The European Parliament,

–  having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 980/2005(1) of 27 June 2005 applying a scheme of generalised tariff preferences,

–  having regard to Commission Decision 2005/924/EC(2) on the list of the beneficiary countries which qualify for the special incentive arrangements for sustainable development and good governance provided for by Article 26(e) of Council Regulation (EC) No 980/2005 applying a scheme of generalised tariff preferences,

–  having regard to Rule 103(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.  whereas the special incentive arrangements for sustainable development and good governance (GSP+) involve granting preferential access to European markets for goods originating in developing countries implementing certain international standards in human and labour rights, environmental protection, the fight against drugs and good governance,

B.  whereas the criteria for obtaining tariff preferences under GSP+ include ratification and effective implementation of core ILO conventions on freedom of association, collective bargaining, non-discrimination in employment and elimination of child and forced labour, as listed in Part A of Annex III of the Regulation,

C.  whereas the Commission, in its decision of 21 December 2005, granted special incentive arrangements to Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Georgia, Guatemala, Honduras, Sri Lanka, Republic of Moldova, Mongolia, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, El Salvador and Venezuela,

D.  whereas the effectiveness of the implementation of the relevant UN and ILO conventions should be regularly assessed on the basis of the conclusions of relevant monitoring bodies, especially the annual ILO ‘Report of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations’, and with due regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,

E.  whereas, under Article 16 of the GSP Regulation, safeguard clauses and temporary withdrawals can be applied to countries that commit serious and systematic violations of the principles laid down in the international conventions listed in Part A of Annex III of the Regulation,

1.  Notes that, despite their ratification of the relevant ILO conventions, repeated and widespread infringements in relation to workers’ rights have been reported as occurring in many of the GSP+ beneficiary countries, especially in Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Georgia, Guatemala and Moldova;

2.  Recalls that if infringements are found to constitute serious and systematic violation of the ILO’s core labour rights according to the ILO, they provide grounds for temporary withdrawal of GSP+ preferences, as laid down in Article 16 of the Regulation;

3.  Calls on the Commission to strengthen its monitoring of the implementation of ILO conventions in GSP+ beneficiary countries and, in particular, to carry out its obligations under Article 18 of the Regulation, namely to inform the Generalised Preferences Committee of the reported infringements of labour rights and to consult on whether an investigation should be carried out into the existence of serious and systematic violations of the ILO’s core labour rights conventions;

4.  Stresses particularly the need to provide adequate resources to, and cooperate effectively in this field with, the ILO and other relevant bodies, as well as the trade unions and civil society organisations in GSP+ countries; requests that the Commission make recommendations to the beneficiary governments concerned and stress that their failure to demonstrate progress towards effective implementation could lead to temporary withdrawal of GSP+ privileges;

5.  Welcomes the recent ratification by El Salvador of four ILO conventions on core labour standards relating to freedom of association, freedom to organise and collective bargaining; acknowledges the instrumental role of the trade unions in persuading the Salvadorian government to ratify those conventions and calls for their swift implementation; calls, however, on the Salvadorian Government to stop preventing national civil society groups and trade unions from taking part in international federations representing their interests;

6.  Asks the Commission to keep Parliament regularly informed of the results of its monitoring process concerning the implementation of the UN and ILO conventions and the level of compliance by GSP+ beneficiary countries, especially in the areas of freedom of association, collective bargaining, non-discrimination in employment and elimination of child and forced labour;

7.  Calls on the Commission to inform Parliament at an early stage about any recommendation for a temporary withdrawal of preferences in accordance with Article 16 of the Regulation and to ask for Parliament’s opinion in all cases of GSP+ beneficiary countries in which the ILO ‘Report of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations’ contains indications of serious and systematic infringements of the implementation of ILO core labour conventions;

8.  Calls on the Commission to carry out a mid-term review of the GSP Regulation, including a thorough assessment of the effectiveness of implementation of core ILO conventions in GSP+ beneficiary countries; calls on the Commission and the Council to ensure that Parliament’s views on the extension of the GSP+ scheme to specific countries and on any renewal of the current GSP Regulation in 2008 are taken into account;

9.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.

(1) OJ L 169, 30.6.2005, p. 1. (2) OJ L 337, 22.12.2005, p. 50.