5 Amendments of Frithjof SCHMIDT related to 2007/2184(INI)
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses the need to create a WTO parliamentary assembly with consultative powers, given the WTO's lack of democratic accountability and legitimacy, and welcomes any reform that will strengthen the association of parliamentarians with the WTO; stresses however that, ultimately, the legitimacy of the WTO can only derive from statutory changes that make the organisation part of the family of UN agencies and subject its rule-setting to the basic rights embodied in the UN Charter;
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4b. Recalls still unimplemented GATT Article XXXVIII, paragraph 2(a), laying down the commitment of all WTO members to stabilise and improve market conditions for primary products of particular interest to less-developed countries, and regards decisive action on this Article as an important feature of a reformed WTO;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Regards, in the light of the fact that tariffs have been reduced to historical minimum levels, the maintenance of multilateral rules through the Dispute Settlement Mechanism as probably the main function of the WTO in the future against which the efficiency and legitimacy of the WTO will be measured; perceives this WTO function less as one of arbitrating in rules infringements than as a means to fairly achieve compromises between different interests and values; therefore regards it as necessary that a standing body of elected judges, including experts from the UN specialised agencies, be appointed to the Dispute Settlement Unit, that proceedings be open to the public, and that financial and technical support be made available to all members in filing disputes for settlement;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Stresses the need to ensure that the Dispute Settlement Body interprets WTO rules in such a way that it does not prevail over applicable international environmental and social law and, where needed, calls on the Commission and WTO membership as a whole to amend WTO rules in this regard;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Stresses the need for closerimmediate need for structured cooperation between the WTO and other UN Specialised Agencies, such asespecially UNCTAD, WHO and ILO, as an essential step towards a more sustainable model of globalisation;