2020/2117(INI) | [ParlTrack]

Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 (new)

-1. whereas the Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the vulnerability of the global supply chain, notably in food and health, and the need to build regional value chains and boost regional integration;

Amendment 10 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Emphasises that the pandemic has affected different sectors of the economy in different ways, hitting small firms hardest and leading to particularly significant reductions in sales of vehicles, chemical products and machinery;

Amendment 11 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Calls on the Commission to ~~mount an assertive and coordinated~~respect the Member States' wishes with regard to international trade policy ~~response~~ geared towards a multilateral, resilient and sustainable recovery in developing countries; calls on the Commission to deepen EU-Africa trade relations through economic partnership agreements, while making the most of the EU’s Aid for Trade Strategy; sustainable recovery for the Member States due to the implemented lockdowns; calls on the Commission to disengage from interference in Member States and Africa trade relations and revise the EU’s Aid for Trade Strategy due to the current situation in the Member States and the drastic reduction of electoral support for external aid interventions;

Amendment 12 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Calls on the Commission to mount an assertive and coordinated international trade policy response geared towards a multilateral, resilient , fair and sustainable recovery in developing countries; calls on the Commission to deepen EU-Africa trade relations through a review of the impact of its economic partnership agreements~~, while making the most of the EU’s Aid for Trade Strategy~~ on local economies and societies, with a view to prevent any harm to local development and the environment and aimed at achieving the SDGs; calls for a full cancellation of the debt of developing countries, to allow developing countries to use their resources to respond to the crisis and strengthen their fragile public health and social security systems;

Amendment 13 #

Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Udo BULLMANN, Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Patrizia TOIA, Carlos ZORRINHO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. CRecalls that one of the main challenges for developing countries is to climb up the global value chain through economic diversification, which necessitates fair and pro-development global trade rules; calls on the Commission to mount an assertive and coordinated international trade policy response geared towards a multilateral, resilient and sustainable recovery in developing countries; calls on the Commission to deepen EU-Africa trade relations ~~through economic p~~, with a view to contributing to the fulfilment of the SDGs and their regional integration process; in this context, highlights limited progress regarding the economic diversification of developing countries covered by Economic Partnership aAgreements~~, while making the most of the EU’s Aid for Trade Strateg~~; urges once more the EU and its Member States to acknowledge the difficulties encountered by developing countries related to EPAs, especially in terms of regional integration, industrialisation and economic diversification and to revise EPAs accordingly;

Amendment 14 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Calls on the Commission to mount an assertive and coordinated international trade policy response geared towards a multilateral, resilient and sustainable recovery in developing countries~~; calls o~~, especially in the Ccomm~~ission to deepen EU-Africa trade relations through economic partnership agreements, while making the most of the EU’s Aid for Trade Strategy;~~ odity-dependent developing countries with depressed export earnings due to the pandemic; reminds that revenues obtained from commodity exports are critical for financing public spending and health systems; calls on the Commission to deepen trade relations with the OACPS, CELAC and African countries through economic partnership agreements, while making the most of the EU’s Aid for Trade Strategy; calls on the Commission and the Member States to cooperate in widening the fiscal margin in LDCs, LICs and MICs for health measures and in the support of SMEs through balance of payments aid and debt relief agreements;

Amendment 15 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. CHighlights that the COVID-19 pandemic is a catalyst of change in the global order; stresses the fundamental importance of strengthening the EU’s partnerships with developing countries and calls on the Commission to mount an assertive and coordinated international trade policy response geared towards a multilateral, resilient and sustainable recovery in developing countries; calls on the Commission to deepen EU-Africa trade relations through economic partnership agreements, while making the most of the EU’s Aid for Trade Strategy; strongly welcomes the entry into force of the African Continental Free Trade Area(AfCFTA) as an instrument to improve Africa’s access to global markets;

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Calls on the Commission to mount an assertive and coordinated international trade policy response geared towards a multilateral, resilient and sustainable recovery in developing countries; calls on the Commission to deepen EU-Africa trade relations through economic partnership agreements, while making the most of the EU’s Aid for Trade Strategy; calls on the Commission and Members States to boost their targeted support for pan-African and sub-regional trade integration arrangements and to ensure that their financial and technical assistance responds to African needs and priorities at all levels, helps to foster regional value chains and production networks, diversify their productive capacities and integrate into regional and global value chains;

