BETA


2018/2106(INI) Implementation report on the trade pillar of the Association Agreement with Central America

Progress: Procedure completed

RoleCommitteeRapporteurShadows
Lead INTA BÖGE Reimer (icon: PPE PPE) RODRÍGUEZ-PIÑERO Inma (icon: S&D S&D), MCCLARKIN Emma (icon: ECR ECR), CHARANZOVÁ Dita (icon: ALDE ALDE), HAUTALA Heidi (icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE), BEGHIN Tiziana (icon: EFDD EFDD)
Committee Opinion EMPL
Lead committee dossier:
Legal Basis:
RoP 54

Events

2019/05/28
   EC - Commission response to text adopted in plenary
Documents
2019/01/16
   EP - Results of vote in Parliament
2019/01/16
   EP - Decision by Parliament
Details

The European Parliament adopted by 429 votes to 42 with 98 abstentions a resolution on the implementation of the Trade Pillar of the Association Agreement with Central America.

The Association Agreement between the EU and Central America is based on three complementary pillars, namely political dialogue, cooperation, and trade. The trade pillar of the Agreement was quite broad and ambitious when it was negotiated, but retrospectively lacks updated provisions on, inter alia, gender and trade, digital trade and e-commerce, procurement, investment, anti-corruption or SMEs. It has been provisionally applied for five years: since 1 August 2013 with Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama, since 1 October 2013 with Costa Rica and El Salvador, and since 1 December 2013 with Guatemala .

The political dialogue and cooperation pillars have still not been applied as not all Member States have ratified the Agreement. The non-application of these two pillars creates an imbalance between trade-related issues and political issues, namely the EU’s core values, such as promotion of democracy and human rights.

Main conclusions

Parliament is of the opinion that the Agreement tries to meet one of its key initial aims as it intends to strengthen the process of regional integration among the Central American countries by supporting intra-regional institutions, cooperation and dialogues. It was essential to ensure the full entry into force of the Agreement, which is pending internal ratification by some EU Member States (Austria, Belgium, the United Kingdom and Greece) and the effective implementation of all the provisions of the trade pillar by both parties.

Key recommendations

These aim to:

- fully implement all the provisions of the trade pillar;

- include a specific chapter on SMEs in a future review of the Agreement, with active measures to foster the internationalisation of SMEs and the setting up of contact points and a specialised website for SMEs;

- deliver comprehensive annual reports on the implementation of the Agreement as requested in the relevant implementing regulations and to include the relevant data and figures to evaluate investment flows;

-monitor the implementation of internationally agreed standards for the fight against money laundering, as well as tax evasion and avoidance;

- create a common methodology for evaluating the implementation of its trade agreements more coherently;

- make progress on the problem of Costa Rica’s discriminatory taxes on imports of alcoholic beverages and on the effective protection of geographical indications (GIs);

- assess the situation of EU banana producers by 1 January 2019 at the latest and that, in the event of a serious deterioration of the market or the situation of EU banana producers, an extension of the validity of the stabilisation mechanism may be envisaged;

-reinforce the gender focus of the Agreement and to promote and support the inclusion, in a future review, of a specific gender chapter;

-strengthen labour inspections and enhance social dialogue - Central American states concerned should eradicate violence affecting trade unionists and indigenous peoples, take legislative measures to effectively implement ILO fundamental conventions on freedom of association, collective bargaining and non-discrimination, and child labour;

- introduce an effective dispute settlement mechanism, including the consideration of, among various enforcement methods, sanctions as a deterrent to be used, as last resort, in the case of serious breaches, and enabling social partners and civil society to participate appropriately;

- continue to monitor the situation in Nicaragua and, if necessary, assess the potential measures to be taken in light of the Association Agreement;

Lastly, Parliament urged Austria, Belgium, and Greece to ratify the Agreement and reiterated the importance of full application of the other parts of the Agreement.

Documents
2019/01/16
   EP - End of procedure in Parliament
2019/01/15
   EP - Debate in Parliament
2018/12/12
   EP - Committee report tabled for plenary
Details

The Committee on International Trade adopted the own-initiative report by Reimer BÖGE (EPP, DE) on the implementation of the Trade Pillar of the Association Agreement with Central America.

