2018/2084(INI) | [ParlTrack]

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Recalls that trade liberalisation is ~~not positive, per se, in terms of reducing poverty and inequalities, and that it can even have negative effects on sustainable development if it is not properly regulated~~a great driver of poverty eradication and inequalities; underlines, in this context, the potential of the WTO as an efficient rules- based multilateral negotiating forum which provides a platform for open discussion on global trade-related issues; insists that the EU should continue to promote ~~the~~further modernisation and democratisation of the WTO;

Amendment 11 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Recalls, however, that trade liberalisation ~~is not positive, per se,~~can have negative effects in terms of reducing poverty and inequalities, and ~~that it can even have negative effects~~ on sustainable development in general if it is not ~~properly regulated~~based on global rules; underlines, in this context, the potential of the WTO as an efficient rules-based multilateral negotiating forum which provides a platform for open discussion on global trade-related issues and is set to contain trade disputes and effectively deal with unfair competition; insists that the EU should continue to promote the ~~democratisation~~reform of the WTO;

Amendment 12 #

Cristian Dan PREDA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Recalls that trade liberalisation ~~is not~~can have positive~~, per se,~~ effects in terms of reducing poverty and inequalities, and that ~~it can even have~~potential negative effects on sustainable development ~~if it is not~~should be addressed properly by regulatedion; underlines, in this context, the potential of the WTO as an efficient rules-based multilateral negotiating forum which provides a platform for open discussion on global trade-related issues; insists that the EU should continue to promote the democratisation of the WTO;

Amendment 13 #

Ignazio CORRAO

1. Recalls that trade liberalisation is not positive, per se, in terms of reducing poverty and inequalities, and that it can even have negative effects on sustainable development if it is not properly regulated; underlines, in this context, the potential of the WTO as an efficient rules-based multilateral negotiating forum which provides a platform for open discussion on global trade-related issues; insists that the EU should continue to promote the democratisation of the WTO;(Does not affect the English version.)

Amendment 14 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Stresses the unicity of WTO among international bodies in its ability to punish countries, with the result that countries give precedence to the WTO over UN institutions that cannot penalize them for broken agreements in other fields (such as human rights, labour conditions, health and environmental protection), given the lack of dispute settlement mechanism to enforce those rights; believes that the achievement of the Paris Agreement on climate change and Agenda 2030 implies to reverse the hierarchy of norms so as to make trade an effective tool to achieve SDGs;

Amendment 15 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Recalls that the lack of integration of human rights norms and standards into global rules governing trade and investment makes it difficult to hold companies accountable; stresses the need to rebalance trade and investment law with human rights law, notably in global supply chains; to this end, calls on the EU to make initiatives in the WTO for the regulation of a specific global supply chain, notably in the garment sector as a first step; in addition, reiterates the importance of the EU being actively involved in the process of the Open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights (OEIGWG) and to uphold the primacy of human rights over trade interests;

Amendment 16 #

Paul RÜBIG, Ádám KÓSA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Calls for a trade agenda based on fair trade for the benefit of all, which puts development and social, environmental and human rights at the centre of the process and has a special focus on the needs of low-income developing countries and least-developed countries; takes the view that, since the Doha Round was launched in 2001, the world has changed dramatically in economic, political and technological terms, and that the digital transformation offers unique opportunities to developing countries to escape the poverty trap; thus encourages to combine the challenges of the Doha Development Agenda with new challenges, such as e-commerce, digital trade, investment transparency, subsidies and overcapacity, global value chains, public procurement, domestic regulation for services, micro, small and medium- sized enterprises; demands increased support for Aid for Trade projects in the framework of development aid in order to turn digital opportunities into trade realities for developing countries;

Amendment 17 #

Ignazio CORRAO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Calls for a trade agenda based on fair trade for the benefit of all, which ~~puts development and social, environmental and human rights at the ce~~respects the needs of low-income developing countries and least developed countries and which focuses primarily on human beings and their inalienable rights; reiterates that trade must always serve the interests of ~~the process and has a special focus on the needs of low-income developing countries and least-developed countrie~~sustainable development, social rights and the environment; urges that these principles and values be translated into concrete and binding rules as part of every trade agreement; urges that human rights be genuinely protected and that systems be instituted for the resolution of disagreements concerning human rights violations that are effective and accessible for individuals;

