On Tuesday 3 May, MEPs on the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade (INTA) adopted a report by Heidi Hautala (Greens/EFA, Finland) on the revision of the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP). In a second vote, they gave the rapporteur a mandate to start interinstitutional negotiations.
The report tightens the conditions for access to the GSP, in particular for two of the three programmes: the standard GSP and the GSP+ (which provides even more market access).
For the European Commission, the obligation to have ratified a series of international conventions should only concern GSP+ beneficiaries (see EUROPE 12796/1). MEPs add that beneficiaries of the standard GSP will have to ratify the same agreements within 5 years of the application of the preferences.
In addition, they propose to add three conventions to the list proposed by the European Commission: the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the First and Second Optional Protocols to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The last one is specifically aimed at abolishing the death penalty.
As for the countries benefiting from the third and most accessible programme, Everything But Arms (EBA), the European Commission will have to ensure that they “make continued progress towards ratifying the conventions” in question, according to MEPs.
Countries benefiting from the more ambitious GSP+ programme will have to provide evidence of the effective implementation of the conventions. This requires a detailed action plan with a clear timetable.
Still on the conditions of access, MEPs refuse, however, to include obligations for beneficiary countries to readmit their nationals. “The Parliament rejects moves by the Commission to link trade preferences to migration and the readmission of refused asylum seekers. A comprehensive partnership on migration is needed, not the instrumentalisation of trade, which detracts from the core objectives of the GSP”, Mrs Hautala said.
The report adopted by the INTA Committee introduces more obligations for the European Commission, with regard to the procedure for withdrawing preferences in case of non-compliance with GSP conditions. The European Commission will have to rely on a variety of sources and elements to justify its final choice. It will then have to engage in a dialogue with the beneficiary countries to try to remedy the shortcomings. “The temporary withdrawal of preferential arrangements shall only be considered as a last resort option, when all other means to address serious and systematic violations have failed”, MEPs repeat several times in the report.
The INTA committee’s decision to enter into interinstitutional negotiations will be announced at the opening of the next plenary session of the Parliament on 18-19 May. If MEPs do not agree, this decision will be put to a vote. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)