Activities of Judith SARGENTINI related to 2015/2105(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on a new forward-looking and innovative future strategy for trade and investment PDF (610 KB) DOC (280 KB)
Amendments (34)
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 a (new)
Citation 2 a (new)
– having regard to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted at the UN Sustainable Development Summit in New York in 2015,
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 a (new)
Citation 4 a (new)
– having regard to its resolution of 29 April 2016 on the second anniversary of the Rana Plaza building collapse and progress of the Bangladesh Sustainability Compact,
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 a (new)
Citation 6 a (new)
– having regard to the EU Regulation on illegally harvested timber, EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive, the EC Proposal for a Conflict Minerals Regulation, the UK Modern Slavery Act Transparency in Supply Chains Clause and the French Bill on duty of care,
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas, in times of low economic growth, the contribution of foreign trade to the recovery of the European economy is of key importance in foreign trade should not continue being considered the key to the recovery of the European economy since it is primarily the austerity paradigm that needs to be reviewed; whereas the present increasing deflationary tendency proves that internal demand needs to be boosted instead as a matter of priority; whereas trade can be a positive factor only if it deliverings concrete and measurable results andin contributing to decent jobs and sustainable economic growth and equality;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas nowadays trade liberalisation mainly deals with dismantling the so-called regulatory barriers, which are laws and regulations adopted by democratically-elected bodies and emanating from societal choices; whereas there are increasing concerns that trade negotiations risk prevailing over democratic rule-making and that they do not primarily pursue the public interest; whereas any improvement in transparency will hardly compensate for the increasing sense of mistrust towards trade negotiators; whereas trade negotiations such as ACTA, TTIP, CETA and TiSA have brought European trade policy to the public’s attention, and whereas more and more citizens are worried that European regulation and standards could be undermined by the CCP;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas by 2050 the EU-28 will account for only 15 % of the world’s GDP, down from 23.7 % in 2013, and whereas by 2015 90 % of world growth will be generated outside Europe; whereas emerging economies' growth rates are already slowing down considerably and will continue along this trend in the next decades as they reach the status of mature economies;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas the centre of wealth generation is clearly shifting eastwards, towards the Asia-Pacific Region with China, which has already surpassed Japan and will probably overtake the US to become the world’s largest economy in 2025, which is an indicator of emerging economies and developing countries catching up with the group of industrialized countries and reaching the stage of mature economies;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)
Recital J a (new)
Ja. whereas recent estimates have stated that business-as-usual emissions will increase by up to 250% for shipping and 270% for aviation by 2050;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. WelcomesTakes note of the Commission’s new strategy ‘Trade for all – Towards a more responsible trade and investment policy’ and welcomes the new focus on such elements as responsible management of supply chains, fair and ethical trade and the social costs of trade liberalisation; regrets the Commission’s delay in presenting a new strategy, given that Parliament requested that a revised mid- and long-term trade strategy be presented by summer 2012;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Welcomes the Commission’s attempts to increase transparency and openness at all stages of trade negotiations, such as the Commission’s TTIP transparency initiative; acknowledges that, after a number of requests from Parliament, the Commission enhanced the transparency of negotiations by providing all Members of the European Parliament and of the national parliaments access to classified negotiating documents and providing more information to stakeholders; recalls that enlarged access to classified information by Members of Parliament in the TTIP negotiations has strengthened parliamentary scrutiny, thereby allowing Parliament to assume its responsibility under the CCP even better; calls therefore for a widening of the Commission’s transparency initiative to extend its key elements to all ongoing trade negotiations; stresses however the importance of launching a deep institutional reform of trade policy in order to reflect the principle that trade must not be an end in itself but should be an instrument to achieve worthier purposes; believes that trade negotiations are not suitable institutional mechanisms to achieve regulatory convergence while preserving the primary function of regulation to pursue the public interest, safety and protection from risks;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Recalls that the CCP is to be conducted in the context of the principles and objectives of the Union’s external action as set out in Article 21 TEU and Article 208 TFEU; recalls that the EU’s trade and investment policy must be consistent with other external policies; stresses that