Amendment 18 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Calls for a trade agenda based on fair trade for the benefit of all, which puts development and social, environmental and human rights at the centre of the process and has a special focus on the needs of low-income developing countries and least-developed countries; recalls that this strategy is possible only if equilibrium in trade balances and balances of payments is ensured in order to avoid the economic predation which is inherent in the adoption of free trade as the general rule; stresses that this fair trade strategy is contained in the Havana Charter, signed on 24 March 1948;

Amendment 19 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Calls for afree trade agenda ~~based on~~ preventing unfair trade practices for the benefit of all, which ~~puts development and social,~~will enable poverty eradication while respecting environmental and human rights ~~at the centre of the process and has a special focus on the needs of low-income developing countries and least-developed countries~~; emphasises that low-income developing countries and LDC countries must also fulfil their obligations in proportion to their level of development;

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Recalls that trade liberalisation ~~is not~~can play a positive~~, per s~~ role, in terms of reducing poverty and inequalities, and ~~that it can even have negative effects on sustainable development if it is not properly regulated; underlines, in this context,~~in advancing sustainable development if it is accompanied by appropriate policies and institutions that maximise and distribute better the benefits of trade and economic growth; reiterates the importance of promoting policy reforms in the multilateral trading system which support development-related objectives; underlines the potential of the WTO as an efficient rules-based multilateral negotiating forum which provides a platform for open discussion on global trade-related issues; insists that the EU should continue to promote the democratisation of the WTO;

Amendment 20 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. CRecalls that developing countries form the majority of the WTO membership; calls for a trade agenda based on fair trade for the benefit of all, which puts development and social, environmental and human rights at the centre of the process and has a special focus on the needs of low-income developing countries and least-developed countries; stresses the need to reform the WTO, including the Dispute Settlement Mechanism on this line, so as to have a fair and balanced multilateral trading system;

Amendment 21 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Calls for a trade agenda based on fair trade for the benefit of all, which puts development and social, environmental and human rights at the centre of the process and has a special focus on the needs of low-income developing countries and least-developed countries; highlights in this regard the need of promoting comprehensive, binding and enforceable provisions on social, labour and environmental standards in trade agreements;

Amendment 22 #

Mireille D'ORNANO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Calls for a trade agenda based on fair trade for the benefit of all, which puts development and social, environmental and human rights at the centre of the process and has a special focus on the needs of low-income developing countries and least-developed countries; notes that trade liberalisation, as currently organised, is not compatible with these sustainable development objectives;

Amendment 23 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Calls for a trade agenda based on fair trade for the benefit of all, which puts development and social, environmental and human rights at the centre of the process and has a special focus on the needs of low-income developing countries and least-developed countries; recalls the importance of mainstreaming gender equality and women empowerment in all trade policies, including WTO rules;

Amendment 24 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Calls for a world trade agenda based on the principle of fair trade for the benefit of all, which puts ~~development and~~ social, environmental and human rights at the centre of the process and has a special focus on the needs of low-income developing countries and least-developed countries;

Amendment 25 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Calls for a trade agenda based on ~~fair trade for the benefit of all~~multilateral rules-based system, which puts development and social, environmental and human rights at the centre of the process and has a special focus on the needs of low-income developing countries and least-developed countries;

Amendment 26 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Urges the EU and its Member States to duly reflect the difficulties met by the developing countries in implementing the obligations under the WTO agreements. These problems include i.e.: (a) the prohibition of investment measures and subsidies, making it harder to encourage domestic industry; (b) import liberalization in agriculture, threatening the viability and livelihoods of small farmers whose products face competition from cheaper imported foods; (c) the negative impact of a high-standard intellectual property right (IPR) regime on access to medicine and transfer of technologies; and (d) increasing pressures on developing countries to open up their services sectors, which could undermine the viability of local service providers;

Amendment 27 #

Cristian Dan PREDA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Reiterates its call on the EU to ensure that its activities with developing countries, both in the field of development and trade, are based on a balanced framework among equal partners, are aligned with the principle of Policy Coherence for Development established in Article 208 TFUE, and are aimed at the promotion and respect of human rights;

Amendment 28 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Underlines the importance for WTO members who are developing countries to decide on their own pace and sequencing of trade liberalisation according to their level of development;

Amendment 29 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Welcomes the entry into force of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement on 22 February 2017 and notes that this agreement should bring significant benefits in particular to developing countries; recalls the importance of providing targeted and sustainable technical, financial and capacity building assistance to support the developing country Members, in particular least- developed countries, to implement the agreement and to adjust to the reform process;

