2015/2038(INI) | [ParlTrack]

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Calls on the Commission to respect the principle of Policy Coherence for Development in all external policies and specifically ~~to include it in all trea~~insists that trade policies must be consistent with all EU's objectives, including social, environmental and development aid objectives;

Amendment 10 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls for the EU to recognise the common but differentiated responsibility of developing countries, while ensuring equity when addressing the post-2015 Development Agenda; recalls the EU’'s direct and historical responsibility in its dealings with partner countries, particularly as regards tax, trade and investment; in particular, stresses upon the need to rebalance global rules governing trade and investment with human rights obligations so as to find the right balance between the rights and responsibilities of firms and governments;

Amendment 11 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

Amendment 12 #

Aldo PATRICIELLO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls for the EU to recognise the common but differentiated responsibility of developing countries, while ensuring equity when addressing the post-2015 Development Agenda and determining the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals; recalls the EU’s direct and historical responsibility in its dealings with partner countries, particularly as regards tax, trade and investment;

Amendment 13 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Recalls that corporate social responsibility is a concept whereby companies voluntarily incorporate social and environmental concerns into their business strategy for the overall wellbeing of stakeholders;

Amendment 14 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Recalls that the implementation of the Decent Work Agenda (based on ILO Conventions and recommendations) constitutes an essential part of sustainable development strategies that can be applied by business enterprises; in this context, stresses that social dialogue is a key criteria for business accountability;

Amendment 15 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Notes that the CSR agenda must be adapted to the specific needs of regions and of each specific country in order to contribute to improving sustainable economic and social development;

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)

3c. Encourages the promotion of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, however recalls that those principles may not be read as binding international law; further insists that it is primarily the responsibility of the states to guarantee the respect and promotion of human rights;

Amendment 17 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. ~~Finds regrettable the~~Regrets that at a time of increasing interest in the private sector as a development actor, there is a significant lack of adequate information and transparency as regards the actions of corporations and their impact on social and environmental standards and human rights; deplores that, while the EU is among the most active actors to setting normative standards through trade agreements, the enforceability of social or environmental clauses attached to it remains weak; calls for an effective increase in the transparency of corporations and for independent ex-ante impact analysis prior to the signing of any trade agreement; and strong enforceability mechanisms of social and environmental clauses;

Amendment 18 #

Lola SÁNCHEZ CALDENTEY, Doru-Claudian FRUNZULICĂ, Ignazio CORRAO, Stelios KOULOGLOU, Eleonora FORENZA, Sabine LÖSING

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. ~~Finds regrettable the significant lack of adequat~~Calls for more information and transparency as regards the actions of corporations and their impact on social and environmental standards and human rights; ~~calls for an effective increase in the transparency of corporations and for independent ex-ante impact analysis prior to the signing of any trade agreement;~~

Amendment 19 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Finds regrettable the significant lack of adequate information and transparency as regards the actions of corporations and their impact on social and environmental standards and human rights; calls for an effective increase in the transparency of corporations and for independent ex-ante impact analysis prior to the signing of any trade agreement; calls for a new monitoring and enforcement mechanism to ensure corporations comply with social, environmental and human rights standards;

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Calls on the Commission to respect the principle of Policy Coherence for Development in all external policies and specifically to include it in all treaties, in ways consistent with agreed international commitments to human rights, decent work, gender equality and environmental sustainability;

Amendment 20 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

Amendment 21 #

Aldo PATRICIELLO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Finds regrettable the significant lack of adequate information and transparency as regards the actions of corporations and their impact on social and environmental standards and human rights; calls for an effective increase in the transparency of corporations and for independent ex-ante impact analysis prior to the signing of any trade agreement; calls for efforts to be stepped up to make corporate social responsibility more widespread and ensure it is actually implemented;

Amendment 22 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Recalls that the integration of a human right-based approach should be at the heart of the EU development policy; henceforth, reiterates that at a time when the use of blending as a EU development tool is growing, adherence and implementation of internationally recognised guidelines and principles concerning business behaviour and their accountability instruments (namely the ILO Conventions and standards, including the ILO Declaration on Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the UN Global Compact and the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights) should become key condition to grant private sector support in development cooperation;

Amendment 23 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Deplores that despite the unanimous endorsement of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights by the Human Right Council in 2011, the number of human rights abuses linked to business activity continues to grow;

Amendment 24 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)

4c. Calls on to the Commission to conduct a report on the state of implementation on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights;

Amendment 25 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Considers it regrettable that a regulatory framework on the way corporations comply with human rights and obligations with respect to social and environmental standards is still lacking; finds it regrettable that current human rights clauses in free trade agreements and othWelcomes the recent incorporation of human rights clauses in bilateral free trade agreements and other economic partnership agreements, as well as a chapter dealing with sustainable development; considers that these clauses pave the way for a better eco~~nomic partnership agreements are ineffective and are usually not respected~~operation between the EU and its partner countries; urges the Commission to further promote CSR instruments and initiatives for responsible mining, logging and sourcing of commodities so as to ensure the accountability of companies;

Amendment 26 #

Lola SÁNCHEZ CALDENTEY, Doru-Claudian FRUNZULICĂ, Ignazio CORRAO, Stelios KOULOGLOU, Eleonora FORENZA, Sabine LÖSING

