A4-0156/96

Resolution on the negotiations in the World Trade Organization (WTO) on trade and the environment

The European Parliament,

- having regard to Rule 90(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

- having regard to its resolutions of 22 January 1993 on environment and trade ((OJ C 42, 15.2.1993, p. 246.)) and 24 March 1994 embodying the recommendations of the European Parliament to the Commission concerning the negotiations in the Trade Negotiations Committee of GATT on an agreement on a Trade and Environment Work Programme ((OJ C 114, 25.4.1994, p. 35.)) and its legislative resolution of 14 December 1994 on the proposal for a Council Decision concerning the conclusion of the results of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations 1986 to 1994 (COM(94)0143 - C4-0160/94 - 94/0114(CNS)) ((OJ C 18, 23.1.1995, p. 61.)),

- having regard to the conclusions of UNCED and Agenda 21 as regards trade and the environment,

- having regard to the decision of the GATT Ministerial Conference of 14 April 1994 in Marrakesh to set up a WTO Committee on Trade and Environment which is to submit specific proposals for agreements to the Ministerial Conference in December 1996, on the basis of a ten-point work programme, aimed at helping to ensure greater compatibility between efforts to liberalize international trade and a policy of sustained environmental protection,

- having regard to the public hearing held by its Committee on External Economic Relations on 23 November 1995 on the World Trade Organization, at which WTO representatives gave the committee a progress report on the negotiations in this area,

- whereas the WTO Committee on Trade and Environment intends to lay down the basic principles for its recommendations to the Ministerial Conference on 28 May 1996,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on External Economic Relations and the opinion of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection (A4-0156/96),

1. Notes that the work programme of the WTO committee largely corresponds to Parliament's requests set out in its resolution of 24 March 1994 referred to above;

2. Regrets, however, that some of the requests contained in its resolutions of 22 January 1993 and 24 March 1994 referred to above have not been taken into account, e.g. the call for a WTO Environment Council, a moratorium on all decisions by the GATT/WTO panel pending the amendment of GATT Article XX, a fully worked-out programme of measures to be taken by the GATT Ministerial Conference to follow up the UNCED Conference and an increase in development aid as compensation for environmental clauses;

3. Urges the harmonious parallel development of both international trade objectives and effective environment protection measures notably by means of increased consultation, coordination and information-sharing between international trade and environmental agencies and instruments and between nations affected by such measures, with a view to developing greater mutual understanding and consideration of the respective interests and principles involved;

4. Insists that at the May 1996 stocktaking the Commission should pursue tangible and substantial results for the Singapore meeting beyond the simple reconfirmation of the existence of the WTO's Committee on Trade and the Environment (CTE) and its current work programme;

5. Demands therefore that the May stocktaking achieve substantial progress for the Singapore meeting on:

- the acceptance of internationally agreed Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs),

- increased transparency and openness in WTO procedures, including participation by NGOs and other relevant experts as provided for in Article V of the WTO charter,

- non-mandatory and non-discriminatory eco-labelling schemes,

- dispute settlement procedures which take account of the provisions of both trade and environment instruments,

- improved cooperation and consultation between the WTO and international environmental agencies, notably on matters under review by the CTE, such as through a joint conference;

6. Recognizes, moreover, that developments have taken place in the areas of environmental taxation and the export of products banned on national territory which may lead to concrete proposals for the Ministerial Conference in December 1996;

7. Is concerned, however, that no rapprochement has as yet been achieved between standpoints on the remaining areas of negotiation; the Ministerial Conference must take clear decisions on the relationship between trade and the environment, particularly with regard to the relationship between industrialized countries and developing countries;

8. Recognizes that attention must be given to the interests (notably market access) of the developing nations, notably through the processes of transparency relating to notification and assessment and domestically prohibited goods, with a view to bringing greater understanding of and confidence in the developing machinery of international trade and environmental law;

9. Calls on all parties to the WTO Agreement to draw up the agenda for the 1996 WTO Conference in Singapore in a coordinated fashion to ensure that the implementation of environmental clauses in world trade does not give rise to a new outbreak of protectionism;

10. Calls for a new international framework for competition which, in particular, would oblige multinational companies engaged in international trade to behave in an environmentally acceptable fashion;

11. Welcomes the fact that the Commission has recently launched an initiative to integrate the MEAs into the WTO in such a way as to ensure that their protection rights and contractual provisions are fully preserved and declares itself in favour, in this connection, of revising and adding to GATT Article XX;

12. Takes the view that measures to restrict trade may also be taken against a country which does not belong to an MEA where that country contravenes the objectives of the MEA, thereby obtaining an unfair trade advantage which jeopardizes the implementation of the MEA in the territory of the parties to the agreement;

13. Declares its opposition, however, to unilateral import restrictions aimed at imposing domestic environmental protection standards on production processes and procedures in third countries where no European, North American or Japanese undertakings or subsidiaries are involved in such production and there is no corresponding MEA;

14. Draws attention, in this connection, to the great importance of provisions governing arbitration procedures and advocates that disputes concerning measures to restrict trade on the basis of an MEA should be dealt with under the WTO arbitration procedure, which should itself be revised to ensure environmental as well as trade expertise;

15. Calls on the Commission to ensure, during the Geneva negotiations, that any agreements within the framework of the WTO do not contradict EU environmental protection measures, particularly in the area of eco- labelling;

16. Considers it necessary for the WTO committee to study the underlying relationships between increasingly complex trade links and growing pollution, particularly from the point of view of the corresponding volume of traffic and energy consumption;

17. Points out that the call for transparency with regard to national environmental provisions concerns not only the relations between the governments of WTO Member States but, pursuant to Article V of the WTO agreement, also includes non-governmental organizations, which are especially important in the area of environmental protection; reiterates, once again, its deep dissatisfaction at the lack of progress by the WTO in implementing Article V of the WTO agreement, including cooperation with parliaments;

18. Calls on the Commission to seek to ensure that non-governmental organizations are given the opportunity to bring their expertise to bear in the area of environmental protection and to ensure that their views are heard before the deliberations of the WTO Committee on Trade and Environment;

19. Calls on the Commission to inform it immediately and comprehensively, via its committee responsible for the WTO, on the outcome of the meeting of the WTO committee on 28 May 1996;

20. Calls on the Council to consult it on the conclusion of any WTO agreements on trade and the environment under the assent procedure;

21. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission and the WTO Secretariat.