the EU has a legal obligation to respect human rights, and should foster the sustainable economic, social and environmental development of trading countries; points out that in some cases trade and investment agreements may have negative effects contrary to the EU’s external objectives as enshrined in the Treaties; is of the opinion that the EU has a responsibility to help tackle any negative impact caused by its CCP by regularly conducting ex-post human rights and sustainability impact assessments and consequently reviewing trade agreements as necessary;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Considers migration to be one of the main challenges the EU is facing in the 21st century; emphasises that ensuring policy coherence of the EU’s trade and investment policy choices areis fundamental in order to tackle the causes of migration; regrets that this has not been sufficiently reflected in the ‘Trade for All’ strategy;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Stresses that provisions on human rights and social and environmental standards, and a binding chapter onommitments to enforce and effectively implement labour rights based on the ILO’s core labour rights, Multilateral Environmental Agreement and corporate social responsibility (CSR), - including corporate liability for human rights violations in third countries - must form an essential part of EU trade and investment agreements9 ; calls on the Commission to include commitments on sustainable development chapters that are not only legally binding but also enforceable in all EU trade and investment agreements; __________________ 9 OJ C 99E, 3.4.2012, p. 31. OJ C 99E, 3.4.2012, p. 31.
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Highlights the importance of Domestic Advisory Groups (DAGs) and the involvement of civil society in free trade agreements (FTAs); calls for the further strengthening of the work of DAGs; stresses that they should be fully independentnotes however that whether they are fully independent is contingent upon whether a country allows for free and independent civil society and social partners; calls on the Commission to take measures to improve the work of DAGs such as providing financial resources, prior information and the possibility of using more advanced media in order to facilitate civil society participation;
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Acknowledges that the internationalisation of the world’s production system has resulted in new openings for economic development and an employment-based path out of poverty for hundreds of millions of people; recalls that, according to the ILO, around 780 million active women and men are not earning enough to be lifted out of poverty; underlines that the expansion of GVCs has created job opportunities but also propelled some supplier firms to ignore labour laws, engage workers in unsafe and unacceptable conditions, demand exhaustive working hours and deny workers their fundamental rights; recalls that these practices create unfair competition for suppliers that are compliant with labour laws and international labour standards and for governments that want to improve wages and living standards; calls on the Commission to present concrete proposals to improve conditions in GVCs; emphasises that the EU’s further integration into GVCs must be driven by the dual principles of safeguarding the European social and regulatory model and securing and creating sustainable growth and decent jobs in the EU and for its partners;
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Believes that trade policy must ensure a transparent production process throughout the value chain, as well as compliance with fundamental environment, social and safety standards; stresses the need forcall on the Commission to submit initiatives on mandatory due diligence throughout the supply chain; welcomes the Commission’s desire to work closely with the ILO and the OECD to develop a global approach to improving working conditions in the garment sector; underlines the importance of identifying and assessing new sectoral or geographic opportunities for additional responsible supply chain partnershipinitiatives; looks forward to the Commission’s upcoming communication on CSR;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Stresses that better protection of the entire spectrum of intellectual property rights (IPR) and more effective enforcement is of fundamental importance for further integration into GVCmay enhance further integration into GVCs, while recognizing that this often unduly burdens developing countries;
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Calls on the Commission to improve the quality of both ex-ante and ex- post assessments; stresses the need to always submit a deep sustainability impact assessment, including on human, social and environmental rights, for any trade policy initiative; expresses its concern at the lack of interim and ex-post assessments and that the quality of the existing ones is very low, as demonstrated in the European Court of Auditors Special Report 02/2014; insists that high-quality interim and ex-post evaluations be carried out in respect of all trade agreements in order to allow policymakers, stakeholders and European taxpayers to assess whether trade agreements have achieved the intended results; asks the Commission to provide data on the impact of the trade agreements which have been concluded with special regard to SMEs and, the creation of jobs, human rights and the environment, including in the partner countries;
