Activities of Marco CAMPOMENOSI 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 (60)
Amendment 77 #
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 should therefore take action to minimise global deforestation and forest degradation driven by its consumption of certain commodities and products 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 contributing to deforestation reduction worldwide by also 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.
Amendment 82 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 18
Recital 18
(18) As a member of World Trade Organisation (WTO), the Union is committed to promoting a universal, rule- based, open, transparent, predictable, inclusive, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system under the WTO, as well as an open, sustainable, and assertive trade policy. The scope of this Regulation will therefore include both commodities and products produced within the Union and commodities and products imported to the Union. This Regulation should ensure that commodities and products imported in the Union market respect the same quality, environment, sanitary and work standards of the commodities and products originated in the Union, thus creating a real level playing field and preventing the risk of market leakage which could increase global deforestation.
Amendment 86 #
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 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, less reliant on few supply sources an with a higher auto sufficiency in order to be less dependent on external disruptions. _________________ 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 105 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 32
Recital 32
(32) To strengthen the Union’s contribution to halting deforestation and forest degradation, and to ensure that commodities and products from supply chains related to deforestation and forest degradation 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. To confirm that this is the case, they should always be accompanied by a due diligence statement made available by the first operator or trader that places or makes available a commodity or product in the Union market or exports from the Union market. In addition, operators’ due diligence systems should be controlled by a third- party auditor on an annual basis.
Amendment 108 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 32 a (new)
Recital 32 a (new)
(32 a) Taken into consideration the different characteristics of the commodities included in the scope of this Regulation, the Commission shall develop, in close cooperation with Member States, Union stakeholders and trading partners, commodity-specific guidelines laying down different rules on due diligence obligations and provisions, traceability rules and chain of custody models for different commodities. These guidelines should be made public and regularly reviewed.
Amendment 111 #
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 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 landroduction areas. 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 113 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 34
Recital 34
(34) Operators placing a commodity or product concerned for the first time on the Union market or exporting a commodity or product from the Union market, should formally assume responsibility for the compliance of the relevant commodities or products that they intend to place on the Union market or to export by making available due diligence statements. A template for such statements should be provided by this Regulation. This is expected to facilitate enforcement of this Regulation through competent authorities and courts as well as increase compliance by operators.
Amendment 115 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 37 a (new)
Recital 37 a (new)
(37 a) Operators and traders which are SMEs shall be exempted from the requirements object of this Regulation.
Amendment 118 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 41
Recital 41
(41) The effective and efficient implementation and enforcement of this Regulation are essential to achieving its goals. To this end, the Commission should set up and manage an information system to support the operators and the competent authorities in presenting and accessing the necessary information on relevant commodities and products placed on the market. The operators should submit the due diligence statements and the annual third-party audit report of their due diligence procedure to the information system. The information system should be accessible to competent authorities and customs authorities to facilitate fulfilling their obligations under this Regulation. The information system should also be accessible for a wider public, with the anonymised data provided in an open and machine-readable format in line with the Union’s Open Data Policy.
Amendment 120 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 42
Recital 42
(42) For the relevant commodities entering or leaving the Union market, competent authorities are tasked with the verification of the compliance of relevant commodities and products with the obligations under this Regulation based on the due diligence statements and the annual third-party audit report of operators’ due diligence procedure, whereas the role of customs is to ensure that the reference of a due diligence statement is made available in the customs declaration where applicable and, in addition as from the moment the electronic interface will be in place to exchange information between customs authorities and competent authorities, to check the status of the due diligence statement after an initial risk analysis carried out by competent authorities in the Information System and act accordingly (i.e. suspend or refuse a commodity or product if requested to do so through the status in the Information System). This specific organisation of controls discards the application of Chapter VII of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 in so far as the application and enforcement of this Regulation is concerned.
Amendment 126 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 49
Recital 49
(49) The checks of operators and traders by competent authorities should cover the due diligence systems as well as the annual third-party audit report of operators’ due diligence procedure and the compliance of the relevant commodities and products with the provisions of this Regulation. The checks should be based on a risk-based plan of checks. The plan should contain risk criteria that enable competent authorities to carry out a risk analysis of the due diligence statements submitted by operators and traders. The risk criteria should take into account the risk of deforestation associated to relevant commodities and products in the country of production, the history of compliance of operators and traders with the obligations of this Regulation and any other relevant information available to competent authorities. The risk analysis of due diligence statements and annual third- party audit report of their due diligence procedure should allow competent authorities the identification of operators, traders and relevant commodities and products to be checked, and should be carried out using electronic data processing techniques in the information system which collects the due diligence statements.
