Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-07-07-Speech-4-032"
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, firstly, Commissioner, without implicating you, I can only regret the fact today that neither Mr Mandelson nor Mr Verheugen are present at this debate on an issue that has been at the forefront of the news for several months.
Furthermore, on behalf of the European Parliament, I call for the Commission to give a quarterly report, before the Members of this institution, on all of the recommendations issued in this resolution and on the actions that it has undertaken.
Finally, for the future of this sector to be genuinely promising, constant attention must be paid to developing it. That is what I call for today for textiles and clothing, a key sector of the European Union.
Commissioner, the European textile and clothing industry has a future and trade interests to defend. Following the signing of the memorandum of understanding in Shanghai on 10 June between the European Commission and the Chinese Government, which has been ratified by the 25 Member States, the European Parliament today expresses its opinion on the future of the European textile and clothing industry, a future that we all hope is promising, and that despite the numerous upheavals that the sector has undergone in recent months.
I believe that this framework agreement, this free trade agreement, gives the European textile industries some breathing space. I nevertheless believe that the European Parliament is duty bound to monitor carefully the management and the follow-up of that agreement. Indeed, I believe that we should be able to keep certain safeguards in place and use the defensive trade instruments at our disposal within the context of the WTO when that proves necessary. Furthermore, in the long term, the European Union and the national authorities must contribute to developing measures that will make it possible to capitalise on the production and sales potential of European manufacturers, in addition to ensuring that fair trade rules are respected on the international textile and clothing market.
I will therefore remind you of the maxim that states that a trade policy with the rest of the world should be based on two principles: fairness and reciprocity. From that perspective, and with the aim of remaining competitive in this new trading environment, free access to third-country markets is a vital factor in the drive for growth.
That is why the Commission must encourage all of the WTO countries, apart from the most vulnerable developing countries, to use the Doha negotiations to secure reciprocal market access conditions, which are both fair and comparable, for large-scale textile and clothing producers
A firm line must, moreover, be taken against those countries that are still closing their borders to European producers by raising non-tariff barriers to trade. These practices need to be combated using the legal instruments available to the European Union.
With six months to go until the Hong Kong Ministerial Meeting, Commissioner, I would stress the fact that removing barriers to market access for industrial products has to be a key objective of the Doha mandate. It is also crucial, and this motion says so, to protect our European know-how, our European added value. To do so, we must defend intellectual property rights and combat counterfeiting and piracy. The Commission must in fact go on the offensive to ensure that third countries comply with the TRIPS Agreement, particularly with regard to textile designs. Similarly, it is necessary to establish ethical trade based on production processes that respect the environment, health, and labour standards.
Finally, in order to respond to the slowdown in the European textile industry and to guarantee its future and its competitiveness against the US and Asian regional blocs, we have to support the creation of a Euro-Mediterranean production zone in the textile and clothing sector. To achieve this, goods must be allowed to move more freely by applying cumulation of origin across the Euro-Mediterranean zone as quickly as possible.
In parallel with these trade measures, the European Union should implement a transitional practical plan to assist restructuring and retraining for the entire sector, with a view to helping textile-producing regions and safeguarding the future and competitiveness of the sector on international markets.
Commissioner, the European Commission needs to study in detail the points made in this motion and develop the recommendations made therein by introducing practical measures."@en1
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