Activities of Helmut SCHOLZ related to 2022/0269(COD)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on prohibiting products made with forced labour on the Union market
Amendments (95)
Amendment 105 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) The eradication of forced labour is a priority for the Union. Respect for human dignity and the universality and indivisibility of human rights are firmly enshrined in Article 21 of the Treaty on European Union. Article 5(2) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union andexplicitly prohibits slavery, servitude, forced or compulsory labour and trafficking in human beings, Article 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights provide that no one is to be required to perform forced or compulsory labour. The European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly interpreted Article 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights as requiring Member States to penalise and effectively prosecute any act maintaining a person in the situations described set out in Article 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights.19The right to effective remedies for violations of fundamental rights is a human right, and a fundamental element in the process of effective prosecution of crimes. Existing Union law, the UN Guiding Principles on the Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), the Council of Europe, ILO20a and the OECD affirm the right of victims to an effective remedy for business-related human rights violations or abuses, including forced labour. Article 31 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights recognizes the right for every worker to fair and just working conditions which respect his or her health, safety and dignity. _________________ 19 For instance paras. 89 and 102 in Siliadin v. France or para. 105 in Chowdury and Others v. Greece. 20a ILO 2014 Protocol to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (Art 4) and ILO Forced Labour (Supplementary Provisions) Recommendation, 2014 (No 203) para 12 ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy para 64-66
Amendment 113 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) Through its policies and legislative initiatives, the Union seeks to eradicate the use of forced labour and promote decent work and labour rights worldwide. The Union promotes due diligence in accordance with international guidelines and principles established by international organisations, including the ILO, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (hereinafter “OECD”) and the United Nations (hereinafter “UN”), to ensure that forced labour does not find a place in the value chains of undertakings established in the Union or placing goods on the Union market.
Amendment 116 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6
Recital 6
(6) Union trade policy supports the fight against forced labour in both unilateral and bilateral trade relationships. The trade and sustainable development chapters of Union trade agreements contain a commitment to ratify and effectively implement theall fundamental ILO Conventions, which include ILO Convention No. 29 and ILO Convention No. 105. Moreover, unilateral trade preferences under the Union’s General Scheme of Preferences could be withdrawn for serious and systematic violations of ILO Convention No. 29 and ILO Convention No. 105.
Amendment 122 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 7
Recital 7
(7) The Anti-trafficking Directive (Directive 2011/36/EU) of the European Parliament and of the Council21(the Anti- trafficking Directive) harmonises the definition of trafficking in human beings, including forced labour or services, and establishes minimum penalties. Any rules laid down concerning the prohibition of placing and making available on the Union market domestic or imported products made with forced labour, or exporting such products, and the obligation to ensure that such products are withdrawn from the Union market (‘the prohibition’), should be without prejudice to that Directive, and in particular to the competence of law enforcement and judicial authorities to investigate and prosecute offences on trafficking in human beings, including labour exploitation, as well as preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims, particularly by strengthening victims’ rights in the areas of non-punishment, assistance and support, safe reporting, complaint mechanisms and remedies including compensation. _________________ 21 Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2011 on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA, OJ L 101, 15.4.2011, p.1.
Amendment 123 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 8
Recital 8
(8) [In particular, Directive 20XX/XX/EU on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence sets out horizontal due diligence obligations to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for actual and potential adverse impacts on human rights, including forced labour, and the environment in the company’s own operations, its subsidiaries and in its value chains, in accordance with international human and labour rights standards and environmental conventions. Those obligations apply to large companies over a certain threshold in terms of number of employees and net turnover, and to smaller companies in high-impact sectors over a certain threshold in terms of number of employees and net turnover.22 ] _________________ 22 Directive 20XX/XX/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence and amending Directive (EU) 2019/1937, OJ XX, XX.XX.20XX, p. XX.22 ]
Amendment 129 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12
Recital 12
(12) As recognised in the Commission’s Communication on decent work worldwide29, notwithstanding the current policies and legislative framework, further action is needed to achieve the objectives of eliminating forced-labour products from the Union market and, hence, further contributing to the fight against forced labour worldwide. Through the EU decent work agenda the EU commits to address forced labour and to promote decent work and labour rights including in global supply chains. As stated in the Commission’s Communication, the eradication of forced labour can only be achieved if other objectives of decent work, such as sustainable business conduct, social dialogue, freedom of association, collective bargaining and social protection, are promoted. _________________ 29 Communication 23 March 2022 from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council and the European Economic and Social Committee on decent work worldwide for a global just transition and a sustainable recovery (COM(2022) 66 final).
Amendment 130 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12 a (new)
Recital 12 a (new)
(12a) Promoting decent work and a human-centred future of work ensuring the respect of fundamental principles and human rights, promoting social dialogue as well as the ratification and effective implementation of relevant ILO conventions and protocols, strengthening responsible management in global supply chains and access to social protection are the core priorities of the EU as enshrined in the EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 2020-2024.