Amendment 3 #

Paul RÜBIG, Ádám KÓSA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Rec~~all~~ognises that ~~trade liberalisation is not positive, per se, in terms of reducing poverty and inequalities, and that it can even have negative effects on sustainable development if it is not properly regulated~~a dramatic increase in developing country participation in trade has coincided with an equally sharp decline in extreme poverty worldwide; welcomes that fact that developing countries now constitute about half of world trade, up from 33 percent in 2000, and that the number of people living in extreme poverty has been cut in half since 1990, to just under one million people; underlines, in this context, the potential of the WTO as an efficient rules-based multilateral negotiating forum which provides a platform for open discussion on global trade-related issues; insists that the EU should continue to promote the democratisation of the WTO;

Amendment 30 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Takes the view that WTO rules and other multilateral trade agreements should enlarge the scope for Special and Differential Treatment to enable a more active use of infant industry promotion tools; in particular, urges the EU and its Member States to secure the principle of “Special and Differential Treatment” (SDT) for all members classified by the World Bank as developing countries;

Amendment 31 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)

2c. Highlights that trade agreements can impact negatively on food security in developing countries; regrets that the two instruments proposed by developing countries in the remit of negotiations at the WTO to promote the livelihoods of small farmers, food security and rural development, namely Special Products (SP) and a Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) have not been established; calls on the EU to support developing countries' demands to protect their food production and to protect their population from the potentially destructive effects of cheap imports, including in the remit of Economic Partnership Agreements;

Amendment 32 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)

2c. Regrets that the WTO 11th Ministerial Conference did not secure progress on issues of key importance to developing countries; welcomes however enhanced preferential treatment previously secured at the WTO for LDCs including preferential Rules of Origin and treatment for service providers and emphasises the need to undertake capacity building measures that would allow suppliers from LDCs to benefit from the LDC Services Waiver;

Amendment 33 #

Paul RÜBIG

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Insists that the WTO should clearly recognise the role that trade can play in contributing to the achievement of the SDGs ~~and the fight against climate change,~~with a particular focus on climate governance using the Paris Climate Agreement ~~commitments as a minimum benchmark~~as a benchmark for further commitments; emphasises the importance of the provision of sufficient good-quality food, clean water and the building of additional wastewater disposal facilities in order to deliver on SDG 2 and 6; furthermore, draws the attention to the scale and implications of energy poverty in developing countries and demands additional action to reduce energy poverty in line with SDG 7, in particular in remote rural areas in off-grid energy regions;

Amendment 34 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. ~~Insist~~Stresses that the WTO should clearly recognise the role that trade can play in contributing to the achievement of the SDGs and the fight against climate change, using the Paris Agreement commitments as a minimum benchmarkobjective of sustainable development should become the overriding principle guiding the work of the WTO, whose rules and operations should be designed accordingly, using the Agenda 2030 and Paris Agreement commitments as a minimum benchmark; to this end, calls for the full recognition of the right to discriminate a product based on the Process and Production Methods (PPM) to combat social and environmental dumping;

Amendment 35 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Insists that the WTO should clearly recognise the role that trade can play in contributing to the achievement of the SDGs and the fight against climate change, using the Paris Agreement commitments as a minimum benchmark; underlines, moreover, the importance of ensuring global value chains sustainability and alignment with human rights and social and environmental standards;

Amendment 36 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Insists that ~~the WTO~~States should clearly recognise the role that ~~trade~~relocation of the means of production and short supply chains can play in contributing to the achievement of the SDGs and the fight against climate change, using the Paris Agreement commitments as a minimum benchmark;

Amendment 37 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. ~~Insists that the WTO should clearly r~~Recognises the role that trade can play in contributing to the achievement of the SDGs and the fight against climate change, ~~using~~based on the Paris Agreement ~~commitments as a minimum benchmark~~;

Amendment 38 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. ~~Insist~~Stresses how important it is that the WTO should clearly recognise the role that world trade can play in contributing to the achievement of the SDGs and the fight against climate change~~, using~~; stresses that the Paris Agreement ~~commitments a~~represents a minimum benchmark;

Amendment 39 #

Ignazio CORRAO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Insists that the WTO should clearly, and as a matter of urgency, recognise the role that trade can play in contributing to the achievement of the SDGs and the fight against climate change, using the Paris Agreement commitments as a minimum benchmark;