Amendment 149 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
(ba) contributing to a reduction in global deforestation
Amendment 150 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 2
Article 1 – paragraph 2
The Regulation shall ensure that commodities and products imported in the Union market respect the same quality, environmental, sanitary and labour standards of the commodities and products originated in the Union, thus creating a real level playing field and preventing the risk of market leakage which could increase global deforestation. The Regulation shall not apply to relevant commodities and products placed on the Union market that were produced before the date established in Article 36(1).
Amendment 155 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 1
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 1
(1) ‘deforestation’ means the conversion of forest to agriculturalother land uses, whether human-induced or not;
Amendment 169 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 6
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 6
(6) ‘forest degradation’ means harvesting operations that are not sustainable and cause aforest management which cause an irreversible reduction or loss of the biological or economic productivity and complexity of forest ecosystems, resulting in the long- term reduction of the overall supply of benefits from forest, which includes wood, biodiversity and other products or services;
Amendment 171 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 7
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 7
Amendment 184 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 12
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 12
(12) ‘operator’ means any natural or legal person who, in the course of a commercial activity, places relevant commodities and products for the first time on the Union market or exports them from the Union market;
Amendment 201 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) they are covered by a due diligence statement as laid down in Article 4(2).
Amendment 202 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1
Article 4 – paragraph 1
1. Operators shall exercise due diligence prior to placing for the first time relevant commodities and products on the Union market or prior to their export from the Union market in order to ensure their compliance with Article 3(a) and (b). To that end, they shall use a framework of procedures and measures, hereinafter referred to as a ‘due diligence’, as set out in Article 8.
Amendment 203 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2
Article 4 – paragraph 2
2. Operators that by exercising due diligence as referred to in Article 8 have come to the conclusion that the relevant commodities and products comply with the requirements of this Regulation shall make available to the competent authorities via the information system referred to in Article 31 a due diligence statement before placing on the Union market or exporting the relevant commodities and products. That statement shall confirm that due diligence was carried out and no or only negligible risk was found and shall contain the information set out in Annex II for the relevant commodities and products. Operators shall share the due diligence statement with subsequent operators and traders in the supply chain.
Amendment 204 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 3
Article 4 – paragraph 3
3. By making available the due diligence statement, the operator assumes responsibility for the compliance of the relevant commodity or product with the requirements of this Regulation. Operators shall keep record of their annual due diligence statementsprocedure for 5 years from the date of making available via the information system referred to in Article 31. The due diligence system shall be verified by a third-party auditor on an annual basis. Operators shall share the annual third-party audit report of their due diligence procedure with the competent authorities.
Amendment 206 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1
Article 6 – paragraph 1
Amendment 208 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 6 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Amendment 209 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 b (new)
Article 6 – paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Operators or traders which are SMEs that have received new information, including substantiated concerns, that the relevant commodity or product that they have already place or made available on the Union market is not in conformity with the requirements of this Regulation shall immediately inform the competent authorities of the Member States in which they placed or made available the relevant commodity or product on the market.
Amendment 210 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 c (new)
Article 6 – paragraph 1 c (new)
1c. Operators or traders which are SMEs shall offer all assistance necessary to competent authorities to facilitate the performance of the checks under Article 15 and 16, including as regards access to premises and the presentation of documentation or records.
Amendment 211 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 2
Article 6 – paragraph 2
Amendment 213 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 3
Article 6 – paragraph 3
Amendment 215 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 4
Article 6 – paragraph 4
Amendment 217 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 5
Article 6 – paragraph 5
5. Traders which are not SMEsmake available a commodity or a product for the first time on the Union market shall be considered operators and be subject to obligations and provisions in Articles 3, 4, 5, 8 to 12, 14(9), 15 and 20 of this Regulation with regard to the relevant commodities and products that they make available in the Union market.
Amendment 219 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 a (new)
Article 6 a (new)
Amendment 221 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 1
Article 8 – paragraph 1
1. Prior to placing relevant commodities and products for the first time on the market or before exporting them, operators shall exercise due diligence with regard to all relevant commodities and products supplied by each particular supplier.