Amendment 17 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

Amendment 18 #

Hildegard BENTELE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

Amendment 19 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 a (new)

-1a. Welcomes the commitment made by the Commission in its Communication “Trade Policy Review - An Open, Sustainable and Assertive Trade Policy “ of 18 February 2021 to make its trade policy coherent with its overarching objective of green transformation of the economy, towards a climate neutral, environmentally sustainable, resource efficient and resilient economy by 2050;

Amendment 20 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

Amendment 21 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Welcomes the Commission’s intension to strengthen the enforcement mechanism of Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) chapters and to launch a comprehensive early review in 2021 of the 15-point action plan on the effective implementation and enforcement of TSD Chapters in trade agreements; underlines the need to ensure that no provisions in the FTAs undermine the objectives and standards enshrined in the TSD chapters;

Amendment 22 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Recalls that the EU trade policy and relations with developing countries must be based on the fundamental values of the EU and contribute first and foremost to achieving sustainable growth, job creation, promotion of human rights and the eradication of poverty;

Amendment 23 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Encourages the ~~EU and the Member States to help~~ developing countries ~~and regions~~ to keep their borders open ~~and to set up ‘green corridor mechanisms’~~for trade to allow the unhindered flow of essential goods, agri-food products and humanitarian aid across borders and at the same time ensure that any flow of illegal immigrants is halted;

Amendment 24 #

Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Udo BULLMANN, Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Patrizia TOIA, Carlos ZORRINHO

3. ERecalls that against a backdrop of already-fragile economic conditions, the pandemic has had massive consequences causing international trade to plunge and creating a plethora of disruptions of an unprecedented scale; hence, as a lesson learnt from the pandemic in particular also in Europe, it is indispensable to keep borders open; encourages the EU and the Member States to ~~help~~share their experience and assist developing countries and regions to keep their borders open and to set up ‘green corridor mechanisms’ , to allow as much as possible, the unhindered flow of essential goods~~, agri-food products and humanitarian aid across border~~ (especially medical supplies and personal protective equipment), agri-food products and humanitarian aid across borders in emergency situations; stresses the importance of maintaining an open, multilateral trading system allowing for transparency about trade-related policy intentions and actions, and limiting unnecessary trade barriers and export restrictions;

Amendment 25 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Encourages the EU and the Member States to help developing countries and regions to keep their borders open and to set up ‘green corridor mechanisms’ to allow the unhindered flow of essential goods, agri-food products ~~and humanitarian aid across borders~~, medical and pharmaceutical products and humanitarian aid across borders; reiterates the importance of observing the provisions of the UNGA Resolution 74/274 approved on April 20, 2020, requesting the strengthening of supply chains that promote and ensure fair, transparent, equitable, efficient and timely access to the medicines, vaccines and medical supplies needed to combat the COVID-19 pandemic; and of the World Health Assembly Resolution 73.1 approved on May 19, 2020, that recognizes the role of extensive immunization against COVID-19 as a global public good for health in preventing, containing and stopping transmission in order to bring the pandemic to an end;

Amendment 26 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

Amendment 27 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Encourages the EU and the Member States to help developing countries ~~and regions to keep their borders open~~to counter restrictions on freedom of movement and trade, and to set up ‘green corridor mechanisms’ ~~to allow the~~, which allow a free and unhindered flow of essential goods, agri-food products and access for humanitarian aid ~~across borders~~;

Amendment 28 #

Alessandra BASSO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Encourages the EU and the Member States to help developing countries and regions to keep their borders open and to set up ‘~~green~~ corridor mechanisms’ to allow the ~~unhindered~~ flow of essential goods, agri- food products and humanitarian aid ~~across border~~, in a manner consistent with national product safety standards, in particular for food and health products;

Amendment 29 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Notes that COVID-19 has caused ~~an unprecedented~~ health, economic, social and humanitarian crisis ~~on a global scale, with asymmetric effects for least developed countries (LDCs)~~across most nations in the world; calls for the EU to tailor its ~~commitments~~policy and approach to developing countries and LDCs in accord~~ingly~~ance with the reduced capacity of the Member States due to the imposed lockdown;

Amendment 30 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Underlines that the COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the violations of fundamental rights at work, poor working conditions, lack of fair wages, irregular or excessive working time, discrimination, as well as gender-based violence and harassment; calls on the EU and its Member States to make real progress in the commitment to elaborate the UN binding treaty on business and human rights and enforce the ILO Conventions on decent work in supply chains; calls on the EU to oversee the enforcement of the labour standards set out in the eight core ILO Conventions in developing countries, and to assist them in establishing and reinforcing initiatives, notably partnership programmes, to strengthen the labour inspection systems and to collect more data on how international labour standards address decent work deficits in the global supply chains in order to close identified governance gaps;

