17 Amendments of Patrizia TOIA related to 2020/2129(INL)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas Articles 3 and 21 of the Treaty on European Union state that the Union, in its relations with the wider world, is to uphold and promote its values and principles, namely the rule of law and respect and protection of human rights, and contribute to the sustainable development of the Earth, solidarity, free and fair trade as well as to the strict observance and the development of international law. More specifically, the Union is to foster the sustainable economic, social and environmental development of developing countries with the primary aim of eradicating poverty. It is to respect those principles and pursue those objectives in the development and implementation of the external aspects of its other policies;
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas Article 208(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) provides that the Union is to take account of the objectives of development cooperation in the policies that it implements which are likely to affect developing countries;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
Ac. whereas future legislation on corporate due diligence and corporate accountability for European enterprises would have extraterritorial effects. It would affect the social, economic and environmental development of developing countries and their prospects of achieving their sustainable development goals. This significant impact could contribute to or undermine the Union’s policy objective concerning development;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Acknowledges that there is sufficient strong evidence that shows that the voluntary efforts of Union companies to prevent and mitigate the negative impacts of their behaviour on developing countries have failed as violations of human rights of individuals, in particular worker’s rights, and of local communities are still taking place at the end of the supply chain; notes that the environment continues to suffer the adverse impact of abusive and unethical corporate behaviour which is very often facilitated and exacerbated by corporate corruption practices; is concerned by the impact of the COVID-19 crisis which has dramatically disrupted business and exposed major vulnerabilities in the economy and global supply chains linked to conditions of work and disaster preparedness as well as negatively impacted human rights, in particular workers’ rights; notes, furthermore, that the COVID-19 crisis had negative impact on the environment in partner countries, thereby affecting local populations; is extremely concerned about the severe consequences of those impacts on women;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Calls on the Commission to honour the principle of policy coherence for development, enshrined in Article 208 TFEU, in future legislation; stresses that it is important to minimise the possible contradictions and build synergies with development cooperation policy to the benefit of developing countries and to increase the effectiveness of development cooperation; considers that in practical terms, this means to actively involve DG DEVCO in the ongoing legislative work and to conduct a thorough assessment of the impact of the future legislation on developing countries from an economic, social, human rights and environmental perspective in line with the Better Regulation Guidelines1a and Tool 34 of the Better Regulation Toolbox1b; notes that the results of that assessment should inform the future legislative proposal; __________________ 1a SWD(2017)0350. 1bhttps://ec.europa.eu/info/files/better- regulation-toolbox-34_en.
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Commission to apply a human rights-based approach to the future legislation which shall be designed, implemented, monitored and evaluated respecting the core human rights principles of transparency and access to information, inclusion and non-discrimination with a special focus on the most vulnerable, participation and accountability; stresses that it should be guided by the overarching principle of “do not harm” as it is important to avoid unintended effects and that the legislation should be subjected to a meaningful and inclusive consultation process on the ground with the relevant stakeholders; highlights that process should be carried out in close cooperation with the Union delegations; stresses that the future legislation should be informed by a gender analysis and take into account the specific needs of women and girls;
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Calls on the Commission to embrace a holistic approach that considers the risk of corruption together with the risks to human rights and the environment; notes that the impact of corporate corruption on human rights and environmental damage in developing countries is well documented and that new Union legislation must ensure that businesses do not have an adverse impact on the rule of law and good governance of a country, region or territory, which include, but are not limited to, non- compliance with UN Convention against Corruption, Section VII of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the principles of the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions and situations of corruption and bribery where an undertaking exercises undue influence on, or channels undue pecuniary advantages to, public officials to obtain privileges or unfair favourable treatment in breach of law, and including situations in which an undertaking becomes improperly involved in local political activities, makes illegal campaign contributions or fails to comply with the applicable tax legislation;
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses that all human rights should be covered by the future legislation; considers that emphasis should be placed on workers and trade union rights, women, and, in particular, the rights to freedom of association, to collective bargaining and to a living wage; notes that the rights of women and vulnerable groups such as children orand indigenous people should also receive special attention; stresses that full alignment with existing legal obligations and standards at European and international level, such as UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, OECD Due Diligence Guidance For Responsible Business Conduct, relevant sector-specific OECD Due Diligence Guidance, and the ILO Tri-partite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy, should be sought; is of the opinion that the legislation should addressinclude all types of human rights abuses and not only the most serious ones;
