BETA

Activities of Clare DALY related to 2022/0398(COD)

Shadow reports (1)

2023/07/07
Committee: LIBE
Dossiers: 2022/0398(COD)
Documents: PDF(311 KB) DOC(136 KB)
Authors: [{'name': "Sophia IN 'T VELD", 'mepid': 28266}]

Amendments (80)

Proposal for a directive
Recital 1

(1) In order to ensure the effective application of Union restrictive measures, the integrity of the internal market within the Union, and to achieve a high level of security within the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice, it is necessary to establish minimum rules concerning the definition of criminal offences and penalties with regard to the violation of ~~those~~certain Union restrictive measures.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Recital 2

(2) Union restrictive measures, such as measures concerning the freezing of funds and economic resources, the prohibitions on making funds and economic resources available and the prohibitions on entry into or transit through the territory of a Member State, as well as sectoral economic measures and arms embargoes, are an essential tool for the promotion of the objectives of the Common Foreign and Security Policy, as set out in Article 21 of the Treaty on European Union (‘TEU’). Those objectives include safeguarding the Union’s values, security, independence and integrity, consolidating and supporting democracy, the rule of law, human rights and the principles of international law and maintaining international peace, preventing conflicts and strengthening international security in line with the aims and principles of the United Nations Charter.deleted

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Recital 3

(3) To ensure the effective application of certain Union restrictive measures, it is necessary that Member States have effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties in place for the violation of those Union restrictive measures, including obligations, such as reporting, established therein. It is also necessary that those penalties address the circumvention of Union restrictive measures.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Recital 4

(4) The effective application of Union restrictive measures calls for common ~~criminal~~ definitions of conduct ~~infringing~~that amounts to criminality in regards to the infringement of Union restrictive measures. Member States should ensure that this conduct constitutes a criminal offence when committed with intent ~~as well as with serious negligence, in case the natural or legal person knew or should have known, that their conduct would~~to infringe Union restrictive measures.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Recital 6

(6) Persons, entities and bodies, which are designated individually in Union restrictive measures and subject to those Union restrictive measures, may often be involved as instigators and accomplices. For instance, the practice by designated persons and entities of transferring funds, property or economic resources to a third party with a view to circumvent Union restrictive measures is increasingly widespread. Therefore, this conduct is covered by the circumvention offence approximated by this Directive.deleted

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Recital 7

(7) Legal professionals, as defined by the Member States, should be subject to this Directive, including the obligation to report the violation of Union restrictive measures, when providing services in the context of professional activities, such as legal, financial and trade services. Experience shows that there is a clear risk of the services of those legal professionals being misused for the purpose of violating Union restrictive measures. There should, however, be exemptions from any obligation to report information which is obtained in strict connection with judicial, administrative or arbitral proceedings, whether before, during or after judicial proceedings, or in the course of ascertaining the legal position of a client. Therefore, legal advice in those circumstances should remain subject to the obligation of professional secrecy, except where the legal professional is taking part in the violation of Union restrictive measures, the legal advice is provided for the purposes of violating Union restrictive measures, or the legal professional knows that the client is seeking legal advice for the purposes of violating Union restrictive measures. Knowledge can be inferred from objective factual circumstancesThere should be exemptions for legal professionals from any obligation to report information which is obtained in strict connection with judicial, administrative or arbitral proceedings, whether before, during or after judicial proceedings, or in the course of ascertaining the legal position of a client. Therefore, legal advice in those circumstances should remain subject to the obligation of professional secrecy.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Recital 8

(8) The effective application of Union restrictive measures furthermore calls for a common criminal law definition of conduct breaching conditions under authorisations granted by competent authorities to conduct certain activities, which in the absence of such an authorization are prohibited or restricted under a Union restrictive measure.deleted

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Recital 8 a (new)

(8a) In light of the substantial compliance burden placed on all actors, but in particular humanitarian actors, by the imposition of Union restrictive measures, and the invidious effects this has on the provision of humanitarian assistance to those in need, it is necessary to take steps to ensure that exemptions are broadly defined. In addition, it is necessary that Member States make publicly available easily accessible and detailed guidelines on compliance with EU sanctions, to include, detailed information on, inter alia, matters of compliance, enforcement standards, and licence-issuing. Member States should also faciliate dialogue between the relevant authorities and persons aligning with restrictive measures.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Recital 8 b (new)

