European Parliament resolution on the human rights and democracy clause in European Union agreements (2005/2057(INI))
Date: 2006-02-14
Institutions: Committee on Foreign Affairs, European Parliament
Subjects: European Union, agreement (EU), democracy, foreign policy, human rights, third country

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Tuesday 14 February 2006

Regards the application of clear labelling rules and the observance of denominations of origin as

22.
means of guaranteeing the protection of European goods and values;

Calls on the Commission to increase preferential access to the EU market for those third countries
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that have ratified and appropriately applied core international labour and environmental standards, and to
grant further preferential market access to countries that have adopted legislation on social and environ-
mental protection and respect for cultural diversity;

Points out that the creation of an internal market in services is essential in order to achieve the

24.
Lisbon Strategy goals and, therefore, to increase the EU's competitiveness on the world market;

25.
Applauds those Member States that have opened up their labour markets to citizens from the new
Member States and thus have significantly contributed to a more mobile and competitive internal market in
employment; urges those Member States that still maintain restrictions in this regard to eliminate existing
obstacles to the free movement of labour;

Calls on the Commission to carry out impact assessments on the effect on the internal market of
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further multilateral market opening in agriculture, manufacturing and services, and to share these assess-
ments with a wide range of stake-holders before formulating its trade negotiation strategy in international
trade negotiations;

Calls on the Commission and the Council to prepare a well-balanced foreign policy which will enable

27.
the EU to gain more influence at the international level;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the govern-

28.
ments of the Member States.

P6_TA(2006)0056

The Human Rights and Democracy Clause in EU agreements

European Parliament resolution on the human rights and democracy clause in European Union
agreements (2005/2057(INI))

The European Parliament,

— having regard to Articles 3, 6, 11 and 19 of the Treaty on European Union and Articles 177, 300 and

310 of the EC Treaty,

— having regard to its resolution of 12 February 2004 on reinvigorating EU actions on human rights and

democratisation with Mediterranean partners (1),

— having regard to its resolution of 25 April 2002 on the Commission communication to the Council
and the European Parliament on the European Union's role in promoting human rights and democrati-
sation in third countries (COM(2001)0252) (2),

— having regard to its resolution of 20 September 1996 on the Commission communication on the
inclusion of respect for democratic principles and human rights in agreements between the Community
and third countries (COM(1995)0216) (3),

(1) OJ C 97 E, 22.4.2004, p. 656.
(2) OJ C 131 E, 5.6.2003, p. 147.
(3) OJ C 320, 28.10.1996, p. 261.

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— having regard to its previous resolutions on human rights in the world of 28 April 2005 (1), 22 April
2004 (2), 4 September 2003 (3), 25 April 2002 (4), 5 July 2001 (5), 16 March 2000 (6), 17 December
1998 (7), 12 December 1996 (8), 26 April 1995 (9), 12 March 1993 (10), 12 September 1991 (11), 18 Janu-
ary 1989 (12), 12 March 1987 (13), 22 October 1985 (14), 22 May 1984 (15) and 17 May 1983 (16),

— having regard to the partnership agreement (the Cotonou Agreement) between the members of the
African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States and the European Union, signed in Cotonou on
23 June 2000 (17) and amended in Luxembourg on 25 June 2005 (18),

— having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union proclaimed in Nice on

7 December 2000 (19),

— having regard to the proposal for a Council regulation establishing a European Union Agency for

Fundamental Rights (COM(2005)0280),

— having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and other United Nations (UN)
human rights instruments, notably the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights (1966)
and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Racial Discrimination (1965), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women (1979), the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treat-
ment or Punishment (1984), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), the Vienna Declaration
and Programme of Action of the World Conference on Human Rights (1993) and the UN Declaration
on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect
Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1998),

— having regard to the conventions drawn up under the International Labour Organisation (ILO),

— having regard to the 2003 UN Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other
Business Enterprises with Regard to Human Rights, which relate those standards to specific human
rights responsibilities of business,

