Activities of Judith SARGENTINI related to 2016/2241(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on enhancing developing countries’ debt sustainability PDF (444 KB) DOC (57 KB)
Amendments (24)
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 8 a (new)
Citation 8 a (new)
- having regard to the UNCTAD roadmap on Sovereign DebtWorkouts (April 2015);
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas these initiatives, accompanied by the commodity price boom, have improved the financial situation of many developing countries, while exceptionally low interest rates since the 2008 financial crisis have also contributed to debt sustainability; but whereas, however, there can be no guarantees of this favourable set of circumstances continuing to prevailcommodity prices have fallen since 2008, whereas a new debt crisis has begun in impoverished countries, with Mozambique, Chad, Congo and Gambia unable to pay;
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
D a. Whereas debt crisis triggered by falling commodity prices and volatile capital flows represent an ongoing threat of debt sustainability, especially for developing countries, which continue to be dependent on commodity exports;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas, while the UNCTAD principles for responsible sovereign lending and borrowing and the G20 operational guidelines for sustainable financing are undeniably useful for the formulation of regulatory framework provisions, priority must be given to ending irresponsible practices through the introduction of suitenforceable deterrents and penalties;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)
Recital J a (new)
J a. Whereas the increasing use of public-private partnerships in developing countries under the EU External Investment Plan and the G20 Compact with Africa could add to state indebtedness; whereas PPP investors are protected by bilateral investment treaties, notably their investor-to-state dispute settlement mechanisms, that enable them to litigate against the host states;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
L. whereas the mobilisation of domestic resources is being hampered by tax evasion and harmful tax competition and by the transfer of transnational corporate profits in particular; whereas the OECD base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) initiative is a welcome but insufficient response to this situation; whereas there is a need to set-up of an intergovernmental body for tax cooperation under the auspices of the UN to enable developing countries to participate equally in the global reform of existing international tax rules ;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M a (new)
Recital M a (new)
M a. Whereas the fulfilment of Agenda 2030 and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda entails considering new SDGs financing options, such as the setting-up of financial transaction taxes and foreign currency transaction tax;whereas according to the estimations of the Bank for International Settlement (BIS), a foreign currency transaction tax of 0.1 percent would easily finance the SDGs in all LICs and LMICs[1]. [1] « Revisiting Debt Sustainability in Africa. Background Paper for UNCTAD’s 2016 Economic Development in Africa Report: “Debt Dynamics and Development Finance in Africa”.
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital N
Recital N
N. whereas existing debt service default proceedings for countries differ fundamentally from insolvency proceedings for businesses falling within national jurisdictions, since no provision is made for impartial arbitration before a court of law; whereas short-term loans, subject to terms and conditions and disbursed in tranches, are provided by the IMF, whose mission is to ensure the stability of the international financial system; whereas the Paris Club of creditor countries takes decisions regarding debt relief, while private creditors are represented by the London Club, through which they are able to coordinate their actions; whereas no procedures exist that are applicable across the board for arbitration between debt-laden countries and their creditorthere is no permanent forum for coordinating decision-making on debt restructuring by all creditors in a country in debt distress;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Points out that credit facilities are an essential means of ensuring a dignified future for developing countries; conversely, underlines that sustainable debt is a precondition for achieving Agenda 2030; henceforth, believes that SDG implementation requires the setting- up of effective institutions for debt crisis prevention and resolution;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Notes with concern that lending to impoverished countries increased dramatically from 2008; fears a cycle of new debt crisis, stresses the need for more transparency, better regulation of lenders, tax justice and to enabling countries to be less dependent on commodity exports;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Takes the view that credit facilities are inextricably linked to other forms of development funding, including earnings from trade, tax revenue and remittances from migrants to developing countries, as well as official development aid; in particular, recalls that domestic resources mobilisation through taxation is the most important source of revenue for financing sustainable development; to these ends, urges the EU to step up its capacity building assistance in developing countries to curb illicit financial flows, to support an efficient, progressive and transparent tax system in line with good governance principles as well as to increase its assistance to combat corruption and recover stolen asset;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Considers that responsibility for spiralling (external) debt rests primarily with the politicians governing the countries in question andbut that, in many cases, their creditors must also be held accountable for the resulting debt crisis; more broadly, stresses the co-responsibility