Amendment 226 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point d
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point d
(d) geo-localisation coordinates, latitude and longitude of all plots of landproduction area coordinates collected via geo-localisation including but not limited to plot, farm, villages, landscape or district areas where the relevant commodities and products were produced, as well as date or time range of production;
Amendment 228 #
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, as well as international laws and standards;
Amendment 232 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 3
Article 9 – paragraph 3
Amendment 251 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 6 – point b a (new)
Article 10 – paragraph 6 – point b a (new)
(ba) a policy on re-entry criteria in line with the Accountability Framework Initiative.
Amendment 255 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 11 – paragraph 1
Article 11 – paragraph 1
1. In order to exercise due diligence in accordance with Article 8, operators shall establish and keep up to date a due diligence system to ensure that they can guarantee compliance with the requirements set out in Article 3(a) and (b). Operators shall, on a annual basis, publicly report on their due diligence system. The due diligence system shall be reviewed at least once a year and if necessary adapted to and accounting for new developments which may influence the exercise of due diligence. Operators shall keep record of updates in the due diligence system(s) for 5 years.
Amendment 257 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 1
Article 12 – paragraph 1
1. When placing relevant commodities or products for the first time 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.
Amendment 260 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 a (new)
Article 12 a (new)
Amendment 265 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 1
Article 14 – paragraph 1
1. The competent authorities shall carry out checks to establish whether operators and traders comply with their obligations under this Regulation and whether the relevant commodities and products placed or made available on the Union market or exported from it are compliant with the requirements of this Regulation, through the examination of the annual third-party audit reports of operators’ due diligence procedure.
Amendment 267 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 5
Article 14 – paragraph 5
5. Based on the risk analysis under paragraph 4 and any other relevant information, the competent authorities shall identify the operators and traders to be checked according to Articles 15 and 16 with a view to favour check to those operators and traders who do not have a consistent record of full compliance with the requirements of this regulation.
Amendment 275 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. The checks on operators, including through the annual third-party audit of operators’ due diligence procedure, shall include:
Amendment 282 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 1
Article 18 – paragraph 1
1. Competent authorities shall cooperate with each other, with authorities from other Member States, with the Commission, with customs authorities, and if necessary, with administrative authorities of third countries in order to ensure compliance with this Regulation.
Amendment 283 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 3
Article 18 – paragraph 3
3. Competent authorities shall exchange information necessary for the enforcement of this Regulation. This shall include giving access to and exchange of data on operators and traders including annual third-party audit report of due diligence statementsprocedure with other Member States’ competent authorities to facilitate the enforcement of this Regulation.
Amendment 285 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 4
Article 18 – paragraph 4
4. Competent authorities shall immediately alert competent authorities of other Member States operators and traders concerned and the Commission when they detect infringement of this Regulation and serious shortcomings that may affect more than one Member State. Competent authorities shall, in particular, inform competent authorities of other Member States when they detect a relevant commodity or product on the market that is not compliant with this Regulation, to enable the withdrawal or recall of such commodity or product from sales in all Member States.
Amendment 287 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 1
Article 19 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall make available to the public and the Commission, at the latest by 30 April of each year, information on the application of this Regulation during the previous calendar year with the respect of relevant data protection law. This information shall include their plans for checks, the number and the results of the third-party annual audit report of due diligence procedure, the controls carried out on operators and traders, including the contents of these checks, the volume of relevant commodities and products checked in relation to the total quantity of relevant commodities and products placed on the market, the countries of origin and of production of relevant commodities and products as well as the measures taken in case of non-compliance and the costs of controls recovered.
Amendment 295 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 22 – paragraph 2 – point d
Article 22 – paragraph 2 – point d
(d) destroyonating the relevant commodity or product or donating it to charitable or public interest purposes.
Amendment 298 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 22 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Article 22 – paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Where appropriate, in the case of repeated infringements of the provisions of this Regulation, penalties shall be applied.
Amendment 306 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 24 – paragraph 10
Article 24 – paragraph 10
10. Customs authorities may destroyconfiscate or make at disposal to competent authorities with the aim to donate to charitable or public interest purposes a non-compliant relevant commodity or product upon the request of the competent authorities or where they deem it necessary and proportionate. The cost of such measure shall be borne by the natural or legal person holding the relevant commodity or product. Articles 197 and 198 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 shall apply accordingly. Upon request of competent authorities, non-compliant relevant commodities and products may alternatively be confiscated and placed by customs at the disposal of the competent authorities.
