Activities of Gilles PARGNEAUX related to 2014/2228(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the recommendations to the European Commission on the negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)
Amendments (32)
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Believes that the United States is the EU’s keyan important strategic partner of the EU; stresses that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is the most significant recent EU-US project and will reinvigorate the transatlantic partnership as a whole, beyond its trade aspects; emphasises that its successful conclusion is of high geopolitical importance at a moment when the US is pivoting to Asia and concluding the Trans-Pacific Partnership; underlines that the TTIP will have a positive impact on jobs and growth for the two economies, which have both been hit by the crisisimpact of the TTIP on the European and American economics could be positive but weak; notes that the Commission anticipates that the EU’s GDP will increase by 0.5% by 2027 thanks to TTIP;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the TTIP is above all about regulation10 , about reducing focuses on regulatory convergence, reduction and/or eliminatingon of non-tariff trade barriers11 , and as such about the level of protection of human health and the environment; __________________ 10See speech by EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström of 11 December 2014.http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs /2014/december/tradoc_152942.pdf 11 See 2014 Report on Technical Barriers to Trade by the US Trade Representative, p. 45.market access and aims at harmonising standards to reach mutual recognition between the EU and the US __________________
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
A a. Whereas the impact of a future TTIP on the EU environmental, health and food safety acquis as well as its larger environmental impact will strongly depend on the precise provisions of the agreement
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1c. Does not consider that an ISDS system should be included in TTIP, and believes that other types of dispute settlement system should be examined in depth; stresses that the EU’s right to regulate must be protected in TTIP;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the degree of divergence between the regulatory systems of the EU and the US is very wide in key areas for the protection of health and the environment, including food safety and consumer information, owing to different legal and political cultures (epitomised by the controversy over the precautionary principle);
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
B a. Whereas in certain areas some convergence may be possible without undermining the respective levels of protection in the EU and the US (e.g. mutual recognition of emission standards for motor vehicles), in some cases, the differences are so significant that they seem unlikely to be bridged (e.g. cosmetics or medical devices) and in other areas, the main differences are a result of diverging approaches to risk analysis and risk management which may also be difficult to bridge (e.g. food and nutrition sector)
Amendment 40 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes the TTIP’s strategic importance in strengthening and shaping global trade and economic governance based on the values shared by the EU and the US, particularly in an increasingly multipolar world; notes that its impact would go beyond the bilateral implications by facilitating the establishment of common regulations and rules that could later be adopted at global level; stresses that it is important for these future common regulations and rules to respect the best European standards;
Amendment 58 #
Draft opinion
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the US Trade Representative consistently denounceders EU standards in these areas as trade barriers without taking into account the overall benefits for society of these standards;
Amendment 67 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses that the EU’s energy supply largely depends on foreign sources; emphasises the considerable contribution the TTIP could make to the EU’s energy supply diversification and to its energy security by, inter alia, lifting licensing requirements for US gas exports; stresses that no partnership agreement can alter the right of each party to control the exploration and exploitation of its energy sources; considers that the increase in the exploitation and export of shale gas is aggravating climate change;
Amendment 80 #
Draft opinion
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
D a. whereas ISDS can be a huge disincentive to pass legislation to protect consumers, public health and the environment due to the concern of being challenged by the industry;
Amendment 83 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Believes that this agreement should be accompanied by a deepening of transatlantic parliamentary cooperation, and that the strengthening of trade and investment links through the TTIP should lead in the future to an enhanced political framework to improve global cooperation between the EU and the US;
Amendment 85 #
Draft opinion
Recital D b (new)
Recital D b (new)
D b. whereas trade and investment are not goals in themselves but constitute a means to raise standards of living, improve well- being as well as protect and promote public health, ensure full employment while allowing for the optimal use of the world's resources in accordance with the objective of sustainable development, seeking both to protect and preserve the environment;
Amendment 86 #
Draft opinion
Recital D c (new)
Recital D c (new)
D c. whereas universal health systems are part of the European social model and Member States have the competence for the management and organisation of health services and medical care;
Amendment 91 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. WelcomNotes the fact thatsteps taken by the Commission is taking steps aiming to improve the transparency of the negotiations.to improve the transparency of the negotiations; considers that there is an urgent need to make a greater commitment to the transparency of these negotiations; notes that on 7 January 2015 the European Ombudsman called for greater transparency in the TTIP negotiations, particularly by means of publication of the negotiating documents and by calling for a written justification where one of the parties demands that a document should be classified;
Amendment 101 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Considers it misleading on the part of the Commission to try to appease public concerns about the TTIP by statingas a minimum requirement that existing standards will not be lowered, as this disregards the fact that manynd highlights that certain standards have yet to be set in the implementation of existing (framework) legislation (e.g. REACH) or by the adoption of new laws (e.g. cloning or endocrine disrupting chemicals);
Amendment 123 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Is concerned that the TTIP negotiations might have already affected Commission proposals and actions relating, for example, to food safety and climate protection (e.g. pathogen meat treatments; implementation of the fuel quality directive, labelling of meat from cloned animals and their offspring);
Amendment 143 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Is very concerned that the objective of regulatory convergence, including in particular the creation of a Regulatory Cooperation Council, willcould lead to a lowering of future EU standards in key areas for the protection of human health, food safety and the environment in light of the significant differences as compared with the US;
Amendment 170 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Agrees withEndorses Commissioner Malmström's statement that all areas where the EU and the US have very different rules or approaches should be excluded from the negotiations12 ; __________________ 12See speech by EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström of 11 December 2014.