The Association Agreement between the EU and Central America was the first region-to-region association agreement concluded by the EU. It is based on three complementary pillars, namely political dialogue, cooperation, and trade. The trade pillar of the Agreement was quite broad and ambitious when it was negotiated, but retrospectively lacks updated provisions on, inter alia , gender and trade, digital trade and e-commerce, procurement, investment, anti-corruption or SMEs.

The political dialogue and cooperation pillars have still not been applied as not all Member States have ratified the Agreement. The non-application of these two pillars creates an imbalance between trade-related issues and political issues, namely the EU’s core values, such as promotion of democracy and human rights.

Main conclusions

Members are of the opinion that the Agreement tries to meet one of its key initial aims as it intends to strengthen the process of regional integration among the Central American countries by supporting intra-regional institutions, cooperation and dialogues. They considered it essential to ensure the full entry into force of the Agreement, which is pending internal ratification by some EU Member States (Austria, Belgium, the United Kingdom and Greece) and the effective and adequate implementation of all the provisions of the trade pillar by both parties.

Key recommendations

These aim to:

fully implement all the provisions of the trade pillar; deliver updated and comprehensive annual reports on the implementation of the Agreement as requested in the relevant implementing regulations and to include the relevant data and figures to evaluate investment flows; identify and develop joint strategies towards the necessary modernisation of the WTO; monitor the implementation of internationally agreed standards for the fight against money laundering, as well as tax evasion and avoidance; update and create a common methodology for evaluating the implementation of its trade agreements more coherently; make progress on the problem of Costa Rica’s discriminatory taxes on imports of alcoholic beverages and on the effective protection of geographical indications (GIs); assess the situation of EU banana producers by 1 January 2019 at the latest and that, in the event of a serious deterioration of the market or the situation of EU banana producers, an extension of the validity of the stabilisation mechanism may be envisaged; put at the disposal of SMEs all the necessary tools to foster greater exchanges and participation to reap the benefits of the Agreement; strengthen labour inspections and enhancing social dialogue - Central American states concerned should eradicate violence affecting trade unionists and indigenous peoples, take legislative measures to effectively implement ILO fundamental conventions on freedom of association, collective bargaining and non-discrimination, and child labour; review the Agreement to introduce a suitable and effective dispute settlement mechanism; continue to monitor the situation in Nicaragua and, if necessary, assess the potential measures to be taken in light of the Association Agreement; -urge Austria, Belgium, and Greece to ratify the Agreement.

Documents
2018/12/03
   EP - Vote in committee
2018/10/18
   EP - Amendments tabled in committee
Documents
2018/09/14
   EP - Committee draft report
Documents
2018/06/14
   EP - Committee referral announced in Parliament
2018/02/19
   EP - BÖGE Reimer (PPE) appointed as rapporteur in INTA

Documents

Votes

A8-0459/2018 - Reimer Böge - Vote unique #

2019/01/16 Outcome: +: 429, 0: 98, -: 42
DE IT ES PL GB RO FR BE SE AT CZ NL HU BG SK PT SI LT HR FI DK MT LU EE IE LV ?? CY EL
Total
69
53
38
46
55
21
58
18
18
14
19
21
12
12
13
15
8
8
7
6
10
6
5
5
9
5
1
3
13
icon: PPE PPE
176

United Kingdom PPE

1

Finland PPE

For (1)

1

Luxembourg PPE

2

Estonia PPE

For (1)

1

Cyprus PPE

1
icon: S&D S&D
131

Czechia S&D

2

Netherlands S&D

2

Slovenia S&D

For (1)

1

Finland S&D

1

Denmark S&D

2

Malta S&D

3

Luxembourg S&D

For (1)

1

Estonia S&D

For (1)

1

Ireland S&D

For (1)

1

Latvia S&D

1
icon: ALDE ALDE
54

Portugal ALDE

1

Slovenia ALDE

For (1)

1

Croatia ALDE

For (1)

1
3

Luxembourg ALDE

For (1)

1

Estonia ALDE

2
icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE
34

France Verts/ALE

Abstain (1)