Amendment 131 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12 b (new)
Recital 12 b (new)
(12b) As stated in Article 8 of the ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (N. 182), State Parties shall take appropriate steps to assist one another in giving effect to the provisions of that Convention through enhanced international cooperation and/or assistance including support for social and economic development, poverty eradication programmes and universal education.
Amendment 132 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13
Recital 13
(13) The European Parliament in its resolutions strongly condemned forced labour and called for a ban on products made with forced labour.30It is therefore a matter of public moral concern that products made with forced labour could be available on the Union market , easily accessible on online marketplaces,or exported to third countries without an effective mechanism to ban or withdraw such products. _________________ 30 See Resolutions: MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on a new trade instrument to ban products made by forced labour (europa.eu), Texts adopted - Forced labour and the situation of the Uyghurs in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region - Thursday, 17 December 2020 (europa.eu), Texts adopted - Forced labour in the Linglong factory and environmental protests in Serbia - Thursday, 16 December 2021 (europa.eu).
Amendment 138 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16
Recital 16
(16) In order to ensure the effectiveness of the prohibition, such prohibition should apply to products for which forced labour has been used at any stage of their production, manufacture, harvest and extraction, packaging, transportation, distribution or storage, including working or processing related to the products. The prohibition should apply to all products, of any type, including their components, and should apply to products regardless of the sector, the origin, whether they are domestic or imported, or placed or made available on the Union market or exported.
Amendment 144 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 18
Recital 18
(18) Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (’SMEs’) can have limited resources and ability to ensure that the products they place or make available on the Union market are free from forced labour. The Commission should therefore issue guidelines on due diligence in relation to forced labour, which should take into account also the size and economic resources of economic operators. In addition, the Commission should issue guidelines on forced-labour risk indicators and on publicly available information in order to help SMEs, as well as other economic operators, to comply with the requirements of the prohibition.
Amendment 157 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 20
Recital 20
Amendment 161 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 21
Recital 21
(21) When identifying potential violations of the prohibition, the Commission and competent authorities should follow a risk-based approach and assess all information available to them. CThe Commission and competent authorities should initiate an investigation where, based on their assessment of all available information, they establish that there is a substantiated concerreasonable suspicion of a violation of the prohibition.
Amendment 165 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 22
Recital 22
(22) Before initiatDuring an investigation, competent authorities should request from the economic operators under assessment information on actions taken to mitigate, prevent or, remediate and bring to an end risks of forced labour in their operations and value chains with respect to the products under assessment. Carrying out such due diligence in relation to forced labour should help the economic operator to be at a lower risk of having forced labour in its operations and value chains. Appropriate due diligence means that forced labour issues in the value chain have been identified and addressed in accordance with relevant Union legislation and international standards. That implies that where the competent authority considers that there is no substantiated concern of a violation of the prohibition, for instance due to, but not limited to the applicable legislation, guidelines, recommendations or any other due diligence in relation to forced labour being applied in a way that mitigates, prevents and brings to an end the risk of forced labour, no investigation should be initiated.
Amendment 172 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 22 a (new)
Recital 22 a (new)
(22a) During the investigation, the Commission and competent authorities shall engage with stakeholders with the genuine intention to understand how relevant stakeholder interests are affected by its activities, prior to taking decisions that may impact them and take into consideration their interests. It involves the timely provision of all information needed by the potentially impacted stakeholders to make an informed judgment on how the decision could affect them. It should ensure follow-through on implementation of agreed commitments, ensuring that adverse impacts to impacted and potentially impacted stakeholders are addressed.
Amendment 176 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 23
Recital 23
(23) In order to ensure cooperation among the Commission and competent authorities designated under this and other relevant legislation and in order to ensure consistency in their actions and decisions, competent authorities designated under this Regulation should request information from other relevant authorities, where necessary, on whether economic operators under assessment are subject to and carry out due diligence in relation to forced labour in accordance with applicable Union legislation or Member States legislation setting out due diligence and transparency requirements with respect to forced labour.
Amendment 180 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 24
Recital 24
(24) During the preliminary phase of investigation, competent authorities should focus on the economic operators involved in the steps of the value chain where there is a higher risk of forced labour with respect to the products under investigation, while also taking into account their potential imbalance of power in the concerned supply chain. In their assessment they should also take into account the size and economic resources of the economic operator, the quantity of products concerned and the scale of the suspected forced labour.
Amendment 181 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 24
Recital 24
(24) During the preliminary phase of investigation,investigation, the Commission and competent authorities should focus on investigating the economic operators involved in all the steps of the value chain where there is a higher risk of forced labour with respect to the products under investigation, also taking into account their policies and practices (in relation to purchasing practices in particular), size and economic resources, the quantity of products concerned and the scale of the suspected forced labour.