(8b) It is necessary also to ensure that legal persons undertaking compliance processes in the framework of Union restrictive measures, do not refuse services to or to transact with, persons on the grounds of their race, nationality, or any other protected characteristic, amounting to discrimination. For the avoidance of doubt, and to reduce risk to businesses and service providers, it is necessary to make clear that the provision of goods and services to non-designated persons from states whose nationals are subject to restrictive measures in large numbers, or which are the subject of sectoral or economic embargoes, should not be subject to criminal penalty under this Directive.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Recital 9

(9) It is appropriate to exclude from ~~the~~ criminalisation activities which concern the provision of goods and services of daily use for the personal use of designated natural persons, such as food and healthcare products and services, or of petty cash, where it is ~~clearly~~ limited to fulfilling the ~~basic~~ human needs of such persons and their dependent family members. The failure to report such activities should also be excluded from criminalisation. In addition, and in line with international humanitarian law, it is appropriate to exclude from criminalisation the delivery of humanitarian a~~id to persons i~~ssistance or activities that support basic human needs. Such ~~humanitarian aid~~assistance or activities must be provided ~~strictly~~ in accordance with international humanitarian law ~~and can notably consist of food and nutrition, shelter, health care, water and sanitation~~. Furthermore, in implementing this Directive, Member States should take into account that International Humanitarian Law, the law of armed conflict, requires that restrictive measures should not prevent the ~~delivery~~performance of humanitarian aidctivities in line with principles of impartiality, humanity, neutrality and independence.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Recital 10

(10) Penalties for the offences should be effective, dissuasive and proportionate. To this end, minimum levels for the maximum term of imprisonment should be set for natural persons. ~~Additional penalties or measur~~Fines should also be available in criminal proceedings. ~~They should include fines, taking into account that the violation of Union restrictive measures is mostly motivated by economic considerations.~~

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Recital 15

(15) There is a need to clarify the concept of proceeds specifically in situations in which the designated person, entity or body commits or participates in: (i) concealing funds or economic resources owned, held, or controlled by a designated person, entity or body, which should be frozen in accordance with a Union restrictive measure, by the transfer of those funds, or economic resources to a third party; or (ii) concealing the fact that a person, entity or body subject to restrictive measures is the ultimate owner or beneficiary of funds or economic resources, through the provision of false or incomplete information. In those circumstances, as a consequence of the conduct of concealing, the designated person, entity of body may continue to access and make full use or dispose of the funds or economic resources subject to Union restrictive measures which have been concealed. Such funds or economic resources should therefore be considered as proceeds of crime for the purposes of Directive (EU) […/…] [Directive on asset recovery and confiscation], it being understood that the proportionality of confiscation of such proceeds will have to be observed in each individual case.deleted

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Recital 21

(21) To ensure the effective investigation and prosecution of violations of Union restrictive measures, those responsible for investigating or prosecuting these measures should have the possibility of using investigative tools such as those which are used in combating organised crime or other serious crimes. The use of such tools, in accordance with national law, should be targeted and take into account the principle of proportionality and the nature and seriousness of the offences under investigation as well as respecting the right to the protection of personal data.deleted

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Recital 21 a (new)

(21a) The EU list of restrictive measuses is subject to regular change as individuals, entities and bodies are listed and delisted. At present, there is no single, unified and easily accessible information technology tool provided by either the Commission or the Council to facilitate the compliance of legal and natural persons with Union restrictive measures. The absence of such an instrument imposes substantial compliance costs on legal and natural persons. In the context of this Directive, and specifically the application of criminal rather than civil penalties for the violation of restrictive measures, there is an onus on the Commission to facilitate legal certainty for natural and legal persons. The Commission should therefore establish and maintain an information technology tool, consisting of a searchable database, to allow natural and legal persons to easily check the list of designated persons, bodies and entities, as well as the types and forms of transaction with those persons, bodies and entities, that are prohibited by Union restrictive measures. The database should also contain information about legal persons linked to designated persons, bodies and entities, and with whom transactions are prohibited.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Recital 23

(23) The objectives of this Directive, namely to ensure common definitions of offences related to the violation of certain Union restrictive measures and the availability of effective, dissuasive and proportionate criminal penalties for serious offences related to the violation of Union restrictive measures cannot be sufficiently achieved by Member States but can rather, by reason of the scale and effects of this Directive, be better achieved at Union level, taking into account the inherent cross-border nature of the violation of Union restrictive measures and their potential to undermine the achievement of thostensive Union objectives to safeguard international peace and security as well as to uphold Union common values. Therefore the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in accordance with Article 5 TEU. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Directive does not go beyond what is necessary to achieve that objective.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Recital 26

