Activities of Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS related to 2018/0178(COD)
Shadow reports (1)
RECOMMENDATION FOR SECOND READING on the Council position at first reading with a view to the adoption of a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment, and amending Regulation (EU) 2019/2088
Amendments (22)
Amendment 135 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6
Recital 6
(6) In March 2018, the Commission published its Action Plan 'Financing Sustainable Growth'25 setting up an ambitious and comprehensive strategy on sustainable finance. One of the objectives set out in that Action Plan is to reorient capital flows towards sustainable investment in order to achieve sustainable and inclusive growth. The establishment of a unified classification system for sustainable activities is the most important and urgent action envisaged by the Action Plan. The Action Plan recognises that the shift of capital flows towards more sustainable activities has to be underpinned by a shared understanding of what 'sustainable' means. As a first step, clear guidance on activities qualifying as contributing to environmental objectives, should help inform investors about the investments that fund environmentally sustainable economic activities. Further guidance on the activities contributing to other sustainability objectives, including social and governance objectives, mayshould be developed soon afterwards at a later stage. _________________ 25 COM(2018) 97 final. COM(2018) 97 final.
Amendment 138 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 7 a (new)
Recital 7 a (new)
(7 a) The European Parliament Report on Sustainable Finance of 29 May 2018 lays down essential elements of sustainability indicators and taxonomy, as an incentive for sustainable investment. Consistency should be ensured among relevant legislation.
Amendment 139 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 7 b (new)
Recital 7 b (new)
(7 b) The importance of maintaining a balance between environmental, social and governance (ESG) dimensions of sustainable finance and investments should be underlined and ensured, enforcing an environmentally sensitive and socially inclusive sustainable growth.
Amendment 199 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 21 a (new)
Recital 21 a (new)
(21 a) The European Investment Bank (EIB) has an extensive experience in green bonds through mainly the Climate Awareness bond, which contributed to green bonds of 18 billion euro and 160 projects related to renewable energy, which unfortunately were distributed regionally in an uneven way without the appropriate long-term and regionally balanced planning. Nevertheless, public sector bodies such as the EIB and the ESAs, could monitor key developments to ensure the progressive scale-up and adaptability of the EU sustainability taxonomy.
Amendment 290 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. 'sustainable investment' means an investment that funds one or several economic activities that meet the environmental, social and governance (ESG) targets;
Amendment 496 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 11 a (new)
Article 11 a (new)
Article 11 a Substantial contribution to social objectives 1. An economic activity shall be considered to contribute substantially to social objectives through any of the following means: (a) reducing inequality, social exclusion, discrimination and marginalization and/or improving social cohesion and integration and/or promoting equal opportunities for all (b) reducing poverty, including through its often multidimensional and overlapping deprivations in the areas of income, material deprivations and low work intensity (c) promoting equitable access to affordable, safe, sufficient and nutritious food and/orensuring food security (d) promoting equitable access to quality health services and universal health coverage (e) promoting equitable access to quality education and training (f) promoting equitable access to quality social Protection (g) promoting equitable access to adequate and affordable housing (h) promoting equitable access to other essential services of good quality, includingwater, sanitation, energy, transport, financial services and digital communications. 2. The Commission shall adopt a delegated act in accordance with Article 16 to: (a) supplement paragraph 1 to establish technical screening criteria for determiningunder which conditions a specific economic activity is considered, for the purposesof this Regulation, to contribute substantially to social objectives; (b) supplement Article 12 to establish technical screening criteria, for each relevantenvironmental and social objective, for determining whether an economic activityin respect of which screening criteria are established pursuant to point (a) of thisparagraph is considered, for the purposes of this Regulation, to cause significantharm to one or more of those objectives. 3. The Commission shall establish the technical screening criteria referred to in paragraph 2 together in one delegated act, taking into account the requirements laid down in Article 14.4. The Commission shall adopt the delegated act referred to in paragraph 2 by [1 July 2022], with a view to ensure its entry into application on [31 December 2022].
