The European Parliament’s Committee on Trade (INTA) discussed, on Tuesday 1 December, the 2018 European Action Plan on the implementation of the trade and sustainable development chapters in the European Union's free trade agreements (FTAs) (see EUROPE 11971/10).
Ulrich Weigl, Head of Unit for Bilateral Relations in the European Commission’s Trade Services, defended on this occasion the actions put in place to enforce the rules on sustainable development in the partner countries. He referred in particular to the work of the Commission in calling on countries such as South Korea and Vietnam to improve conditions for workers.
However, for the S&D, Greens/EFA, GUE/NGL, Renew Europe and ECR groups, the application of the rules on the ground is still not there. Joachim Schuster (S&D, Germany) said the 15-point action plan was insufficient. “I would like to analyse this action plan with the example of South Korea. It has not yet fulfilled its commitments to include the rules of this agreement in its national law”, he noted.
Others, such as Kathleen Van Brempt (S&D, Belgium) and Marie-Pierre Vedrenne (Renew Europe, France), recalled the European Parliament's position that sanctions should be put in place to force non-Member State partners to respect their commitments, particularly with regard to workers’ rights.
At the end of November, the European Parliament approved a resolution on the review of trade policy, which includes sanctions for non-compliance with the rules on sustainable development in trade agreements. For Ulrich Weigl, the public effect of a conviction would be enough to compel South Korea.
In addition, several INTA Committee MEPs asked the European Commission whether it intends to follow up on the Franco-Dutch working paper on trade and sustainable development (see EUROPE 12582/10). (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)