Amendment 31 #

Amendment 32 #

Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Udo BULLMANN, Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Patrizia TOIA, Carlos ZORRINHO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. IStresses that the Covid-19 pandemic has shown the vulnerability of the global value chain systems, in particular the need to diversify production and supply chains; invites the Commission to adapt its trade policy in order to help developing countries to boost the resilience and diversification of their value chains at a global, regional and local level, including reshoring and nearshoring; to this effect, calls on the EU and its Member States not to systematically oppose local content clauses in its partner’s climate policies, as it may be useful in promoting the production and consumption of locally produced goods; recalls equally that trade rules should encourage the sustainable use of resources; to this end, calls on the EU to refrain from adopting a trade policy that prohibits, as a general rule, ACP countries from levying export taxes on raw material insofar as it is WTO- compatible, notably for industrial development and environmental protection purposes;

Amendment 33 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. ~~Invit~~Urges the Commission to adapt its trade policy in order to help developing countries to boost the resilience and diversification of their value chains at a global, regional and local level, including reshoring and nearshoring; calls on the Commission to cooperate in further development and enforcement of business due diligence obligations in global value chains, helping to develop mechanisms of compliance in supply chains and production in developing countries;

Amendment 34 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Invites the Commission to adapt its trade policy in order to help developing countries to boost the resilience and diversification of their value chains at a global, regional and local level, including reshoring and nearshoring, and points out that reshoring must be based on a comprehensive approach and take into account international trade, industry and the internal market;

Amendment 35 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Invites the Commission to adapt its trade policy in order to help developing partner countries to boost the resilience and diversification of their value chains at a global, regional and local level, including reshoring and nearshoring, in order to be better prepared for future systemic shocks;

Amendment 36 #

Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Udo BULLMANN, Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Patrizia TOIA, Carlos ZORRINHO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Invites the Commission to ~~adapt~~use its trade policy ~~in order~~ to help developing countries to boost the resilience and diversification of their value chains at a global, regional and local level~~, including reshoring and nearshoring~~ and to continue towards removing trade barriers at the level of the WTO;

Amendment 37 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Underlines that the post COVID- 19 recovery is a unique opportunity to re- set sustainable growth; calls on the Commission to present its review of the 15-point Action Plan on TSD Chapters, with the briefest of delays; expects the review to urgently address the enforceability of TSD commitments which have proven to be lacking, taking as a minimum recent advances in enforceability, namely the ability for the EU to tackle any non-compliance by partners;

Amendment 38 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Calls on the Commission to launch an EU Action Plan that focuses on shaping sustainable global supply chains, promoting human rights, social and environmental due diligence standards and transparency, which takes the experiences and lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic into account, and to update its 2006 Communication on ‘Promoting decent work for all – the EU contribution to the implementation of the decent work agenda in the world’;

Amendment 39 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Stresses that agricultural export subsidies cause enormous damage to local producers, destroy local markets in LDCs and exacerbate their dependence on foreign imports, with a negative impact on food security in particular during the COVID-19 pandemic; calls on the Commission to actively participate in WTO negotiations to abolish agricultural export subsidies, in line with the “Nairobi Package” adopted at the WTO's Tenth Ministerial Conference in 2015;

Amendment 4 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Notes that COVID-19 has caused an unprecedented health, economic, social and humanitarian crisis on a global scale, with asymmetric effects for least developed countries (LDCs); ~~calls for the EU to tailor its commitments and approach to developing countries and LDCs accordingly~~stresses that the COVID-19 crisis is widening inequalities between rich and developing countries, as clearly demonstrated by the blatant inequality in access to vaccines; calls on the EU to develop international trade policies aimed at reducing those inequalities and poverty, consistent with its commitments to policy coherence for development principles (PCD) and the SDGs;

Amendment 40 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. ~~Welcom~~Notes the commitment shown by the ~~EU and its~~ Member States in tackling the wider impact of COVID-19, in particular through the Coronavirus Global Response and COVAX initiatives; ~~calls on the Commission to coordinate with~~encourages the World Health Organization and the African Union ~~in order~~ to scale up vaccine production for developing countries;

