MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION

29.4.2008

to wind up the debate on the statement by the Commission
pursuant to Rule 103(2) of the Rules of Procedure
by Umberto Guidoni and Marco Rizzo
on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group
on the Transatlantic Economic Council

B6‑0213/2008

European Parliament resolution on the Transatlantic Economic Council

The European Parliament,

–  having regard in particular to its resolution of 25 April 2007 on transatlantic relations and its resolutions of 1 June 2006 on EU-US economic relations and on the EU-US Transatlantic Partnership Agreement,

–  having regard to its resolution of 26 September 2007 on the safety of products and particularly toys,

–  having regard to the outcome of the EU-US Summit held on 30 April 2007 in Washington DC, and in particular to its Framework for Advancing Transatlantic Economic Integration between the European Union and the United States of America,

–  having regard to the Joint Statement and progress report adopted at the first TEC meeting on 9 November 2007,

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

1.  Severely criticises all aspects of the project of creating a transatlantic market which is largely orientated against other world markets and clearly self-protectionist;

2.  Notes that EU-US trade already accounts for 50% of all international trade; takes the view that the EU needs to diversify its economic relations, to preserve its policies in fields such as public health and the environment, and to reinforce its economic relations with other regions of the world;

3.  Calls on the EU and the US to combine efforts to build a more equitable international trade system, giving priority to development, poverty reduction, the environment and cultural diversity, rather than imposing deregulation and prioritising corporate profits;

4.  Expresses its concern about the US sub-prime sector crisis and deplores the fact that the sector has been lightly regulated (mortgage brokers) or not regulated at all; for these reasons calls for an urgent review of the Basel 2 rules, especially in the field of transparency;

5.  Calls on the Commission to work to ensure that the TEC is helpful in achieving a positive conclusion of the Doha Development Agenda, in particular by reducing export subsidies in agriculture, which are destroying the agriculture and the food sovereignty of developing countries;

6.   Calls on the Commission to make the prices of commodities, and in particular food products, an essential item on the agenda and to establish a mechanism to stabilise their prices;

7.  Recommends that the Commission include the subject of trade disputes as a central topic for the TEC; considers also that the EU should insist on the necessary withdrawal of extra-territorial legal provisions such as the Helms-Burton Act;

8.  Recommends that the Commission discuss within the TEC how greater coherence between bilateral trade agreements and the WTO multilateral rules can be found, in order to guarantee a more harmonious and simpler international trading system for all; urges the Commission to include in the agenda the question of how to progress effectively in the application of rules on the environment and social standards in the international trade system;

9.  Calls on the Commission to request that the TEC issue a progress report on IPR enforcement cooperation activities; stresses at the same time the need for progress in the transfer of technology to developing countries; requests the TEC to support the outcome of the TRIPS Agreement for those countries which have no production capacity for pharmaceutical products and to ensure that the US and the EU refrain from exerting pressure on the developing countries in order to impede the application of the Doha Declaration on access to medicines, or to include in bilateral trade agreements articles that impede this application;

10.  Calls on the Council and Commission to discuss with the transatlantic partners how to make progress with regard to developing countries' access to medicines, and to oppose vigorously the approach favoured by the US of including in all bilateral agreements negotiated with developing countries clauses by which those countries renounce the use of the provision of the Doha Declaration on TRIPS that allows them to produce and import generic drugs that are needed to tackle major public health problems (AIDS, tuberculosis, etc);

11.  Considers that the right to secure food and a safe environment are at the origin of several commercial conflicts between the EU and the US, such as those over hormone-treated meat and GMO products, and calls on the Council and Commission to act in line with and in defence of the applicable EC legislation;

12.  Considers that the EU and the US, being major consumers of energy and representing 38% of world energy consumption, have to take the lead and make joint efforts to develop means of alternative energy production; underlines the need to develop environmentally sustainable alternatives, to ensure the protection of forests worldwide, and to be very cautious on the issue of biofuels;

13.  Reiterates that the 'Helms-Burton' extraterritorial laws and the trade embargo on Cuba are illegal and must be withdrawn; calls on the Council and Commission to raise the matter during the EU-US summit and to work for the repeal of those provisions, if necessary challenging the US in the WTO;

14.  Expresses its deep preoccupation at the imbalances in the legislative dialogue with the United States and their impact on European legislation;

15.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Parliaments of the Member States and the President and Congress of the United States of America.