REPORT on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1215/2009 introducing exceptional trade measures for countries and territories participating in or linked to the European Union’s Stabilisation and Association process
2.10.2020 - (COM(2020)0135 – C9-0099/2020 – 2020/0051(COD)) - ***I
Committee on International Trade
Rapporteur: Emmanuel Maurel
PR_COD_1amCom
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* Consultation procedure *** Consent procedure ***I Ordinary legislative procedure (first reading) ***II Ordinary legislative procedure (second reading) ***III Ordinary legislative procedure (third reading)
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Amendments to a draft act |
Amendments by Parliament set out in two columns
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CONTENTS
DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION
DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION
on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1215/2009 introducing exceptional trade measures for countries and territories participating in or linked to the European Union’s Stabilisation and Association process
(COM(2020)0135 – C9-0099/2020 – 2020/0051(COD))
(Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading)
The European Parliament,
– having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2020)0135),
– having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 207(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C9-0099/2020),
– having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
– having regard to Rule 59 of its Rules of Procedure,
– having regard to the report of the Committee on International Trade (A9-0175/2020),
1. Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out;
2. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments;
Amendment 1
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 1
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Text proposed by the Commission |
Amendment |
(1) Council Regulation (EC) No 1215/20092 provided for unlimited duty free access to the Union market for nearly all products originating in the participants of the Stabilisation and Association process to the extent and until such time as bilateral agreements with those parties were concluded. |
(1) Council Regulation (EC) No 1215/20092 provided for unlimited duty free access to the Union market for nearly all products originating in the participants of the Stabilisation and Association process to the extent and until such time as bilateral agreements with those beneficiary parties were concluded. |
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2 Council Regulation (EC) No 1215/2009 of 30 November 2009 introducing exceptional trade measures for countries and territories participating in or linked to the European Union’s Stabilisation and Association process (OJ L 328, 15.12.2009, p. 1). |
2 Council Regulation (EC) No 1215/2009 of 30 November 2009 introducing exceptional trade measures for countries and territories participating in or linked to the European Union’s Stabilisation and Association process (OJ L 328, 15.12.2009, p. 1). |
Amendment 2
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2
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Text proposed by the Commission |
Amendment |
(2) Stabilisation and Association Agreements have now been concluded with all six parties, the last one between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and Kosovo3 , of the other part, entered into force on 1 April 2016. |
(2) Stabilisation and Association Agreements have now been concluded with all six beneficiary parties. The Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and Kosovo3 , of the other part, was the last one and entered into force on 1 April 2016. |
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3 This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence. |
3 This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence. |
Amendment 3
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3
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Text proposed by the Commission |
Amendment |
(3) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/14644 amended Regulation (EC) No 1215/2009 to remove the bilateral preferences granted to Kosovo but maintaining the unilateral preference granted to all Western Balkan beneficiaries in the form of the suspension of all duties for products covered by Chapters 7 and 8 of the Combined Nomenclature and their access to the global wine tariff rate quota of 30 000 hl. |
(3) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/14644 amended Regulation (EC) No 1215/2009 to remove the bilateral preferences granted to Kosovo but maintaining the unilateral preference granted to all Western Balkan beneficiary parties in the form of the suspension of all duties for products covered by Chapters 7 and 8 of the Combined Nomenclature and their access to the global wine tariff rate quota of 30 000 hl. |
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4 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/1464 of 2 June 2017 amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1215/2009 as regards trade concessions granted to Kosovo* following the entry into force of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and Kosovo, of the other part. |
4 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/1464 of 2 June 2017 amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1215/2009 as regards trade concessions granted to Kosovo* following the entry into force of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and Kosovo, of the other part. |
Amendment 4
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
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Text proposed by the Commission |
Amendment |
(5) The extension of the period of application of Regulation (EC) No 1215/2009 is considered the best guarantee of the Union’s commitment to the trade integration of the Western Balkans. |
(5) The extension of the period of application of Regulation (EC) No 1215/2009 is considered to be a suitable guarantee of the Union’s enhanced engagement and commitment to the trade integration of the Western Balkans. The current system of autonomous trade measures remains a valuable support for the economies of the Western Balkan partners. |
Justification
The EU is dedicated to prolongation of the favourable access to the EU market.