— having regard to all the agreements between the European Union and third countries,

— having regard to Rule 45 of its Rules of Procedure,

— having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the opinions of the Committee on

International Trade and the Committee on Development (A6-0004/2006),

A. whereas the universality, individuality and indivisibility of human rights, meaning not only civil and
political rights, but also economic, social and cultural rights, must be upheld and promoted, and
whereas the European Union must continue to establish meaningful instruments to that end,

B. whereas developing and consolidating democracy and the rule of law, and respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms, constitute a global objective of the Common Foreign and Security Policy and
must be an integral part of the European Union's external policy,

(1) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2005)0150.
(2) OJ C 104 E, 30.4.2004, p. 1048.
(3) OJ C 76 E, 25.3.2004, p. 386.
(4) OJ C 131 E, 5.6.2003, p. 138.
(5) OJ C 65 E, 14.3.2002, p. 336.
(6) OJ C 377, 29.12.2000, p. 336.
(7) OJ C 98, 9.4.1999, p. 267.
(8) OJ C 20, 20.1.1997, p. 161.
(9) OJ C 126, 22.5.1995, p. 15.
(10) OJ C 115, 26.4.1993, p. 214.
(11) OJ C 267, 14.10.1991, p. 165.
(12) OJ C 47, 27.2.1989, p. 61.
(13) OJ C 99, 13.4.1987, p. 157.
(14) OJ C 343, 31.12.1985, p. 29.
(15) OJ C 172, 2.7.1984, p. 36.
(16) OJ C 161, 10.6.1983, p. 58.
(17) OJ L 317, 15.12.2000, p. 3.
(18) OJ L 287, 28.10.2005, p. 1.
(19) OJ C 364, 18.12.2000, p. 1.

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C. whereas efforts to promote respect for human rights and democracy as fundamental objectives of EU
external relations policies will fail if the inherent principles are not given sufficient priority with regard
to security-related, economic and political interests,

Tuesday 14 February 2006

D.

stressing that the European Union must be able to respond rapidly and effectively in the event of
serious and persistent violations of human rights and of democratic principles, and that on many
occasions this has not happened, regardless of objective assessments of the state of human rights and
democracy in third countries,

E. whereas the legally binding character of the human rights and democracy clause should make it an
important instrument in European policy on promoting fundamental rights, and whereas, 10 years
after it was first drafted, it is now time to evaluate how it has been implemented and how it can be
improved,

F. whereas the clause has now been introduced into more than 50 agreements and applies to more than
120 countries; whereas, furthermore, the clause is not the only means that the EU has for promoting
fundamental rights, and whereas the whole of European external policy, in its political, economic and
trade dimension, should be based on the promotion of fundamental democratic principles,

G.

stressing the importance,
in this connection, of the Cotonou Agreement, which has enhanced the
human rights and democracy clause included by the European Community as an ‘essential element’ of
all its agreements with third countries and which is now based on respect for human rights, democratic
principles and the rule of law, as well as on good governance and sound management of public affairs,

H. whereas the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly is a unique forum for dialogue between ACP and EU

parliamentarians, particularly on human rights and democracy issues,

I. whereas many agreements with developed countries and sectoral agreements, such as agreements on

textiles, agriculture and fisheries, still lack this clause,

J. whereas human rights should be an important element in the negotiating mandate that the Council
confers on the Commission for external agreements, and whereas the procedure for defining that
negotiating mandate should be more transparent,

K. whereas the European Parliament must give its assent before an agreement comes into force, but not for
initiating consultation or partly suspending an agreement, and whereas this diminishes its political and
institutional role,

L.

stressing that civil society and the international system of human rights NGOs have much to contribute
to the whole procedure of drafting,
implementing and assessing the human rights and democracy
clause in agreements between the EU and third countries,

M. convinced that the European Union must draw up new procedures and new criteria for applying the
human rights and democracy clause, which must apply without discrimination between States or
between their levels of development,