Amendment 193 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 25 a (new)
Recital 25 a (new)
(25a) Where there is convincing evidence that specific products produced in specific geographic areas present a high risk of having been made with forced labour, experts should be able to identify those products as “high risk products”. For those specific products, economic operators should bear the burden of establishing that forced labour has not been used at any stage of production, manufacture, harvest, extraction, packaging, transportation, distribution or storage of a product, including working or processing related to the product.
Amendment 200 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 26
Recital 26
(26) Competent authoritieEconomic operators should bear the burden of establishproving that forced labour has not been used at any stage of production, manufacture, harvest or, extraction, packaging, transportation, distribution or storage of a product, including working or processing related to the product on the basis of all information and evidence gathered during the investigation, including its preliminary phase. To ensure their right to due process, economic operators should have the opportunity to provide information in their defence to the competent authorities throughout the investigation.
Amendment 208 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 27
Recital 27
(27) Competent authorities that establish that economic operators violated the prohibition, should without delay prohibit the placing and making available of such products on the Union market and their export from the Union, and require the economic operators that have been investigated to withdraw the relevant products already made available from the Union market and have them destroyed, rendered inoperable, or otherwise disposed of in accordance with national law consistent with Union law, including Union legislation on waste management. In the event of a repeated offence, economic operators are prevented from taking part in European tenders and are not authorized to sell their products on the internal market.
Amendment 212 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 27
Recital 27
(27) CThe Commission and competent authorities that establish that economic operators violated the prohibition, should without delay prohibit the placing and making available of such products on the Union market and their export from the Union, and require the economic operators that have been investigated to withdraw the relevant products already made available from the Union market and have them destroyed, rendered inoperable, or otherwise disposed of in accordance with national law consistent with Union law, including Union legislation on waste managementshould be seized. The cost of their storage should be borne by the economic operator and the products disposed of in accordance with national law consistent with Union law, including destined to social re-use or sold and the proceeds shall be directed to the victims.
Amendment 213 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 28
Recital 28
(28) In that decision, competent authorities should state the findings of the investigation, and the information underpinning the findings, and set a reasonable time within which the economic operators should comply with the decision, as well as information allowing for the identification of the product to which the decision applies. The Commission should be empowered to adopt the implementing acts necessary to specify the details about the information to be contained in such decisions. The decisions from the competent authorities should be made publicly available.
Amendment 217 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 29
Recital 29
(29) In setting a reasonable time to comply with the order, competent authorities should take into account the size and economic resources of the economic operators concernedThe proposal should clarify that any penalties to economic operators are non-transferable.
Amendment 225 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 30
Recital 30
(30) If the economic operators fail to comply with the decision of the competent authorities by the end of the established timeframe, the competent authorities should ensure that the relevant products are prohibited from being imported, placed or made available on the Union market, exported or withdrawn from the Union market and that any such products remaining with the relevant economic operators are destroyed, rendered inoperable, or otherwise disposed of in accordance with national law consistent with Union law, including Union legislation on waste management at the expense of the economic operators.
Amendment 228 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 31
Recital 31
(31) Economic operators should have the possibility to request a review of the decisions by the competent authorities, after having provided new relevant information showing that it cannot be concluded that the relevant products have been made with forced labour. Competent authorities should withdraw their decision where they establish on the basis of that new information, that it cannot be established that the products have been made with forced labour.
Amendment 232 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 32
Recital 32
(32) Any person, whether it is a natural or legal person, or any association not having legal personality, should be allowed to submit information to the competent authorities when it considers that products made with forced labour are placed and made available on the Union market and to be informed of the outcome of the assessment of their submission. Submissions should be addressed to one or more competent authorities. Adequate protection measures should be put in place to ensure the safety of any person associated with the submission or the information contained within it, including from retaliation and reprisals. To ensure ease of use for the submission of information and the standardisation of the information provided, the Commission should set up a centralised mechanism for the submission of information, available in all official languages of the institutions of the Union as well as relevant other languages, and free of charge, and ensure that it is user-friendly.
Amendment 237 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 32 a (new)
Recital 32 a (new)
(32a) The role of customs authorities is essential to the proper application of this Regulation. Member States shall provide them with sufficient human and financial resources to carry out their task of eradicating products derived from forced labor within the internal market.
Amendment 241 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 33
Recital 33
(33) The Commission should issue guidelines in order to facilitate the implementation of the prohibition by economic operators and competent authorities. Such guidelines should include guidance on due diligence in relation to forced labour and complementary information for the Commission and competent authorities to implement the prohibition. The guidance on due diligence in relation to forced labour should build on the Guidance on due diligence for Union businesses to address the risk of forced labour in their operations and supply chains published by the Commission and the European External Action Service in July 2021. The guidelines should be consistent with other Commission guidelines in this regard and relevant international organisations’ guidelines. The reports from international organisations, in particular the ILO, as well as other independent and verifiable sources of information should be considered for the identification of risk indicators.
