17 Amendments of Lara WOLTERS related to 2020/2027(INI)
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
A a. Whereas ensuring the liability for environmental damage is key to making European businesses more sustainable over the long term; whereas such an achievement is closely interlinked through the development of related legislation on corporate due diligence, corporate social accountability and sustainable corporate governance;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B c (new)
Recital B c (new)
B c. Whereas there is an increasing number of cases where victims of pollution caused by subsidiaries of European companies try to bring environmental liability lawsuits against parent companies before courts in the EU;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the ELD established ‘a framework of environmental liability based on the ‘polluter pays’ principle, to prevent and remedy environmental damage; whereas the ELD complements main pieces of EU environmental legislation, to which it is directly or indirectly linked, in particular the Habitat Directive9 , the Birds Directive10 , the Water Framework Directive11 , the Marine Strategy Framework Directive12 and the Offshore Safety Directive13 ; _________________ 10Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds, OJ L 20, 26.1.2010, p. 7. 11Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy, OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, p. 1. 12Directive 2008/56/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 establishing a framework for community action in the field of marine environmental policy, OJ L 164, 25.6.2008, p. 19. 13Directive 2013/30/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 June 2013 on safety of offshore oil and gas operations, OJ L 178, 28.6.2013, p. 66. 9Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p. 7.
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas operator insolvency as a consequence of major accidents remains a problem in the EU, thereby resulting in the disregard for the “’polluter pays’ principle;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls for the ELD to be revised as soon as possible and to be transformed into a fully harmonised regulation in order to achieve a level playing field for EU industry; emphasises that EU rules for liability of companies for environmental damage are currently not providing a level playing field , thereby distorting the proper functioning of the EU’s internal market;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. AskCalls the Commission to undertake a study to establish whether extending the scope of the ELD to align it with other pieces of EU legislation, including the ECD, could limit short- and long-term damage to the environment, human health and air qualityextend the scope of the ELD strict liability to non- Annex III activities to cover all environmental damage, as well as to human health, such as air pollution by cars violating EU car emissions legislation so as to improve the effectiveness of the legislation in implementing the ‘polluter pays’ principle; considers that such extension of scope would streamline the ELD with other pieces of EU legislation on protecting human health and environment, including the ECD, and would facilitate adding provisions to the ELD, such as including a requirement to carry out preventive measures and emergency remedial action, either in the directive itself or in national law implementing it; asks the Commission, furthermore, to assess wthether the precautionary principle approach properly presupposes potentially dangerous risks or effects; potential damage that the so-called industry-led ‘innovation principle’ can have on the short and long term, and the danger it poses to the established precautionary principle and its ability to limit liability in environmental damage;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Notes that the activities listed in Annex III do not sufficiently cover the sectors that could potentially give rise to environmental damage; points out that there are activities with potential negative impacts on biodiversity and the environment, such as the pipeline of transport of hazardous substances outside of industrial establishments covered by Annex III, mining, the introduction of invasive alien species and shale gas operations, that are currently not covered by the requirement for strict liability;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls on the Commission to assess whether it would be appropriate to introduce parental and chain liability for damage caused to human health and the environment20 ; _________________ 20 of Justice of 10 September 2009, Akzo Nobel NV and Others v CommissUnderlines the need to recognise the parental and chain liability of companies for the actions or omissions of their subsidiaries resulting in damage caused to human health and the environment, and the need for the implementation of a comprehensive monitoring system to provide competent authorities with an effective toolbox to monitor and enforce compliance with environmental and human rights requirements throughout their supply chains, particularly at local level, in line with/and in complement to the principle that EU undertakings have a duty of care and due diligence to prevent environmental harm caused by its subsidiaries active outside of the EU; underlines that such an enforcement system should allow NGOs, affected communities and victims to interact and proactively participate in the monitoring process, notably by submitting evidence and data on alleged violations of the European Communities, C-97/08 B, ECLI:EU:C:2009:536.environmental and human rights requirements; See, for instance, Judgment of the Court
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12 b. considers that a new legislation is urgently needed in order to establish clear, robust and enforceable cross- sectoral requirements on business enterprises to respect human rights, good governance and the environment and to carry out due diligence; stresses that such legislation should follow a cross- commodity approach, apply to all economic sectors in the supply chain, including the financial sector, both upstream and downstream, be accompanied by a robust reporting, disclosure and enforcement mechanism, including effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions for non-compliance;
