22 Amendments of Dominique BILDE related to 2022/0051(COD)
Amendment 161 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 1
Recital 1
(1) The Union is founded on the diversity of the cultures and traditions of the peoples of Europe, as well as the national identity of the Member States, respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the principle of subsidiarity, the rule of law and respect for human rights as enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. Those core values that have inspired the Union’s own creation, as well as the universality and indivisibility of human rights, and respect for the principles of the United Nations Charter and international law, should guide the Union’s action on the international scene. Such action includes fostering the sustainable economic, social and environmental development of developing countries.
Amendment 169 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) This Directive aims to ensure that companies activeall European or foreign companies with significant operations in the EU internal market contribute to sustainable development and the sustainability transition of the economies and societies in which they are active, including outside the EU market, through the identification, prevention and mitigation, bringing to an end and minimisation of potential or actual adverse human rights and environmental impacts connected with companies’ own operations, subsidiaries and value chains, especially in developing countries.
Amendment 174 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) Companies should take appropriate steps to set up and carry out due diligence measures, with respect to their own operations, their subsidiaries, as well as their established direct and indirect business relationships throughout their value chains in accordance with the provisions of this Directive. This Directive should not require companies to guarantee, in all circumstances and particularly in their downstream value chain, that adverse impacts will never occur or that they will be stopped. For example with respect to business relationships where the adverse impact results from State intervention or a clear lack of influence over their value chain, the company might not be in a position to arrive at such results. Therefore, the main obligations in this Directive should be ‘obligations of means’. T applicable to their upstream value chain only; this is to avoid excessive red tape, major distortion of competition with companies not abiding by the same standard requirements, and companies as described above suffering undue legal consequences considering the actual influence they have over their downstream value chain. Nevertheless, the company should take the appropriate measures which can reasonably be expected to result in prevention or minimisation of the adverse impact under the circumstances of the specific case. Account should be taken of the specificities of the company’s value chain, sector or geographical area in which its value chain partners operate, the company’s power to influence its direct and indirect business relationships, and whether the company could increase its power of influence.
Amendment 177 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 18
Recital 18
(18) The value chain shouldall cover activities related to the production of a good or provision of services by a company, including the development of the product or the service and the use and disposal of the product as well as the related activities of established business relationships of the company. It shouldall encompass upstream established direct and indirect business relationships that design, extract, manufacture, transport, store and supply raw material, products, parts of products, or provide services to the company that are necessary to carry out the company’s activities, and also downstream relationships, including established direct and indirect business relationships, that use or receive products, parts of products or services from the company up to the end of life of the product, including inter alia the distribution of the product to retailers, the transport and storage of the product, dismantling of the product, its recycling, composting or landfilling.
Amendment 178 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 18 a (new)
Recital 18 a (new)
(18a) The upstream value chain therefore refers to the economic activity of the undertaking itself – the manufacturing, sale, production and transport of goods or services by its employees – but also that of its established suppliers, subsidiaries, suppliers and subcontractors when fulfilling orders for the said undertaking. The downstream value chain refers to the economic activity of the said undertaking when it is not itself the client but rather the supplier, service provider, subsidiary or subcontractor of another company. Under this Directive, due diligence applies only to the upstream value chain.
Amendment 183 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 21
Recital 21
(21) Under this Directive, EUall companies, whether European or foreign, with significant operations in the EU and with more than 500 employees on average – in the case of European companies – and a worldwide net turnover exceeding EUR 150 million in the financial year preceding the last financial year should be required to comply with due diligence. As regards companiesto the best of their ability with due diligence in their respective activities, both in Europe and abroad, particularly in developing countries. This Directive therefore excludes small and medium-sized enterprises. As regards European or foreign companies with significant operations in the EU which do not fulfil those criteria, but which had more than 250 employees on average – in the case of European companies – and more than EUR 40 million worldwide net turnover in the financial year preceding the last financial year and which operate in one or more high-impact sectors, due diligence should apply 2 years after the end of the transposition period of this directive, in order to provide for a longer adaptation period. In order to ensure a proportionate burden, companies operating in such high- impact sectors should be required to comply with more targeted due diligence focusing on severe adverse impacts. Temporary agency workers, including those posted under Article 1(3), point (c), of Directive 96/71/EC, as amended by Directive 2018/957/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council103, should be included in the calculation of the number of employees in the user company. Posted workers under Article 1(3), points (a) and (b), of Directive 96/71/EC, as amended by Directive 2018/957/EU, should only be included in the calculation of the number of employees of the sending company. _________________ 103 Directive (EU) 2018/957 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 June 2018 amending Directive 96/71/EC concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services (OJ L 173, 9.7.2018, p. 16).