Amendment 245 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 34
Recital 34
(34) Decisions of the Commission and competent authorities establishing a violation of the prohibition should be communicated to customs authorities, who should aim at identifying the product concerned amongst products declared for release for free circulation or export. The competent authorities should be responsible for the overall enforcement of the prohibition with regard to the internal market as well as products entering or leaving the Union market. Since forced labour is part of the manufacturing process, packaging, transport, distribution and storage and does not leave any trace on the product, and Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 covers only manufactured products and its scope is limited to release for free circulation, the customs authorities would be unable to act autonomously under Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 for the application and enforcement of the prohibition. The specific organisation of controls of each Member State should be without prejudice to Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council32and its general provisions on the control and supervisory powers of customs authorities. _________________ 32 Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 October 2013 laying down the Union Customs Code (recast) (OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 1).
Amendment 252 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 36
Recital 36
(36) Customs authorities that identify a product that may be covered by a decision communicated by competent authorities establishing a violation of the prohibition should suspend the release of that product and notify the competent authorities immediately. Competent authorities should reach a conclusion within a reasonable timeframe on the case notified to them by the customs authorities, either by confirming or by denying that the product concerned is covered by a decision or still under investigation. Where necessary the competent authorities should be authorised to require maintaining the suspension of its release. In the absence of a conclusion by competent authorities within the specified time limit, customs authorities should release the products if all other applicable requirements and formalities are fulfilled. Generally, the release for free circulation or export should also not be deemed to be proof of compliance with Union law, since such a release does not necessarily include a complete control of such compliance.
Amendment 269 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 42
Recital 42
(42) To ensure effective enforcement decisions taken by the Commission or a competent authority in one Member State should be recognised and enforced by competent authorities in the other Member States regarding products with the same identification from the same supply chain from the same production site, company, group of companies or region for which forced labour has been found.
Amendment 277 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 44
Recital 44
(44) To ensure effective enforcement of the prohibition, it is necessary to establish a centralised complaint mechanism at EU level as well as a network aimed at structured coordination and cooperation between the competent authorities of the Member States and, where appropriate, experts from customs authorities, and the Commission. That network should also aim at streamlining the practices of the competent authorities within the Union that facilitate the implementation of joint enforcement activities by Member States, including joint investigations. That administrative support structure should allow the pooling of resources and maintain a communication and information system between Member States and the Commission, thereby helping to strengthen the enforcement of the prohibition.
Amendment 283 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 45
Recital 45
(45) Since forced labour is a global problem and given the interlinkages of the global value chains, it is necessary to promote international cooperation against forced labour, which would also improve the efficiency of applying and enforcing the prohibition. The Commission should as appropriately cooperate with and exchange information with authorities of third countries and international organisations to enhance the effective implementation of the prohibition. International cooperation with authorities of non-EU countries should take place in a structured way as part of the existing dialogue structures, for example Human Rights Dialogues with third countries, or, if necessary, specific ones that will be created on an ad hoc basis. Existing dialogue structures with third countries include the (sub)committees on trade and sustainable development in trade agreements or the dialogue foreseen within the Generalised System of Preferences. EU Delegations should have an important role when it comes to disseminating information on this Regulation and should facilitate the possibility of third parties in third countries to provide information on the existence of forced labour on a determined product.
Amendment 284 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 45
Recital 45
(45) Since forced labour is a global problem and given the interlinkages of the global value chains, it is necessary to promote international cooperation against forced labour, which would also improve the efficiency of applying and enforcing the prohibition and increase efforts to tackle root causes of forced labour. The Commission should as appropriately cooperate with and exchange information with authorities of third countries and international organisations, as well as with other relevant actors including civil society, to enhance the effective implementation of the prohibition. International cooperation with authorities of non-EU countries should take place in a structured way as part of the existing dialogue structures, for example Human Rights Dialogues with third countries, or, if necessary, specific ones that will be created on an ad hoc basis. The EU delegations shall have a central role within the aim of effectively eradicating forced labour as well as for dissemination information about this Regulation and about the possibility of third parties to provide information on the existence of forced labour on a determined product.
Amendment 292 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1
Article 1 – paragraph 1
1. This Regulation lays down rules: a) prohibiting economic operators from importing, placing and making available on the Union market or exporting from the Union market products made with forced labour, and b) rules for economic operators to remedy victims of forced labour.
Amendment 301 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 2
Article 1 – paragraph 2
2. This Regulation shall not cover the withdrawal of products which have reached the eind-usividual consumers in the Union market.