N. whereas the human rights and democracy clause applies both to the European Union and to the third

country in question, but whereas the reciprocal dimension of the clause has not been fully exploited,

O.

reiterating that emergency humanitarian aid must none the less continue to be excluded from any
potential ‘negative’ application of the human rights and democracy clause, in the name of the funda-
mental principle of solidarity between peoples,

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1. Welcomes the European Community's general practice of incorporating human rights and democracy
clauses — the so-called ‘essential elements’ and ‘non-execution’ clauses — into its international agreements
since 1992;

2.
Calls for greater transparency when implementing the human rights and democracy clause, a keystone
in the EU's external policy, and for greater involvement of the European Parliament; points out that pen-
alties cannot be imposed in relation to the countries where human rights violations have been recorded but
in relation to the violation itself;

3.
Considers that it is the responsibility of the Union to ensure, when signing an international agreement
with a third country that includes a clause on human rights, that the third country in question respects
international human rights standards when the agreement is signed;

Stresses that one of the factors which have compromised the application of the clause is the generic
4.
nature of its wording, since this does not spell out detailed procedures for ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ inter-
ventions under EU/third country cooperation, leaving the Council and Member States' national imperatives
to hold sway over the more general requirements of human rights;

5.
Applauds, none the less, the experiment conducted to date with the human rights and democracy
clause in Articles 9 and 96 of the Cotonou Agreement, which has even led to the temporary suspension
of economic and trade cooperation with some ACP States on the grounds of serious human rights viol-
ations, thus enhancing the European Union's determination and credibility; advocates the development of
this experiment and its inclusion as a standard feature in EU/third country agreements;

Stresses that the political and legal content of the human rights and democracy clause is spelled out
6.
effectively in the Cotonou Agreement, and that the mechanisms for consultation and for the exchange of
information, prior to the temporary suspension of bilateral cooperation, are described in detail;

Advocates the drafting of a new ‘model clause’ to correct the current wording of what is known as
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‘Article 2’, to ensure a more coherent, effective and transparent approach to European policy on human
rights in agreements with third countries; the text should take the following principles into account:

(a)

the promotion of democracy, human rights, including minority rights, the rule of law and good gov-
ernance form a basic pillar of multilateral cooperation; this applies to agreements with both developing
countries and industrialised countries;

(b) where the legal formulation of those rights is concerned, the parties should refer, in particular, to their
international obligations and undertakings which have already been ratified, and it must be made clear
that the parties are required to comply with the norms which constitute an ‘essential element’ of the
agreement; in particular, the parties should undertake to promote those fundamental rights set out in
the UN Declaration on Human Rights of 1948, the two International Covenants on Civil and Political
Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the internationally recognised UN covenants
and legal norms of the ‘jus cogens’;

points out that, in its relations with third countries and in the context of promoting democratic prin-
ciples and human rights through the human rights and democracy clause, the European Union is called
upon to pay special attention to implementing policies for gender equality and women's rights, whilst
satisfying itself that the third-country authorities uphold the fundamental rights not to be arbitrarily
arrested, tortured or executed and that their citizens have access to an impartial court of law as a
priority;

points out that, in accordance with the European treaties, in its relations with third countries and in the
context of promoting democratic principles and human rights through the human rights and democ-
racy clause, the EU also undertakes to oppose any discrimination based on sexual orientation or con-
cerning the rights of disabled people;

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(c)

(d)

(e)

(f)

the parties should refer to the UN conventions binding them and to the conventions of its specialist
agencies in defining the sectoral rights that cooperation should promote, in particular those of the ILO,
which has created an internationally accepted legal corpus on fundamental rights;

the clause should include a procedure for consultation between the parties, detailing the political and
legal mechanisms to be used in the event of a request for bilateral cooperation to be suspended on the
grounds of repeated and/or systematic human rights violations in breach of international law; suspen-
sion is obviously an extreme measure in EU/third country relations, and therefore a clear system of
sanctions should be developed so as to offer an alternative course of action, but the accepted, essential
positive approach on human rights should not exclude the possibility of a temporary suspension of
cooperation having to be invoked on the grounds of a breach of the human rights and democracy
clause;

the clause should also include details of a mechanism to allow for the temporary suspension of a
cooperation agreement as well as a ‘warning mechanism’ in response to a breach of the human rights
and democracy clause;

the clause should be based on reciprocity and thus should constitute a legal basis which enables the
parties to discuss and act together, with regard both to the territory of the European Union and that of
the third country; it should be a bi-directional instrument making the European Union and the third
country accountable to each other for all their policies related to human rights and fundamental free-
doms;