Amendment 208 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Notes that improvements were achievedRegrets the substantial lack of improvement at the 10th WTO Ministerial Conference in Nairobi in 2015; recognises the differences among WTO members on how to proceed as regards the Doha Round, including the need to consider new approaches to solve outstanding issues; welcomes the interest of some WTO members in starting to address new nego, and the risk of undermining developing countries' sense of ownership of the multilating areas; believes that the outcome of the Nairobi Ministerial Conferenceral process; calls on the Commission to keep on engaging on the fulfilment of the development mandate of the provides an opportunity to give new life to the WTO’s negotiating functionund and not only on the condition that new negotiating areas be added; urges the Commission to take the initiative in reforming and strengthening the WTO in order to ensure greater inclusiveness, effectiveness, transparency and accountability, accountability and more consideration for developing countries' interests ,while acknowledging increased responsibility for emerging economies; is concerned that the ever- expanding EU bilateral agenda will continue to weaken multilateralism;
Amendment 215 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. ConsidersExpresses concern at the proliferation of plurilateral negotiations within the WTO such as the Information Technology Agreement and the Environmental Goods Agreements to be the second-best optionas these have reduced the commitment of industrialised countries to the multilateral pro-development undertaking; emphasises that trade policy should also be used as a tool for increasing the competiveness of environmentally beneficial products, both in respect of their use and production methods; stresses the importance of multilateralising the ‘green goods’ initiative and of considering whether bilateral or unilateral trade agreements could provide premium preferences for genuine environmental goods;
Amendment 221 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. Is encouraged by the Commission's support of the extension request for pharmaceutical intellectual property by LDCs until these countries are no longer considered LDCs; regrets the final WTO TRIPS Council decision to grant only a time limited extension of 17 years; asks the Commission to follow through on its initial position by supporting all developing countries in making full and effective use of all flexibilities built into the TRIPS Agreement and affirmed by the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health adopted on 14 November 2001;
Amendment 230 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Calls on the Commission to focus in a balanced way on the conclusion of the ongoing trade negotiations, and to show the potentiactual benefits of the concluded trade agreements before launching new FTA negotiations; reminds the Commission to carry out a thorough, impartial and unprejudiced ex-ante evaluation of European long-term industrial and economic interests before deciding on future FTA partners and negotiation mandates;
Amendment 256 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Underlines, in the context of the current talks on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and the EU- Japan FTA, the high importance of focusing on core sensitive issues such as the protection of geographical indications (GIs) and public procurement when negotiating FTAs;
Amendment 263 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Insists that trade negotiations follow a tailor-made regional trade strategy and that full consistency with regional integration is ensured, in particular vis-à- vis Asia, Africa and Latin America, which have been identified by the Commission as crucial regions for European economic interests; recalls that Europe and Latin America are natural allies with a combined population of one billion people generating a quarter of global GNP; points out that the potential of this partnership has been insufficiently exploited; welcomnotes the fact that the Commission’s new trade and investment strategy puts a key focus on Latin America;
Amendment 273 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. CRecalls on the Commission to start negotiations for an investment agreement with Taiwan in parallel with the one with Chinaimportance of supporting the democratic regime of Taiwan; underlines that, in the context of the migration challenges, special focus should be put on the post-Cotonou framework; asks for further impetus to be given to negotiating FTAs with both Australia and New Zealandstresses that the human rights clauses in the EPAs and trade agreements with a link to the Cotonou Agreement should not lose their effect after 2020; calls on the EU to engage in a broad consultation process, including with ACP countries, about the post-Cotonou framework;
Amendment 298 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Strongly opposes the granting of MES to China, as it is not fulfilling, for the time being, the EU’s five technical criteria for defining a market economyBelieves that subparagraph (a)(i) and paragraph (d) of Section 15 of the WTO Accession Protocol provide a legal basis for applying a non-standard methodology in anti-dumping procedures concerning imports of Chinese origin; underlines the importance of defining a common European strategy to reinvigorate and apply the anti-dumping procedures on various products suffering from the strong trade distortion caused by Chinese exporting companies;
Amendment 308 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
Paragraph 33