Amendment 317 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point d
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point d
(d) ‘making available on the market’ means any import or supply of a product for distribution, consumption or use on the Union market in the course of a commercial activity, whether in return for payment or free of charge and in the case where the product is offered for sale online or through other means of distance sales, the making available on the market is deemed to take place when the offer for sale is targeted at users in the Union;
Amendment 320 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point f
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point f
(f) ‘product’ means any product that can be valued in money and is capable, as such, of forming the subject of commercial transactions, whether it is extracted, harvested, produced or, manufactured, packaged, transported, distributed or stored, including working or processing related to a product at any stage of its supply chain;
Amendment 327 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point g
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point g
(g) ‘product made with forced labour’ means a product for which forced labour has been used in whole or in part at any stage of its extraction, harvest, production or, manufacture, packaging, transport, distribution or storage, including working or processing related to a product at any stage of its supply chain;
Amendment 340 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point k
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point k
(k) ‘product supplier’ means any natural or legal person or association of persons in the supply chain who extracts, harvests, produces or, manufactures, packs, transports, distributes or stores a product in whole or in part, or intervenes in the working or processing related to a product at any stage of its supply chain, whether as manufacturer or in any other circumstances;
Amendment 349 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point n
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point n
(n) ‘substantiated concer'reasonable suspicion’ means a well-founded reason,able, yet not conclusive, level of assurance based on objective and verifiable information, for the competent authorities to suspect that products were likely made with forced labour;
Amendment 357 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point u a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point u a (new)
(ua) ‘root causes of forced labour’, for the purposes of this Regulation, means at the level of a country or region, the issues of economic exploitation, poverty, systemic discrimination, lack of regular and decent labour migration pathways among others. At the level of an economic operator, it includes prices below cost of production, lack of living incomes and living wages and more generally any unfair purchasing practices;
Amendment 358 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point u a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point u a (new)
(ua) 'meaningful engagement with stakeholders' means an interactive, responsive, ongoing and gender-inclusive process of engagement with potentially affected suppliers, stakeholders and their representative organisations, especially vulnerable stakeholders, such as workers, trade unions, smallholders, indigenous peoples and local communities before a potential decision on disengaging is made;
Amendment 360 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point u b (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point u b (new)
(ub) ‘meaningful engagement with workers and stakeholders’ means an interactive, responsive, ongoing and gender-inclusive process of engagement with potentially affected suppliers, workers and their representative organisations, as well as other stakeholders, such as civil society organisations including NGOs and local communities, with particular attention to vulnerable stakeholders, such as workers who are undocumented or in the irregular economy, smallholders, and indigenous peoples;
Amendment 362 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point u c (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point u c (new)
(uc) 'forced labour risk areas' means those countries or regions where there is evidence of wide-spread and/or systemic forced labour, including state-imposed forced labour, in an entire product group in a specific industry;
Amendment 363 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point u d (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point u d (new)
(ud) 'stakeholders' means: (i) (vulnerable) workers who might be impacted by the product ban; ii) other third parties with legitimate interest or whose rights or interests are or could be affected, such as communities, as well as civil society actors including trade unions, workers (self) organisations and NGOs;other legal or natural persons defending human rights (‘human rights defenders’), including individuals, groups and organs of society that promote and protect universally recognised human rights and fundamental freedoms and labour conventions, indigenous peoples or other vulnerable stakeholders;and iii) organisations whose statutory purpose is the defence of human rights;
Amendment 367 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 1 a (new)
The Commission or competent authorities may determine a violation in relation to products made with forced labour in either of the following cases: a. a particular production site, or a group of production sites; b. a particular operator or company, or group of operators or companies; c. a particular transport vessel or fleet; or d. a particular product group from a specific region or country.
Amendment 381 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2
Article 4 – paragraph 2
2. In their assessment of the likelihood that economic operators violated Article 3, competent authorities shall in a first instance focus on the economic operators involved in the steps of the value chain as close as possible to where the risk of forced labour is likely to occur and, while also taking into account the potential imbalance of power in the concerned supply chain. In their assessment they shall also take into account the size and economic resources of the economic operators, the quantity of products concerned, as well as the scale of suspected forced labour.
Amendment 388 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 3 – introductory part
Article 4 – paragraph 3 – introductory part
3. BeforeIf authorities initiatinge an investigation in accordance with Article 5(1), the competent authority shall in instances where it is deemed that such information is material request from the economic operators under assessment and relevant product suppliers information on actions taken to identify, prevent, mitigate or bring to an end risks of forced labour and remediate forced labour cases in their operations and value chains with respect to the products under assessment, including on the basis of any of the following:
Amendment 396 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 (new)
The competent authority shall ensure that when economic operators refer to actions taken, as referred to above, those economic operators also identify and assess the impacts of their business models and strategies, including trading, procurement and pricing practices.
Amendment 400 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 4
Article 4 – paragraph 4
4. Economic operators and relevant product suppliers shall respond to the request of the competent authority referred to in paragraph 3 within 15 working days from the day they received such request. Economic operators may provide to competent authorities any other information they may deem useful for the purposes of this Article.
Amendment 407 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 4 a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Notwithstanding paragraph 5, competent authorities may conclude that there is substantiated concern, on the basis of any other facts available where it was not possible to gather information and evidence pursuant to Article 4(4).