(26) In view of the urgent need to hold individuals and legal persons involved in the violation of Union restrictive measures accountable, Member States should bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive within ~~six months~~one year after the entry into force of this Directive.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1

This Directive establishes minimum rules concerning the definition of criminal offences and penalties with regard to the violation of certain Union restrictive measures.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point a

~~(a) measures concerning the freezing of funds and economic resources;~~deleted

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b

~~(b) prohibitions on making funds and economic resources available;~~deleted

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point c

~~(c) prohibitions on entry into, or transit through, the territory of a Member State~~deleted

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point b

(b) ‘designated person, entity or body’, means those natural or legal persons, entities or bodies subject to Union restrictive measures ~~consisting in the freezing of funds and economic resources and the prohibition to make funds and economic resources available~~;

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point e

(e) ‘freezing of funds’ means preventing any move, transfer, alteration, use of, access to, or dealing with funds in any way that would result in any change in their volume, amount, location, ownership, possession, character, destination or any other change that would enable the funds to be used, including portfolio management;deleted

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point f

(f) ‘freezing of economic resources’ means preventing the use of economic resources to obtain funds, goods or services in any way, including, but not limited to, by selling, hiring or mortgaging them.deleted

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1

(1) Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the violation of a Union restrictive measure constitutes a criminal offence in the following circumstances when committed intentionally and provided it falls in one of the categories defined in paragraph 2: (a) the offence was committed in the framework of a criminal organisation within the meaning of Council Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA56; (b) the offence involves the use of false or forged documents; (c) the offender is suspected of, or has been convicted of, committing multiple similar previous violations of restrictive measures amounting to systemic violations; (d) the offence generated or was expected to generate substantial financial benefits, or avoid substantial expenses, directly or indirectly.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point a

~~(a) making funds or economic resources available to, or for the benefit of, a designated person, entity or body in violation of a prohibition by a Union restrictive measure;~~deleted

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point b

(b) failing to freeze without undue delay funds or economic resources belonging to or owned, held or controlled by a designated person, entity or body in violation of an obligation to do so imposed by a Union restrictive measure;deleted

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point c

(c) enabling the entry of designated natural persons into the territory of a Member State or their transit through the territory of a Member State in violation of a prohibition by a Union restrictive measure;deleted

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point g

(g) providing other services ~~which are prohibited or restricted by Union restrictive measures, such as legal advisory services, trust services, public relations~~to a person, entity or body for the purpose of violating restrictive measures, such as trust services, accounting, auditing, bookkeeping and tax consulting services, business and management consulting, ~~IT consulting, public relations services, broadcasting~~, architectural and engineering services;

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point h – point i

(i) concealing funds or economic resources owned, held, or controlled by a designated person, entity or body, which should be frozen in accordance with a Union restrictive measure, by the transfer of those funds, or economic resources to a third party;deleted

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point h – point ii

(ii) concealing the fact that a person, entity or body subject to restrictive measures is the ultimate owner or beneficiary of funds or economic resources, through the provision of false ~~or incomplete~~ information;

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point h – point iv

(iv) failing to comply with an obligation under Union restrictive measures to provide without undue delay information on funds or economic resources frozen or information held about funds and economic resources within the territory of the Member States, belonging to, owned, held or controlled by designated persons, entities or bodies and which have not been frozen, to the competent administrative authorities;deleted

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point h – point v

~~(v) failing to cooperate with the competent administrative authorities in any verification of information under points (iii) and (iv), upon their reasoned request;~~deleted

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point i

(i) breaching or failing to fulfil conditions under authorizations granted by competent authorities to conduct activities, which in the absence of such an authorization are prohibited or restricted under a Union restrictive measure.deleted

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 3

~~(3) The conduct referred to in paragraph 2, points (a) to (g) shall constitute a criminal offence also if committed with serious negligence.~~deleted

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 5

(5) Nothing in paragraph 2 shall be understood as imposing an obligation on legal professionals to report information which is obtained in strict connection with judicial, administrative or arbitral proceedings, whether before, during or after judicial proceedings, or in the course of ascertaining the legal position of a client. Legal advice in those circumstances shall be protected by professional secrecy, except where the legal professional is taking part in the violation of Union restrictive measures, the legal advice is provided for the purposes of violating Union restrictive measures, or the legal professional knows that the client is seeking legal advice for the purposes of violating Union restrictive measures.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

