Activities of Chris MACMANUS related to 2021/0366(COD)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the making available on the Union market as well as export from the Union of certain commodities and products associated with deforestation and forest degradation and repealing Regulation (EU) No 995/2010
Amendments (31)
Amendment 30 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6 a (new)
Recital 6 a (new)
Amendment 33 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) The Union imported and consumed one third of the globally traded agricultural products associated with deforestation between 1990 and 2008. Over that period, Union consumption was responsible for 10% of worldwide deforestation associated with the production of goods or services. Even if the relative share of EU consumption is decreasing, EU consumption is a disproportionally large driver of deforestation. The Union's impact on deforestation also comes from financial sector funding. EU- based financial institutions lent $34.7 billion to the world's top deforesting companies between 2016 and 2020, earning over €400 million in proceeds directly from the destruction of forests.2a The Union should therefore take action to minimise global deforestation and forest degradation driven by its consumption of certain commodities and products, and by the lending of EU-based financial institutions, and thereby seek to reduce its contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and global biodiversity loss as well as promote sustainable production and consumption patterns in the Union and globally. To have the greatest impact, Union policy should aim at influencing the global market, not only supply chains to the Union. Partnerships and efficient international cooperation with producer and consumer countries are fundamental in that respect. _________________ 2a Global Witness (October 2021) Deforestation Dividends. How global banks profit from rainforest destruction and human rights abuses.
Amendment 37 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 19
Recital 19
(19) This Regulation also follows the Commission’s Communication on “An Open, Sustainable and Assertive Trade Policy”38 which stated that with new internal and external challenges and more particularly a new, more sustainable growth model as defined by the European Green Deal and the European Digital Strategy, the EU needs a new trade policy strategy –one that will support achieving its domestic and external policy objectives and promote greater sustainability and uphold human rights in line with its commitment of fully implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Trade policy must play its full role in the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and in the green and digital transformations of the economy and towards building a more resilient Europe in the world. _________________ 38 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European, Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, Trade Policy Review - An Open, Sustainable and Assertive Trade Policy, COM(2021) 66 final, 18 February 2021.
Amendment 40 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 21
Recital 21
(21) The Commission should continue to work in partnership with producer countries, and more generally in cooperation with international organisations, local civil society and bodies, and should be reinforcing its support and incentives with regard to protecting forests and transition to deforestation-free production, acknowledging the role of indigenous people, improving governance and land tenure, increasing law enforcement and promoting sustainable forest management, climate-resilient agriculture, sustainable intensification and diversification, agro- ecology and agroforestry. In doing so it should acknowledge the role of indigenous people in protecting forests. Building upon the experience and lessons learned in the context of the already existing initiatives, the Union and the Member States should work in partnership with producer countries, upon their request, to exploit the multi-functionalities of forest, support them in the transition to sustainable forest management, and address global challenges while meeting local needs and paying attention to the challenges faced by smallholders in line with the Communication to Stepping up Action to Protect and Restore the World’s Forests. The partnership approach should help producer countries in protecting, restoring and sustainably using forest, hence contributing to the objective of this Regulation to reduce deforestation and forest degradation.
Amendment 46 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 32
Recital 32
(32) To strengthen the Union’s contribution to halting deforestation and, forest degradation and human rights abuses, and to ensure that commodities and products from supply chains related to deforestation and, forest degradation and human rights abuses are not placed on the Union market, relevant commodities and products should not be placed or made available on the Union market, nor exported from the Union market unless they are deforestation-free and have been produced in accordance with the relevant legislation of the country of production, international human rights laws and the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent of Indigenous Peoples. To confirm that this is the case, they should always be accompanied by a due diligence statement.
Amendment 48 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 33
Recital 33
(33) On the basis of a systemic approach, operators should take the appropriate steps in order to ascertain that the relevant commodities and products that they intend to place on the Union market comply with the deforestation-free, human rights and legality requirements of this Regulation. To that end, operators should establish and implement due diligence procedures. The due diligence procedure required by this Regulation should include three elements: information requirements, risk assessment and risk mitigation measures. The due diligence procedures should be designed to provide access to information about the sources and suppliers of the commodities and products being placed on the Union market, including information demonstrating that the absence of deforestation and forest degradation and legality requirements are fulfilled, inter alia by identifying the country and area of production, including geo-location coordinates of relevant plots of land. These geo-location coordinates that rely on timing, positioning and/or Earth observation could make use of space data and services delivered under the Union’s Space programme (EGNOS/Galileo and Copernicus). On the basis of this information, operators should carry out a risk assessment. Where a risk is identified, operators should mitigate such risk to achieve no or negligible risk. Only after completing the required steps of the due diligence procedure and concluding that no or negligible risk exists that the relevant commodity or product is not compliant with this Regulation, should the operator be allowed to place the relevant commodity or product on the Union market or to export it.