5

Sweden Verts/ALE

2

Austria Verts/ALE

2

Netherlands Verts/ALE

1

Slovenia Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Lithuania Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Croatia Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Denmark Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Luxembourg Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Estonia Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Latvia Verts/ALE

1
icon: ECR ECR
59

Romania ECR

For (1)

1

Sweden ECR

2

Czechia ECR

2

Netherlands ECR

For (1)

1

Bulgaria ECR

Abstain (1)

1

Slovakia ECR

3

Lithuania ECR

Abstain (1)

1

Croatia ECR

Abstain (1)

1

Greece ECR

Against (1)

1
icon: EFDD EFDD
32

Germany EFDD

Against (1)

1

Poland EFDD

1

Czechia EFDD

Abstain (1)

1

Lithuania EFDD

For (1)

1
icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL
41

Germany GUE/NGL

4

Italy GUE/NGL

Against (1)

Abstain (1)

2

United Kingdom GUE/NGL

Abstain (1)

1
4

Sweden GUE/NGL

Abstain (1)

1

Netherlands GUE/NGL

3

Portugal GUE/NGL

Abstain (1)

3

Finland GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Denmark GUE/NGL

Abstain (1)

1
4

Cyprus GUE/NGL

2
icon: NI NI
14

Germany NI

For (1)

Against (1)

2

United Kingdom NI

Abstain (1)

1

France NI

2

Hungary NI

For (1)

1

NI

For (1)

1
icon: ENF ENF
27

Poland ENF

2

United Kingdom ENF

4

Belgium ENF

Abstain (1)

