utilisation rates per country and section, including a comparison with previous years; - an evaluation of the social and trade- related effects of graduation on graduated countries; - a preliminary assessment of the effects of future graduation on the countries likely to be graduated under the next regulation; - a comparative study of the preferential treatment offered by the GSP and the Cotonou Agreement to ACP countries, with a view to ensuring that the ACP countries which have not signed an Economic Partnership Agreement and which are once again covered by the GSP scheme are granted preferential treatment at least equivalent to the treatment they were granted under the Cotonou Agreement; - an analysis of the potential effects of extending the system of preferences by increasing the preferential margin accorded for sensitive products and/or transferring 'sensitive' products to the 'non-sensitive' category; - an evaluation of the contribution of this Regulation to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, particularly in relation to LDCs. 4. The Commission shall submit a special report to the European Parliament at the conclusion of the Doha Round, examining the impact of the negotiations on the scheme established in this Regulation and considering the measures to be adopted in order to ensure that the generalised system of preferences is effective.
Amendment 22 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 27, paragraph 3
Article 27, paragraph 3
3. The Committee shall examine the effects of the scheme, on the basis of a report from the Commission covering the period since 1 January 2009. This report shall cover all of the preferential arrangements referred to in Article 1(2), and shall be presented in time for the discussion on the next Regulationthe impact-assessment study referred to in Article 26a.