23 Amendments of Ska KELLER related to 2013/2674(RSP)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 3 a (new)
Citation 3 a (new)
- having regard to the EU Strategic Framework and Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy of 25 June 2012,
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 a (new)
Citation 5 a (new)
- having regard to its resolution of 14 March 2013 on EU-China relations2, __________________ 2 Texts adopted, P7_TA(2013)0097
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas foreign investment stock of the EU in China in 2011 amounted to EUR 102 billion and foreign investment stock of China in the EU in the same year amounted to EUR 15 billion; whereas foreign investment stock from China in the EU amounted to EUR 3.5 billion only in 2006;
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas 26 EU Member States have individual bilateral investment agreements in force with China; whereas the EU has not yet developed a long-term and sustainable industrial policy driving its offensive and defensive interests in the framework of the new EU foreign investment policy,
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the development goals expressed in the 12th 5-year plan and the EU2020 strategy provide for a high number of shared interests and common challenges; whereas a higher level of integration and technological exchange between the European and Chinese economies can lead to synergies and mutual benefits;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas the poor or non- implementation by China of some fundamental social and labour rights as well as of environmental standards, which are however internationally recognised, are among the causes of the present disequilibrium in trade flows between EU and China, which could even be further exacerbated by deeper investment relations if progress is not achieved in the implementation of those rights and standards; whereas this investment agreement should therefore not have the effect of further lowering social and environmental standards in China, but should, on the contrary, contribute to the improvement thereof as a pre-condition, leading to a more balanced and mutually- beneficial trade and investment relation;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
Ha. whereas the Commission and the Council have committed to ensure that EU investment policy takes into account the principles and objectives of the Union's external action, including human rights, and have committed to deliver as from 2013;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H b (new)
Recital H b (new)
Hb. whereas the Commission's Impact Assessment on an EU-China investment agreement has not included a human rights dimension;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H c (new)
Recital H c (new)
Hc. whereas, since an investment agreement with China would substantially upgrade EU-China economic relations, it should also give a contribution to upgrading EU-China political dialogue, notably on such issues as human rights - in the framework of an effective and result-oriented human-rights dialogue - and the rule of law, with a view to keeping political and economic relations on a parallel track, consistently with the spirit of the Strategic Partnership;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
Ia. whereas it is clear that decisions of arbitral tribunals under existing investment protection agreements have frequently ignored the host state's obligations under international treaties concerning human rights, labour rights and the protection of the environment and have forced host states to pay compensation for acts which seek to implement these obligations but which also have the incidental effect of reducing foreign investors' profits;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes that Chinese enterprises perceive the Union generally as a stable investment environment, but deplorenotes the existence of certain trade barriers to the European market, such as technical obstacles to trade and barrierscrutiny mechanisms erected to block third country investments in certain Member States; reminds however that a security review mechanism to scrutinise foreign investments was recently set up in China and that the use of such mechanisms both in China and in the EU Member States may be based on legitimate grounds;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Points out that the main form in which foreign companies are allowed to set up in China is through joint ventures which has so far favoured the competitive development of China while weakening the competitiveness of the EU industry and incentivised the export of polluting technologies to China; is convinced that further openness by China on the joint venture mechanism, combined with better protection of intellectual property rights (IPR), would be mutually beneficial, and would favour a greater level of integration of the European and Chinese economies; based on a more strategic approach towards an economic cooperation that is oriented towards environmentally-friendly technology and innovation;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Underlines the importance of establishing, through this agreement, the pre-conditions for fair competition to take place between EU and China; to this purpose, recommends that the Commission negotiates strong and binding provisions on transparency and fair competition so that a level-playing field also applies to state-owned enterprises and sovereign wealth funds' investment practices;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses that nothing in an investment agreement shall reduce the policy space of the Parties and their capability to legislate in order to pursue public policy purposes; Stresses that guaranteeing the rule of law for all EU and Chinese investors and citizens, without prejudice to the right of the parties to adopt and enforce measures necessary to pursue legitimate public policy interests, must remain the priority;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 – indent 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 – indent 7 a (new)
- a clear definition of fair and equitable treatment;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Stresses that a precondition for the conclusion of the agreement should includebe the inclusion of a strong commitment of the parties to sustainable and inclusive development in economic, social and environmental dimensions in relation to investment in order to build up a more balanced trade and investment-relation between EU and China that is not mainly based on low labour costs and poor environmental standards in China;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Stresses that investment agreements concluded by the EU must respectnot be in contradiction with the fundamental values the EU wants to promote through its external policies and, to that purpose, must promote the capacity for public intervention, in particular when pursuing public policy objectives such as social, environmental, human rights, security, workers' and consumers' rights, public health and safety, industrial policy and cultural diversity; calls to include respective specific clauses into this agreement;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Recommends that with regard to market access, both parties may exclude certain sectors from the liberalisation commitments; recalls however that the EU has not yet developed a fully-fledged industrial policy and reminds that a first step in that direction would be the setting up of a body tasked with the supervision of foreign investment in strategic sectors similar to CFIUS in the US;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Reiterates its call for a binding corporate social responsibility clause and effective social and environmental clauses, which is in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and binding social and environmental clauses as part of a fully- fledged sustainable development chapter that is subject to a dispute settlement mechanism;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Calls on the Commission to complement its impact assessment by also assessing the impact of the EU-China investment agreement on human rights, as it has committed to do under the Strategic Framework and Action plan on Human Rights and Democracy;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Requests to include an 'international obligation clause' in the agreement, which provides that obligations regarding the protection of investors must be read subject to all parties' obligations under international treaties and customary international law, in particular concerning human rights, labour rights and the protection of the environment; requests therefore that an investment agreement should not curtail progress in ratifying and fully implementing international human rights, ILO Conventions and multilateral environmental agreements by both Parties;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Takes the view that the agreement should provide for state-to-state dispute settlement procedures, but no ISDS, consistently with the overall purposes an investment agreement should contribute to; takes also the view that the agreement should include a provision allowing any third party with a stake in a dispute that has been referred to an arbitral tribunal to intervene in the proceedings and to seek appropriate remedies;
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Invites the Council to not approve negotiating directives for an investment agreement with China until the Commission has presented a template of investment agreement that can be agreed by the Council and the Parliament and which will then constitute a model for all investment agreements to be negotiated in the future;