1

Netherlands ENF

3
AmendmentsDossier
70 2018/2106(INI)
2018/10/18 INTA 70 amendments...
source: 629.468

History

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

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  • date: 2018-10-18T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE629.468 title: PE629.468 type: Amendments tabled in committee body: EP
  • date: 2019-05-28T00:00:00 docs: url: /oeil/spdoc.do?i=31948&j=0&l=en title: SP(2019)355 type: Commission response to text adopted in plenary
events
  • date: 2018-06-14T00:00:00 type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP
  • date: 2018-12-03T00:00:00 type: Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading body: EP
  • date: 2018-12-12T00:00:00 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=A8-2018-0459&language=EN title: A8-0459/2018 summary: The Committee on International Trade adopted the own-initiative report by Reimer BÖGE (EPP, DE) on the implementation of the Trade Pillar of the Association Agreement with Central America. The Association Agreement between the EU and Central America was the first region-to-region association agreement concluded by the EU. It is based on three complementary pillars, namely political dialogue, cooperation, and trade. The trade pillar of the Agreement was quite broad and ambitious when it was negotiated, but retrospectively lacks updated provisions on, inter alia , gender and trade, digital trade and e-commerce, procurement, investment, anti-corruption or SMEs. The political dialogue and cooperation pillars have still not been applied as not all Member States have ratified the Agreement. The non-application of these two pillars creates an imbalance between trade-related issues and political issues, namely the EU’s core values, such as promotion of democracy and human rights. Main conclusions Members are of the opinion that the Agreement tries to meet one of its key initial aims as it intends to strengthen the process of regional integration among the Central American countries by supporting intra-regional institutions, cooperation and dialogues. They considered it essential to ensure the full entry into force of the Agreement, which is pending internal ratification by some EU Member States (Austria, Belgium, the United Kingdom and Greece) and the effective and adequate implementation of all the provisions of the trade pillar by both parties. Key recommendations These aim to: fully implement all the provisions of the trade pillar; deliver updated and comprehensive annual reports on the implementation of the Agreement as requested in the relevant implementing regulations and to include the relevant data and figures to evaluate investment flows; identify and develop joint strategies towards the necessary modernisation of the WTO; monitor the implementation of internationally agreed standards for the fight against money laundering, as well as tax evasion and avoidance; update and create a common methodology for evaluating the implementation of its trade agreements more coherently; make progress on the problem of Costa Rica’s discriminatory taxes on imports of alcoholic beverages and on the effective protection of geographical indications (GIs); assess the situation of EU banana producers by 1 January 2019 at the latest and that, in the event of a serious deterioration of the market or the situation of EU banana producers, an extension of the validity of the stabilisation mechanism may be envisaged; put at the disposal of SMEs all the necessary tools to foster greater exchanges and participation to reap the benefits of the Agreement; strengthen labour inspections and enhancing social dialogue - Central American states concerned should eradicate violence affecting trade unionists and indigenous peoples, take legislative measures to effectively implement ILO fundamental conventions on freedom of association, collective bargaining and non-discrimination, and child labour; review the Agreement to introduce a suitable and effective dispute settlement mechanism; continue to monitor the situation in Nicaragua and, if necessary, assess the potential measures to be taken in light of the Association Agreement; -urge Austria, Belgium, and Greece to ratify the Agreement.
  • date: 2019-01-15T00:00:00 type: Debate in Parliament body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20190115&type=CRE title: Debate in Parliament
  • date: 2019-01-16T00:00:00 type: Results of vote in Parliament body: EP docs: url: https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/sda.do?id=31948&l=en title: Results of vote in Parliament
  • date: 2019-01-16T00:00:00 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=P8-TA-2019-0025 title: T8-0025/2019 summary: The European Parliament adopted by 429 votes to 42 with 98 abstentions a resolution on the implementation of the Trade Pillar of the Association Agreement with Central America. The Association Agreement between the EU and Central America is based on three complementary pillars, namely political dialogue, cooperation, and trade. The trade pillar of the Agreement was quite broad and ambitious when it was negotiated, but retrospectively lacks updated provisions on, inter alia, gender and trade, digital trade and e-commerce, procurement, investment, anti-corruption or SMEs. It has been provisionally applied for five years: since 1 August 2013 with Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama, since 1 October 2013 with Costa Rica and El Salvador, and since 1 December 2013 with Guatemala . The political dialogue and cooperation pillars have still not been applied as not all Member States have ratified the Agreement. The non-application of these two pillars creates an imbalance between trade-related issues and political issues, namely the EU’s core values, such as promotion of democracy and human rights. Main conclusions Parliament is of the opinion that the Agreement tries to meet one of its key initial aims as it intends to strengthen the process of regional integration among the Central American countries by supporting intra-regional institutions, cooperation and dialogues. It was essential to ensure the full entry into force of the Agreement, which is pending internal ratification by some EU Member States (Austria, Belgium, the United Kingdom and Greece) and the effective implementation of all the provisions of the trade pillar by both parties. Key recommendations These aim to: - fully implement all the provisions of the trade pillar; - include a specific chapter on SMEs in a future review of the Agreement, with active measures to foster the internationalisation of SMEs and the setting up of contact points and a specialised website for SMEs; - deliver comprehensive annual reports on the implementation of the Agreement as requested in the relevant implementing regulations and to include the relevant data and figures to evaluate investment flows; -monitor the implementation of internationally agreed standards for the fight against money laundering, as well as tax evasion and avoidance; - create a common methodology for evaluating the implementation of its trade agreements more coherently; - make progress on the problem of Costa Rica’s discriminatory taxes on imports of alcoholic beverages and on the effective protection of geographical indications (GIs); - assess the situation of EU banana producers by 1 January 2019 at the latest and that, in the event of a serious deterioration of the market or the situation of EU banana producers, an extension of the validity of the stabilisation mechanism may be envisaged; -reinforce the gender focus of the Agreement and to promote and support the inclusion, in a future review, of a specific gender chapter; -strengthen labour inspections and enhance social dialogue - Central American states concerned should eradicate violence affecting trade unionists and indigenous peoples, take legislative measures to effectively implement ILO fundamental conventions on freedom of association, collective bargaining and non-discrimination, and child labour; - introduce an effective dispute settlement mechanism, including the consideration of, among various enforcement methods, sanctions as a deterrent to be used, as last resort, in the case of serious breaches, and enabling social partners and civil society to participate appropriately; - continue to monitor the situation in Nicaragua and, if necessary, assess the potential measures to be taken in light of the Association Agreement; Lastly, Parliament urged Austria, Belgium, and Greece to ratify the Agreement and reiterated the importance of full application of the other parts of the Agreement.
  • date: 2019-01-16T00:00:00 type: End of procedure in Parliament body: EP
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