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16 a. Recalls that the Union should not merely promote a high level of environmental protection on its own territory, but should also take all possible action to prevent environmental damage anywhere in the world caused by companies based in Member States; recalls that environmental damage is particularly frequent and serious in developing countries due to factors such as less stringent legislative frameworks for environmental protection or the industrial and extractive activity of multinational corporations in those countries; Also calls on the Commission to study, in light of the transboundary harm principle, the possible legal avenues to ensure that EU transnational corporations be held liable for their environmentally harmful activities conducted in third States, even when those activities are not linked to products or services marketed in the EU territory; calls on the EU and its Member States, in any event, to provide for access to justice by allowing victims to take the parent company to Court in the EU, notably in a context where many host state legal systems are inadequate; Calls for the extension of criminal and civil liability for companies that have a clear link to an EU Member State and that have caused or contributed or are linked to environmental harm in third countries wherever they failed to act with due diligence and took all reasonable measures to prevent the damage;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16 a. Reiterates that according to the ELD, persons adversely affected by environmental damage should be entitled to ask the competent authorities to take action; believes in this regard that a compensatory collective redress mechanism should be available to any individual or organisation that has suffered due to environmental damage or impairment of right within the scope of the ELD;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)
Paragraph 16 b (new)
16 b. Welcomes the Commission legislative proposal amending the Aarhus Regulation1367/2006 (COM(2020) 642 final) to allow for better public scrutiny of EU acts affecting the environment; taking into account that the European law stipulates that European citizens should be guaranteed effective and timely access to justice(Article 9(3) of the Aarhus Regulation, Article 6 TEU and relevant provisions of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights) and that the costs of the environmental harm should be borne by the polluter (Article 191TFEU), calls on the Council in its capacity as a co-legislator for the effective implementation of the third pillar of the Aarhus Convention to guarantee access to courts for natural persons and NGOs for representative action to directly file a lawsuit against an operator potentially liable for environmental harm;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Is of the opinion that in cases of extremely widespread pollution, not just environmental liability instruments, but a multitude of instruments, including administrative measures, financial penalties and in some cases criminal prosecution, should be applied to remedy the problem; notes that criminal penalties alone are often ineffective as they may lead to large dismissals of environmental cases especially in Member States where there is no criminal liability of the corporate entity; also notes that in many Member States administrative financial penalties are increasingly used; calls therefore on the Commission to facilitate, and on Member States to use, administrative fines as a complementary tool alongside criminal sanctions;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17 a. Calls for the scope of the ECD to be reviewed to ensure that it covers all relevant environmental legislation taking into account new types and patterns of environmental crime, including illegal logging and timber trade, illegal fishing, human-made fires and carbon credit fraud and all activities that contribute to cover-up environmental crimes;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)
Paragraph 17 b (new)
17 b. Calls for minimum rules under the ECD with regard to the definition of sanctions and on the Commission to issue guidance on what constitutes effective, dissuasive and proportionate sanctions and a uniform application of sanctions in the EU and minimum standards for national authorities on the frequency and quality of checks on operators; the ECD should include requirements for Member States on data collection, publication and reporting, while using synergies with existing reporting obligations for Member States under the EU sectoral legislation listed in the annexes to the Directive;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 d (new)
Paragraph 18 d (new)
18 d. Believes that there is a strong need for a mandatory, harmonised liability framework to be updated at Union level to contribute to the achievement of UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate objectives, ensuring a level playing field for all business; In that regard believes that companies should conduct mandatory environment impact assessments that have full respect for human rights, environmental obligations and the protection of biodiversity throughout their supply chains and in full respect of existing international standards, including the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the ILO Tripartite Declaration of Multinational Enterprise and Social Policy, the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct, the UN Global Compact and the UN Convention against corruption;
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 e (new)
Paragraph 18 e (new)
18 e. Stresses the importance of independent auditors to ensure that businesses behave in an environmentally sustainable way; calls on the Commission and the Member States to encourage European companies to regularly conduct independent environmental audits; suggests that Recommendation 2001/331 which provides in detail how environmental inspections should be conducted should be transposed into a binding document or regulation;