– the provision of goods or services of daily use for the personal use of designated natural persons, such as food and healthcare products and services, or of petty cash, where it is ~~clearly~~ limited to fulfilling the basic human needs of such persons and their dependent family members,

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 6 – indent 3

– to humanitarian a~~id provided for persons i~~ssistance or activities that support basic human needs.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 6 a (new)

(6a) The prohibitions set out in this directive shall not give rise to any liability of any kind on the part of the natural or legal person, entity or body concerned if they did not know, and had no reasonable cause to suspect, that their actions would infringe the prohibition in question.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 3 a (new)

Article3a Exemptions 1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that legal and natural persons are exempt from penalities when engaging with the following actors : (a) non-designated nationals of countries subject to restrictive measures who are resident in the EU; (b) non-designated nationals of countries subject to restrictive measures who are liable for refugee status under international humanitarian law; (c) organisations and natural persons who provide humanitarian assistance as well as participants involved in the delivery of humanitarian goods and services, such as manufacturuers, exporters, financial service providers and transportation companies; (d) delisted designated persons. 2. For the purposes of this Directive, Member States shall ensure that legal and natural persons are not subject to any penalty when providing or funding the following goods and services: (a) provision of goods or services of daily use such as food, healthcare, drinking water, education; (b) materials used for construction and reconstruction for the benefit of local communities; (c) humanitarian goods and services, including external services, equipment or techology intended to faciliate humanitarian aid.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 3 b (new)

Article3b Non-discrimination The implementation of measures to identify designated persons, entities and bodies, and actions taken to avert the risk of violation of restrictive measures, undertaken as part of compliance processes, shall under no circumstances result in discrimination of non-designated persons and entities based on any ground such as sex. race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age, sexual orientation or nationality.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 3 c (new)

Article3c Managing Exemptions In order to comply with the requirements of Article 4, Member States shall ensure: (a) the relevant authorities have sufficient funding to make publicly available easily accessible and detailed guidelines on compliance with EU sanctions, to include, detailed information on, inter alia, matters of compliance, enforcement standards, and licence-issuing; (b) sanctions licensing and derogation frameworks are adaptable,easily accessible and provided in a timely manner; (c) penalties are strictly proportionate, adaptable and take into account the relative resources of individuals, companies and other entities, particuarly humanitarian organisations.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 3 d (new)

Article3d Due Diligence Requirements In undertaking measures to comply with restrictive measures, natural and legal persons shall take appropriate measures, proportionate to nature and size of the undertaking, to identify designated entities and ensure their actions fall strictly within the remit of the sanctions order. They shall apply the following measures: (a) identify and verify the identity of designated persons; (b) assess, and where viable, obtain information on the nature of the intended purposes of the funds, goods and services of the designated persons; (c) conduct a risk analysis to ensure that the exemptions in Article 3a have been correctly applied, and the obligations in Article 3b have been fulfilled.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 4

Inciting, aiding and abetting, and attempt (1) Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that inciting, aiding and abetting the offences referred to in Article 3 is punishable as a criminal offence. (2) Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the attempt to commit any of the offences referred to in Article 3 (2), points (a) to (g), (h (i), (ii) and point (i), is punishable as a criminal offence.Article 4 deleted

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 2

(2) Member States ~~shall~~may take the necessary measures to ensure that the criminal offences referred to in Article 3 are punishable by a maximum penalty which provides for imprisonment, and shall provide for imprisonment only when aggravating circumstances are present.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 3

(3) Member States ~~shall~~may take the necessary measures to ensure that the criminal offences referred to in Article 3(2), points (h)(iii), ~~(iv) and (v), are~~is punishable by a maximum penalty of ~~at least~~ one year of imprisonment when they involve funds or economic resources of a value of at least EUR 1500 ,000. Member States shall ensure that the threshold of EUR 1500 ,000 or more may also be met through a series of linked offences referred to in Article 3(2), points (h)(iii), ~~(iv) and (v),~~ when committed by the same offender.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 4

(4) Member States ~~shall~~may take the necessary measures to ensure that the criminal offences referred to in Article 3(2), points (a) to (g), (h)(i) and (ii), and point (i), are punishable by a maximum penalty of ~~at least~~ five years of imprisonment when they involve funds or economic resources of a value of at least EUR 1500 ,000. Member States shall ensure that the threshold of EUR 1500 ,000 or more may also be met through a series of linked offences referred to in Article 3(2), points (a) to (g), (h)(i) and (ii), and point (i), by the same offender.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 5