Amendment 5
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1
Regulation (EC) No 1215/2009
Article 1 – paragraph 1
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Text proposed by the Commission |
Amendment |
1. Products originating in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo* , Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia covered by Chapters 7 and 8 of the Combined Nomenclature shall be admitted for import into the Union without quantitative restrictions or measures having equivalent effect and with exemption from custom duties and charges having equivalent effect. |
1. Products originating in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo* , Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia beneficiary parties covered by Chapters 7 and 8 of the Combined Nomenclature shall be admitted for import into the Union without quantitative restrictions or measures having equivalent effect and with exemption from custom duties and charges having equivalent effect. |
Amendment 6
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point a a (new)
Regulation (EC) No 1215/2009
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
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Present text |
Amendment |
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(a a) In paragraph 2, the first subparagraph is replaced by the following: |
2. Without prejudice to the conditions provided for in paragraph 1, entitlement to benefit from the preferential arrangements introduced by Article 1 shall be subject to the readiness of the beneficiary countries to engage in effective economic reforms and in regional cooperation with other countries concerned by the European Union’s Stabilisation and Association process, in particular through the establishment of free trade areas in conformity with Article XXIV of the GATT 1994 and other relevant WTO provisions. |
2. ‘Without prejudice to the conditions provided for in paragraph 1, entitlement to benefit from the preferential arrangements introduced by Article 1 shall be subject to the readiness of the beneficiary parties to engage in effective economic reforms and in regional cooperation with other countries concerned by the European Union’s Stabilisation and Association process, in particular through the establishment of free trade areas in conformity with Article XXIV of the GATT 1994 and other relevant WTO provisions.’ |
Amendment 7
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 6 a (new)
Regulation (EC) No 1215/2009
Article 8 – paragraph 3
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Text proposed by the Commission |
Amendment |
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(6 a) In Article 8, paragraph 3 is deleted |
Amendment 8
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 10 a (new)
Regulation (EC) No 1215/2009
Annex II
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Text proposed by the Commission |
Amendment |
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(9 a) Annex II is deleted. |
Amendment 9
Proposal for a regulation
Annex I
Regulation (EC) No 1215/2009
Annex I – title 1
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Text proposed by the Commission |
Amendment |
CONCERNING THE TARIFF QUOTAS REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 1(2) |
CONCERNING THE TARIFF QUOTAS REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 3(1) |
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Background
The EU is by far the leading trade partner with over 72% of the Western Balkans’ (i.e. Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia) total trade, way ahead other competitors economically and politically involved in the region, like China, Russia or Turkey.
Trade between EU and Western Balkans countries has grown by nearly 130% over the past 10 years. In 2019, it amounted to EUR 55 billion.
Since the launch, in 1999, of the Stabilisation and Association Process, the EU has gradually concluded Stabilisation and Association Agreements (SAAs) with each of the Western Balkan partners.
These SAAs were seen as instruments which provided for the economic development and political stabilisation of the countries in the region, and still constitute one of the core mechanisms for alignment to the EU acquis and progressive integration into the EU market. The Agreements foresee the elimination of duties and non-tariff restrictions on bilateral trade and cover goods in all Chapters of the Harmonised System.
At the same time, since 2009 a set of autonomous trade measures (ATMs system) was put in place through a 2009 Regulation, which also contributed to the expansion of the total trade between the EU and the Western Balkans.
Initially embracing almost all products imported from the region, the scope of this Regulation has been eventually reduced, in 2017, to those belonging to Chapters 7 (edible vegetables and certain roots and tubers) and 8 (edible fruits and nuts; peels of citrus fruits and melons) of the Combined Nomenclature of the Common Customs Tariff, as well as to a quota import of wine, for 30.000 hl.