Amendment 50 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 47
Recital 47
(47) For this reason, the Commission should assess the deforestation and forest degradation risk, and the risk of violations of human rights, at a level of a country or parts thereof based on a range of criteria that reflect both quantitative, objective and internationally recognised data, and indications that the countries are actively engaged in fighting deforestation and forest degradation. This benchmarking information should make it easier for operators in the Union to exercise due diligence and for competent authorities to monitor and enforce compliance, while also providing an incentive for producer countries to increase the sustainability of their agricultural production systems and reduce their deforestation impact. This should help making supply chains more transparent and sustainable. This benchmarking system should be based on a three-tier classification of countries to be regarded as low, standard or high risk. In order to ensure appropriate transparency and clarity, the Commission should in particular make publicly available the data being used for benchmarking, the reasons for the proposed change of classification and the reply of the country concerned. For relevant commodities and products from low risk countries or parts of countries identified as low-risk, operators should be allowed to apply a simplified due diligence, whilst competent authorities should be required to apply enhanced scrutiny on relevant commodities and products from high risk countries or parts of countries identified as high-risk. The Commission should be empowered to adopt implementing measures to establish the countries or parts thereof that present a low or high risk of producing relevant commodities and products that are not compliant with this Regulation.
Amendment 67 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 1
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 1
(1) ‘deforestation’ means the conversion of forest to agricultural or other use, whether human-induced or not;
Amendment 109 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) they have been produced in accordance with the relevant legislation of the country of production and without any violation of human rights along the supply chain; and
Amendment 121 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 a (new)
Article 6 a (new)
Article 6 a Obligations of regulated financial undertakings 1. Regulated financial undertakings that provide financial services to operators who are subject to this Regulation shall be subject to the obligations and provisions in Article 4, 5 and 8 to 12 of this Regulation, with regard to financial services related to the making available of the relevant commodities and relevant products in the Union market. When complying with the information gathering requirement under Article 9, regulated financial undertakings may rely on the information gathered for the same purpose by the operator to whom they are providing the financial service, complemented by other information sources. When completing the risk assessment under Article 10, regulated financial undertakings will perform the risk assessment independently of the operator to whom they are providing a financial service. 2. Paragraph 1 of this article shall also apply to regulated financial undertakings providing financial services to traders that are not SMEs who are subject to this Regulation, with regard to financial services related to the making available of the relevant commodities and relevant products on the EU market.
Amendment 136 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point h
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point h
(h) adequate and verifiable information that the production has been conducted in accordance with relevant legislation of the country of production, including any arrangement conferring the right to use the respective area for the purposes of the production of the relevant commodity, and ensuring that the rights of indigenous peoples to Free, Prior and Informed Consent are respected;
Amendment 152 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 2 – point e a (new)
Article 10 – paragraph 2 – point e a (new)
(e a) concerns in relation to other actors involved in the supply chain, particularly in relation to legal complaints taken against an actor, substantiated concerns relating to deforestation, forest degradation, human rights abuses or attacks against environmental and land rights defenders committed by an actor, or the inclusion of an actor on any United Nations list of companies and businesses involved in violations of human rights or international law;
Amendment 156 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 2 – point i
Article 10 – paragraph 2 – point i
(i) substantiated concerns submitted under Article 29, paying particular attention to reports by civil society;
Amendment 167 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 11 – paragraph 2
Article 11 – paragraph 2
2. Unless otherwise provided by other EU legislative instruments that lay down requirements regarding sustainability value chain due diligence, operators which are not SMEs shall, on an annual basis, publicly report as widely as possible, including on the internet, on their due diligence system including on the steps taken by them to implement their obligations as set out in Article 8information about the products and commodities placed on the market, the place of production or origin of the commodities, the structure of the supply chain, the potential risks of non-compliance that were detected, and the steps taken to mitigate those risks. Operators falling also within the scope of other EU legislative instruments that lay down requirements regarding value chain due diligence may fulfil their reporting obligations under this paragraph by including the required information when reporting in the context of other EU legislative instruments.
Amendment 170 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 1
Article 12 – paragraph 1
1. When placing relevant commodities or products on the Union market or exporting them from it, operators are not required to fulfil the obligations under Article 10 where they can ascertain that all relevant commodities and products have been produced in countries or parts thereof that were identified as low risk in accordance with Article 27, except where a risk of mixing with products of unknown origin or substantiated concerns submitted under Article 29 have been identified in accordance with points (g) and (i) respectively of paragraph 2 in Article 10.
Amendment 178 #
3. To carry out the checks referred to in paragraph 1, the competent authorities shall establish a plan based on a risk-based approach. The plan shall contain at least risk criteria to carry out the risk analysis under paragraph 4 and thereby inform the decisions on checks. In establishing and reviewing the risk criteria, the competent authorities shall take into account in particular the assignment of risk to countries or parts thereof in accordance with Article 27, the history of compliance of an operator or trader with this Regulation and any other relevant information, such as reports by civil society. Based on the results of the checks and the experience on implementation of the plans, the competent authorities shall review those plans and risk criteria on a regular basis in order to improve their effectiveness. When reviewing the plans, the competent authorities shall establish a reduced frequency of checks for those operators and traders who have shown a consistent record of full compliance with the requirements under this Regulation.
