Brussels, 09/10/2013 (Agence Europe) - MEPs have made their approval of any new agreement subject to close parliamentary scrutiny of talks, which could be launched at the next EU-China summit.
Eyes have already turned towards the Council, where EU trade ministers are due, on 18 October, to give their approval of the opening of negotiations on an EU-China investment agreement. The opening of talks could be officially announced at the next bilateral summit, possibly at the end of November.
In a resolution drafted by Helmut Scholz (GUE/NGL, Germany) and adopted by the plenary session on 9 October, Parliament submits its demands on the mandate to be granted to the Commission to negotiate a treaty that will seek to safeguard the investments of both partners. This will be the first agreement of this kind negotiated under the Lisbon Treaty, which made investment agreements an exclusively EU matter and will replace 26 bilateral investment agreements already in place between member states and China.
The agreement will seek to remove obstacles to the respective markets and to strengthen the legal protection afforded investments and intellectual property rights. While trade in goods between the EU and China is massive (€435 billion in 2012), investment flows remain below their potential levels. Foreign direct investment (FDI) by the EU in China was worth €17.5 billion in 2011 (2% of its total FDI), and Chinese FDI in the EU totalled €2.8 billion (1% of total FDI in the EU).
Parliament stresses the importance of China's agreeing to negotiate access to its market. It also wants the new agreement to bring greater equality between the two parties in terms of investment. While Chinese investors find a stable business environment in the EU, firms investing in China are burdened by discriminatory measures, such as the Chinese monitoring mechanism that seeks to filter foreign investment or transfer of strategic technologies demanded by Beijing in exchange for authorisation to invest in China. Guarantees on fair competition between Chinese public companies and European private companies were also demanded.
Parliament further demands that binding provisions be included in the agreement on social responsibility and social and environmental standards, and on protection of European public services, intellectual property, geographical indications and data protection. Cultural services should, MEPs say, be excluded from the talks. (EH/transl.fl)