MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the upcoming EU-US summit and Transatlantic Economic Council
3.11.2010
pursuant to Rule 110(2) of the Rules of Procedure
Adrian Severin, Hannes Swoboda on behalf of the S&D Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B7-0608/2010
B7‑0609/2010
European Parliament resolution on the upcoming EU-US summit and Transatlantic Economic Council
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its previous resolutions on transatlantic relations, in particular those of 26 March 2009 on the state of transatlantic relations in the aftermath of the US elections and 22 of October 2009 on the EU-US Summit and the TEC,
– having regard to its resolution of 5 May 2010 on the Recommendation from the Commission to the Council to authorise the opening of negotiations for an agreement between the European Union and the United States of America to make available to the United States Treasury Department financial messaging data to prevent and combat terrorism and terrorist financing; and the EP legislative resolution of 8 July 2010 on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Agreement (SWIFT),
– having regard to its Resolution of resolution of 10 March 2010 on the transparency and state of play of the ACTA negotiations,
– having to the draft protocol to amend EC/USA Air Transport Agreement, to the debates hold on the US processing and transfer of Passenger Name Record PNR data by air carriers and on the USA travel fees on 22 September 2010,
– having regard to the UN High level Plenary meeting on the Millennium Development Goals of 20-22 September 2010 and the conclusions thereof,
– having regard to its Resolution of 21 October 2010 on the G-20 Summit of 11-12 November 2010,
– having regard to Rule 110(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas the transatlantic relations should be based on shared core values such as democracy, human rights, the rule of law and multilateralism,
B. whereas the European Union welcomes the US administration cooperative attitude in the international field and the renewed commitment towards the EU-US relationship and multilateralism,
C. whereas in the post-Lisbon phase, the EU is a key global player in the international scene with new policy tools,
D. whereas the EU and the US, whilst remaining the two top world economies face serious challenges resulting from the financial crisis and increasing competition from emerging and BRIC economies,
E. whereas the work of the Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC) aims at an integrated transatlantic market that facilitates economic growth, sustainable development and social justice,
F. whereas both partners share responsibility for tackling the global imbalances such as the financial crisis and its social dimension, unemployment, climate change, energy security, terrorism and nuclear proliferation,
G. whereas both the EU and the US have committed to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and halving extreme poverty by 2015, most recently reaffirmed in the UN high level summit in New York,
International cooperation
1. Calls on both partners to confront challenges on the basis of international law and reinforcing multilateral institutions and to progress towards a UN Reform Agenda, including the reform of the UN Security Council;
2. Calls on the EU and the US to promote respect for human rights and democracy in the world as a key element of their policy; underlines the need for intensive coordination in preventive and crisis diplomacy; calls on the US Administration to ratify and accede to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court; repeats its appeal for the universal abolition of the death penalty;
3. Underlines the need for bold leadership from both sides to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and halve extreme poverty by 2015, in particular by targeting the most off-track MDGs including maternal and child mortality especially in sub Saharan Africa; once again calls on both partners to honour their commitment to allocate 0.7% of their GNI to ODA;
4. Calls on both sides to honour commitments made at the G20 summit in Toronto to improve access to financial services for the poor and to increasing financing available to SMEs in developing countries;
5. Asks the EU and the U.S. to work closely with the Working Party on Aid Effectiveness with a view to facilitating successful outcomes from the IV High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, Seoul 2011 focusing on greater co-ordination between the parties;
6. Welcomes the decision in January 2010 by the US government to appoint a Special Envoy on the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) and the declaration made by Presidents Obama and Medvedev in June 2010 on the future of conventional arms control and the CFE Treaty; welcomes the agreement between the US and Russia on a new START Treaty and expresses confidence in its approval by the US Senate; Considers that relevant developments in the wider security structure should be addressed in dialogue with Russia, the United States and the non-EU OSCE Member States in order to renew the transatlantic consensus on security;
7. Recalls the Strasbourg Declaration of April 2009 by the NATO Alliance; therefore, calls upon the US government and EU member states to make within the Alliance an explicit commitment to work towards a world free of nuclear weapons; urges the US to remove its tactical nuclear weapons from Europe which would signal strong support for the NPT regime, countering proliferation of nuclear weapons and allow the Alliance to direct its scarce resources to addressing today's security needs;
8. Welcomes the Nuclear Security Summit of April 2010 which highlighted the global importance of preventing nuclear terrorism and securing all vulnerable nuclear materials in four years and the Work Plan for improving and universalizing existing nuclear security agreements and programs; supports the initiatives taken by individual countries for improving security at home and encourages other states to join; Supports the initiative for a nuclear free Middle East;
Regional scope