Amendment 66 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Is of the opinion that the new legislation should apply to all sectors, to all types of enterprises, whether public or private, and of all size across the Union; considers that the focus should be placed on the riskson sectors that present heightened human rights risks, including mining, food and agriculture, oil and gas, textiles, garments, leather, and footwear; believes that such horizontal approach should be supplemented by more specific standards and guidance at sector level;
Amendment 76 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Stresses that due diligence strategies should be aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement and Union policy objectives in the field of human rights and the environment, including the European Green Deal, and the international policy of the Union;
Amendment 77 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Strongly believes that climate change mitigation and adaptation, in line with the goal of the Paris Agreement to hold the increase in the global average temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, must form part of businesses’ due diligence obligations under the new legislation; in addition, business enterprises should also address the climate change-related vulnerabilities of people impacted by their business operations;
Amendment 79 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Is of the opinion that the future legislation should establish mandatory and effective corporate due diligence processes covering companies’ activities and their business relationships, including their supply and subcontracting chains; stresses that it should ensure the full and active involvement in the due diligence processes of those affected such as the trade unions and worker’s representatives but also local communities in the developing countries; notes that those processes should be aligned with international, European and Union guidelines and standards; stresses that the legislation should oblige companies to adopt a due diligence policy duly articulated in a plan with clear objectives, concrete actions, expected results and indicators to measure progress; is of the opinion that there should be a clear obligation for companies and investors to identify and assess actual and potential risks, act upon the findings in order to cease and prevent negative impacts, track the implementation and the results and communicate how impacts have been addressed; notes that the plan should be adequately resourced and have a strong and inclusive monitoring mechanism; considers that companies should equip themselves with human rights, environmental and anti-corruption experts in order to guide the design and implementation of the policy and the plan as well as other possible related decisions; stresses that this type of expertise should also be part of the company’s management structures; believes that support measures should be foreseen for certain companies if needed;
Amendment 90 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Expects the future legislation to create duties for financial institutions through the clarification of investor’s duties as well as those of the company boards; stresses that the new legislation should also address the question of how to measure and report effectively;
Amendment 108 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Stresses that access to effective remedy is crucial; considers that the legislation should oblige companies to have an effective grievance mechanism that should be transparent, accessible, predictable, safe, trustworthy and accountable; notes that such mechanisms should be designed in consultation with workers and affected communities; considers, in addition, that such mechanismthey should provide for effective judicial remedies to victims of human rights violations, environmental damage and corruption abuses, individually and through collective actions; believes that special protection should be provided to human rights defenders and its lawyerstheir lawyers; considers that other non-judicial remedies should also be provided for; believes, in that regard, that the legislation should consider the possibility of setting up a Union grievance mechanism which could be managed by Union delegations and whereby victims and populations affected by abuses committed by the Union enterprises and their supply chains could file complaints; considers that that mechanism should be coordinated at a central level by the relevant Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and adequately resourced;
Amendment 116 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Stresses that complementarity and coordination with development cooperation policy, instruments and actors is decisive and that the future legislation should therefore provide for some provisions in this regard;
Amendment 117 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10b. Stresses that local civil society remains a key partner in implementation and monitoring of the future legislation; notes, therefore, that the legislation should ensure that civil society mechanisms have a sustainable stream of resources and create transparent and structured channels for civil society to interact with corporate and government entities;
Amendment 121 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Is convinced that it is crucial to make the sustainable development chapters of free trade agreements morebinding and enforceable and that the new legislation should explore ways of integrating the due diligence requirements into those chapters.; believes that this would also help to avoid distortion of competition with companies based outside Europe; considers that economic partnership agreements that the Union signed with ACP countries could also be reinforced in a similar way;