8 Amendments of Aldo PATRICIELLO related to 2015/2065(INI)
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recognises that CAP reform, based on four regulations adopted in 2013, introduced measures aimed at addressing the bargaining power gap between farmers and other stakeholders in the food supply chain; however, it makes no specific reference to this issue: for example, Article 4 of Regulation 1305/2013 outlines objectives, among which one might include the issue of the bargaining power gap;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Points to the limitations of the Supply Chain Initiative (SCI), and specifically the absence of farmers’ organisations owing to lack of trust, restriction of anonymous complaints, absence of meaningful mechanisms to adequately combat both well- documented and orally-reported unfair trading practices (UTPs), and, in particular, the lack of enforcement measures and sanctions; for example, in one pan-European survey of suppliers in the food supply chain, 96% of respondents stated that they had been the victims of some form of UTP.
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas SMEs and microenterprises, which make up over 90% of the EU’s economic fabric, are particularly vulnerable to UTPs and are more affected than large enterprises by their impact of UTPs, which make it harder for them to survive on the market, undertake new investments and innovate, and make it more difficult for SMEs to expand their activities, including across borders within the single market;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K a (new)
Recital K a (new)
Ka. whereas the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility is important to achieving a sustainable economy and meeting the objectives of the Europe 2020 Strategy;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes the setting -up of national platforms of organisations and businesses in the food supply chain to promote the introduction and exchange of fair trading practices and to seek to put an end to UTPs; proposes that Member States be encouraged and given incentives to take further action, using suitable instruments, on any complaints or non-conformities reported by these national platforms;
Amendment 109 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Notes that several Member States have initiated actions in national law to address the concerns of primary producers regarding the negative impact of UTPs; asks the Commission to assess these national efforts with a view to selecting best practices for application at EU level; notes in particular the Groceries Code Adjudicator in the UK as a potential model for adaptation at EU level; while being adopted as homogeneously as possible, this model must always take into account the diversity of the Member States and what each has to offer;
Amendment 143 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Believes that framework legislation at EU level is essential to tackle UTPs and to address their negative consequences for farmers (lower profits and higher-than- estimated costs, food over-production and wastage, financial planning difficulties); urges the Commission to consider this when assessing the SCI;
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Points out that taking advantage of a stronger bargaining position to impose UTPs is a violation of the principle of freedom to contract, as the stronger party has more say in the shape that the business relationship is to take and can unilaterally impose terms that disproportionately serve its own financial interests, and the weaker party has no option other than to agree to those terms; believes that steps need to be taken to build mutual trust between supply chain partners, on the basis of the principles of freedom to contract, equivalence of benefits and freedom to take advantage of those benefits; calls on the Commission in this respect to pinpoint specific rules and control mechanisms for oligopolies and large distribution chains, which can slip into abuses of dominant positions in respect of weaker parties in contracts;