BETA


2005/2245(INI) Fair trade and development

Progress: Procedure completed

RoleCommitteeRapporteurShadows
Lead DEVE SCHMIDT Frithjof (icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE)
Committee Opinion INTA LEICHTFRIED Jörg (icon: PSE PSE)
Lead committee dossier:
Legal Basis:
RoP 54

Events

2006/08/28
   EC - Commission response to text adopted in plenary
Documents
2006/07/06
   EP - Results of vote in Parliament
2006/07/06
   EP - Debate in Parliament
2006/07/06
   EP - Decision by Parliament
Details

The European Parliament adopted a resolution based on the own-initiative report drafted by Frithjof SCHMIDT (Greens/EFA, DE) on fair trade and development. (Please see the summary dated 30/05/2006.)

Documents
2006/07/06
   EP - End of procedure in Parliament
2006/06/06
   EP - Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
Documents
2006/06/06
   EP - Committee report tabled for plenary
Documents
2006/05/30
   EP - Vote in committee
Details

The committee adopted the own-initiative report by Frithjof SCHMIDT (Greens/EFA, DE) on fair trade and development. MEPs urged the Commission to issue a recommendation on Fair Trade, recognising that a non-binding legislative act was the appropriate form at this point in time and would not carry the risk of over-regulation. The report stressed that, to prevent potential abuses, Fair Trade needed to fulfil a number of criteria such as: a fair producer price, guaranteeing a fair wage, covering the costs of sustainable production and living; producers' involvement in Fair Trade standard-setting; transparency and traceability throughout the supply chain to guarantee appropriate consumer information; conditions of production respecting the eight ILO core conventions; respect for the environment, protection of human rights and respect for traditional production methods; support for production and market access for the producer organisations; and regular impact assessments of the Fair Trade activities.

The committee pointed out that the most significant part of the increase in Fair Trade sales had been achieved with respect to labelled products and that Fair Trade labelling initiatives had been developed in most European countries. It called on the Commission to undertake a study to examine how Fair Trade could develop into a model for sustainable trade policy which would be capable of stimulating balanced North-South trade, and identify the obstacles to trade which impact most seriously on the world's poor. It also urged the Commission to recognise that "there are also other credible schemes that, alongside the Fair Trade movement and under the umbrella of the International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labelling Alliance (ISEAL), collaborate to define social and environmental standard-setting in third-party certification".

MEPs wanted the Commission and Member States to take appropriate measures to ensure that consumers have access to all information they need in order to make informed choices. Consumers must have the right to access quickly product information, which must be easily comprehensible and presented in a transparent way. The Commission was urged to liaise with the international Fair Trade movement in supporting clear and widely-applicable criteria against which consumer assurance schemes can be assessed, underpinning consumer confidence in such schemes and consolidating the Fair Trade product sectors.

Other recommendations in the report included developing "a coherent policy for the promotion and protection of small and marginalised producers, including Fair Trade, incorporating their views as well as the views of the producers of other independently monitored trading initiatives contributing to raising social and environmental standards, in bilateral, regional and multilateral trade negotiations, such as the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs)". Lastly, the report called on the Commission to take the Fair Trade and other social and environmental trading approaches into account when formulating the EU's trade policy.

2006/05/08
   EP - Amendments tabled in committee
Documents
2006/05/05
   EP - Committee opinion
Documents
2006/04/11
   EP - Committee draft report
Documents
2006/04/06
   EP - Committee draft report
Documents
2006/01/25
   EP - LEICHTFRIED Jörg (PSE) appointed as rapporteur in INTA
2005/12/15
   EP - Committee referral announced in Parliament
2005/10/05
   EP - SCHMIDT Frithjof (Verts/ALE) appointed as rapporteur in DEVE

Documents

Activities

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)