The Commission proposal is consistent with support of the EU towards the region’s gradual economic integration into the EU and the individual accession processes.
Even though most of the trade preferences initially granted to the Western Balkans through the autonomous trade regime have now been integrated into their respective Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU, according to the Commission, the limited preferences granted through this Regulation still provide valuable support to the economy and business of the region, and therefore remain a useful tool of the EU’s support toward the Western Balkans’ economic integration.
The proposed Regulation does not create additional costs in the EU budget.
Position of your Rapporteur
The Western Balkans are an EU priority and the EU has a special responsibility in assisting Balkan countries in the region.
The aim of extending the autonomous trade measures (ATMs) in this way is to ensure consistency with the guidelines that were recently reaffirmed by the Commission and with the Sofa Declaration of 17 May 2018.
The rapporteur does not dispute that the ATMs contribute to the economic development of the countries concerned, as they provide outlets for their production of wine, fruit and vegetables, thereby helping to consolidate their primary sectors, whose share of the countries’ GDP remains high.
Furthermore, the proposed measures until now have contributed to establishing strong partnerships between EU businesses and the local producers in the Western Balkan region.
The Commission proposal to extend by five more years the measures is therefore considered a the most suitable measure to ensure the sustained economic development of the Western Balkan partners. This can consequently avoid a very long and complex process of amending each individual bilateral trade agreement as part of the Stabilisation and Association Agreements.
In case of non-extension of those ATM measures until 2025, there might have been a negative and problematic effect of reducing the market access for all of the Western Balkan countries. This would not be in line with the supportive approach taken by EU.
Following France’s request to the Council that North Macedonia and Albania be granted the status of candidate countries for EU membership, the Commission redefined the enlargement process in February 2020.
The Western Balkan countries – which, in Sofia in 2018, had reaffirmed their commitment to joining EU as a ‘firm strategic choice’ – therefore noted, at the Zagreb videoconference on 6 May 2020, that:
– ‘increased EU assistance will be linked to tangible progress in the rule of law and in socio-economic reforms, as well as on the Western Balkans’ partners’ adherence to EU values, rules and standards’;
– ‘the leaders of the Western Balkans should ensure that fundamental values, democratic principles and the rule of law are rigorously upheld and enforced’;
– ‘more sustained efforts are needed to combat corruption and organised crime, and substantial results must be obtained in those areas’.
In addition, among the five changes made since 2009, the one the European Parliament adopted on 16 December 2015 explicitly made the application of the regulation at hand conditional on ‘the abstention of the countries and territories referred to [...] from engaging in serious and systematic violations of human rights, including core labour rights, of fundamental principles of democracy and of the rule of law’ (Article 2(1)(d)).
The most recent assessments concerning the entities comprising the Western Balkans show a general deterioration of the situation as regards corruption, the rule of law and fundamental freedoms, except in North Macedonia.
Under Article 2(3) of the regulation at hand, the Commission is already authorised to suspend, by means of implementing acts, application of the regulation in whole or in part following consideration by the Western Balkans Implementation Committee on the basis of Article 2(1)(d).
Given that the situation is currently getting worse, and that Parliament and the Council have stated unequivocally that they are keen for the arrangements designed to pave the way for accession – including the regulation at hand – to be aligned more closely with EU values, the rapporteur takes the view that it is appropriate to:
– extend its application for five years, as requested by the Commission;
– make that extension subject to a mandatory review clause after 30 months, with a report being submitted to the European Parliament’s committees on International Trade and Foreign Affairs.