9. Calls for improved cooperation between the EU and the US in Afghanistan and Pakistan with the aim of contributing for peace and stability, democracy, human rights and development in the region; stresses the importance of the participation of neighbouring countries and other key actors in the region in this process, which can considerably contribute to regional stabilisation; underlines the importance of development and a more civilian focus in the policy towards Afghanistan; commends the efforts of the EUPOL Afghanistan mission and calls for a better coordination between international actors involved in police training in the country; Calls for an articulated investment in the reform and the training of the judiciary;
10. Calls on the partners to continue, by means of coordinated efforts, to work with the Iraqi Government and the UN in order to strengthen the unity, democracy and stability of Iraq; stresses the importance, also in a regional context, of security and development in the country and calls for the involvement of all components of the Iraqi society in relating institutional arrangements and projects;
11. Expresses its disappointment at the continuing refusal by Iran to fully cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) by obstructing the IAEA's work; welcomes the adoption of the UNSC Resolution 1929(2010) imposing a fourth round of sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program and the Council's adoption of a set of restrictive measures to be imposed on Iran; supports at the same time the objective of finding a negotiated solution for Iran consistent with the dual track strategy of dialogue and sanctions;
12. Welcomes, in this light, the decision of the US to impose targeted sanctions on Iranian officials determined to be responsible for or complicit in serious human rights abuses in Iran since the June 2009 disputed presidential election; calls on the Council to adopt similar measures;
13. Stresses the importance of direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, which should lead to an agreement that ends the occupation that began in 1967 and results in the emergence of an independent, democratic, contiguous, and viable Palestinian state living side-by-side in peace and security with Israel and its other neighbours, and calls for the continuation of these negotiations; welcomes the efforts made by President Obama and the US Administration in this field; urges the European Union to play a more active political role, also in the framework of the Quartet, in this process;
14. Stresses again that all parties on both sides should refrain from any unilateral step with special regard to Israeli settlement building in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem that may undermine the prospects of a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians as well as that no unilateral change to the pre-1967 borders, including as regards Jerusalem, should be recognised;
Bilateral cooperation – data
15. Welcomes the signature of the second-stage "Open Skies" EU-US aviation agreement in June 2010 as a cornerstone of effective cooperation, and the conclusion of the most recent ICAO agreement of 8 October 2010 as an important step forward for the transatlantic aviation market; Calls on the US authorities and the Commission, however, to work towards greater liberty of investment and ownership of air carriers across the Atlantic without prejudice to foreign citizenship, and towards the inclusion of CO2 emissions from the aviation sector in the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS);
16. Reiterates its call on the US Senate and the US Administration to avoid any measures that run counter to these objectives, such as those on foreign repair stations, anti-trust exemptions and air carrier citizenship mentioned in House Resolution 915; Calls on the Commission and the US authority to advocate the concept of "one-stop security" and to review the efficiency of the additional security measures adopted since 2001 so as to eliminate overlapping and weaknesses in the security chain;
17. Recalls the importance of a sound legal EU US framework agreement for the exchange of PNR data and data protection, reminds its priorities in this respect as stated in resolutions and calls on Council and Commission to take good notice of its position while adopting the negotiating directives, recalling its right to be fully and immediately informed during the whole process;
18. Reiterates its call on the US authorities and the Commission to further intensify their negotiations to find balanced solutions for, inter alia, air security needs and data protection in the field of passenger name records (PNR) and the review of security checks at airports including the use of security scanners;
19. Welcomes and strongly supports the recommendation from the Commission to the Council to authorise the opening of negotiations for an agreement between the European Union and the United States of America on protection of personal data and welcomes the Commission's approach to have such a framework agreement applying to all future and to all existing EU or Member States personal data transfer and processing agreements with the US in the framework of judicial and police cooperation;
20. Deplores the introduction of "travel promotion" and administrative fees for the granting of Electronic System for Travel Authorisations (ESTA) to EU citizens travelling to the US as a retrograde step, amounting to the reintroduction of visa requirement as well as the exclusion of Romania, Poland, Bulgaria and Cyprus from the Visa Waiver Program which leads to discriminatory treatment among EU citizens, and reiterates its call on the Commission to treat the matter as an urgent priority, including the option of imposing reciprocity;
21. Calls on the EU and the US to adopt a comprehensive and balanced approach to migration, including by strengthening the international dialogue on migration and working to prevent manifestations of racism, xenophobia, discrimination and other forms of intolerance; Encourages to adopt and implement legislation that addresses discrimination in employment, and work with the private sector to adopt preventative initiatives such as programs that facilitate vulnerable groups entry into the labor market and combats discriminatory practices in the workplace;
22. Believes that the information society is a crucial pillar of the transatlantic economic area based on access to knowledge and on the protection of digital content in a balanced way; Asks for the relationship between innovation, creativity and ICT in building a new business culture should be strengthened ; Calls on the EU and the US to strengthen their cooperation in the fields of education and training, and stresses the importance of facilitating student transfer and the recognition of qualifications;
