18 Amendments of Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ related to 2015/2105(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 (new)
Paragraph -1 (new)
-1. Welcomes the general thrust of the future trade strategy presented by the Commission in the document ‘Trade for all. Towards a more responsible trade and investment policy’, in particular its focus on a value-based approach aiming at safeguarding the European social and regulatory model at home and using trade agreements and preference programmes as levers to promote, around the world, European values like sustainable development, human rights, fair and ethical trade and the fight against corruption;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Emphasises that future trade agreements should take into account Parliament’sthe resolutions of the European Parliament on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership of 8 July 2015 and on the Trade in Services Agreement, of 3 February 2016 which remain valid for the future EU trade policy, in particular as far as the protection of public services is concerned as it is part of a European model to fight against inequalities;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Insists that sustainability impact assessments are conducted, allowing not only for an ex-ante but also for an ex-post evaluationimplemented in the course of trade negotiations, assessing the social, economic and environmental impact of future trade agreements; calls on the Commission to monitor the impact of trade agreements allowing not only for an ex-ante but also for an ex-post evaluation; demands that the social partners and civil society are given the opportunity to participate in the design and implementation of sustainability impact assessments;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Calls on the Commission to ensure that possible adjustment costs in the EU labour market are countered by a timely intervention on the side of the Commission supporting the affected sectors, regions or Member States; this support could be achieved through EU funding, including an adapted European Globalisation Adjustment Fund with an adequate budget;
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Calls on the Commission to take steps to protect regional production structures in developing countries in cases in which the Sustainable Impact Assessment indicates that these might be endangered as a consequence of trade agreements;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Emphasises that, as a minimum, the legislation on the posting of workers andtogether with other national and EU labour and social legislation, as well as collective agreements, should be applicable to contractual service suppliers and business sellers accessing the EU; calls on the Commission to ensure that all workers, irrespective of their home country, enjoy the same labour rights as nationals in their host country and that the principle of equal pay for equal work at the same place is respected; in this respect calls on the Commission to ensure that the Directive on the posting of workers is revised in a way so that the principle of equal pay for equal work at the same place is given full effect;
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Calls on the Commission to include a safety clause preventing companies from circumventing or undermining the right to take industrial action through the use of workers from third countries during negotiations on collective agreements and labour disputes and allow Member States to apply any necessary safeguards should pressure be put on domestic wages, the right of domestic workers be endangered or other agreed standards be infringed;
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Calls on the Commission to ensure that nothing will prevent the EU and its Member States from maintaining, improving and applying labour and social regulations, collective agreements as well as legislations regulating the entry of natural persons into, or temporary stay in, its territory;
Amendment 50 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Rejects any further liberalisation of the GATS Mode 4 commitmentsCalls on the Commission to ensure that Mode 4 commitments must only apply to the movement of highly-skilled professionals, such as persons holding a university or equivalent Masters degree or employed in a senior managerial role, for a specific purpose, for a limited period of time and under precise conditions stipulated by the domestic legislation of the country where the service is performed and by a contract respecting such domestic legislation; to reject any further liberalisation of the GATS Mode 4 commitments and to consider a revision of Directive 2014/66/EU on the conditions of entry and residency of third country nationals in the framework of an intra- corporate transfer in order to avoid abuse and social dumping;
Amendment 58 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses that labour standards, includingCalls on the Commission to ensure that future trade agreements include binding and enforceable sustainable development chapters, guaranteeing the full and effective ratification, implementation and enforcement of the eight fundamental International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions, must burges the Commission to promote further labour provisions in particular the ILO’s Decent Work Agenda aiming at improving levels of protection of labour; stresses that labour standards including the eight fundamental International Labour Organisation conventions are equally implemented in all chapters of trade agreements, and that these agreements must; calls on the Commission to include a revision clause allowing a party to leave the agreement or to suspend commitments in the event of infringements of labour and social standards;
Amendment 63 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Calls on the Commission to ensure that labour standards are made enforceable by guaranteeing that the implementation of and compliance with labour provisions is subjected to an effective monitoring process, involving social partners and civil society representatives; where disputes arise regarding labour provisions, these disputes should be subject to a dispute settlement mechanism, including the possibility of imposing trade sanctions, and with due consideration for the ILO supervisory bodies and reference to ILO jurisdiction;
Amendment 68 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. StressesCalls on the Commission to ensure that the Domestic Advisory Groups (DAGs), handling the infringements of social clauses of trade agreements must have a sufficient financing andto work effectively, that they must consist of a balanced representation of labour and business organisations from civil society as well as other civil society organisations, that joint meetings of the DAGs from both sides of the trade agreement are institutionalised and that they dispose of a secretariat that is situated at the Economic and Social Committee;
Amendment 76 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Emphasises the need to increase the staffing levels of, and the resources available to, Member States’ labour inspectorates to allow for effective monitoring of labour standardsCalls on the Commission to ensure an effective monitoring of labour standards by recommending Member States to increase the staffing levels of, and the resources available to, their labour and social inspectorates in order to meet the target of one inspector for every 10 000 workers, as recommended by the ILO;
Amendment 84 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Calls on the Commission to effectively withdraw tariff preferences if the eight ILO core labour standards are not complied with; the withdrawal of tariff preferences should also be made possible for our trading partners in cases where EU Member States infringe on the eight ILO core labour standards;
Amendment 96 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Stresses the needCalls on the Commission to increase efforts to unblock the reform of trade defence instruments.; deplores that the Council has not been able to advance on the reform of trade defence instruments, keeping in mind that a modern and robust trade defence regime is also very important for jobs in Europe;
Amendment 102 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Calls on the Commission to ensure that governments have the opportunity to adopt socially and environmentally responsible procurement policies; procurement provisions should not prevent governments from addressing societal and environmental needs and the agreement must not restrict the ability to make social demands, as stated in the new EU directives on public procurement; in addition, public procurement policies should be in line with ILO Convention 94 regarding labour clauses in public contracts;
Amendment 103 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9b. Calls on the Commission to make very limited commitments as to future provisions regarding services provided digitally or by electronic means, so as not to undermine the high working standards and conditions in the European Union in an increasingly digitalised economy;
Amendment 104 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 c (new)
Paragraph 9 c (new)
9c. Calls on the Commission to ensure that labour standards are excluded from the concepts of non-tariff barriers and technical barriers, and for the Social Partners to be included in the process of regulatory cooperation within a balanced representation, in order to ensure that regulatory cooperation does not restrict the right of governments and the European Parliament to legislate in the public interest and does not lead to regulatory chill or to the weakening of labour standards, including health and safety standards;