Amendment 41 #

5. ~~Welcomes~~Take notes of the commitment shown by the EU and its Member States in tackling the wider impact of COVID-19, in particular through the Coronavirus Global Response and COVAX initiatives; notes with concern that the COVAX scheme is a Public Private Partnership, led by donor countries, the pharmaceutical private sector and private foundations, with a marginal role for the WHO; calls for full transparency about its management and decision making process, and for a full involvement of developing countries and public authorities; expresses its concern that the COVAX mechanism alone would not be sufficient to grant global protection against COVID-19 and that it will not be able to cover the vaccine needs of developing countries, especially in Africa; calls on the EU Commission to directly support developing countries’ vaccine production capacity, to encourage technology transfer through the sharing of patents and technologies, and to support the proposal of a temporary waiver of IPRs on COVID-19 vaccines and treatments in the WTO; calls on the Commission to coordinate with the World Health Organization and the African Union in order to scale up vaccine production for developing countries;

Amendment 42 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. ~~Welcomes the commitment shown by the EU and its Member States in tackling the wider impact of COVID-19, in particular through the Coronavirus Global Response and COVAX initiatives;~~Stresses that a more equitable distribution of vaccines around the globe is essential to combat effectively the spread of the covid-19 and its mutation; recalls equally that COVID-19 medical tools should be affordable, safe, effective, easily administered and universally available for everyone and everywhere; welcomes, as a first step, the commitment shown by the EU and its Member States in tackling the wider impact of COVID-19, in particular through the Coronavirus Global Response and COVAX initiatives; but recalls that vaccines should be declared a global public good; accordingly, urges the Commission and the Member States not to block the TRIPS waiver at the WTO and to support global open access to Covid-19 vaccines to scale up global production, notably through technology transfer; to this end, urges the EU to support developing countries, in particular LDCs, in the effective implementation of flexibilities for the protection of public health provided for in TRIPs agreements, notably compulsory licencing and parallel import; in the meantime, calls on the Commission to coordinate with the World Health Organization and the African Union in order to scale up vaccine production for developing countries;

Amendment 43 #

Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Udo BULLMANN, Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Patrizia TOIA, Carlos ZORRINHO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. WHighlights that public health problems caused by COVID-19 can only properly and effectively be managed anywhere in the world as long as measures including vaccines are accessible worldwide; welcomes the commitment shown by the EU and its Member States , acting together as ‘Team Europe’, in tackling the wider impact of COVID-19 on developing societies and economies, in particular through the Coronavirus Global Response and COVAX initiatives; recalls ~~on the Commission to coordinate~~that with the COVAX initiative only being able to cover vaccinations for 20% of the world population, a united initiative of industrialised, open, democratic countries in the form of a Vaccine Alliance is needed; reminds the Commission of the interconnected nature of the global economic recovery and that, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) vaccine delays in poorer nations are likely to threaten the European Union’s own recovery because of continued disruptions to international trade and global supply chains; calls on the Commission to coordinate closely with the World Health Organization and the African Union in ~~order to~~building and scaleing up vaccine production for developing countries to overcome the pandemic, while preventing the emergence of vaccine-resistant variants;

Amendment 44 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Welcomes the commitment shown by the EU and its Member States in tackling the wider impact of COVID-19, in particular through the Coronavirus Global Response and COVAX initiatives; acknowledges the commitment of the Commission to make the COVID-19 vaccine a global public good and requests adequate measures for the global challenges of shortages, insufficient manufacturing capacity and the gap between COVAX objectives and their financing; calls on the Commission to coordinate with the World Health Organization, the World Trade Organisation and the African Union in order to scale up vaccine production for developing countries; calls on the Commission to promote contracts between pharmaceutical companies and generic manufacturers in developing countries to increase global manufacturing capacity and reduce the delay in vaccination and ensure affordability especially for LDCs; calls on the Commission and the Member States to close the funding gap for the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator and COVAX and to ensure that the sharing of excess vaccine doses is coordinated under Team Europe, in close cooperation with COVAX;

Amendment 45 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Welcomes the commitment shown by the EU and its Member States in tackling the wider impact of COVID-19, in particular through the Coronavirus Global Response and COVAX initiatives; calls on the Commission to coordinate with the World Health Organization and the African Union in order to scale up vaccine production for developing countries and to make vaccines affordable and universally available;