Amendment 512 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 1 – point f a (new)
Article 12 – paragraph 1 – point f a (new)
(f a) social objectives, where that activity is detrimental to: a.Equality, social inclusion and social cohesion, where the activity leads to significantly exacerbating vulnerabilities or marginalisation among the affectedpopulation b.Poverty reduction, where the activity significantly increases deprivations among the affected population c.Equitable access to food or food security, where the activity results in significantlyreduces access to supplies of food or significantly increases pollution of land or water, leading to reduced agricultural productivity d.Equitable access to health services, where the activity is detrimental to a significant extent to the medical personnel, medical supplies or services or significantly restricts access to these services e.Equitable access to quality education and training, where the activity is detrimentalto a significant extent to the teaching professionals, supplies or services orsignificantly restricts access to these services f.Equitable access to social protection, where the activity is detrimental to asignificant extent to the programs, professionals, supplies or service or significantlyrestricts access to these services g.Equitable access to quality housing, where the activity is detrimental to the affordability of housing h. Equitable access to other essential services, where the activity is detrimental to a significant extent to the professionals, supplies or service or significantly restricts access to these services
Amendment 518 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 1
Article 13 – paragraph 1
The minimum safeguards referred to in Article 3(c) shall be procedures implemented by the undertaking that is carrying out an economic activity to ensure that the following are observed: (a) principles and rights set out in the eight fundamental conventions identified in the International Labour Organisation’s declaration on Fundamental Rights and Principles at Work, namely: the right not to be subjected to forced labour, the freedom of association, workers' right to organise, the right to collective bargaining, equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value, non- discrimination in opportunity and treatment with respect to employment and occupation, as well as the right not to be subjected to child labour, are observed. (b) the International Bill of Human Rights; (c) the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union; (d) the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights; (e) Chapters IV and V of the OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises on human rights and employment and industrial relations; (f) Where relevant and applicable: the FOA Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Amendment 523 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 13 – paragraph 1 a (new)
2. The minimum safeguards shall be implemented by the undertaking that is carrying out an economic activity by due diligence procedures consistent with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct(2018). Due diligence in this context means the procedure (or set of procedures) undertakings carry out to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for how they address their potential and actua lnegative impacts on human rights, including the human rights of workers, in the context of the undertaking’s economic activity, supply chains and business relationships.
Amendment 524 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 1 b (new)
Article 13 – paragraph 1 b (new)
3.The due diligence procedures should build on thefollowing principles set out in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and HumanRights and the requirements for technical screening criteria in Article 14: (a) Take into account the nature and scale of the undertaking's operations, supply chains and business relationships. (b) Assess and address the negative human rights impacts of the economic activity itself, as well as of the products and services used by and produced by that economic activity, notably by considering their production, use and where relevant, end-of-life. (c) Be risk-based, meaning that the level of due diligenceapplied should be commensurate to the severity and likelihood of the negative impacts.The focus should be on preventing negative impacts first, and when prevention is not possible, then mitigating, preventing recurrence and, where relevant, remediating impacts. (d) Be supported by relevant policies and management systems to reinforce a systematic, proactive and reactive approach to on-going identification and management of human rights impacts (e) Be informed by engagement with stakeholders, whichincludes workers and others potentially impacted individuals or groups. (f) Provide relevant information to investors and other stakeholders to enable them to assess compliance with the minimum safeguards.
Amendment 530 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 14 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) identify the most relevant potential contributions to the given environmental objective, considering not only the short- term but also the longer term impacts of a specific economic activity using a dynamic approach building on forward- looking climate and environmental scenario analysis where available including regional and sectoral differences within the real economy;
Amendment 547 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 1 – point h
Article 14 – paragraph 1 – point h
Amendment 556 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 14 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. The minimum safeguards shall be implemented by the undertaking that is carrying out an economic activity by due diligence procedures consistent with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct (2018). Due diligence in this context means the procedure (or set of procedures) undertakings carry out to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for how they address their potential and actual negative impacts on human rights, including the human rights of workers, in the context of the undertaking’s economic activity, supply chains and business relationships. This is missing in the draft report. As mentioned, explicitly introducing requirement on undertakings to conduct due diligence consistent with UNGPs and OECD guidelines is key, otherwise risk duplicating/weakening existing international standards.
Amendment 568 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) experts representing relevant private stakeholders;, appointed by the European Parliament; Experts referred to point (b) should not represent more than one third of all experts.
Amendment 583 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) experts appointed in a personal caparepresenting civil society, with proven knowledge and experience in the areas covered by this Regulation.including non-governmental organisations, trade unions and experts working on human rights issues;
Amendment 595 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – point e
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – point e
(e) monitor and report regularly to the Commission on capital flows towards sustainable and unsustainable investment;
Amendment 601 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – point f a (new)
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – point f a (new)
(f a) contribute to the evaluation and development of sustainable finance regulations and policies,including consistency issues across relevant policies, and providing advice to Member States in the development their National Energy and Climate Plans, sustainable investment strategies and support with national level finance interventions.
Amendment 611 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Article 15 – paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. The Commission shall publish the analysis, reports and minutes of the Platform on their website.
Amendment 612 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 3 b (new)
Article 15 – paragraph 3 b (new)
3 b. The European Parliament and the Council shall be kept duly informed in a timely manner at all stages of the selection procedure of experts for the Platform on sustainable finance. Approval for all external candidates, representing non-EU institutions, will be required from the European Parliament before appointment by the Commission.
Amendment 636 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 17 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) the appropriateness of extendingextension of the scope of this Regulation to cover other sustainability objectives, in particular social objectives;
Amendment 643 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 17 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. By 31 December 2019 at the latest, the Commission shall publish a report describing the most appropriate process for extending the scope of this Regulation to cover other sustainability objectives, including social objectives.
Amendment 644 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 1 b (new)
Article 17 – paragraph 1 b (new)
1 b. By 31 December 2024, and subsequently every three years thereafter, the Commission shall publish a report evaluating the effectiveness of the taxonomy in channelling private investments in sustainable activities.