23. Expresses concern at recent revelations by Human Rights Watch 2010 report that European multinational firms carry out aggressive campaigns to keep workers in the US from organizing and bargaining, violating international standards and, often, US labour laws ; Asks the EU and the US to cooperate to ensure adherence to international standards by European firms ; Supports the enactment of the Employee Free Choice Act as a progress towards stronger standards-setting and core norms of ILO conventions ; Encourages EU and US exchange of best practices and information on parallel legislation related to fight against wage gap between men and women and between different ethnic groups;
Financial stability and international regulatory arbitrage
24. Recognizes the adoption by the US of its recent comprehensive financial reform package the US Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act as being a decisive step towards strengthened regulation and supervision of financial products, markets and actors; strongly supports the efforts undertaken in the US to firmly implement the new framework and calls for the various regulatory bodies involved (FDIC, CFTC, SEC, Federal Reserve, and newly created FOI) to ensure an appropriate convergence across the Atlantic so as to tackle common issues in concert;
25. Underlines the importance of a coordinated approach for the definition, regulation and supervision of "too big to fail" financial institutions between the newly created European Systemic Risk Board and Financial Oversight Committee; recalls that despite structural differences between financial markets, finance is globalised to an extent that policy makers worldwide can not ignore any longer; is of the opinion that the coordination between EU and US authorities in this field should be exemplary;
26. Reiterates its support to the G20 commitment to increase the quality and quantity of capital, introduce liquidity management standards, address pro-cyclicality and upgrade the overall prudential standards in response to the financial crisis; in this context, urges the Commission to intensify its transatlantic financial regulatory dialogue with the US;
27. Recalls that a global standard on the application of capital requirements of a sufficient level and quality as agreed by the Basel Committee is critical to averting future financial crises; is concerned that quantitative limitations and/or non-universal application in certain jurisdictions could undermine the effectiveness of this global standard;
28. Urges to conduct a general impact assessment of the new Basel III rules prior to their implementation, regarding potential effect on the diversity of the banking sector and on SMEs' financing, but also in conjunction with additional capital requirements that might be demanded from systemically important financial institutions (SIFIs);
29. Notes that the risk of regulatory arbitrage is particularly relevant in the wake of current discussions on OTC derivative clearing, regulation of CRAs, alternative investment funds, short selling and CDS; underlines that all these regulatory initiatives are undertaken to reduce systemic risk, to strengthen stability and to make financial markets a safer and more appealing place for investors and that there is an underlying risk should these initiatives not be coordinated, at least between the EU and the US;
30. Asks the EU-U.S. Financial Markets Regulatory Dialogue (FMRD), in its role of coordinating approaches between regulators, to identify gaps and work on improving convergence; notes the absence of formal channels to allow for on-going dialogue between law-makers in Europe and the US that could lead to a greater harmonisation of regulatory approaches, particularly in financial services; welcomes efforts by non-institutional actors to increase informal dialogue between lawmakers and their staff in Europe and the US; urges lawmakers to consider the international implications of policy actions and G20 commitments to harmonise policy where ever possible; Calls for an EU-US Joint strategy to control off shores;
31. Calls on both partners to jointly lead multilateral efforts in initiating an international economic policy coordination that ensures a cooperative and mutually reinforcing orderly exit from the crisis and goes beyond this short to medium term objective to create a true, permanent dialogue among international players; calls on a tailor-made phasing-out of the recovery measures depending on the phase of the recovery each partner finds itself in, in a way that does not penalise the most vulnerable parts of our societies and instead accelerates growth and job creation;
32. Stresses the need for a responsible approach by both partners to support international dialogue on balancing the economic development and the fair valuation of currencies, that avoids "beggar thy neighbour" behaviours and a currency war;
Transatlantic Economic Council
33. Underlines that a closer transatlantic partnership with a view to the completion of a transatlantic market by 2015, based on the principle of a social market economy, is an instrument for shaping globalisation and for dealing with global economic and social crises; calls for high-level engagement of both partners in the Innovation Action Partnership;
34. Calls once again on the leadership of the EU and the US, as well as the co-chairs of the TEC, to take account of the crucial role of legislators for the success of the TEC; urges them to involve the representatives of the TLD fully and directly in the TEC, as legislators share with their respective executive branches responsibility for the enactment and oversight of many of the TEC decisions;
35. Welcomes that the TEC is advised by a range of stakeholders, including representatives of business, and calls once again for a comparable role to be given to representatives of the trade union movement on each side of the Atlantic, so that the social dimension is fully included; calls for the heads of the Transatlantic Labour Dialogue and the Transatlantic Energy Dialogue to be included in the Group of Advisers;