Amendment 189 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 23
Recital 23
(23) In order to achieve fully the objectives of this Directive addressing human rights and adverse environmental impacts with respect to companies’ operations, subsidiaries and value chains, third-country companies with significant operations in the EU should also be covered. More specifically, to prevent possible distortions of competition, the Directive should apply to third-country companies which generated a net turnover of at least EUR 150 million in the Union in the financial year preceding the last financial year or a net turnover of more than EUR 40 million but less than EUR 150 million in the financial year preceding the last financial year in one or more of the high- impact sectors, as of 2 years after the end of the transposition period of this Directive. The number of employees is not relevant here.
Amendment 190 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 25
Recital 25
(25) In order to achieve a meaningful contribution to the sustainability transition, due diligence under this Directive should be carried out with respect to adverse human rights impact on protected persons resulting from the violation of one of the rights and prohibitions as enshrined in the international conventions as listed in the Annex to this Directive. In order to ensure a comprehensive coverage of human rights, a violation of a prohibition or right not specifically listed in that Annex which directly impairs a legal interest protected in those conventions should also form part of the adverse human rights impact covered by this Directive, provided that the company concerned could have reasonably established the risk of such impairment and any appropriate measures to be taken in order to comply with the due diligence obligations under this Directive, taking into account all relevant circumstances of their operations, such as the sector and operational context. Due diligence should further encompass adverse environmental impacts resulting from the violation of one of the prohibitions and obligations pursuant to the international environmental conventions listed in the Annex to this Directive. Namely, a particularly adverse impact on: human health; air and atmospheric quality; water pollution and contamination, access to and availability of fresh water; soil pollution, erosion and integrity; and biodiversity, including significant damage to wildlife, the seabed and marine environments, natural habitats and ecosystems.
Amendment 193 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 25 a (new)
Recital 25 a (new)
(25a) Corporate behaviour towards corruption, involvement in criminal activities whether direct or indirect or, more broadly, failure to respect the law is likely to have a negative impact on countries’ political and economic health, especially in developing countries. Corruption and disregard for laws thus undermine respect for human rights and the environment, with corruption allowing companies to avoid taking responsibility for the impact of their activities on human rights and the environment, and weakening the quality and frequency of the law enforcement activities carried out by public authorities (e.g. labour inspection and environmental authorities) and of judicial proceedings, as well as trust in these activities and procedures.
Amendment 196 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 27
Recital 27
(27) In order to conduct appropriate human rights, and environmental due diligence with respect to their operations, their subsidiaries, and their value chains, companies covered by this Directive should integrate due diligence into corporate policies, identify, prevent and mitigate as well as bring to an end and minimise the extent of potential and actual adverse human rights and environmental impacts in the upstream value chain, establish and maintain a complaints procedure, monitor the effectiveness of the taken measures in accordance with the requirements that are set up in this Directive and communicate publicly on their due diligence. In order to ensure clarity for companies, in particular the steps of preventing and mitigating potential adverse impacts and of bringing to an end, or when this is not possible, minimising actual adverse impacts should be clearly distinguished in this Directive.
Amendment 199 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 28
Recital 28
(28) In order to ensure that due diligence in the upstream value chain forms part of companies’ corporate policies, and in line with the relevant international framework, companies should integrate due diligence into all their corporate policies and have in place a due diligence policy. The due diligence policy should contain a description of the company’s approach, including in the long term, to due diligence, a code of conduct describing the rules and principles to be followed by the company’s employees and subsidiaries; a description of the processes put in place to implement due diligence, including the measures taken to verify compliance with the code of conduct and to extend its application to established business relationships. The code of conduct should apply in all relevant corporate functions and operations, including procurement and purchasing decisions. Companies should also update their due diligence policy annually.