Amendment 409 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 5
Article 4 – paragraph 5
5. Within 30 working days from the date of receipt of the information submitted by economic operators and relevant product suppliers pursuant to paragraph 4, the competent authorities shall conclude the preliminary phase of their investigation as to whether there is a substantiated concern of violation of Article 3 on the basis of the assessment referred to in paragraph 1 and the information submitted by economic operators pursuant to paragraph 4.
Amendment 415 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 6
Article 4 – paragraph 6
Amendment 426 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 7
Article 4 – paragraph 7
7. Competent authorities shall not initiate an investigation pursuant to Article 5, and shall inform the economic operators under assessment accordingly, where, on the basis of the assessment referred to in paragraph 1 and the information submitted by economic operators pursuant to paragraph 4, the competent authorities consider that there is no substantiated concern of a violation of Article 3, and that the reasons that motivated the existence of a substantiated concern have been eliminated, for instance due to, but not limited to, the applicable legislation, guidelines, recommendations or any other due diligence in relation to forced labour referred to in paragraph 3 being applied in a way that mitigates, prevents and brings to an end the risk of forced labour and remediates forced labour cases.
Amendment 431 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 a (new)
Article 4 a (new)
Article 4 a Evidence of forced labour 1.For the purposes of this Regulation, the existence of forced labour will be determined with reference to the indicators for forced labour set out by the ILO, which will be detailed by the Commission in guidelines documents. 2. The indicators for forced labour will be determined by: a. involuntariness, namely work for which a person has not offered themself voluntarily; and b. Penalty, or menace of a penalty, namely where the work is performed under the menace of a penalty to the worker, imposed by an employer or third party. 3. Evidence shall be assessed with reference to the ILO ‘Hard to See, Harder to Count’ guidance. 4. Where there is evidence of one indicator present under each of subparagraphs (2 (a)) and (2(b)), there will be evidence of forced labour for the purposes of this Regulation.
Amendment 438 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
2. Competent authorities that initiate an investigation pursuant to paragraph 1 shall inform the economic operators subject to the investigation, in case it has reason to believe that the economic operator is in possession of additional information which is material to the investigation. It should do so within 3 working days from the date of the decision to initiate such investigation, about the following:
Amendment 445 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – point c a (new)
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – point c a (new)
(ca) remind operators that they are required to engage with business partners in their value chains to remedy the violations, and that they shall pursue prevention, minimisation and remediation efforts in accordance with a time-bound plan;
Amendment 446 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – point c b (new)
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – point c b (new)
(cb) point out to operators that except for situations of State-Imposed Forced Labour, disengagement remains only the last resort where adverse impacts cannot be mitigated, and inform that economic operators shall engage meaningfully with stakeholders, especially affected workers and their representatives, where they are impacted by the decision to disengage before taking such a decision, and shall address the adverse impacts related to the decision to disengage and pursue remediation of past adverse impact where appropriate;
Amendment 451 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 5 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. In case where the economic operator is informed about the investigation, the Commission and competent authorities shall order the suspension of the circulation of products under investigation at any time during the investigation.
Amendment 479 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 6
Article 5 – paragraph 6
6. Competent authorities may carry out all necessary checks and inspections including investigations in third countries, provided that the economic operators concerned give their consent and that the government of the Member State or third country in which the inspections are to take place has been officially notified and raises no objection.
Amendment 486 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1
Article 6 – paragraph 1
1. Competent authorities shall assess all information and evidence gathered pursuant to Articles 4 and 5 and, on that basis, establish whether there is sufficient reason to believe that Article 3 has been violated, within a reasonable period of time180 working days from the date they initiated the investigation pursuant to Article 5(1).
Amendment 498 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 3
Article 6 – paragraph 3
3. Where competent authorities cannot establish that Article 3 has been violated, they shall take a decision to close the investigation and inform the economic operator thereof. The closing of the investigation for lack of proof shall not preclude the right of competent authorities to start a new investigation into the same product in case new relevant information arises.
Amendment 499 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 3
Article 6 – paragraph 3
3. Where competent authorities cannot establish that Article 3 has been violated, they shall take a decision to close the investigation and inform the economic operator thereof. This closing of the investigation for lack of proof shall not preclude the right of competent authority to start a new investigation into the same product should new information be made available.
Amendment 526 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 4 a (new)
Article 6 – paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. an order for the economic operator to provide remediation to affected workers according to their individual responsibilities as identified under Article 5(3). The remediation plan and its implementation strategy must be agreed upon between competent authorities, upon meaningful consultation, when possible, of affected workers and stakeholders.
Amendment 527 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 4 b (new)
Article 6 – paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. where applicable, an order for the economic operators to reform unfair purchasing practices.
Amendment 543 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 6
Article 6 – paragraph 6
6. Where competent authorities establish that economic operators have provided evidence to the competent authorities that they have complied with the decision referred to in paragraph 4, and that they have eliminated forced labour from their operations or supply chain and remediated forced labour cases with respect to the products concerned, and that sustainable and effective processes have been put in place to prevent harm from continuing or occurring again in the future, the competent authorities shall withdraw their decision for the future and inform the economic operators.
