Activities of Andreas MÖLZER related to 2011/2113(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Trade and investment strategy for the southern Mediterranean following the Arab Spring revolutions (debate)
Amendments (15)
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Notes that the EU already has strong preferential trade agreements with many SMCs under the Association Agreements; nevertheless underlines that none of these processes have been fully completed and is convinced that there is still great potential to deepen economic relations, particularly in the regulatory field, with the long-term goal of integration into the EU’s internal market;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. WelcomNotes, therefore, the Council decision to authorise the opening of DCFTA negotiations with Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia as soon as the necessary preparatory processes are completed; believes that the subsequent scoping exercises should draw from the experiences of the preparatory phases conducted with the Eastern partners whilst recognising the great political importance of avoiding unnecessary delays for those partners who are ready to commence negotiations, but also of not rushing into anything;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Is concerned that the European External Action Service (EEAS) has not yet made public the details of the ‘more for more’ criteria that will determine, together with the commercial scoping exercise, whether a country is eligible for an DCFTA; asks the EEAS, therefore, to establish these criteria so that the process is transparent and so that partner countries know in advance where adjustments need to be made; insists that respect for democratic institutions and fundamental rights, including freedom of expression and freedom of association, must be central to this process and considers that it should be responsive to significant improvements or deteriorations in partner countries during the preparatory phase and the negotiations themselves; insists that these criteria should include an appropriate level of economic opening and an index of how all levels of society benefit from trade and foreign direct investment (FDI);
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Welcomes the focus on behind-the- border barriers to trade and alignment with the EU’s acquis, but notes that there is still scope for further tariff reductions with certain countries; stresses that, for DCFTAs to be of true value to SMCs, the EU must be prepared to make genuine concessions in sensitive areas such as agriculture and Mode IV services; notes, in this context, that the EU actually has a significant total trade surplus in agriculture with these countries;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Underlines that FDI is particularly important for the economic development of SMCs, since levels of investment are either insufficient or overly targeted at raw material extraction industries; asks the Commission to ensure that DCFTAs and investment efforts in the region are coordinated to promote economic diversification;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Notes, however, that previous attempts to negotiate sectoral arrangements under the Association Agreements have not proved successful; asks the Commission to incentivise SMCs to negotiate on investment and other so-called ‘Singapore issues’ such as services within the context of DCFTAs; considers that the Commission should apply asymmetrical implementation, where appropriate, and be flexible regarding the sensitive sectors of partner countries;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Ask the Commission to use DCFTAs to align standards in the regulatory field, namely regarding technical standards and regulations, sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures (SPS), transparency rules for public procurement, trade/customs facilitation and the elimination of non-tariff barriers (NTBs); points out that this cooperation is not satisfactorily addressed in Association Agreements and that the level of EU involvement should be intensified;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Recognises that DCFTAs should be the main objective but that, in the meantime, the Commission is pursuing sectoral negotiations under the existing Association Agreements, including agreements on conformity assessment and acceptance of industrial products (ACAAs), agriculture and fisheries agreements, services and investment agreements, and dispute settlement arrangements; calls on the Commission to also consider updating the existing sectoral agreements with countries where offers can be improved and where an DCFTA is not immediately possible; asks the Commission to give better consideration to when and how these processes will be finally merged with the future DCFTAs, and to ensure that the loss of membership of the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) in 2014 will not negatively affect SMC access to the EU market in any product line;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Demands that the Commission also prepares a strategy for those ‘more for more’ partners with which either no prior agreement exists or which are not the immediate targets of DCFTAs, especially those, such as Libya and Lebanon, which are not yet members of the WTO; underlines that, while technical assistance to help these countries’ progress towards WTO membership should continue in earnest, this alone is not sufficient and should be complemented, as appropriate, by WTO-compatible agreements which will bring benefits in the shorter term;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Regrets that SMEs and cooperatives have very limited access to investment and insists on the need to provide proper access to financing through the reliable, accessible and user-friendly provision of micro-credit and counter guarantee schemes by the European Investment Bank (EIB); believes that such schemes will allow them to innovate and restructure in a manner that would enable them to tap the potential of the EU’s Internal Market; insists, in this context, on effective controls to avoid bad investments;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. RegretNotes that the Euro-Mediterranean Free Trade Area was not established by 2010 and hopes that all partners will use the momentum created by the Arab Spring to push forward with the necessary reforms for the creation of a functioning and fully fledged free trade area;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
Paragraph 33
33. Is adamant that the Commission’s trade initiatives need to be supported by a stronger presence of EU trade officials on the ground; deplores the fact that the EU Delegation only has one trade official in Tunisia and has no presence whatsoever in Jordan, despite conducting scoping exercises for DCFTAs with these countries;