(5) Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that natural persons who have committed the offences referred to in Articles 3 and 4 may be subject to ~~additional penalties. Those additional pe~~fines as an alternalti~~es shall include fines~~ve to imprisonment.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 5 a (new)

(5a) Persons subject to penalties of imprisonment under (3) and (4) shall be released in circumstances where the Court of Justice of the European Union rules that the designated person, entity or body with whom they had transacted should be delisted from the EU list of designated persons, entities and bodies on the grounds that the listing of the designated person, entity or body was unjustified.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 2

(2) Member States shall also take the necessary measures to ensure that legal persons can be held liable where the lack of supervision or control by a person referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article has made possible the commission, by a person under its authority, of any of the criminal offences referred to in Article 3 and 4 for the benefit of that legal person.deleted

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 3

(3) Liability of legal persons under paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall not exclude the possibility of criminal proceedings against natural persons who are perpetrators, ~~inciters or accessories~~ in the offences referred to in Articles 3 and 4.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – introductory part

(1) Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that a legal person held liable pursuant to Article 7 is subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties, which shall include criminal or non-criminal fines, ~~exclusion from entitlement to public benefits or aid, exclusion from access to public funding, including tender procedures, grants and concessions~~ and may include other penalties, such as:

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point e

~~(e) closure of establishments, which have been used for committing the criminal offence.~~deleted

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 2

(2) Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that for legal persons held liable pursuant to Article 7 the criminal offences referred to in Article 3(2), points (h) (iii) ~~to (v)~~, are punishable by fines, the maximum limit of which should be not less than 1 percent of the total worldwide turnover of the legal person in the business year preceding the fining decision.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

(a) the offence was committed in the framework of a criminal organisation within the meaning of Council Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA57; _________________ 57 Council Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA of 24 October 2008 on the fight against organised crime OJ L 300, 11.11.2008, p. 42-45.deleted

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point b

(b) ~~the offence was committed~~deliberate and systematic offending by a professional service provider in violation of his professional obligations;

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point c

~~(c) the offence was committed by a public official when performing his or her duties;~~deleted

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point d

~~(d) the offence was committed by another person when performing a public function.~~deleted

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point d a (new)

(da) the offence involves the export of military technology or equipment as defined in Council Common Position 2008/944/CFSP.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – introductory part

Provided this is not already an obligation under Union restrictive measures, Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that, in relation to the offences referred to in Articles 3 and 4, the following may be regarded as a mitigating circumstance, which means a factor relevant as regards a reduction in penalty:

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 1 a (new)

Mitigating circumstances will additonally take into account the following factors: (a) The value of the breach and whether it was conducted in a repeated or systematic manner; (b) If it has posed signficant harm or risk to the objectives outlined in the Council Regulation on restrictive measures; (c) The clarity and availability of information regarding the ownership and control of the designated entity.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 10

Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that funds or economic resources subject to Union restrictive measures in respect of which the designated person, entity or body commits or participates in an offence referred to in Article 3(2), points (h)(i) or (ii), are considered as ‘proceeds’ of crime for the purposes of Directive (EU) […/…] [Directive on asset recoveryArticle 10 deleted Freezing and confiscation].

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 12 – paragraph 2

(2) Member States shall take the necessary measures to enable the investigation, prosecution, trial and judicial decision of criminal offences referred to in Articles 3 and 4 which are punishable by a maximum penalty of at least five years of imprisonment, for a period of at least five years from the time when the offence was committed.deleted

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 12 – paragraph 3

(3) By way of derogation from paragraph 2, Member States may establish a limitation period that is shorter than five years, but not shorter than three years, provided that the period may be interrupted or suspended in the event of specified acts.deleted

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 12 – paragraph 4

(4) Member States shall take the necessary measures to enable the enforcement of: (a) a penalty of more than one year of imprisonment; or alternatively (b) a penalty of imprisonment in the case of a criminal offence which is punishable by a maximum penalty of at least four years of imprisonment, imposed following a final conviction for a criminal offence referred to in Articles 3 and 4 for at least five years from the date of the final conviction. That period may include extensions of the limitation period arising from interruption or suspension.deleted