of debtors and creditors to prevent and resolve debt crisis through more responsible lending and borrowing;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Points out that blending risks leading to a debt bubble, notably in Sub- Saharan Africa and the Caribbean countries with limited revenues to service their debt; accordingly, calls on donors to give the majority of their aid to LDCs in the form of grant; reiterates that any decision to promote the use of PPPs through blending in developing countries should be based on a thorough assessment of these mechanisms, particularly in terms of development and financial additionality, transparency and accountability, and on the lessons learned from past experience; asks that the review of the EFSD includes clear criteria on debt sustainability;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5 b. Highlights the importance of defining safeguards mechanism to prevent contingent government liabilities from undermining the debt sustainability of developing countries; in particular, urges multilateral development banks to conduct ex ante fiscal risk impact assessments of PPP projects (taking into account the full fiscal risks over the lifetime of PPP projects), so as not to undermine the debt sustainability of developing countries; takes the view that IMF and World Bank should include all PPP costs in their Debt Sustainability Analysis;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Endorses the guiding principles on foreign debt and human rights formulated by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, under which the right to achievement of the sustainable development goals should take priority over debt repayment; calls on Member States of the European Union to promote the systematic use of human rights impact assessments as part of debt sustainability assessments undertaken by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Notes that IMF - World Bank Debt Sustainability Assessment (DSA) are usually used by lenders to guide their lending; stresses the need to address their pitfalls, most notably the monitoring of external private debt and the lack of integration of human rights;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Supports UNCTAD recommendation to set up an African Commodity Price Stabilisation Fund to reduce the reliability on debt financing whenever there is a significant change in commodity prices;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on the creditor countries to give preference in future to increasedprovide more grants financing for SDG investments and keep to their long- standing promise to provide 0.7% of GNI as official development aid rather than debt servifinancing, where evaluation reports indicate that achievement of the SDGs is being compromised on a long-term basis by dwindling public finances; in addition, urges creditor countries to establish innovative and diversified new sources of finance to achieve SDGs, such as foreign currency transaction tax and financial transaction tax, that can contribute to country’s debt sustainability, particularly at times of financial crisis;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10 a. Is concerned about the OECD DAC revision of ODA reporting criteria, particularly for Private Sector Instruments, as broadened reporting criteria create incentives for the usage of certain aid modalities, most notably loans and guarantees; notes that while these discussions are ongoing, donors are currently already allowed to report certain loans and guarantees as ODA without an agreed set of rules in place; stresses the need to build in safeguards on transparency and indebtedness.
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Endorses the principles set out by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development for responsible credit policy, which highlight in particular the shared responsibility of creditors and borrowers (UNCTAD Principles on Promoting Responsible Sovereign Lending and Borrowing), as well as the need for parliamentary control, which is an essential component of public funding operations; believes that UNCTAD Principles on Promoting Responsible Lending and Borrowing should be turned into legally binding and enforceable instruments;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12 a. Deems that transparency and accountability are essential to supporting responsible sovereign lending and borrowing; to this end, calls on Member States of the European Union to build upon commitments made in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, and the G20 Operational Guidelines on Sustainable Financing, to make lenders more responsible of their loans, based on existing principles of transparency and accountability that prevails in the extractive industries (IETA) or by exploring the feasibility of mandatory reporting of all loans by public and private creditors to developing countries in a public database register;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12 b. Stresses the need to settle a multilateral regulatory model to address odious and illegitimate debts; to this end, takes the view that debt restructuring operation should come along an independent debt audit as a way to differentiate illegitimate and odious lending, that should be cancelled;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 – introductory part
Paragraph 14 – introductory part
14. Stresses the need to resolve debt crisis in a fair, speedy and sustainable manner through the setting-up of an international debt workout mechanism, that build upon the UNCTAD roadmap on sovereign debt work out and the idea of the so-called Stiglitz Commission of establishing an International Debt Restructuring Court (IDRC); Calls on the EU Member States to act on the mandate adopted in Resolution A/RES/69/319 of 10 September 2015 in order to:
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Calls on the EU Member States to adopt, on the Commission’s initiative, a regulation based on Belgian legislation seeking to prevent speculation and litigation on sovereign debt by vulture funds;