33. Is of the opinion that the lack of effectiveever stricter enforcement of IPRs puts at risk the survival of whole sectors of European industry; stresses that counterfeiting results in job losses and undermines innovation; reiterates that adequate IPR protection and effective enforcement are the bedrock of a global economy; welcomes the Commission’s commitment tofundamental freedom of information as well as the creation and dissemination of creative products necessary for the development of a robust cultural sector, and is more and more often abused as a way to restrict innovation and stifle healthy competition; is highly sceptical about the idea that ever increasing the protection and enforcement of IP rights in FTAs and at the WTO and to working with partners to combat fraud; supports the Commission in its objective of protecting the entire spectrumwill automatically lead to positive economic outcomes for all parties and underlines the fact that the benefits of IPR enforcement often unduly burden developing countries; stresses that particularly when it comes to vital pharmaceuticals, it is necessary to consider withdrawing some enforcement measures, particularly where they are used to prevent necessary pharmaceuticals from reaching patients in developing countries; calls on the Commission to reconsider its position on the protection of IPRs, including patents, trademarks, copyright, designs, geographical indications, marking of origin and pharmaceuticals;
Amendment 314 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34
Paragraph 34
34. Recalls that the EU plays a leading role in the services sector; stresses that the opening up of new market opportunities must be an essential element of the EU’s international trade strategy; stresses that including services in trade agreements is of the utmost importance, as it gives opportunities to European companies and domestic employees, while ensuring the full exclusion of current and future services of general interest and services of general economic interest from the scope of application of any agreement and irrespective of whether they are publicly or privately funded;
Amendment 330 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36
Paragraph 36
36. Welcomes the Commission’s intention to use trade policy to tackle new forms of digital protectionism and to set rules for e-commerce and cross-border data flows in compliance with EU data protection and privacy lawwhile fully exempting the existing and future EU legal framework for the protection of personal data from the scope of any agreement; believes that much more needs to be done to create a climate favourable to e-commerce and entrepreneurship within the EU; stresses that ensuring regulatory cooperation, mutual recognition and harmonisation of standards in the digital trade sector is vital;
Amendment 342 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37
Paragraph 37
37. Is awareconcerned that the inclusion of provisions relating to financial services in trade agreements has raised concerns regarding their potentialliberalisation of trade in financial services increases negative effects where money laundering, tax evasion and avoidance are concerned; supports the Commission in its fight against corruption; insists thurges the Commission to negotiate clauseommitments to ratify and implement international standards on corruption, money laundering and tax fraud be included in all trade and investment agreements as a pre-condition for liberalisation;
Amendment 361 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42
Paragraph 42
42. Stresses the importance of further debate with stakeholders and Parliament on the Commission’s proposal for the Investment Court System in order to better clarify its impact on the ‘right to regulate’, the annual costs for the EU budget and its compliance with the EU legal order, the power of the EU courts in particular, and more specifically the EU competition ruleRejects the inclusion of the Investment Court System in trade and investment agreements as it fails to provide full guarantees to the ‘right to regulate’, it raises issues of compliance with the EU legal order and it still grants disproportionate rights to investors;
Amendment 374 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44
Paragraph 44
44. Calls for the elimination of the current imbalances as regards the degree of openness of public procurement markets between the EU and other trading partners; calls on the Commission to go even further in seeking an ambitious and reciprocal opening up of international public procurement markets, while guaranteeing the exclusion of services of general economic interests; stresses that European economic operators, but especially European SMEs, need better access to public contracts in third countriesReminds that the EU is the only WTO Party that has committed to openness by default of its public procurement market;
Amendment 383 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45
Paragraph 45
45. WelcomNotes the Commission’s amended proposal for a regulation on the access of third-country goods and services to the Union’s internal market in public procurement, which is an important tool for ensuring a level playing field in the market access of third countries;
Amendment 386 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46
Paragraph 46
46. Emphasises that access to resources on equal terms is of vital importance for fair competition on the global market, while recognising the great dependence of developing countries on natural resources and the compatibility of export duties with WTO rules; recalls that European trade policy needs to pursue a consistent, sustainable, comprehensive and cross- policy strategy concerning raw materials as already outlined by Parliament in its resolution on a new trade policy for Europe under the Europe 2020 strategy;