8.
Calls for the human rights and democracy clause to be extended to all new agreements between the
European Union and third countries, both industrialised and developing, and including sectoral agreements,
trade and technical or financial aid, along the lines of what has been done with the ACP States;

Calls for the expansion of the positive dimension of the human rights and democracy clause, which
9.
entails the need to take effective measures to contribute to the enjoyment of human rights within and by
the respective parties, to include an ongoing assessment and monitoring of the impact of the agreement
itself on the enjoyment of human rights, as well as to adopt a human rights approach when implementing
all aspects of the agreement;

Emphasises that it is no longer prepared to give its assent to new international agreements that do

10.
not contain a human rights and democracy clause;

11.
Considers that it must play a part in defining the negotiating mandate for new agreements with third
countries, and especially in drafting their political objectives and the promotion of human rights; to that
end, considers that the Commission and the Council should involve the European Parliament, through its
relevant parliamentary committees, to a greater extent in drawing up the negotiating mandate for EU/third
country agreements; stresses,
the need to improve the inter-institutional exchange of
in this regard,
information and to access the data-base of the Commission and the Council;

12. With regard to the need to ensure an effective mechanism for monitoring respect for human rights
and democratic principles by the partners:

(a)

(b)

calls on the Council and the Commission to set in motion structured dialogue procedures as part of
this regular assessment of the partners' compliance with their human rights obligations; regards the
systematic inclusion of human rights issues on the Association Council's agendas as part of this dia-
logue;

recommends an enhanced role for the heads of the Commission's external delegations in third coun-
tries; calls for ‘country-by-country multiannual strategy documents’ to be drawn up under the respon-
sibility of delegation heads, and for the Country Strategy Papers to pay greater attention to the human
rights situation, identify the priorities and spell out the means and instruments deployed by the EU to
ensure respect for the human rights and democracy clause and raise the level of respect for basic rights;

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also calls for the wording of such strategies to be reviewed on a regular basis, particularly with the
European Parliament, and to be the subject of debates in the latter's relevant delegations and in plenary,
particularly with regard to their implementation; recommends that the Commission's Country Strategy
Papers and Action Plans should contain clear benchmarks for progress on human rights and a time-
frame within which changes should be accomplished;

if one of the governments concerned, the European Parliament or the national parliaments concerned
or, in the case of ACP countries, the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, calls for the human rights
and democracy clause to be invoked, through the suspension of a bilateral agreement or the implemen-
tation of dialogue or other appropriate measures, the Association Council should automatically include
that debate on its agenda; notes that the European Parliament has formally expressed its view to that
effect in several cases, but that the Association Council has simply ignored those requests;

recommends the establishment of a ‘structured dialogue’ between the Association Council and/or its
Sub-Committee on Human Rights, the European Parliament, the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly
when appropriate, and NGOs and/or independent and democratic non-State actors in discussions relat-
ing to breaches of human rights and democracy clauses in European Union Agreements,
including
proposals for improving implementation of the clause (excluding none);

regrets the fact that the European Parliament is not involved in the decision-making process for initiat-
ing consultation or suspending an agreement; strongly insists, therefore, on the need for it to be a joint
decision-maker with the Commission and the Council in this respect, and likewise with regard to the
decision to suspend any appropriate negative measures already imposed on a country (‘suspension of
the suspension’);

(c)

(d)

(e)

