21 Amendments of Morten LØKKEGAARD related to 2013/2093(INI)
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas in a society increasingly marked by virtual contacts through the internet, shops are still the place where people meet other people and in particular high streets and town centres as well as direct selling by producers can provide a setting for shared experiences, and be a focal point of local identity, community pride and a common heritage and shared values; whereas, nonetheless, e-commerce and brick-and-mortar shops do not exclude one another and are actually complementary;
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas unfair trading practices (UTPs) continue to exist and negatively affect, in particular, farmers and, small producing companies and small retailers;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Urges Member States not to take discriminatory measures in the context of austerity policies that undermine consumer confidence and directly harm the interests of the retail sector, such as increasing VAT or raising charges for shops; is concerned in particular about certain national trade and tax laws, affecting certain sectors or business models and distorting competition, which de facto have a discriminatory effect against foreign EU retailers; calls on the Commission to act more firmly to ensure full implementation of internal market legislation and competition law, including through speeding up infringement procedures with a fast-track approach;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Is concerned that restrictive national rules, divergent interpretations and inadequate enforcement of internal market rules impede free movement of goods and services in the EU; stresses that requirements for extra tests and registrations, non-recognition of certificates and standards, territorial supply constraints and similar measures create extra costs for consumers and retailers, in particular SMEs, thus depriving European citizens of the full benefits of the single market;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Calls for strong enforcement measures to maintain pressure on Member States that have not successfully implemented the Services Directive;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Calls for the internal market scoreboard to be extended to cover the implementation of the Services Directive;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Asks Member States to transpose internal market rules in a coherent and consistent way and to ensure effective mutual recognition of goods and services, remove overlaps and reduce administrative burdens and regulatory barriers that may limit growth and job creation; urges Member States to fully and correctly implement the internal market rules and legislation, notably the Goods Package, the Services Directive, the Late Payments Directive, the E- Commerce Directive, the Small Business Act and the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Encourages business federations and consumer associations to provide more information, training and legal advice to stakeholders on their rights and the problem-solving instruments at their disposal, such as SOLVIT, and to support the exchange of best practice among themselves;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes the Commission's intention to develop instruments to facilitate consumer access to transparent, comparable, and reliable information on the prices, quality and sustainability of goods and services; encourages the Commission to set up an easily accessible database containing all EU and national labelling requirements; at the same time warns against the multiplication of labels and labelling requirements and calls for simplification, preferably bringing together various aspects of social and environmental sustainability in one label, while reducing differences in national mandatory labelling requirements;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. ANotes that retail development is driven by consumer preferences; asks the Commission to supplement its Action Plan with a set of actions aimed at supporting the independent retailer, such as: the encouragement of the ‘adopt-a- shop’ principle by which bigger retailers act as ‘mentors’ to smaller shops in their immediate vicinity; the promotion of groups of independent retailers, including co-operatives, which benefit from mutual assistance and certain economies of scale, whilst retaining their full independence; respect for the right of local and regional authorities to stimulate in certain shopping areas (e.g. the ‘high streets’) a climate favourable to small, independent shops by lowering energy rates and rents via public-private partnerships, by introducing business rate discounts on local charges for small businesses and independent retailers and by promoting co-operation between the various shops in that area;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Warns against the tendency of some local and regional authorities to continue to develop large-scale projects, such as shopping malls and plazas outside the city centres, given that, especially in view of the economic crisis, the saturation point has already been reached; nNotes that rents in such shopping centres are normally too high for smaller, independent shops and calls on the Commission, in co- operation with the Member States, to draw up a survey of their economic, social and environmental effects;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Recognises the right of local authorities not to allow the establishment of new shopping centres and hypermarkets, wherever this will have negative social or environmental consequences, and encoAcknowledges the competence of local authorities with regard to urban planning; highlights, however, that urban planning should not be used as a pretext to circumvent the right to free establishment; recalls, in this context, the importance of a proper enforcement of the Services Directive; urages Member States to introduce specific rules to guaranteremove barriers to free movement and open up their markets, in order to stimulate competitiveness and promote a diversity of shops, which is essential if shopping areas, in particular in town and city centres, are to remain attractive;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Recognises the right of local authorities not to allow the establishment of new shopping centres and hypermarkets, wherever this will have negative social or environmental consequences, and encourages Member States to introduce specific rules to guarantee a diversity of shops, which is essential if shopping areas, in particular in town and city centres, are to remain attractive;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Notes that with the increasing importance of e-commerce, shops are facing new challenges making multichannel retail strategies ever more important; expresses in this regard its concern, in view of the social role of retail, that e-commerce might overtake entire retail sectors, such as currently seems to be the case in the audiovisual and book sectors; encourages retailers toncourages retailers to make the most of innovative technologies and develop new business models for expanding the shopping experience in the brick-and-mortar shop, inter alia, by increasing service levels, both before and after-sale, and by linking the presentation on the internet to the staff responsible for the sales in the brick-and-mortar shop;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Emphasises that e-commerce is important to ensure consumer choice and access to goods and services, in particular in remote areas; stresses that appropriate action must be taken to develop its full potential, including improving access to the Internet in the European Union's most remote areas; supports the measures called for in the Commission's communication on e-commerce from 2012 to enhance confidence, simplify registration of domains across borders, improve secure online payments and delivery services, facilitate cross-border debt recovery and improve information to consumers on their rights, particularly concerning withdrawals and opportunities to appeal;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Welcomes the principles of good practice and the list of examples of unfair and fair practices in vertical trading relationships in the food supply chain, as well as the framework for the implementation and enforcement of these principles; urges all parties concerned to swiftly put them in practice and show results fast; emphasises that, if these are to have a practical effect, it is important that all actors in the food supply chain participate, including farmers' organisations as well as the manufacturing and wholesale distribution industries; requests the Commission to regularly review the effects of the voluntary initiative within two years of its entry into force, and to propose additional actions should this be necessary, assess if additional actions are necessary and present the results to the High Level Forum and the Retail Market Roundtable;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Calls on the Commission to combat territorial supply constraints imposed by brand manufacturers as part of action on UTPproducers on suppliers;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Deplores the fact that some Member States are discriminating foreign businesses by creating new barriers making it difficult for them to establish in a given Member State, which is a clear breach of internal market principles;