Amendment 4 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Recall~~Considers that trade liberalisation is ~~not positive, per se, in terms of reducing poverty and inequalit~~a process, amplified by the single market and the single currency, which strengthens strong countries, and that it can even have negative effects on sustainable development if it is not properly regulated; underlines, in this context, the potential of the WTO as an efficient rules- based multilateral negotiating forum which provides a platform for open discussion on global trade-related issues; insists that the EU should continue to promote the weakens those that are already weak; recalls that the WTO is the successor to the GATT, a private lobbying organisation founded by the United States to promote free trade as the generally accepted principle at a time when such trade, coupled with the dollarisation of the world economy arising from lend-lease agreements, the Marshall Plan and the Bretton Woods agreements, was in the interests of the USA, in order to secure its domination of the world economy; believes that this structural defect of an organisation based on an ideology concealing State interests renders the prospect of 'democratisation' of the WTO illusory;

Amendment 40 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Insists that the WTO should clearly recognise the primordial role that trade ~~can~~ plays in contributing to the achievement of the SDGs and the fight against climate change, using the Paris Agreement commitments as a minimum benchmark;

Amendment 41 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Insists that the WTOs Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) should have a more developmental focus; recalls the paramount importance of ensuring access to medicines for all, and to this end encourages a more comprehensive use of TRIPS flexibilities as enshrined in the Doha Declaration; expresses its concerns on current trends of seed privatization while undermining people’s right to food; calls on the Commission to further explore and adopt measures against biopiracay;

Amendment 42 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Expresses its support for the mechanism of Carbon border tax adjustments as an important tool to guarantee fair competition for companies taking action to reduce their climate impact;

Amendment 43 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Calls on the EU to engage in rebalancing the global system of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in order to foster the legal transfer of climate-friendly technology in developing countries; to this end, calls for the adoption of a Declaration on “IPR and Climate Change”, comparable to the Doha Declaration of 2001 on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health; calls equally for the revision of WTO industrial subsidy rule, which should include waivers or peace clauses on climate relevant products;

Amendment 44 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)

3c. Stresses that WTO should be supportive of and not run counter to the Convention of Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol; underlines that the provisions of Art.27.3(b) of TRIPS Agreement, which relates to the patentability or non-patentability of plant and animal inventions, and the protection of plant varieties, have raised serious concerns in developing countries for its consequence on biopiracy; supports the proposal of developing countries to amend the TRIPS agreement so that patent applicants are required to disclose the origin of genetic resources and any traditional knowledge used in the inventions, so as to avoid unappropriated patenting;

Amendment 45 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 d (new)

3d. Deplores that the obligations under the WTO-Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement (SPA) do not acknowledge the right of States to adopt regulation based on the precautionary principle; urges the EU and its Member States to defend full recognition of this principle in WTO obligations;

Amendment 46 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Is concerned, in the above context, that bilateral and plurilateral trade agreements could lead to the fragmentation of international trade policy and thus undermine the role of the WTO~~; calls, therefore, for the EU and its Member States to make additional efforts to once again place the WTO at the centre of global trade governance~~, notably in a context where bilateral and regional free trade agreements (RTAs) contain provisions which are more stringent than those adopted at WTO; recalls that developing countries are the most in need of multilateral system to defend their interests; calls, therefore, for the EU and its Member States to make additional efforts to once again place the WTO at the centre of global trade governance and to refrain from requesting from developing countries WTO + provisions in plurilateral or bilateral treaties, thereby undermining flexibility mechanisms of WTO, set explicitly to protect their interests;

Amendment 47 #

Mireille D'ORNANO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Is concerned, in the above context, that bilateral and plurilateral trade agreements could lead to the fragmentation of international trade policy and thus undermine the role of the WTO; calls, therefore, for the EU and its Member States to make additional efforts to once again place the WTO at the centre of global trade governance; calls for greater transparency in the negotiation of trade agreements and greater involvement of peoples and their political representatives in the processes concerned;

Amendment 48 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. ~~Is concerned, in the above context, that bilateral and plurilateral trade agreements could lead to the fragmentation of international trade policy and thus undermine the role of the WTO; c~~Calls, therefore, for the EU and its Member States to make additional efforts to once again place the WTO at the centre of global trade governance;

Amendment 49 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Is concerned, in the above context, that bilateral and plurilateral trade agreements could lead to the fragmentation of international trade policy and thus undermine the role of the WTO; calls, therefore, for the EU and its Member StatCalls for the EU and its Member States to make additional efforts to once again place the WTO at the centre of global trade governance; stresses also the important role that bilateral or plurilateral trade agreements can play; considers that these t~~o make additional efforts to once again place the WTO at the centre of global trade governance~~rade agreements can be complementary to the crucial work of the WTO;

