EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 81/64

Wednesday 5 May 2010

EU - Canada summit

P7_TA(2010)0142

European Parliament resolution of 5 May 2010 on the upcoming EU-Canada Summit on 5 May 2010

2011/C 81 E/10

The European Parliament,

having regard to the negotiations towards a comprehensive economic trade agreement which were launched at the EU-Canada Summit held on 6 May 2009 in Prague,

having regard to its resolution of 9 February 2010 on a revised Framework Agreement between the European Parliament and the Commission for the next legislative term,

having regard to the successful 32nd Interparliamentary Meeting of the Delegation on relations with Canada held in November 2009 in Brussels,

having regard to the consent procedure laid down in Article 218 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

having regard to Rule 110(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas Canada is one of the European Union’s oldest and closest partners, with formal relations dating back to the year 1959,

B. whereas the ongoing negotiations towards a comprehensive economic trade agreement could strengthen EU-Canada relations,

C. whereas as of March 2010 no thorough impact assessment has been carried out of the social, environmental and economic effects of such a comprehensive economic trade agreement,

D. whereas in 2010 Canada holds the chairmanship of the G8 group of countries and will be hosting the next G20 Summit,

E. whereas the forthcoming EU-Canada Summit in Brussels on 5 May 2010 is expected to focus on strengthening the already close political relationship between the two partners, in particular addressing such shared challenges as: negotiations on a comprehensive economic trade agreement; foreign and security challenges, in particular Afghanistan/Pakistan; a common way forward on Iran; nuclear non-proliferation; Haiti and the follow-up to the New York donor conference; development cooperation; a coordinated response to the financial and economic crisis; climate change and energy; and moving forward on the Doha round of world trade negotiations,

F. whereas the EU and Canada share common values and a strong commitment to working multilaterally in addressing major challenges,

1. Welcomes the Commission statement in which progress in the negotiations on a comprehensive economic trade agreement is cited as fundamental to EU-Canada economic relations; in this regard, believes that the EU-Canada Summit in Brussels on 5 May 2010 offers a good opportunity to speed up those negotiations;

2. Notes the robustness of the Canadian economy during the economic crisis, especially the banking sector; expresses its willingness to work closely with Canada in the context of the G20 to achieve a coordinated global approach to fiscal stimulus and fiscal consolidation, in which connection the issue of introducing a bank levy or a transaction tax at global level will be one of the priorities at the next G20 summit in Toronto;

3. Notes that both Canada and the EU are fully committed to taking a coordinated, coherent and comprehensive approach to meeting Haiti’s immediate and longer-term needs and to building a new Haiti that meets the legitimate and long-held aspirations of the Haitian people for their country, whilst ensuring Haitian national ownership of the reconstruction process;

4. Welcomes the intention, spelt out in the recent Speech from the Throne given in the Canadian Parliament, to open up the Canadian telecommunications industry to outside competition;

5. Takes note of the intention to launch a major reform of Canada's fisheries management system, also involving NAFO; expresses its disappointment about the position of the Canadian Government at the most recent conference of CITES parties with regard to the extension of CITES Appendix 1 for bluefin tuna;

6. Reiterates its concern that Canada still imposes a visa requirement on citizens of the Czech Republic, Romania and Bulgaria, and calls for that requirement to be lifted as speedily as possible; notes that the visa requirement for Czech citizens has been introduced by the Canadian Government in response to an influx of Roma people into Canada, and therefore calls on the Member States adequately to address the situation of the Roma people in Europe; in this regard, welcomes the opening of a visa office in the Canadian Embassy in Prague and the establishment of an expert working group on this issue, and hopes that the promised comprehensive review of the Canadian refugee system will lead to the visa requirement being lifted;

7. Emphasises that the EU and Canada are committed to building a low-carbon global economy that is safe and sustainable, whilst strengthening capacity to adapt to the impacts of climate change; underlines the importance of continuing discussions on environmental topics in the EU-Canada High-Level Dialogue on the Environment, including environmental, energy and maritime cooperation in the Arctic Zone and the prospects of initiating international negotiations for the adoption of an international treaty for the protection of the Arctic; welcomes Canada's commitment, as expressed in the recent Speech from the Throne, to invest in clean energy technologies, to secure its place as a clean energy power and to be a leader in green job creation;

8. Expresses its concern about the impact of the extraction of oil sand on the global environment due to the high level of CO2 emissions during its production process and the threat it poses for local biodiversity;

9. Reminds the Council and Commission that since entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty the European Parliament has to give its consent on international agreements and has to be immediately and fully involved at all stages of international negotiations, and looks forward to an early statement from the Commission on how it intends to do this; recalls, in this respect, that its concerns on the EU-Canada PNR agreement will have to be duly and jointly addressed before the consent can be given;

10. Hopes that Canada will fully support the EU's request to open up the ACTA negotiations to public scrutiny, as it requested in its resolution of 10 March 2010, and to have those negotiations conducted under the auspices of an international organisation, the most suitable being WIPO;

11. Congratulates the Vancouver Organising Committee on the success of the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games;

12. Notes that competence for EU-Canada relations resides at the federal level alone, but welcomes the participation of the provinces and territories in the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement negotiations and in some other aspects of EU-Canada relations;