Amendment 179 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 7
Article 14 – paragraph 7
7. The suspensions referred to in paragraph 6 shall end within 37 working days unless the competent authorities, based on the result of the checks conducted within that period, conclude that they require additional time to establish whether the relevant commodities and products comply with the requirements of this Regulation. In such case, the competent authorities shall extend the period of suspension by means of additional interim measures taken under Article 21 or, in the case of relevant commodities or products entering or leaving the Union market, by notifying the customs authorities of the need to maintain the suspension under Article 24(6).
Amendment 180 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 8
Article 14 – paragraph 8
8. Competent authorities shall exchange information on and coordinate the development and application of the risk criteria referred to in paragraph 3 with competent authorities of other Member States and with the Commission, in order to improve the effectiveness of the enforcement of this Regulation and highlight situations that may be of a scale to cause an imbalance in EU agricultural markets.
Amendment 183 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 9
Article 14 – paragraph 9
9. Each Member State shall ensure that the annual checks carried out by their competent authorities cover at least 5% of the operators placing, making available on or exporting from the Union market each of the relevant commodities on their market as well as 58% of the quantity of each of the relevant commodities placed or made available on or exported from their market.
Amendment 184 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 11
Article 14 – paragraph 11
11. Without prejudice to the checks under paragraphs 5 and 6, competent authorities shall conduct checks referred to in paragraph 1 when they are in possession of evidence or other relevant information, including based on substantiated concerns provided by third parties, such as civil society, under Article 29, concerning potential non-compliance with this Regulation.
Amendment 189 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – point h
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – point h
(h) spot checks, including field audits, including where appropriate in third countries through cooperation with the administrative authorities of third countries and civil society.
Amendment 190 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 16 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) where appropriate, spot checks, including field audits.
Amendment 196 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 19 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. 3. In the case of soya, the Commission shall publish a strategy on how to remove soya, when it is produced as a result of deforestation, from the EU market, while guaranteeing little or no disruption to animal feedstocks in the EU; said report may investigate whether a phased removal from the market, rather than immediate ban, is appropriate. This is important because the EU’s self- sufficiency rate for soya is 5 %, and as a consequence, the EU imports annually around 13 million tonnes of soya, mainly from Brazil, Argentina and the USA.
Amendment 199 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 20 – paragraph 1
Article 20 – paragraph 1
Where relevant commodities or products were produced in a country or part thereof listed as high risk in accordance with Article 27, or there is a risk of relevant commodities or products produced in such countries or parts thereof entering the relevant supply chain, each Member State shall ensure that the annual checks carried out by their competent authorities cover at least 1520% of the operators placing, making available on or exporting from the Union market each of the relevant commodities on their market as well as 1520% of the quantity of each of the relevant commodities placed or made available on or exported from their market from high risk countries or parts thereof.
Amendment 210 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 23 – paragraph 2 – point a
Article 23 – paragraph 2 – point a
(a) fines proportionate to the environmental damage and the value of the relevant commodities or products concerned, calculating the level of such fines in such way as to make sure that they effectively deprive those responsible of the economic benefits derived from their infringements, and gradually increasing the level of such fines for repeated infringements; the maximum amount of such fines shall be at least 410 % of the operators or trader’s annual turnover in the Member State or Member States concerned;
Amendment 222 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 28 – paragraph 2
Article 28 – paragraph 2
2. Partnerships and cooperation should allowall be encouraged, to ensure the full participation of all stakeholders, including civil society, indigenous people, local communities and the private sector including, SMEs and smallholders.
Amendment 234 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 30 – paragraph 1
Article 30 – paragraph 1
1. Any natural or legal person having sufficient interest, including those having submitted substantiated concern in accordance with Article 29 and in particular civil society working in the area, shall have access to a court or other independent and impartial public body competent to review the procedural and substantive legality of the decisions, acts or failure to act of the competent authority under this Regulation.
Amendment 235 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 30 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 30 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Amendment 237 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 32 – paragraph 1
Article 32 – paragraph 1
1. No later than two years after the entry into force, the Commission shall carry out a first review of this Regulation, and shall present a report to the European Parliament and the Council accompanied, if appropriate, by a legislative proposal. The report shall focus in particular on an evaluation of the need and the feasibility of extending the scope of this Regulation to other ecosystems, including land with high carbon stocks and land with a high biodiversity value such as grasslands, peatlands and wetlands and further commodities, while ensuring a consistency with how such areas are treated within the union.
Amendment 238 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 32 – paragraph 2 – point a
Article 32 – paragraph 2 – point a
(a) the need for and feasibility of additional trade facilitation tools to support the achievement of the objectives of the Regulation including through recognition of certification schemes;
Amendment 239 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 32 – paragraph 2 – point b
Article 32 – paragraph 2 – point b
(b) the impact of the Regulation on farmers, in particular smallholders, indigenous peoples and local communities and the possiblelikely need for additional support for the transition to sustainable supply chains.