16 Amendments of Sergio Gaetano COFFERATI related to 2015/2065(INI)
Amendment 310 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. WelcomAcknowledges the setting up of the Supply Chain Initiative, which has resulted in the adoption of a set of principles of good practice in B2B relations in the food supply chain and a voluntary framework for the implementation of those principles; believes that efforts to promote fair trading practices in the food supply chain can make a real impactn impact, but cannot be considered sufficient to tackle the problem of UTPs in the food supply chain; notes that the results emerged from the conclusions of the Commission's study on the SCI recently published "seem very modest if measured against the actual or perceived magnitude and seriousness of the issue of UTPs in the food supply chain, and even more so if measured against the expectations of the stakeholders which are most seriously impacted by UTPs, and of policy makers";
Amendment 313 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Is very concerned about recent findings that one of the early signatories of the SCI operating across Europe has been found guilty of unreasonably delaying payments to its suppliers; regrets that neither the Commission nor the SCI has directly reported this finding in their reports;
Amendment 318 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Is concerned about the Commission report which does not take into account many findings of the study, notably with regard to the assessment of voluntary approaches;
Amendment 319 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Emphasizes that, as it has been reported by the Commission's study, the SCI, at the moment, does not have robust enforcement mechanisms nor effective deterrent instruments and penalties, such as monetary and/or economic sanctions, which will be able to address the problem of the UTPs in the food supply chain; therefore, asks the Commission to undertake concrete actions to establish effective enforcement mechanisms capable to act cross-borders, such as the establishment of an independent EU enforcement authority or a network of national authorities, mutually recognized at the EU level; these independent authorities shall be empowered to conduct investigations ex-oficio and/or on the basis of informal information and/or on the basis of complaints dealt with on a confidential basis, thus overcoming the so-called "fear factor";
Amendment 322 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3c. Regrets that no concrete case has been examined to assess the SCI role in tackling unfair trading practices;
Amendment 323 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 d (new)
Paragraph 3 d (new)
3d. Regrets that some of the dispute resolution options promoted by the SCI have not yet been used in practice and the assessment of their effectiveness has been based more on "theoretical" judgments rather than on empirical observation;
Amendment 324 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 e (new)
Paragraph 3 e (new)
3e. Rather than simply encouraging some improvements in the SCI, stresses that study evaluating the effectiveness of the SCI highlights a broad range of its shortcomings – lack of trust from external experts and organisations, weaknesses in governance, under-representation of SMEs, limitations in transparency and no enforcement measures and penalties;
Amendment 325 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 f (new)
Paragraph 3 f (new)
3f. Stresses the evaluation of the study which concludes that SCI has very limited powers to directly enforce measures to address UTPs, notably due to the lack of effective deterrents against unfair behaviour;
Amendment 328 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 i (new)
Paragraph 3 i (new)
3i. Points out that recent study findings do not bring the evidence for the Commission's evaluation statement that voluntary initiatives seem to work better in some countries than in others, and that the Commission should seriously take into account several rather negative national experiences with voluntary agreements in order to move towards establishing concrete legislative and enforcing measures to prevent unfair trading practices;
Amendment 349 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Regrets that, despite the limits of voluntary codes and initiatives have been clearly highlighted by the conclusions of the Commission's study on the SCI, the Commission does not seem willing to proceed with the swift adoption of a specific EU legislative framework which could better protect consumers, ensure a level-playing field among the stakeholders of the food supply chain, limit the current fragmentation of the single market and effectively tackle the UTPs;
Amendment 350 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11b. Underlines that the safeguard of confidentiality is an essential component of any dispute resolution process; stresses that the SCI does not provide for a mechanism ensuring confidential or anonymous complaints for potential victims of UTPs. Therefore, asks the Commission to establish a monitoring instrument to ensure and preserve the confidentiality between the parties involved in the dispute, thus reducing the so-called "fear factor";
Amendment 372 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Notes results of the study, where survey respondents indicated as the most preferred approaches in tackling UTPs the combination of voluntary initiatives and public enforcement (33% of total answers) or a specific legislation at EU level (32%); on the other side, reliance on voluntary initiatives alone at national (4%) or EU level (9 %) resulted to be the less preferred approach;
Amendment 374 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 c (new)
Paragraph 17 c (new)
17c. Questions the Commission's vague statement that different approaches in Member States do not seem to have negative consequences for the Single market; points out that previous study accompanying Commission's communication recommended to address the fragmentation of legal rules and approaches in the EU in order to prevent a negative impact of fragmentation on the EU Single Market; Is convinced that fragmentation and different legislative approaches in MS contribute to legal uncertainty, additional costs for businesses, notably SMEs, and raise difficulties to the cross-border market access and cooperation;
Amendment 375 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 d (new)
Paragraph 17 d (new)
17d. Welcomes that the Commission finds it necessary to ensure that UTP legislation covers operators from non-EU countries; Believes that clear and transparent rules at the EU level would facilitate fair trading practices towards third countries traders;
Amendment 378 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Is convinced that functioning enforcement mechanisms should be accessible to all market operators in the food supply chain, regardless of geographical origin;
Amendment 379 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)
Paragraph 18 b (new)
18b. Believes that the scope of enforcement should cover entire supply chain both inside Europe and overseas in order to positively contribute to the overall sustainability of the food production; suggests coordinated enforcement across the EU to discourage market players from moving their purchasing department to low-enforcement countries to continue with UTPs;