Verbatim report of proceedings

Tuesday, 7 July 2015 - Strasbourg

External impact of EU trade and investment policy on public-private initiatives (A8-0182/2015 - Jan Zahradil)

  Marian Harkin (ALDE), in writing. ‒ I voted for this report but would also like to record my concerns regarding the use of Public Private Partnerships. In this context I am pleased to see the statement that EU trade policy should neither encourage nor discourage the sovereign decision on whether or not to use PPPs - but that once a decision has been made by a sovereign state that the EU has an obligation to ensure that SMEs and companies of all sizes have the best possible access to procurement markets in the partner countries. This policy must be in line with the principles of openness, participation and accountability. I also believe we need to ensure strong legislation in order to prevent land grabbing and that where possible we strengthen Corporate Social Responsibility and ensure the promotion of human rights and gender equality in all our actions.