Amendment 200 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 29
Recital 29
(29) To comply with due diligence obligations in the upstream value chain, companies need to take appropriate measures with respect to identification, prevention and bringing to an end adverse impacts. An ‘appropriate measure’ should mean a measure that is capable of achieving the objectives of due diligence, commensurate with the degree of severity and the likelihood of the adverse impact, and reasonably available to the company, taking into account the circumstances of the specific case, including characteristics of the economic sector and of the specific business relationship and the company’s influence thereofover their value chain, and the need to ensure prioritisation of action. In this context, in line with international frameworks, the company’s influence over a business relationship should include, on the one hand its ability to persuade the business relationship to take action to bring to an end or prevent adverse impacts (for example through ownership or factual control, market power, pre-qualification requirements, linking business incentives to human rights and environmental performance, etc.) and, on the other hand, the degree of influence or leverage that the company could reasonably exercise, for example through cooperation with the business partner in question or engagement with another company which is the direct business partner of the business relationship associated with adverse impact.
Amendment 238 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 61
Recital 61
(61) In order to ensure that victims of human rights and environmental harms can bring an action for damages and claim compensation for damages arising due to a company’s failure to comply with the due diligence obligations stemming from this Directive, even where the law applicable to such claims is not the law of a Member State, as could be for instance be the case in accordance with international private law rules when the damage occurs in a third country, especially in a developing country, this Directive should require Member States to ensure that the liability provided for in provisions of national law transposing this Article is of overriding mandatory application in cases where the law applicable to claims to that effect is not the law of a Member State.
Amendment 241 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 64
Recital 64
(64) Responsibility for due diligence should be assigned to the company’s directors, in line with the international due diligence frameworks. Directors should therefore be responsible for putting in place and overseeing the due diligence actions as laid down in this Directive and for adopting the company’s due diligence policy, taking into account the input of stakeholders and civil society organisations and integrating due diligence into corporate management systems. Directors should also adapt to the best of their ability the corporate strategy to actual and potential impacts identified and any due diligence measures taken.
Amendment 324 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. Member States shall ensure that companies conduct to the best of their ability human rights and environmental due diligence as laid down in Articles 5 to 11 (‘due diligence’) by carrying out the following actions:
Amendment 336 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. Member States shall ensure that companies integrate due diligence in the upstream value chain into all their corporate policies and have in place a due diligence policy. The due diligence policy shall contain all of the following:
Amendment 356 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 1
Article 6 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall ensure that companies take to the best of their ability appropriate measures to identify actual and potential adverse human rights impacts and adverse environmental impacts arising from their own operations or those of their subsidiaries and, where related to their upstream value chains, from their established business relationships, in accordance with paragraph 2, 3 and 4.
Amendment 379 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 1
Article 7 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall ensure that companies take appropriate measures to the best of their ability to prevent, or where prevention is not possible or not immediately possible, adequately mitigate potential adverse human rights impacts and adverse environmental impacts in the upstream value chain that have been, or should have been, identified pursuant to Article 6, in accordance with paragraphs 2, 3, 4 and 5 of this Article.
Amendment 395 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point c
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point c
(c) makewhere the company or one of its subsidiaries is itself responsible for an adverse impact, make to the best of their ability necessary investments, such as into management or production processes and infrastructures, to comply with paragraph 1;
Amendment 418 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 1
Article 8 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall ensure that companies take to the best of their ability appropriate measures to bring actual adverse impacts in the upstream value chain that have been, or should have been, identified pursuant to Article 6 to an end, in accordance with paragraphs 2 to 6 of this Article.
Amendment 452 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 1
Article 9 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall ensure that companies provide the possibility for persons and organisations listed in paragraph 2 to submit complaints to them where they have legitimate concerns regarding actual or potential adverse human rights impacts and adverse environmental impacts with respect to their own operations, the operations of their subsidiaries and theirboth their upstream and downstream value chains.
Amendment 533 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 20 – paragraph 1
Article 20 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall lay down the rules on administrative and financial sanctions applicable to infringements of national provisions adopted pursuant to this Directive, and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that they are implemented. The sanctions provided for shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.