PROCEDURE – COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE
Title |
Introducing exceptional trade measures for countries and territories participating in or linked to the European Union’s Stabilisation and Association process |
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References |
COM(2020)0135 – C9-0099/2020 – 2020/0051(COD) |
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Date submitted to Parliament |
3.4.2020 |
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Committee responsible Date announced in plenary |
INTA 16.4.2020 |
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Committees asked for opinions Date announced in plenary |
AFET 16.4.2020 |
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Not delivering opinions Date of decision |
AFET 4.5.2020 |
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Rapporteurs Date appointed |
Emmanuel Maurel 15.4.2020 |
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Discussed in committee |
3.9.2020 |
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Date adopted |
24.9.2020 |
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Result of final vote |
+: –: 0: |
38 2 1 |
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Members present for the final vote |
Barry Andrews, Anna-Michelle Asimakopoulou, Tiziana Beghin, Geert Bourgeois, Saskia Bricmont, Udo Bullmann, Jordi Cañas, Daniel Caspary, Anna Cavazzini, Miroslav Číž, Arnaud Danjean, Paolo De Castro, Emmanouil Fragkos, Raphaël Glucksmann, Markéta Gregorová, Enikő Győri, Roman Haider, Christophe Hansen, Heidi Hautala, Danuta Maria Hübner, Herve Juvin, Karin Karlsbro, Maximilian Krah, Danilo Oscar Lancini, Bernd Lange, Margarida Marques, Gabriel Mato, Emmanuel Maurel, Maxette Pirbakas, Carles Puigdemont i Casamajó, Samira Rafaela, Inma Rodríguez-Piñero, Massimiliano Salini, Helmut Scholz, Liesje Schreinemacher, Sven Simon, Dominik Tarczyński, Mihai Tudose, Kathleen Van Brempt, Marie-Pierre Vedrenne, Jörgen Warborn, Iuliu Winkler, Jan Zahradil |
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Substitutes present for the final vote |
Mazaly Aguilar, Nikos Androulakis, Margrete Auken, Marek Belka, Sergio Berlato, Markus Buchheit, Reinhard Bütikofer, Marco Campomenosi, Dita Charanzová, Clare Daly, Nicola Danti, Jérémy Decerle, Luke Ming Flanagan, José Manuel García-Margallo y Marfil, Dino Giarrusso, Márton Gyöngyösi, Svenja Hahn, Yannick Jadot, Agnes Jongerius, Sandra Kalniete, Seán Kelly, Peter Kofod, Andrey Kovatchev, Miapetra Kumpula-Natri, Jean-Lin Lacapelle, Aurore Lalucq, Morten Løkkegaard, Elżbieta Katarzyna Łukacijewska, Costas Mavrides, Liudas Mažylis, David McAllister, Javier Moreno Sánchez, Gheorghe-Vlad Nistor, Urmas Paet, Luisa Regimenti, Manuela Ripa, Annie Schreijer-Pierik, Joachim Schuster, Pedro Silva Pereira, Witold Jan Waszczykowski, Angelika Winzig, Juan Ignacio Zoido Álvarez |
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Date tabled |
2.10.2020 |
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FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL IN COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE
38 |
+ |
ECR |
Geert Bourgeois, Emmanouil Fragkos, Dominik Tarczynski, Jan Zahradil |
GUE/NGL |
Emmanuel Maurel, Helmut Scholz |
ID |
Roman Haider, Maximilian Krah, |
NI |
Tiziana Beghin, Carles Puigdemont i Casamajó |
PPE |
Anna Michelle Asimakopoulou, Daniel Caspary, Arnaud Danjean, Enikő Győri, Christophe Hansen, Danuta Maria Hübner, Sean Kelly, Gabriel Mato, Massimiliano Salini, Jörgen Warborn, Angelika Winzig |
RENEW |
Barry Andrews, Jordi Cañas, Urmas Paet, Samira Rafaela, Liesje Schreinemacher, Marie-Pierre Vedrenne |
S&D |
Marek Belka, Miroslav Číž, Paolo De Castro, Raphaël Glucksmann, Bernd Lange, Inma Rodríguez Piñero, Mihai Tudose, Kathleen Van Brempt |
VERTS/ALE |
Saskia Bricmont, Anna Cavazzini, Manuela Ripa |
2 |
- |
ID |
Herve Juvin, Markus Buchheit |
1 |
0 |
ID |
Danilo Oscar Lancini |
Key to symbols:
+ : in favour
- : against
0 : abstention