Amendment 5 #

Louis MICHEL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Recalls that trade liberalisation ~~is not positive, per se, in terms of reducing poverty and inequalities, and that it can even have negative effects on sustainable development if it is not properly regulated~~may have negative effects on sustainable development if it is not regulated by law, if there is no social justice, and if it is not accompanied by a fair redistribution of the wealth created; recalls that competitiveness and economic growth are not goals in themselves, but means to be put to use for the benefit of human beings; underlines, in this context, the potential of the WTO as an efficient rules- based multilateral negotiating forum which provides a platform for open discussion on global trade-related issues; insists that the EU should continue to promote the democratisation of the WTO;

Amendment 50 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Is concerned, in the above context, that bilateral and plurilateral trade agreements could lead to the fragmentation of international trade policy and thus undermine the role of the WTO and have negative consequences for developing countries; calls, therefore, for the EU and its Member States to make additional efforts to once again place the WTO at the centre of global trade governance;

Amendment 51 #

Paul RÜBIG

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Is con~~cerned, in the above context, that bilateral and plurilateral trade agreements could lead to the fragmentation of international trade policy and thus undermine the role of the WTO~~vinced that multilateral trade solutions should be preferred to bilateral and plurilateral trade agreements; calls, therefore, for the EU and its Member States to make additional efforts to ~~once again~~ place the WTO at the centre of global trade governance;

Amendment 52 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. ~~Is concerned~~Considers, in the above context, that bilateral and plurilateral trade agreements cshould lead to the fragmentation of international trade policy and thus undermine the role of the WTO; calls, therefore, for the EU and its Member States to make additional efforts to once again place the WTO at the centre of global trade governancedevelop on the basis of recognition of the principles of the Havana Charter and of the Paris Climate Agreement; calls, therefore, for the EU and its Member States to make additional efforts to dismantle the WTO and to rethink the organisation of international trade within the United Nations system;

Amendment 53 #

György HÖLVÉNYI

4. Is concerned, in the above context, that bilateral and plurilateral trade agreements could lead to the fragmentation of international trade policy and ~~thus undermine the role of the WTO; calls, therefore, for the EU and its Member States to make additional efforts~~calls, therefore, for the democratic operation of the WTO to be restored and for it to con~~ce again place the WTO at the centre of~~tinue operating effectively in global trade governance;

Amendment 54 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. ~~Is concerned, in the above context,~~recognises that bilateral and plurilateral trade agreements ~~could lead to the fragmentation of international trade policy and thus undermine the role of the WTO; calls, therefore,~~play an important role in international trade complementary to the multilateral agenda however calls for the EU and its Member States to make additional efforts to oinc~~e again place the WTO at the centre of~~rease the effectiveness of the WTO in global trade governance;

Amendment 55 #

György HÖLVÉNYI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

~~5. Expresses its utmost concern that the US is blocking the appointment of several vacant posts on the Appellate Body of the WTO;~~deleted

Amendment 56 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. ~~Expresses its utmost concern that the US~~Notes that the US is blocking the appointment of several vacant posts on the Appellate Body of the WTO; considers that this deadlock, which follows the failure of the Doha round, shows that, for at least 10 years, the United States has wanted to put an end to a WTO which no longer serves its power interests, given its trade deficits and the fact that China has overtaken it economically; notes that the mercantilist model, as exemplified by Germany with its per capita trade surpluses eight times larger than those of China, has reached its limits; calls on the Union and its ~~blocking the appointment of several vacant posts on the Appellate Body of the WTO~~Member States to follow the example of President Trump by halting the dismantling of industry and using trade measures, including customs tariffs, against countries with excessive trade surpluses, such as Germany, including within the internal market; considers that the desire of the world's leading economy to see the demise of the WTO should be taken as an opportunity for European States to restore the rules of international trade, adopting a cooperative and multipolar approach, in particular by involving the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the BRICS, taking as a basis the principles of the Havana Charter, signed on 24 March 1948;

Amendment 57 #

Paul RÜBIG, Ádám KÓSA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Expresses its utmost concern that ~~the US is blocking~~several vacant posts on the aApp~~ointment of several vacant posts on the Appellate Body of the WTO~~ellate Body of the WTO remain vacant and that this circumstance hinders the proper functioning of the dispute settlement mechanism; thus invites the European Commission to come forward with concrete proposals to resolve this unfortunate deadlock;