Amendment 46 #

Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Udo BULLMANN, Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Patrizia TOIA, Carlos ZORRINHO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Welcomes the commitment shown by the EU and its Member States in tackling the wider impact of COVID-19, in particular through the Coronavirus Global Response and COVAX initiatives, which demonstrate our solidarity with the least developed countries; calls on the Commission to coordinate with the World Health Organization and the African Union in order to scale up vaccine production for developing countries;

Amendment 47 #

Alessandra BASSO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Welcomes the commitment shown by the EU and its Member States in tackling the wider impact of COVID-19, in particular through the Coronavirus Global Response ~~and COVAX initiatives~~; calls on the Commission to coordinate with the World Health Organization and the African Union in order to scale up vaccine production for developing countries;

Amendment 48 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Welcomes UN Secretary-General’s call to ensure equal, affordable and rapid access to COVID-19 vaccines globally; urges the Commission to take a leading role in the WTO TRIPS Council debates on avoiding barriers to access to vaccines and transfer of technology by promoting consensus in the flexibilization of TRIPS obligations; requests to consider compulsory licensing and implementation of Regulation (EC) No 816/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on compulsory licensing of patents relating to the manufacture of pharmaceutical products for export to countries with public health problems as a means to boost EU cooperation with developing countries facing COVID-19;

Amendment 49 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Points out that the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in developing countries, especially LDCs, faces unprecedented challenges due to a lack of logistical capacity, poor transportation and storage, including breaks in the cold chain integrity, and fragile healthcare systems; calls on the Commission to actively support LDCs in the handling and transportation of COVID-19 vaccines in line with international regulatory requirements and ensure that there is no delay in the attainment of mass immunisation against COVID-19 in these countries;

Amendment 5 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Notes that COVID-19 has caused an unprecedented health, economic, social and humanitarian crisis on a global scale, with asymmetric effects for least developed countries (LDCs)~~; calls for the EU to tailor its commitments and approach~~, which were hit the hardest by the trade downturn triggered by the pandemic in a number of sectors and even more so in services, including tourism; opines that, consequently, LDCs are more in need of support to revive their economies and trade than other countries and that the EU has a responsibility to act as a global player; calls for the EU to respect its commitments to developing partner countries and LDCs ~~accordingly~~, and to adopt a tailored approach that takes into account their particular circumstances;

Amendment 50 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Deeply regrets that the EU has opposed the proposal of India and South Africa for a temporary waiver on patents and IPRs for COVID-19 vaccines and treatments at the WTO, a proposal supported by all developing countries; urges the EU to change this approach and to support the request for a temporary waiver on IPRs on COVID-19 vaccines and treatments;

Amendment 51 #

Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Udo BULLMANN, Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Patrizia TOIA, Carlos ZORRINHO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5b. Is deeply worried that financing constraints and limitations in the supply of vaccines will prevent many LDCs from completing mass immunisation against COVID-19 until 2023 or even later; considers that waiving the patents on the vaccines that have been developed with massive public funding would increase the production of vaccines in all countries that have sufficient industrial capacity and would raise the purchasing capacity of COVAX due to the price lowering of vaccines that such a measure would entail; calls on the Commission to support the proposal of India and South Africa for a temporary waiver of Sections 1, 4, 5 and 7 of Part II of the TRIPS Agreement in order to ensure that vaccines are available in all developing countries in the shortest term possible;

Amendment 52 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5b. Requests to provide to the Commission-Parliament Contact Group an oversight over the decision making in the COVID-19 response, including the negotiation of Advance Purchase Agreements (APAs); requests the inclusion of DEVE Committee representatives in the Commission- Parliament Contact Group to provide adequate input for an EU Global vaccination strategy that is prepared for challenges such as the deployment of the vaccine in countries with insufficient medical infrastructure, production of vaccines in developing countries, a humanitarian buffer of vaccines and risk reduction and preparedness against new strains of the virus;

Amendment 53 #

Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Udo BULLMANN, Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Patrizia TOIA, Carlos ZORRINHO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5b. Regrets that pharmaceutical companies have chosen not to engage with the WHO COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP), an initiative that aims to encourage the voluntary contribution of IP, technologies and data to support global sharing and scale-up of manufacturing and supply of COVID-19 health technologies and that despite huge public funding, there is no tool for the EU and its Member States to force pharmaceutical companies to engage in such mechanism.

