Policy recommendations

  • The European Union should allow ACP countries to maintain their sovereignty and policy space in relation to the appropriate use of their own natural resources. They should be able to use investment regulations, tariff barriers and export restrictions to promote equitable, local and sustainable economic development.
  • The European Commission through its development policy should stimulate resource-rich developing countries to implement their own industrial policies, to protect their infant industries by using legitimate barriers to trade, and by introducing environmental measures. This should allow resource-rich developing countries to move up the value chain, so that the added value to (semi) processed products will remain in the country of origin and would thus stimulate economic development.
  • Within its development budget the EU should allocate sufficient resources to the building of energy and environmental infrastructure to enable developing countries to stimulate economic development.
  • The EU should use its political and economic power to set clear rules in relation to the extraction of raw materials. Like suggested in the February 2011 RMI update an EU code of conduct for EU companies operating in third countries should be developed and measures should be taken to enforce such a code of conduct.
  • In order to provide for more transparency in the supply chain and to minimize the role of European companies in fuelling conflicts over resources, the EU should implement Country by Country reporting, following the US example of the Dodd Frank Act.
  • Within the EPA negotiations the EU should be more flexible as suggested in the RMI update and make sure developing countries can demonstrate the use of export taxes as a policy tool and therefore keep using them.
  • In all policy initiatives and actions elaborated on the basis of the strategy laid down in the Raw Materials Initiative that affect developing countries, DG Development should be closely involved, and ACP partner countries and civil society organisations should be consulted.

 

 

Case: Raw Materials Initiative

26-04-2011 MEP De Rossa questions the Council on the European Conflict Minerals law

MEP Proinsias De Rossa (S&D) asked a question to the Council on the European Conlflict Minerals law. In this question he wonders the response of the Council to the call on Failure in protection of human rights and justice in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Exploiting minerals from conflict areas, like the Democratic Republic of Congo, has proven to be very difficult as the country is in a fragile state and lacks credible, legitimate and/or effective governance (link naar case). This makes it difficult to secure proper tax raising and securing human rights. Tax evasion and neglecting human rights inhibits the development objectives, thus conlicts with the EUs development policy. Fair Politics in its policy case study addresses both the the EUs tax and raw materials policy in relation to Policy Coherence for Development (PCD) and welcomes the question of MEP De Rossa on this issue. Herefore we grant MEP Proinsias De Rossa with a point in our Fair Politician monitor.

Monitor fair: S&D

Parliamentary question
E-002656/2011
10 march 2011
WRITTEN QUESTION, by Proinsias De Rossa (S&D)

Subject: European 'Conflict Minerals' law
What is the Councils response to the call, set out in the European Parliaments resolution of 7 October 2010 on Failures in protection of human rights and justice in the Democratic Republic of Congo (P7_TA(2010)0350), for it to examine a legislative initiative along the lines of the recent US Conflict Minerals law?