Amendment 308 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 25 – paragraph 1
Article 25 – paragraph 1
1. To enable the risk-based approach referred to in Article 14(3) for relevant commodities and products entering or leaving the Union market and to ensure that checks are effective and performed in accordance with the requirements of this Regulation, the Commission, competent authorities, operators and traders concerned and customs authorities shall cooperate closely and exchange information.
Amendment 311 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 26 – paragraph 2 – point a
Article 26 – paragraph 2 – point a
(a) Traders and operators to make available the due diligence statement of a relevant commodity or product via national single window environment for customs referred to in Article 8 of Regulation [PO to check the reference number and article number after the proposal is adopted] and receive feedback thereon from competent authorities as well as the annual third- party audit report of their due diligence procedure referred to in Article 4; and
Amendment 324 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 27 – paragraph 2 – point f
Article 27 – paragraph 2 – point f
(f) whether the country concerned has national or subnational laws in place, including in accordance with Article 5 of the Paris Agreement, and, if it is the case, the level of ambition of them compared with the Union legislation; and whether the country takes effective enforcement measures to avoid and sanction activities leading to deforestation and forest degradation, and in particular whether sanctions of sufficient severity to deprive of the benefits accruing from deforestation or forest degradation are applied.
Amendment 333 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 27 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 – point b
Article 27 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 – point b
(b) the invitation to respond to the Commission in writing with regard to the intention to changing the risk status of the country or parts thereof in a prescribed time;
Amendment 335 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 27 – paragraph 4 a (new)
Article 27 – paragraph 4 a (new)
Amendment 339 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 28 – paragraph 1
Article 28 – paragraph 1
1. The Commission shall engage with producer countries concerned by this Regulation to developuse existing and future partnerships and cooperation to jointly address deforestation and forest degradation. Such partnerships and cooperation mechanisms will focus on the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of forests, deforestation, forest degradation and the transition to sustainable commodity production, consumption processing and trade methods. Partnerships and cooperation mechanisms may include structured dialogues, support programmes and actions, administrative arrangements and provisions in existing agreements or agreements that enable producer countries to make the transition to an agricultural production that facilitates the compliance of relevant commodities and products with the requirements of this regulation. Such agreements and their effective implementation will be taken into account as part of the benchmarking under Article 27 of this Regulation.
Amendment 357 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 31 – paragraph 1
Article 31 – paragraph 1
1. The Commission shall establish and maintain, by the date established in Article 36(2), an information system (“Register”) which shall contain the due diligence statements made available pursuant to Article 4(2) as well as the annual third- party audit report of operators’ due diligence procedure.
Amendment 359 #
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 based on a detailed impact assessment and 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 landimpact of this Regulation on trade flows, especially on possible changes that may occurred which have insufficient due cause or economic justification other than avoiding obligations as laid down in this Regulation which could be viewed as a practice of circumvention. These practices may include replacing those products and commodities with hsligh carbon stocks and land with a high biodiversity value such as grasslands, peatlands and wetlands and further commodities. tly modified products, which are not included in the list of products and commodities in Annex I. Interested parties may inform the Commission of any perceived circumvention and the Commission shall investigate any substantiated claim introduced by an interested party. If circumvention is detected the Commission shall present a legislative proposal, to amend this Regulation in order to prevent future circumvention of this Regulation.
Amendment 365 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 32 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Article 32 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
2. No later than fivetwo years after the entry into force and at least every fivetwo years thereafter, the Commission shall carry out a general review of this Regulation, and shall present a report to the European Parliament and the Council accompanied, if appropriate, by a legislative proposal. The first of the reports shall include in particular, based on specific studies, an evaluation of:
Amendment 367 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 32 – paragraph 2 – point a a (new)
Article 32 – paragraph 2 – point a a (new)
(aa) 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.
Amendment 377 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 36 – paragraph 2
Article 36 – paragraph 2
2. Articles 3 to 12, 14 to 22, 24, 29 and 30 shall apply 124 months from the entry into force of this Regulation.
Amendment 378 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 36 – paragraph 3
Article 36 – paragraph 3
3. Articles referred to paragraph 2 shall apply 2436 months from the entry into force of this Regulation for operators that are microenterprises53 established by December 31, 2020, except for products covered in the Annex to Regulation (EU) No 995/2010. _________________ 53 As defined in Article 3(1) of Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings, amending Directive 2006/43/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directives 78/660/EEC and 83/349/EEC.