Amendment 54 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)

5c. Underlines that the developing countries will need a decade to recover from the pandemic, according to the Oxfam report “The inequality virus”, while richer countries progress with vaccinations faster and recover quicker; remarks that failure to immunize the world's population will cost rich countries between 10 to 100 times the money it would cost to help developing countries get vaccinated, according to the Peterson Institute for International Economics; calls therefore on the Commission to coordinate a donor conference to invest in global manufacturing and encourage sharing of patents and transfer of technology in order to speed up the global health and economic recovery;

Amendment 55 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Urges the ~~Commiss~~developing countries with support from the United Nations to identify the appropriate measures to ensure that thise pandemic with its lockdowns does not precipitate a food crisis in the developing world; supports Member State actions to facilitate trade with a view to promoting food safety and sanitary and phytosanitary measures ~~in response to COVID-19~~;

Amendment 56 #

Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Udo BULLMANN, Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Patrizia TOIA, Carlos ZORRINHO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Urges the Commission to identify the appropriate measures to ensure that this pandemic does not precipitate a food crisis in the developing world; ~~supports actions to facilitate trade~~in this context, recalls the commitment made by the Commission in its Farm to Fork Strategy to support the global transition to sustainable agri-food system, notably by striving to obtain ambitious commitments from third countries in key areas such as animal welfare, the use of pesticides and the fight against antimicrobial resistance; recalls equally its pledge to support small- scale farmers, short-supply chains, agro- ecology and conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity; notes, however, that EU trade agreements can have a negative impact on food security in developing countries; calls for the EU to support developing countries’ demands to protect their food production and to safeguard their population from the potentially destructive effects of cheap imports, notably within the remit of revised economic partnership agreements (EPAs); and to supports actions with a view to promoting food safety and sanitary and phytosanitary measures in response to COVID-19, in line with its “Green Deal” commitments, notably its “Farm to Fork Strategy”; stresses that EU FTAs should include specific references to Parties’ rights to invoke the precautionary principle, ass enshrined in the TFEU as well as the Convention on Biological Diversity, with regard to SPS measures;

Amendment 57 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Urges the Commission to identify the appropriate measures to ensure that this pandemic does not precipitate a food crisis in the developing world; supports actions to facilitate trade with a view to promoting food safety and sanitary and phytosanitary measures in response to COVID-19, including nutritious, safe, affordable and high quality food throughout the year; recalls the principle of policy coherence for development to ensure European exports do not hinder the development of local production; calls for the prioritisation of local production and consumption that ensure local job creation, guarantee fair prices for producers and consumers, reduce countries' dependence on imports and their vulnerability to international price fluctuations;

Amendment 58 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Urges the Commission to make food security one of its priorities and to identify the appropriate measures to ensure that this pandemic does not precipitate a food crisis in the developing world; stresses that the legitimate demand to reduce the pressure placed by agriculture on the environment must be pursued in such a way, and at such a pace, as to ensure food security for all citizens in developing countries, as well as in the EU; supports actions to facilitate trade with a view to promoting food safety and sanitary and phytosanitary measures in response to COVID-19;

Amendment 59 #

Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Udo BULLMANN, Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Patrizia TOIA, Carlos ZORRINHO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. UDeplores that export restrictions and trade barriers have disrupted agri- food markets and supply chains worldwide, severely impacting developing countries; urges the Commission to identify the appropriate measures to ensure that this pandemic does not precipitate a food crisis in the developing world; supports actions to facilitate trade with a view to promoting food safety and sanitary and phytosanitary measures in response to COVID-19;

Amendment 6 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Notes that COVID-19 has caused an unprecedented health, economic, social and humanitarian crisis on a global scale, with asymmetric effects for least developed countries (LDCs) and low- and middle- income countries (LICs and MICs), especially for people in poverty or at risk of poverty; calls for the EUCommission to tailor its commitments and approach to developing countries, LDCs, LICs and LDMICs accordingly to reduce inequalities, and to update its trade and development policies according to the impact of the pandemic in partner countries;

Amendment 60 #

Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Udo BULLMANN, Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Patrizia TOIA, Carlos ZORRINHO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Calls on the Commission to consider the implications of COVID-19 and its impact on achieving the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals; accordingly, urges the Commission to re- adapt its trade policy in line with its global development policy accordingly to ensure that economies and societies are rebuilt better, more sustainable, more resilient and more socio-economically equal after the pandemic; stresses that tackling inequalities must become central to the EU’s post-COVID-19 global strategy, including its trade agenda, to make sure that progress on reducing poverty, education, public health, gender equality and climate action is not lost due to the pandemic;