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. ~~Considers it regrettable that a~~Regrets that the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights are not embodied in enforceable instruments, thereby hampering individuals and communities around the world to rely effectively on the UN endorsed standards for protection and remedy to defend themselves against human rights violations of multinational corporations; calls for the setting-up of a mandatory and enforceable regulatory framework on the way corporations comply with human rights and obligations with respect to social and environmental standards ~~is still lacking~~; finds it regrettable that current human rights clauses in free trade agreements and other economic partnership agreements are ineffective and are usually not respected; urges the Commission to further promote initiatives for responsible mining, logging and sourcing of commodities so as to ensure the accountability of companies;

Amendment 27 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Considers it regrettable that a regulatory framework on the way corporations comply with human rights and obligations with respect to social and environmental standards is still lacking, which allow certain States and companies to circumvent them with impunity; finds it regrettable that current human rights clauses in free trade agreements and other economic partnership agreements are ineffective and are usually not respected; urges the Commission to further promote binding initiatives for responsible mining, logging and sourcing of commodities ~~so as to~~and private sustainability-bound schemes throughout supply chains and to step-up environmental and social product and process life cycle analysis so as to improve consumers information and to effectively ensure the accountability of companies;

Amendment 28 #

Lola SÁNCHEZ CALDENTEY, Doru-Claudian FRUNZULICĂ, Ignazio CORRAO, Stelios KOULOGLOU, Eleonora FORENZA, Sabine LÖSING

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Considers it regrettable that a regulatory framework on the way corporations comply with human rights and obligations with respect to social and environmental standards is still lacking; ~~finds it regrettable that current human rights clauses in free trade agreements and other economic partnership agreements are ineffective and are usually not respected~~reiterates its call for the European Commission to be more committed to promoting binding and non- negotiable human rights and social and environmental clauses in negotiations of international agreements; urges the Commission to further promote initiatives for responsible mining, logging and sourcing of commodities so as to ensure the accountability of companies;

Amendment 29 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Calls for the EU to follow UNCTAD´s Comprehensive Investment Policy Framework for Sustainable Development recommendations to ensure responsible transparent and accountable investments to not undermine social and environmental standards, human rights, development and people´s dignity, while guarantee respect of human rights, gender equality, decent work, union rights, environmental protection, social protection, universal access to quality goods and public services (paying particular attention to public and universal health coverage), social protection, universal access to medicines, and food and product safety;

Amendment 3 #

Lola SÁNCHEZ CALDENTEY, Doru-Claudian FRUNZULICĂ, Eleonora FORENZA, Stelios KOULOGLOU, Sabine LÖSING, Ignazio CORRAO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Stress that EU trade and investment policies are interlink with social protection, development, human rights and environment policies; Calls on the Commission to respect the principle of Policy Coherence for Development in all external policies and specifically to include it in all treaties and develop legally binding mechanisms to ensure it;

Amendment 30 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Considering that there has been little progress in the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles, and in a context where existing standards, principles, and mechanisms for redress on business and human rights are fragmented in international law, calls for the EU to engage actively in the work of the UN’s Human Rights Council on an international treaty to hold transnational corporations accountable for human rights abuses.

Amendment 31 #

Lola SÁNCHEZ CALDENTEY, Doru-Claudian FRUNZULICĂ, Ignazio CORRAO, Stelios KOULOGLOU, Eleonora FORENZA, Sabine LÖSING

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Calls for the EU to engage actively in the work of the UN’s Human Rights Council ~~on a~~and of the UNEP on international treatyies to hold transnational corporations accountable for human rights abuses and violations of environmental standards.

Amendment 32 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Calls for the EU and Member States to engage actively in the work of the UN’s Human Rights Council on an international treaty to hold transnational corporations accountable for human rights abuses.

Amendment 4 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Recalls the 1986 UN Declaration on the Right to Development, which confirms the right to development as an inalienable ~~human~~ right; therefore calls on the EU to ~~respect the sovereignty of developing countries in setting policies aimed at responding to the demands of their populations for human rights and dignity~~promote an effective cooperation of all development actors, including the private sector, for the realization of this right and the elimination of obstacles to development;

Amendment 5 #

Lola SÁNCHEZ CALDENTEY, Doru-Claudian FRUNZULICĂ, Ignazio CORRAO, Stelios KOULOGLOU, Eleonora FORENZA, Sabine LÖSING

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Recalls the 1986 UN Declaration on the Right to Development, which confirms the right to development as an inalienable human right; calls on the EU to respect the sovereignty of developing countries in setting policies aimed at responding to the demands of their populations for human rights and dignity, in line with the development principle of democratic ownership, as embedded in the development effectiveness agenda;

Amendment 6 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Recalls the 1986 UN Declaration on the Right to Development, which confirms the right to development as an inalienable human right; calls on the EU to respect the sovereignty of developing countries in setting policies aimed at responding to the demands of their populations, for ~~human rights and dignity~~ensuring people dignity and obligations and duties of all investors in order to guarantee internationally agreed social, environmental and human rights standards;

Amendment 7 #

Lola SÁNCHEZ CALDENTEY, Doru-Claudian FRUNZULICĂ, Ignazio CORRAO, Stelios KOULOGLOU, Eleonora FORENZA, Sabine LÖSING

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Recalls the 1986 UN Declaration on the Right to Development, which confirms the right to development as an inalienable human right; ~~calls on the EU to respect the sovereignty of developing countries in setting policies aimed at responding to the demands of their populations for human rights and dignity;~~

Amendment 8 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Calls on the European Union and its Member States to promote binding measures to ensure that multinational corporations pay taxes in the countries in which their profits are generated and to promote compulsory country-by-country reporting by the private sector, thus enhancing domestic resource mobilisation capacities of countries;

Amendment 9 #