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events/4/docs/0/url
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events/5
date
2006-07-06T00:00:00
type
Decision by Parliament
body
EP
docs
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summary
The European Parliament adopted a resolution based on the own-initiative report drafted by Frithjof SCHMIDT (Greens/EFA, DE) on fair trade and development. (Please see the summary dated 30/05/2006.)
events/5
date
2006-07-06T00:00:00
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Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
body
EP
docs
url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-6-2006-0320_EN.html title: T6-0320/2006
summary
The European Parliament adopted a resolution based on the own-initiative report drafted by Frithjof SCHMIDT (Greens/EFA, DE) on fair trade and development. (Please see the summary dated 30/05/2006.)
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Rules of Procedure EP 54
procedure/legal_basis/0
Rules of Procedure EP 052
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docs/4/docs/0/url
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New
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docs/5/body
EC
events/2/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A6-2006-207&language=EN
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-6-2006-0207_EN.html
events/5/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P6-TA-2006-320
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-6-2006-0320_EN.html
activities
  • date: 2005-12-15T00:00:00 body: EP type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading committees: body: EP responsible: True committee: DEVE date: 2005-10-05T00:00:00 committee_full: Development rapporteur: group: Verts/ALE name: SCHMIDT Frithjof body: EP responsible: False committee: INTA date: 2006-01-25T00:00:00 committee_full: International Trade rapporteur: group: PSE name: LEICHTFRIED Jörg
  • date: 2006-05-30T00:00:00 body: EP committees: body: EP responsible: True committee: DEVE date: 2005-10-05T00:00:00 committee_full: Development rapporteur: group: Verts/ALE name: SCHMIDT Frithjof body: EP responsible: False committee: INTA date: 2006-01-25T00:00:00 committee_full: International Trade rapporteur: group: PSE name: LEICHTFRIED Jörg type: Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
  • date: 2006-06-06T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A6-2006-207&language=EN type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading title: A6-0207/2006 body: EP type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
  • date: 2006-07-06T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/sda.do?id=4753&l=en type: Results of vote in Parliament title: Results of vote in Parliament url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20060706&type=CRE type: Debate in Parliament title: Debate in Parliament url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P6-TA-2006-320 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading title: T6-0320/2006 body: EP type: Results of vote in Parliament
commission
  • body: EC dg: Development commissioner: --
committees/0
type
Responsible Committee
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
Development
committee
DEVE
date
2005-10-05T00:00:00
rapporteur
name: SCHMIDT Frithjof group: Greens/European Free Alliance abbr: Verts/ALE
committees/0
body
EP
responsible
True
committee
DEVE
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2005-10-05T00:00:00
committee_full
Development
rapporteur
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committees/1
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Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
False
committee_full
International Trade
committee
INTA
date
2006-01-25T00:00:00
rapporteur
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committees/1
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EP
responsible
False
committee
INTA
date
2006-01-25T00:00:00
committee_full
International Trade
rapporteur
group: PSE name: LEICHTFRIED Jörg
docs
  • date: 2006-04-06T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE371.982 title: PE371.982 type: Committee draft report body: EP
  • date: 2006-04-11T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE372.118 title: PE372.118 type: Committee draft report body: EP
  • date: 2006-05-05T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE371.806&secondRef=02 title: PE371.806 committee: INTA type: Committee opinion body: EP
  • date: 2006-05-08T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE374.059 title: PE374.059 type: Amendments tabled in committee body: EP
  • date: 2006-06-06T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A6-2006-207&language=EN title: A6-0207/2006 type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading body: EP
  • date: 2006-08-28T00:00:00 docs: url: /oeil/spdoc.do?i=4753&j=0&l=en title: SP(2006)3801 type: Commission response to text adopted in plenary
events
  • date: 2005-12-15T00:00:00 type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP
  • date: 2006-05-30T00:00:00 type: Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading body: EP summary: The committee adopted the own-initiative report by Frithjof SCHMIDT (Greens/EFA, DE) on fair trade and development. MEPs urged the Commission to issue a recommendation on Fair Trade, recognising that a non-binding legislative act was the appropriate form at this point in time and would not carry the risk of over-regulation. The report stressed that, to prevent potential abuses, Fair Trade needed to fulfil a number of criteria such as: a fair producer price, guaranteeing a fair wage, covering the costs of sustainable production and living; producers' involvement in Fair Trade standard-setting; transparency and traceability throughout the supply chain to guarantee appropriate consumer information; conditions of production respecting the eight ILO core conventions; respect for the environment, protection of human rights and respect for traditional production methods; support for production and market access for the producer organisations; and regular impact assessments of the Fair Trade activities. The committee pointed out that the most significant part of the increase in Fair Trade sales had been achieved with respect to labelled products and that Fair Trade labelling initiatives had been developed in most European countries. It called on the Commission to undertake a study to examine how Fair Trade could develop into a model for sustainable trade policy which would be capable of stimulating balanced North-South trade, and identify the obstacles to trade which impact most seriously on the world's poor. It also urged the Commission to recognise that "there are also other credible schemes that, alongside the Fair Trade movement and under the umbrella of the International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labelling Alliance (ISEAL), collaborate to define social and environmental standard-setting in third-party certification". MEPs wanted the Commission and Member States to take appropriate measures to ensure that consumers have access to all information they need in order to make informed choices. Consumers must have the right to access quickly product information, which must be easily comprehensible and presented in a transparent way. The Commission was urged to liaise with the international Fair Trade movement in supporting clear and widely-applicable criteria against which consumer assurance schemes can be assessed, underpinning consumer confidence in such schemes and consolidating the Fair Trade product sectors. Other recommendations in the report included developing "a coherent policy for the promotion and protection of small and marginalised producers, including Fair Trade, incorporating their views as well as the views of the producers of other independently monitored trading initiatives contributing to raising social and environmental standards, in bilateral, regional and multilateral trade negotiations, such as the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs)". Lastly, the report called on the Commission to take the Fair Trade and other social and environmental trading approaches into account when formulating the EU's trade policy.
  • date: 2006-06-06T00:00:00 type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A6-2006-207&language=EN title: A6-0207/2006
  • date: 2006-07-06T00:00:00 type: Results of vote in Parliament body: EP docs: url: https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/sda.do?id=4753&l=en title: Results of vote in Parliament
  • date: 2006-07-06T00:00:00 type: Debate in Parliament body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20060706&type=CRE title: Debate in Parliament
  • date: 2006-07-06T00:00:00 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P6-TA-2006-320 title: T6-0320/2006 summary: The European Parliament adopted a resolution based on the own-initiative report drafted by Frithjof SCHMIDT (Greens/EFA, DE) on fair trade and development. (Please see the summary dated 30/05/2006.)
  • date: 2006-07-06T00:00:00 type: End of procedure in Parliament body: EP
links
other
  • body: EC dg: Development
procedure/dossier_of_the_committee
Old
DEVE/6/32448
New
  • DEVE/6/32448
procedure/legal_basis/0
Rules of Procedure EP 052
procedure/legal_basis/0
Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament EP 052
procedure/subject
Old
  • 6.20 Common commercial policy in general
  • 6.30 Development cooperation
New
6.20
Common commercial policy in general
6.30
Development cooperation
activities
  • date: 2005-12-15T00:00:00 body: EP type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading committees: body: EP responsible: True committee: DEVE date: 2005-10-05T00:00:00 committee_full: Development rapporteur: group: Verts/ALE name: SCHMIDT Frithjof body: EP responsible: False committee: INTA date: 2006-01-25T00:00:00 committee_full: International Trade rapporteur: group: PSE name: LEICHTFRIED Jörg
  • date: 2006-05-30T00:00:00 body: EP committees: body: EP responsible: True committee: DEVE date: 2005-10-05T00:00:00 committee_full: Development rapporteur: group: Verts/ALE name: SCHMIDT Frithjof body: EP responsible: False committee: INTA date: 2006-01-25T00:00:00 committee_full: International Trade rapporteur: group: PSE name: LEICHTFRIED Jörg type: Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
  • date: 2006-06-06T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A6-2006-207&language=EN type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading title: A6-0207/2006 body: EP type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
  • date: 2006-07-06T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/sda.do?id=4753&l=en type: Results of vote in Parliament title: Results of vote in Parliament url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20060706&type=CRE type: Debate in Parliament title: Debate in Parliament url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P6-TA-2006-320 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading title: T6-0320/2006 body: EP type: Results of vote in Parliament
committees
  • body: EP responsible: True committee: DEVE date: 2005-10-05T00:00:00 committee_full: Development rapporteur: group: Verts/ALE name: SCHMIDT Frithjof
  • body: EP responsible: False committee: INTA date: 2006-01-25T00:00:00 committee_full: International Trade rapporteur: group: PSE name: LEICHTFRIED Jörg
links
other
  • body: EC dg: Development
procedure
dossier_of_the_committee
DEVE/6/32448
reference
2005/2245(INI)
title
Fair trade and development
legal_basis
Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament EP 052
stage_reached
Procedure completed
subtype
Initiative
type
INI - Own-initiative procedure
subject