Amendment 61 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Recalls that seed diversity is vital in building the resilience of farming to climate change; recalls that farm-saved seeds are estimated to account for over 80% of farmers’ total seed requirements in some African countries; calls for the EU to support intellectual property rights regimes that enhance the development of locally adapted seed varieties and farmer- saved seeds, in line with the provisions of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA), which safeguards the rights of farmers to maintain genetic resources for purposes of food security and climate change adaptation;

Amendment 62 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Notes that the vital restrictions on trade and international transport imposed by national governments in an effort to contain the spread of the pandemic have led to breaks in international trade flows and value chains, and in the provision of technical support to developing countries, causing social and economic damage;

Amendment 63 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6b. Recalls that the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services will undermine progress in approximately 80 % of the assessed targets for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); regrets that dispute settlement systems covering biodiversity and trade provisions in Multilateral Environment Agreements are not binding, unlike the WTO enforcement system, which de facto embodies the supremacy of commercial law over biodiversity; in particular, recalls that current WTO rules limit the possibility of EU Member States of raising tariffs on products that have a negative impact on biodiversity; against this backdrop, welcomes the commitment of the Commission to prioritise effective implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity in trade and investment agreements; and calls on the Commission to advocate reform of the WTO along this line;

Amendment 64 #

6b. Calls on the Commission to consider the geopolitical and commercial repercussions of the shift to online trading during the pandemic, which has increased further the volume of transactions accounted for by the main digital platforms, which are supplied by a relatively small number of large firms mainly located in China and the United States;

Amendment 65 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. ~~Calls on the Commission to~~Suggests that Member States might collaborate with developing ~~partner~~ countries in order for those governments to facilitate digital infrastructure, establish policy strategies and harmonise regulatory frameworks for e-commerce.;

Amendment 66 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Considers that COVID-19 has accelerated the shift towards digitalisation, which presents opportunities to facilitate international trade, to reduce face to face processes and allow for efficient logistics and strategic stockpiling with enormous potential, in particular for developing partner countries; underlines that developing countries and LDCs trail behind in the digital economy and calls on the Commission to collaborate with developing partner countries in order to facilitate digital infrastructure, establish policy strategies and harmonise regulatory frameworks for ~~e-commerce.~~sustainable e-commerce, to support skills training and to modernize trade and customs management tools, electronic payment and automated procedures;

Amendment 67 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Calls on the Commission to collaborate with developing partner countries ~~in order to facilitate digital infrastructure, establish policy strategies and harmonise regulatory frameworks for~~to seek robust digital standards and regulatory approaches, in full compliance with the EU’s data protection framework, including on provisions on e- commerce., with the aim to ensure a high level of consumer protection;

Amendment 68 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Calls on the Commission to collaborate with developing partner countries in order to facilitate digital infrastructure, establish policy strategies and harmonise regulatory frameworks for e-commerce.; underlines the need for EU development cooperation to contribute to ensuring that populations have general broadband internet access at affordable prices in LDCs;

Amendment 69 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Calls on the Commission to collaborate with developing partner countries in order to ~~facilitate~~strengthen digital infrastructure and facilitate the digital transition, establish policy strategies and harmonise regulatory frameworks for e- commerce.;

Amendment 7 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Notes that COVID-19 has caused an unprecedented health, economic, social and humanitarian crisis on a global scale, with asymmetric effects for least developed countries (LDCs) whose high vulnerability is linked to poor economic diversification and high dependency on export of raw materials; calls for the EU to tailor its commitments and approach to developing countries and LDCs accordingly;

Amendment 70 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Calls on the Commission to collaborate with developing partner countries in order to facilitate digital infrastructure, as well as to accord strategic importance to digital trade, establish policy strategies and harmonise regulatory frameworks for e-commerce.;

Amendment 71 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Considers that the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development dictates that we work in a multilateral context and coordinate policies at the international and national levels to deal with the enormous challenges to these aspirations resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and to factor in the Sustainable Development Goals in the rebuilding and restructuring of international trade networks;

Amendment 72 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Welcomes the commitment of the Commission to reinforce the sustainability dimension of existing and future trade agreements; accordingly, calls for a fully- fledged sustainability ex-ante and ex-post impact assessment of EU FTAs;

Amendment 73 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)

