Brussels, 12/03/2010 (Agence Europe) - In a joint EPP, S&D, ALDE, Greens/EFA, ECR and GUE/NGL resolution on the Community regulation applying a scheme of generalised tariff preferences (GSP), adopted in plenary session in Strasbourg on Wednesday 10 March by 349 votes to 255, with 61 abstentions, the European Parliament called on the Commission to put a draft regulation revising the GSP to it and the Council before 1 June 2010. The current regulation expires on 31 December 2011. The preferences granted under the GSP should, Parliament says, be targeted on the developing countries that need them most, so the new list of beneficiary countries should reflect the actual economic situation of developing countries. Noting that all the countries benefiting from the GSP+ regime must not only ratify but also effectively implement all 27 ILO and UN conventions, Parliament called for more transparency and greater democratic accountability on how the investigation processes are initiated and conducted. It also asked to be fully informed and adequately involved by the Commission at all the various stages of GSP and GSP+ procedures, including with regard to the Council proposal on the lists of beneficiary countries. Parliament also urged the Commission to submit to the European Parliament and the Council - before the present regulation ceases to apply and in time for discussion of the next regulation - a report on the state of ratification and implementation of the 27 conventions by each country benefiting from the special GSP+ incentive arrangements. The Commission is asked to define, in its revised GSP regulation, the monitoring bodies which are to recommend whether additional steps for the effective implementation of a convention should be taken by a specific country, and to make provision for regular assessment of compliance by each beneficiary country with its commitments under GSP+, and thus ensure that none of the reasons for the temporary withdrawal of preferential arrangements applies. Parliament called on the Commission, before it revises the system, to conduct an impact assessment of the effects of the GSP over the period from 2006 to 2009 and to evaluate how its initial aims have been met as regards the specific socio-economic indicators relevant for each country, and, in particular, poverty reduction. In a press release published after the vote, Helmut Scholz (GUE/NGL) said there was a need for the Commission to carry out a thorough investigation into the real situation faced by trade unionists in Colombia, a country with which the EU is due to conclude a free trade agreement. The German MEP noted, too, that the resolution adopted was a call to the Commission to monitor the situation in Sri Lanka, which has been temporarily suspended from the GSP+ since mid-February. (E.H./transl.rt)