Trade and environment

In adopting the report by Mr Wolfgang KREISSL-DÖRFER (Greens, D), Parliament advocated the establishment of a separate UN agency specifically to monitor international environmental agreements. In the interim, WTO panels considering trade and environment matters should ensure greater transparency and participation by environmental experts. The resolution calls for the establishment of a code of conduct for transnational corporations, as well as a general ban on the export of domestically prohibited goods. The EP also considered that environmental impact costs should be internalized in the prices of energy, and welcomed the adoption of border taxes on manufactured products. Member States may continue to restrict or prohibit the import of goods for reasons of consumer health and environmental protection provided that such measures are non-discriminatory. Finally, the EP emphasized that the social and human rights dimension is inseparable from the environmental dimension of trade issues. The Commission and the Member States were called upon to seek the revision of Article XX of the GATT Agreement at the Singapore Ministerial Conference in December 1996. �