(f) proposes that an annual report be drawn up by the Commission, together with subcommittees on
human rights, and debated in the European Parliament, on the application of the human rights and
democracy clauses in international agreements in force, containing a case-by-case analysis of each con-
sultation process and other appropriate measures initiated or refused by the Council that year and
accompanied by detailed recommendations and an evaluation dealing with the effectiveness and cohe-
rence of the action taken;

13.
Pointing out that the Association Councils generally govern EU/third country relations, calls for the
general establishment of sub-committees on human rights under association agreements, with a mandate to:

(a)

review compliance with, and the application and implementation of the human rights and democracy
clause;

(b) propose specific positive actions to improve democracy and human rights; and

(c)

assess and monitor the direct and indirect impact of the implementation of the Agreement on the full
enjoyment of fundamental rights in the States parties and elaborate specific recommendations in that
connection;

considers that such subcommittees should meet regularly (and in any case whenever the Association Council
meets), and should include and consult representatives of parliaments and of organisations representing civil
society; considers, in this regard, that a case-by-case policy is not the most adequate approach to be adopted
with partner countries with regard to the setting-up of subcommittees on human rights and the definition
of their mandate; stresses once again the need to deal with individual cases within those sub-committees;

14.
Calls for the European Parliament to be associated with the Association Councils and with the sub-
committees on human rights, and for the European Parliament's interparliamentary delegations to have an
enhanced role in this connection and to invariably provide in the agendas for their visits for discussions on
the clause;

Emphasises that the criteria for initiating a consultation procedure or applying appropriate measures

15.
must be objective and transparent;

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16.
Stresses that no measure may be lifted until the reasons for its application have ceased to exist, and
calls for the introduction of additional measures if existing measures have not yielded results after a con-
siderable period;

17.
Recognising that the need for unanimity within the Council in order to initiate a consultation pro-
cedure has made it more difficult to apply the clause, calls for the abolition of unanimity for initiating a
consultation procedure, and for the revision of Article 300(2) of the EC Treaty, which limits the role of the
European Parliament in such cases;

Points to the importance of drawing the attention of the public at large to the fact that the human

18.
rights and democracy clause is provided for in agreements between the EU and third countries;

Considers that for the special case of countries with which the EU shares fundamental values and
19.
common policies for the long term, such as the countries concerned by the ‘new neighbourhood policy’,
one might consider signing agreements that go beyond the human rights and democracy clause, based on
the sharing of common institutions for promoting democratic principles and human rights, on the example
of the Council of Europe and/or other regional institutions;

20. With particular regard to the countries covered by the European Neighbourhood Policy, with which
the European Union maintains particularly close links through association agreements, the clause should
specify that the signatories of such agreements should grant each other — on a mutual basis — the right
to observe their legislative and presidential elections; calls on the Council and the Commission to further
encourage the countries concerned to admit international observers at the time of their elections, in the
interests of transparency;

Stresses that, for elections to be considered democratic, free and fair, certain preconditions must be
21.
met,
inter alia, respect for political and civic rights, respect for freedom of expression and
including,
information, equal access to the media and respect for political pluralism, so as to offer electors a real
choice;

22.

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

P6_TA(2006)0057

Common Fisheries Policy (Shetland Box and Plaice Box)

European Parliament resolution on the review of certain access restrictions in the Common
Fisheries Policy (Shetland Box and Plaice Box) (2005/2190(INI))

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament
entitled ‘Review of certain access restrictions in the Common Fisheries Policy (Shetland Box and Plaice
Box)’ (COM(2005)0422),

— having regard to Articles 18 and 19 of Council Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 of 20 December 2002
on the conservation and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources under the Common Fisheries
Policy (1),

— having regard to Article 29 of Council Regulation (EC) No 850/98 of 30 March 1998 for the conser-
vation of fishery resources through technical measures for the protection of juveniles of marine organ-
isms (2),

(1) OJ L 358, 31.12.2002, p. 59.
(2) OJ L 125, 27.4.1998, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2166/2005 (OJ L 345, 28.12.2005,

p. 5).