Amendment 58 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Expresses its utmost concern that ~~the US is blocking the appointment of several vacant~~several posts on the Appellate Body of the WTO remain vacant;

Amendment 59 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Considers that the extraterritorial application of US sanctions, as well as the imbalances in international trade, must also lead to negotiations on phasing out the dollarisation of the world economy; considers that the Member States should, to this end, endorse the initiatives undertaken by the BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in this field;

Amendment 6 #

Mireille D'ORNANO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Recalls that trade liberalisation is not positive, per se, in terms of reducing poverty and inequalities, and that it can even have negative effects on sustainable development if it is not properly regulated; underlines, in this context, the potential of the WTO as an efficient rules-based multilateral negotiating forum which provides a platform for open discussion on global trade-related issues; insists that the EU should continue to promote the democratisation of the WTO; regrets that the Commission is responsible for negotiations on free trade agreements with third countries or organisations, and that neither the peoples concerned nor their representatives are involved in these negotiations;

Amendment 60 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. ~~Calls for the EU to continue to make the case for increasing the importance of the parliamentary dimension of the WTO~~Expresses its believe that parliamentarians have the right to scrutinise trade negotiations in the interest of their citizens; calls on WTO members to ensure democratic legitimacy and transparency by strengthening the parliamentary dimension of the WTO; ~~stresses, in this connection, the need to ensure that parliamentarians have better access to trade negotiations and are involved in the formulation and implementation of WTO decisions.~~

Amendment 61 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Calls ~~for~~on the ~~EU to continue to make the case for increasing the importance of the parliamentary dimension of the WTO; calls on WTO members to ensur~~Member States to ensure the democratic legitimacy and transparency of their trade policy by strengthening ~~the~~its parliamentary dimension ~~of the WTO~~; stresses, in this connection, the need to ensure ~~that~~better access for parliamentarians ~~have better access to trade negotiations and are involved in the formulation and implementation of WTO decis~~to trade negotiations.

Amendment 62 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Calls for the EU to continue to make the case for increasing the importance of the parliamentary dimension of the WTO; calls on WTO members to ensure democratic legitimacy and transparency by strengthening the parliamentary dimension of the WTO; stresses, in this connection, the need to ensure that parliamentarians have better access to trade negotiations and are involved in the formulation and implementation of WTO decisions and that trade policies are properly scrutinised in the interests of their citizens.

Amendment 63 #

Paul RÜBIG

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Calls for the EU to continue to make the case for increasing the importance of the parliamentary dimension of the WTO, in particular by an increased financial and personal support to the responsible secretariat; calls on WTO members to ensure democratic legitimacy and transparency by strengthening the parliamentary dimension of the WTO; stresses, in this connection, the need to ensure that parliamentarians have better access to trade negotiations and are involved in the formulation and implementation of WTO decisions.

Amendment 64 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. ~~Calls for the EU to continue to make the case for increasing the importance of the parliamentary dimension of the WTO; calls on WTO m~~Urges the Union to insist that WTO Members to ensure the democratic legitimacy and transparency ~~by strengthening the parliamentary dimension of the WTO~~of their organisation; stresses, in this connection, the need to ~~ensure that~~reform the WTO and to give parliamentarians ~~have~~ better access to trade negotiations and ~~are~~to involved them more in the fwor~~mulation and implementation of WTO decis~~k of the WTO, in order to comply with citizens’ expectations.

Amendment 7 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Recalls that trade liberalisation ~~is not positive, per se, in terms of reducing pov~~, if propertly ~~and inequalities, and that it can eve~~regulated, can have ~~nega~~positive effects on sustainable development ~~if it is not prop~~by reducing poverlty ~~regulated~~and inequalities; underlines, in this context, the potential of the WTO as an efficient rules-based multilateral negotiating forum which provides a platform for open discussion on global trade-related issues; ~~insists that the EU should continue to promote the democratisation of the WTO;~~

Amendment 8 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Recalls that trade liberalisation is not positive, per se, in terms of reducing poverty and inequalities, and that it can even have negative effects on sustainable development if it is not properly regulated; underlines, in this context, that trade should remain a tool to development goals and not an end in itself; underlines the potential of the WTO as an efficient rules- based multilateral negotiating forum which provides a platform for open discussion on global trade-related issues; insists that the EU should continue to promote the democratisation of the WTO;

Amendment 9 #