Amendment 223 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 – indent 3 a (new)
Paragraph 5 – indent 3 a (new)
- lead to a weakening of existing European safety standards in the sanitary and phytosanitary area, including rules on hormones and growth promoters or using chemicals to decontaminate poultry
Amendment 228 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 – indent 3 b (new)
Paragraph 5 – indent 3 b (new)
- water down or weaken the design of regulatory measures or the implementation of existing regulations on endocrine disrupting chemicals
Amendment 231 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 – indent 3 c (new)
Paragraph 5 – indent 3 c (new)
- impair EU developments - in particular under the new EU Clinical Trials Regulation and at the European Medicines agency - to move towards ensuring proactive public access to safety and efficacy data of medicines;
Amendment 233 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 – indent 3 d (new)
Paragraph 5 – indent 3 d (new)
- limit directly or indirectly the national competence of Member States to tailor their pricing and reimbursement policies to ensure sustainable access to affordable medicines
Amendment 236 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 – indent 3 e (new)
Paragraph 5 – indent 3 e (new)
- affect the organisation of the health systems and their regulatory mechanisms in the Member States
Amendment 264 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Is strongly opposed to the inclusion of ISDS in the TTIP, as ISDS risks fundamentally undermining the sovereign rights of the EU, its Member States and regional and local authorities to adopt regulations on public health, food safety and the environment;
Amendment 277 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
Amendment 306 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Calls on the Commission to maintain the highest possible level of transparency of the negotiations, including access to the negotiating texts, and consultation with civil society throughout the process
Amendment 309 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7 b. Calls on the Commission to pay particular attention to ensuring that a future TTIP allows both parties to maintain the level of environmental, health and food safety protection they deem appropriate, as set forth in the negotiating guidelines
Amendment 310 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Paragraph 7 c (new)
7 c. Highlights the fact that the TTIP agreement should support setting out a pathway to reduce both the US and Europe's dependence on fossil fuels and that the agreement must not undermine any EU and/or international processes leading to decarbonisation in the transport
Amendment 311 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 d (new)
Paragraph 7 d (new)
7 d. Calls on the Commission to conduct Trade Sustainability Impact Assessment on the TTIP agreement
Amendment 312 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 e (new)
Paragraph 7 e (new)
7 e. Highlights that any proposed clause should be thoroughly reviewed and assessed with a view to its potential impact on the regulatory acquis and the EU's freedom to pursue non-economic policy goals in the future and calls on the Commission to assess any proposed clause with a view to its necessity and whether the purported aim could be reached equally well through other means
Amendment 313 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 f (new)
Paragraph 7 f (new)
7 f. Calls on the Commission to avoid ambiguities to prevent expansive interpretation by arbitration tribunals by ensuring that the essential terms used in the agreement are clearly defined
Amendment 314 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 g (new)
Paragraph 7 g (new)
7 g. Encourages the Commission to support the work on alternative methods to animal testing and to push for the progressive phase-out of animal tests worldwide and calls on the Commission to encourage closer future cooperation on animal welfare issues