7b. Welcomes the Commission’s commitment to make compliance with the Paris Agreement an “essential clause” of the EU trade agreements; stresses that, in order to be enforceable, the environmental objectives of the EU’s free trade agreements (FTAs) must be clear, quantifiable, verifiable, based on robust, transparent and inclusive ex-ante sustainable impact assessments and include sanctions for non-compliance;

Amendment 74 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)

7b. Stresses the importance of using strategic foresight in order to improve developing countries’ preparedness and resilience to any future shocks and health crises, including the emergence of new disease mutations and future pandemics, aiming to develop future-proof strategies and responses;

Amendment 75 #

7b. Deplores the fact that the economic and social effects of the pandemic are being felt to a disproportionate degree by women, a state of affairs which may reverse decades of progress in the areas of gender equality and female emancipation;

Amendment 76 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 c (new)

7c. Welcomes the Commission's commitment to engage the EU to pursue a strong environmental agenda at the WTO, notably by taking initiatives that promote climate and sustainability considerations in the remit of the WTO; recalls that the objective 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;

Amendment 77 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 c (new)

7c. Emphasises the need to make gender equality and female emancipation integral to trade measures and development programmes, in order to ensure that women are not disproportionately affected by future crises as well;

Amendment 78 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 c (new)

7c. Urges the Commission to take account of the fact that trade measures affect women and men differently and to identify new entrepreneurial and employment opportunities for women and curb any negative gender-related effects;

Amendment 79 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 d (new)

7d. Believes that parties to the Paris Agreement should have policy space to implement climate response measures in fulfilment of current and future National Determined Contributions (NDC), without risking trade retaliation measures from trading partners; however, stresses the need to take into account the adverse impact of climate-related trade restrictions on developing countries and to take appropriate actions to mitigate them, such as climate funding, insurance, technology transfer and capacity building, in line with UNFCC related commitments and the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities” (CBDR);

Amendment 8 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Underlines the link between deforestation and the risks of new zoonotic pandemics; recalls how trade liberalization is one of the causes of increased deforestation, and calls on the commission to avoid signing free trade agreements that could contribute to deforestation;

Amendment 80 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 d (new)

7d. Welcomes the decision taken at the 24th session of the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) to set as a priority theme ‘Harnessing science, technology and innovation to bridge the gap regarding the third Sustainable Development Goal’;

Amendment 81 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 e (new)

7e. Stresses the need to account for the carbon “embodied” in imported goods and services; along this line, calls on the EU to take steps to re-launch discussions within the WTO on process and production methods to enable products to be differentiated in terms of their carbon footprint, energy footprint or technological standards; insists that such initiative should be accompanied by measures facilitating technology transfer both for climate adaptation and mitigation to accommodate the needs of developing countries;

Amendment 82 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 e (new)

7e. Emphasises that science and technology offer great potential to meet the challenges posed by the health, economic and social crisis caused by the pandemic and that this potential can best be exploited by enhancing innovation schemes and multilateral cooperation in global science and innovation networks;

Amendment 83 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 f (new)

7f. Underlines that Intellectual Property Rights may hinder transfer of cleaner technologies; recalls that WTO- TRIPS flexibilities could contribute significantly to the transfer of climate- friendly technologies; calls on the EU to take the lead in the identification of the salient barriers to the dissemination of technologies in developing countries to address climate change and to strive to promote the adoption of a Declaration on “IPR and Climate Change” comparable to the Doha Declaration of 2001 on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health, to foster the legal transfer of climate- friendly technology to developing countries, in compliance with the Paris Agreement and the UNFCCC, notably the principle of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR);along this line, takes the view that EU FTAs with developing countries should include provisions that promote technology transfer and enable local content requirements in their public procurement and investment policies;

Amendment 84 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 f (new)

7f. Acknowledges that scientific and technological progress can make it easier to integrate the value generated by producers in developing countries into global chains; takes the view that, if they are to enhance and build on competitive advantages, open innovation models call for cooperation between firms and external partners; calls, with a view to creating an environment conducive to innovation, for cooperation between a range of actors, including local producers and multinational companies, in order to develop the capabilities needed to take up, assimilate, adapt and disseminate existing know-how and technologies;

Amendment 85 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 g (new)

7g. Calls on the Commission to actively work within the WTO in order to promote multilateral rules for sustainable management of Global Value Chains, including mandatory supply chain due diligence.

Amendment 9 #