36. Requests that agenda of TEC meetings be widened and more strategic in order to include the concerns of all the stakeholders ; Reiterates the call for timely distribution of schedules of TEC meetings, agendas, roadmaps and progress reports which should be available for stakeholders well prior to meetings and then made public, in order to increase transparency;
37. Believes that the Innovation Action Partnership should look beyond IP enforcement and address strategic dialogue about competition policy, open standards, technology transfer and convergence of standards;
38. Believes that agreement such as ACTA should not affect the right to privacy, freedom of speech or right to due process; Considers that the TEC could play a role in improving protection for consumers' privacy, especially in what relates to cloud computing, e-health and smart grid;
Sectorial issues
39. Notes that the EU and the US face similar challenges as the world's largest producers, exporters and importers of agricultural products, and play an important role in ensuring food security in the world ; Believes it beneficial to coordinate and exchange views on the future Common Agricultural Policy and US Farm Bill ; Calls for greater cooperation between the European Parliament and the US Congress on the parallel process of reform of their respective agricultural policies;
40. Believes that pressing issues, such as reducing speculation on commodities' markets, which has lead to extreme food price volatility, could be better tackled through dialogue between the EU and the US; reminds in this respect the need to avoid regulatory arbitrage of speculators, which should not be able to cherry pick between various regulatory systems and continue to create instability through massive speculative movements on commodities' markets; welcomes recent legislation on both sides aiming at greater transparency and limiting speculative behaviour;
41. Notes recent developments on sensitive issues, such as hormone beef, chloride chickens and the authorisation of some GM products; is confident that, through continuous and early dialogue, issues affecting mutual trade in agricultural products can be efficiently tackled before they reach WTO dispute bodies;
42. Regrets the unilateral withdrawal of the United States from the 1992 Agreement which regulated the government support for large civil aircraft and the following long lasting Airbus-Boeing litigation at the WTO ; believes strongly that a mutually acceptable solution can be settled through cooperation and preserving the spirit of the EU-US Transatlantic partnership;
43. Notes the US security concerns on supply chains and is strongly committed to implement measures enhancing security in line with agreed international standards; reiterates in this regard that the unilateral introduction of the 100% scanning requirement for US-bound maritime cargo at export, to be implemented by 1 July 2012, does not meet this requirement ; therefore calls on the US and the EU to develop a multilayered risk management approach, including mutual recognition of EU and US trade partnership programmes;
44. Calls for fostering cooperation on all matters affecting the regulatory environment for industries in the EU and in the US; asks the TEC to take example of the approach of the EU "Small Business Act", meaning to think small first, when considering legislation with a transatlantic impact, in order to support the activities of SME;
45. Encourages to deepen cooperation in the field of energy with the view of working towards a Common Energy Strategy, which supports diversification of energy sources as well as supply routes and promotes an eco-efficient economy, in order to increase security of energy supply; encourages the TEC to work jointly towards a maximum of convergence in the implementation of sustainability criteria for biofuels;
46. Emphasizes that raw materials, in particular access to critical raw materials, are essential to the sustainable development and technological advance of both the US and European economies; calls for fostering US-EU cooperation specifically in the sphere of information generation and exchange as well as research & development on extraction, processing, use, recovery, recycling and substitution of raw materials of mutually-identified criticality, in particular rare earths; Asks China no to set unilateral measures like export embargos of rare earth minerals;
47. Highlights the important potential of shale gas in Europe and the US as an indigenous source of energy, while the US is already much more advanced as regards its exploitation; suggest to address this topic in the EU-US Energy Council with the aim of drawing lessons from the US experience as regards its environmental soundness and need for adapting the regulatory framework to bring forward its environmentally sound exploitation;
48. Calls on the TEC to jointly work towards an international agreement on climate change at the Cancún Conference in December, which should focus on financing, technology transfer, forestation, adaptation and developing countries and MRV (Monitoring, Reporting and Verification) as well as pushing towards the ultimate goal of binding global commitments to reduce CO2 in line with the 2°C objective; Emphasises the need to include biodiversity safeguards in climate policies, therefore calls on the TEC to join efforts to enhance synergies and links between biodiversity and climate policies; encourages in this context, the TEC to cooperate on energy saving measures taken to combat climate change; calls for closer regulatory cooperation in the field of energy efficiency standards for products, especially through the Transatlantic Energy Council;
49. Calls on the TEC to take note of the EP's view adopted with a large majority in July 2010 which states that food from cloned animals and their descendants should not be regulated under the Novel Food Regulation and that these should be banned until the Commission can make a proposal which takes into account the ethical and safety impact of these foods as well as the animal welfare implications of this type of technology;
50. Encourages the EU and the US to reach an information-sharing agreement on product safety; hopes to improve cooperation with third countries on regulatory and manufacturing standards and enforcement;
51. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States and the President and Congress of the United States of America.