Newsletter - 13-16 November 2017 - Strasbourg plenary session

MEPs will vote on new rules to fight dumped and subsidised imports from third countries.

The aim is to counter unfair trade practices by third countries which interfere heavily in the economy. An informal agreement by MEPs and Council negotiators was reached on 3 October, but     needs the approval of the full House to enter into force.

EU trade rules require trade partners and producers outside the EU to meet international labour and environmental standards and as such are unique in the world. 

MEPs also made sure that EU firms will not have to provide any additional proof that their third- country rivals are dumping goods on the EU market, and that anti-dumping cases will take account of the economic and trade needs of EU small and medium-sized enterprises. Furthermore, EU trade unions will have the possibility to give input to decisions on trade defence measures.

Quick facts

EU jobs and firms have great difficulty in competing with cut-price imports from third countries that have excess production capacity and subsidised economies, mainly in the steel, aluminium, bicycles, cement, chemicals, ceramics, glass, paper and solar panels industries. 

The new rules would enable the EU to respond to such unfair trade practices by targeting imports where prices are not market-based, due to state interference. 

MEPs are also negotiating further plans to update the EU’s “trade defence instruments” with a view to raising tariffs against dumped or subsidised imports from countries that do not interfere extensively in the economy. 

Procedure: Co-decision, first reading with agreement 2016/0351(COD)

Debate: Tuesday, 14 November Vote: Wednesday, 15 November

Press conference: Tuesday, 14 November at 16.00 with rapporteur Salvatore Cicu (EPP, IT) and committee chair Bernd Lange (S&D, DE)

#antidumping

EU-wide rules to better protect consumers against scams and detect and stop rogue traders more swiftly will be debated and put to a final vote on Tuesday.

National enforcement authorities will have more powers to detect and halt online breaches of consumer protection laws and be able to coordinate better their actions across the EU, under the revised Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) regulation. Their investigation and enforcement powers must include, inter alia:

• requesting information from domain registrars and banks to identify rogue traders, 
• purchasing goods or services as test purchases, including undercover (“mystery shopping”),
• imposing the explicit display of a warning or ordering the removal of digital content if there are no other effective means to stop an illegal practice,
• imposing penalties, such as fines, and
• informing consumers how to seek

Context

A 2014 check found that 37% of e-commerce and booking websites for travel, entertainment, clothing, electronic goods and consumer credit services were in breach of EU consumer laws. This proposal is part of the e-commerce package presented by the EU Commission on 25 May 2016. Parliament and Council negotiators reached a provisional deal on the regulation on 21 June   2017.

Procedure: Co-decision (Ordinary Legislative Procedure), first reading agreement 2016/0148(COD)

Debate: Tuesday, 14 November Vote: Tuesday, 14 November

#ecommerce

New car safety devices should be fitted as standard, MEPs are set to say on Tuesday.

Parliament will look at how the EU dialogue with the Polish government on the respect of rule of law and democracy is progressing and vote a resolution on Wednesday.

The Commission began investigating the situation in Poland under the "Framework for addressing systemic threats to the Rule of Law" on 13 January   2016. 

Procedure: Statement by the Council and Commission, with a resolution 2017/2931(RSP)

Debate/vote: Wednesday, 15 November

#RuleofLaw #Poland

Following the brutal assassination of an investigative journalist, MEPs will debate the rule of law in Malta and vote on a resolution on Wednesday.

The cache of recently leaked “Paradise Papers”, revealing the hidden wealth of the world’s elites, are up for an urgent debate on Wednesday.

The papers, compiled by an international consortium of investigative journalists, show how the super-rich shelter their wealth offshore and, in some cases, minimise their tax bills. 

The European Parliament has, for many years, been in the forefront of the fight against money laundering and tax avoidance and evasion. Its recommendations to counter these practices were drawn up by a special committee on tax evasion (TAXE 2) and set out in a resolution voted on 6 July 2016. 

The findings of a separate special committee set up in response to the “Panama Papers” will be put to a plenary vote in December. 

Procedure: Council and Commission statements Debate: Wednesday, 15 November

#ParadisePapers

Parliament will be ready to start talks on an overhaul of the EU asylum system once the EP mandate for negotiating with EU governments gets the go-ahead by midnight on Tuesday.

The proposed changes in the so-called Dublin rules aim to remedy weaknesses in the current system and ensure that EU countries accept their fair share of responsibility for hosting asylum seekers in the EU.

With the reform, the country in which an asylum seeker first arrives would no longer be automatically and solely responsible for processing his or her asylum application. Instead, asylum seekers should be shared among all EU countries. To that end, an asylum seeker could be automatically and swiftly relocated to another EU country. 

EU member states that do not accept their fair share of asylum seekers should face the risk of having their access to EU funds   reduced.

The Civil Liberties Committee has adopted a package of amendments they want to introduce into the legislative proposal, which will be announced by Parliament’s President at the opening of the session. If there are no objections by Tuesday midnight, the mandate will be deemed approved and negotiations can begin as soon as the member states have come to an agreement among each other.

Quick facts

The Dublin regulation is the EU law that determines which EU country is responsible for processing an application for international protection. The right to apply for asylum is laid down in the Geneva Convention, which all EU member states have signed and which has been incorporated in the EU Treaties. 

Procedure: Mandate for negotiations (Co-decision, 1st reading) 2016/0133(COD)

#Dublin #MigrationEU