Amendment 550 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Article 6 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Economic operators shall avoid simply disengaging from their operators in order to eliminate forced labour from their supply chains. In case efforts to prevent, minimise and remedy the situation fail, then the economic operator shall consider disengaging in a responsible way. Before potentially reaching a decision to disengage, economic operators shall engage meaningfully with stakeholders that would be impacted by such a decision. Responsible disengagement entails, as a minimum, complying with collective agreements and articulating escalation measures. Economic operators shall act in accordance with the July 2021 Commission and EEAS guidance on combatting forced labour in supply chains.
Amendment 551 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 6 a (new)
Article 6 – paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Article 6 a (new) Remediation 1. Evidence of remediation measures shall include evidence of the following: a. financial and non-financial compensation, including payment of all due wages and compensation for moral and material damages based on the duration and extent of the forced labour, and any harms suffered; b. restitution for the victims, to restore their position before the forced labour took place, including relevant arrangements for restoring, renewing and/or obtaining relevant documents such as visas and work permits, and returning their passport and any other personal documents; c. rehabilitation (for example, provision of treatment or counselling); d. effective preventative measures and guarantees of non-reoccurrence of forced labour; and where it is accompanied by one or more of the above measures, apologies. e. other remediation measures as agreed upon by affected workers and stakeholders and the economic operators Evidence that remediation measures have been correctly implemented shall be obtained in consultation of the affected workers and stakeholders and their representatives.
Amendment 555 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) a reasonable time limit for the economic operators to comply with the order, which shall not be less than 30 working days and no longer than necessary to withdraw the respective products. When setting such a time limit, the Commission or competent authority shall where relevant take into account the economic operator’s size and economic resourcesdue diligence plans and the likelihood of the appropriate measures contained in this plan to end the forced labour within a reasonable time;
Amendment 563 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) all relevant information and in particular the details allowing the identification of the product and production site, to which the decision applies, including details about the manufacturer or producer, producer, production site, and the product suppliers;
Amendment 568 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2
Article 7 – paragraph 2
2. The Commission shall adopt implementingdelegated acts further specifying the details of the information to be included in the decisions. Those details shall as a minimum include details of information to be made available to customs authorities in accordance with Article 16(3). Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure pursuant to Article 29.
Amendment 572 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 8 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. The Commission and competent authorities shall ensure that any decision made by competent authorities, including a failure to make a decision, or a decision not to investigate, may be reviewed as an administrative decision of a public body in accordance with the Member States legal framework.
Amendment 590 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) any decision not to initiate an investigation following a preliminary phase of investigationthe reception of a complaint , referred to in Article 4(7)10;
Amendment 596 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 2
Article 9 – paragraph 2
2. The Commission shall make available the decisions, and the withdrawals referred to in the paragraph 1, points (c), (d), (e) and (g) on a dedicated public website. It shall also make the motives for a decision under point (a) public without revealing the identity of the economic operator.
Amendment 605 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 10 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. The Commission shall establish a centralised complaint mechanism to receive complaints and information regarding alleged or suspected forced labour, taking place within or outside the EU, from any natural or legal person, including workers or others affected or potentially affected by forced labour, civil society organisations including trade unions, affected communities, and any other individual or group that may have information regarding goods which are alleged or suspected to be made by forced labour.
Amendment 610 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 1 b (new)
Article 10 – paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Complaints may be lodged anonymously. Competent authorities shall ensure the protection of persons at risk of threats or reprisals as a result of having shared information in relation to products made using forced labour. Whistleblowers, workers, trade unions, civil society organisations, small economic operators within the supply chain, and others who address cases of forced labour who face threats or reprisals as a result of having shared information in relation to the objectives or implementation of this Regulation shall be eligible for support, including financial, legal aid and or physical protection as appropriate.
Amendment 616 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 10 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. The Commission shall, as soon as possible, inform the authorities of the country where the forced labour was identified.
Amendment 632 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 11 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 11 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. The database shall be public and easily accessible and include a list of all decisions and their motivations of competent authorities pursuant to Article 6, paragraphs (3), (4) and (6).
Amendment 633 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 11 – paragraph 1 b (new)
Article 11 – paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Third parties can petition the Commission to include omissions to the database. In case the Commission does not include it, will provide the reasons for not including information contained in the petition.
Amendment 648 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 11 a (new)
Article 11 a (new)
Article11a Public digital traceability system 1. A public digital traceability system shall be put in place by the Commission to enable mapping and tracing of products’ supply chains and information exchange regarding the manufacture and transport of products and in order to facilitate the accessibility of the information for competent authorities to implement this Regulation. 2. Member states shall require economic operators to publish on this digital system information relevant to the presence of forced labour, including location and type of production, relating to the operator’s own operations, subsidiaries, suppliers, sub-suppliers, contractors, and business partners in the whole supply chain, within the bounds of commercial confidentiality, privacy, and competition law. 3. Economic operators and importers shall be required to input the relevant information and data in the format that is compatible with this digital system, as set out in implementing legislation. 4. Member States shall ensure that data from their competent authorities are fed into the system on a continuous basis and ensure that such information is up to date.