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 13 – paragraph 1

Member States shall take the necessary measures to establish appropriate mechanisms for coordination and cooperation at ~~strategic and~~ operational levels among all their competent administrative, law enforcement and judicial authorities.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

~~(a) ensuring common priorities and understanding of the relationship between criminal and administrative enforcement;~~deleted

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 13 – paragraph 2 – point b

(b) exchange of information for ~~strategic and~~ operational purposes;

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 13 – paragraph 2 – point e a (new)

(ea) the exchange of best practices as regards the granting of general licensing and exemption measures.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 13 – paragraph 2 – point e b (new)

(eb) facilitation of dialogue with entities aligning with restrictive measures, which dialogue should include a range of private and public stakeholders, including the banking sector and humanitarian organisations, as well as other stakeholders who are impacted by compliance requirements.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that effective investigative tools, ~~such as those which are used in investigating organised crime or other serious crime cases,~~ are also available for investigating or prosecuting offences referred to in Articles 3 and 4.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 16 – paragraph 1

(1) Without prejudice to the rules on cross-border cooperation and mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, Member States’ authorities, Europol, Eurojust, the European Public Prosecutor's Office, and the Commission shall, within their respective competences, cooperate with each other in the fight against the criminal offences referred to in Articles 3 and 4. To that end, the Commission, and where appropriate, Europol and Eurojust, shall provide technical and operational assistance in order to facilitate the coordination of investigations and prosecutions by the competent authorities.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 16 – paragraph 1 a (new)

(1a) The Council, the Commission and the EEAS shall provide relevant information upon request and in a timely manner to Member State authorities, including clarity on each CFSP decision and Regulation, as well as information on exemption measures, and any other legal, technical or horizontal issues.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 16 – paragraph 2

(2) Member States’ competent authorities shall also regularly share information on practical issues, in particular, patterns of circumvention, e.g. structures to conceal the beneficial ownership and control of assets, lack of clarity on requirements and any issues with technical implementation with the Commission and other competent authorities.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 16 a (new)

Article16a Provision of reliable and up-to-date information (1) In order to ensure the principle of legal certainty is upheld, the Commission shall establish and maintain an information technology instrument to provide full, comprehensive and easily accessible information on all designated persons, entities and bodies, as well as all legal entities associated with those designated persons, entities and bodies, and transactions with designated persons, entities and bodies which constitute a violation of Union restrictive measures under this Directive. The instrument shall consist of a database and automated search interface. (2) The Commission shall be responsible for the technical management, development, maintenance, security and support of the instrument. (3) Relevant information shall be made available via an automated search interface, and indicate in a clear, precise and understandable way if a transaction is liable for criminal penalty. Liability for inaccurate or outdated information contained in the database shall rest with the Commission.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 17 – paragraph 1

Directive (EU) 2018/1673
Article 2(1)

(w) violation of certain Union restrictive measures. contained in [Directive 2022/....]

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 18 – paragraph 1

(1) Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by [OP- please insert the data- within ~~six months~~one year after entry into force of the Directive]. They shall immediately inform the Commission thereof. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main measures of national law which they adopt in the field covered by the Directive.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 19 – title

Evaluation ~~and~~, reporting and impact assessment

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 19 – paragraph 1

(1) By [OP- please insert the date- two years after the transposition period is over] the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council, assessing ~~the extent to which the Member States have taken the necessary measures in order to comply with this Directive~~legal, techical or cooperational issues Member States encountered when implenting this Regulation as well as impacts on humanitarian work and fundamental rights. The Commission shall facilitate multi-stakeholder consultations to this end, which shall include national experts, civil society, and a range relevant private and public entities. Member States shall provide the Commission with the necessary information for the preparation of that report.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 19 – paragraph 1 a (new)

(1a) Following the publication of this report, the Commission will submit to the Council a periodic evaluation on the effectiveness of this regulation as well as broader assessment of union restrictive measures compliance, in consultation with the European Parliament. The purpose of this is to keep abreast of the impacts of the regularly changing requirements of restrictive measures, and ensure the clarity and proportionality of the objectives, benchmarks and criteria set out by the Council at the time of adoption of the restrictive measures.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE

Proposal for a directive
Article 19 – paragraph 4

(4) By [OP-please insert the data-~~fiv~~three years after the transposition period is over], the Commission shall carry out an evaluation of the impact of this Directive and submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council. Member States shall provide the Commission with necessary information for the preparation of that report.

2023/05/30
Committee: LIBE