Forhandlinger

Torsdag den 13. december 2018 - Strasbourg

10.3. Rådets afgørelse om indgåelse af den økonomiske partnerskabsaftale mellem Den Europæiske Union og Japan (A8-0367/2018 - Pedro Silva Pereira)

Mündliche Erklärungen zur Abstimmung

  Lucy Anderson (S&D). – Mr President, in general and in solidarity with Japan and the people of Japan, I welcome this agreement. It is also a step towards a better and fairer EU trade policy that prioritises our regulatory standards on the environment and other key issues of importance to citizens. However, I do still have concerns, which is why in the end I abstained on the final vote on the resolution and on the agreement. Firstly, there are no proper arrangements in the agreement for monitoring of its impact on rail safety or in relation to the practical application and implementation of the opening—up of rail procurement processes in the EU and Japan. In addition, I would have preferred that this agreement were to definitively rule out, in advance, any investor protection through investor—state dispute settlement or an international investment court as being anti—democratic and inappropriate. Similarly, the agreement should have included more specific provisions providing protection for the right of nation—states to regulate, and guarding against the commercialisation of water and other public services.