Amendment 676 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 6
Article 14 – paragraph 6
6. The lead authority shall carry out the investigation and adopt a decision in accordance with Article 6 on the basis of the assessment of all evidence before it. When the accumulation of new complaints and evidence against a product and/or an economic operator renders it meaningful, the Commission may take over the investigation duty from a competent authority
Amendment 685 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 2
Article 16 – paragraph 2
2. Customs authorities shall be provided with information identifying the product, information about the manufacturer, transporter, storage company, importer or the producer and information about the product suppliers as regards products entering or leaving the Union market that have been identified by the Commission pursuant to paragraph 1, unless the provision of such information is already required pursuant to customs legislation referred to in Article 5(2) of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013.
Amendment 718 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 21 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Article 21 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
2. Cooperation among the Commission (including the Chief Trade Enforcement Officer), the Central Complaint Mechanism and relevant authorities and exchange of risk information necessary for the fulfilment of their respective functions under this Regulation, including through electronic means, shall take place between the following authorities:
Amendment 764 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 24 – paragraph 2
Article 24 – paragraph 2
2. The Network shall be composed of representatives from each Member States’ competent authority, representatives from the Commission and, where appropriate, experts from the customs authorities. EU delegations, particularly based in countries with regions identified as of high risk of forced labour, shall also be involved in the work of this Network.
Amendment 769 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 24 – paragraph 3 – point b
Article 24 – paragraph 3 – point b
(b) conduct joint investigations;
Amendment 780 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 24 – paragraph 3 – point f a (new)
Article 24 – paragraph 3 – point f a (new)
(fa) coordinate dissemination efforts in and outside the EU;
Amendment 783 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 24 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Article 24 – paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. mandate research or monitor situation of wide-spread and systematic forced labour in order to expand the database of risks of forced labour;
Amendment 791 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 25 – paragraph 2
Article 25 – paragraph 2
2. Where requested, tThe Commission, Member States and competent authorities shall treat the identity of those who provide information, or the information provided, as confidential. A request for confidentiality shall be accompanied by a non-confidential summary of the information supplied or by a statement of the reasons why the information cannot be summarised in a non-confidential manner.
Amendment 795 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 26 – paragraph 1
Article 26 – paragraph 1
1. In order to facilitate effective implementation and enforcement of this Regulation, the Commission mayshall as appropriate cooperate, engage and exchange information with, amongst others, authorities of third countries, international organisations, civil society representatives and, business organisations. and relevant stakeholders. International cooperation with authorities of third countries shall take place in a structured way as part of the existing dialogue structures with third countries or, if necessary, specific ones that will be created on an ad hoc basis. The Commission shall seek cooperation agreements with third countries, where relevant, in order to facilitate the exchange of information on investigation, including the reasons and evidence for decision taken to ban products from their jurisdiction. The Commission shall propose a multilateral trade instrument to ban the circulation of products made with forced labour at the WTO.
Amendment 797 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 26 – paragraph 1
Article 26 – paragraph 1
1. In order to facilitate effective implementation and enforcement of this Regulation, the Commission may as appropriate cooperate, engage and exchange information with, amongst others, authorities of third countries, international organisations, civil society representatives and business organisations. International cooperation with authorities of third countries shall take place in a structured way as part of the existing dialogue structures with third countries or, if necessary, specific ones that will be created on an ad hoc basis. Existing dialogue structures with third countries include the (sub)committees on trade and sustainable development in trade agreements or the dialogue foreseen within the Generalised System of Preferences.
Amendment 802 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 26 – paragraph 2
Article 26 – paragraph 2
2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, cooperation with, amongst others, international organisations, civil society representatives, business organisations and competent authorities of third countries may result in the Union developing accompanying measures to support the efforts of companies, and in particular SMEs, and partner countries' efforts and locally available capacities in tackling forced labour, and its root causes.
Amendment 810 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 26 a (new)
Article 26 a (new)
Article26a Development cooperation The Commission and Member States shall develop cooperation and partnership mechanisms with third countries to address the root causes of forced labour as well as to build the capacity of upstream economic actors to respond to the requirements under this Regulation.
Amendment 832 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 31 a (new)
Article 31 a (new)
Article31a Amendment to Regulation (EC) No 952/2013In Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 952/2013, the following subparagraph is added: Information received by customs authorities is presumed to be not confidential. Customs Authorities may classify data on a shipment-to-shipment basis as confidential if there is sufficient proof that the disclosure could cause substantial economic loss and is not relevant to safeguarding the consumers' health, conservation of the environment or the promotion of the interests of those suffering from the pursuit of the business.