20 Amendments of Cecilia WIKSTRÖM related to 2013/0110(COD)
Amendment 65 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 6 c (new)
Recital 6 c (new)
(6c) With regard to environmental matters, the statement should contain, where applicable, details on the current and foreseeable impacts of an undertaking's operations on the environment, health and safety, the use of renewable and non-renewable energy, greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution and water use. As regards social and employee-related matters, the information provided in the statement should concern, in particular, the relationships maintained by the undertaking with its subcontractors, the implementation of fundamental conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), working conditions, social dialogue, health and safety at work and the dialogue with local communities, as well as the actions taken to ensure the protection and the development of those communities. Social matters should also include responsible behaviour on tax planning to ensure that a fair share of tax is paid in the right place and that aggressive tax avoidance is averted. With regard to human rights, anti-corruption and bribery, the non-financial statement should include information on, as a minimum, the prevention of human rights abuses and instruments in place in order to fight corruption and bribery.
Amendment 66 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 6 d (new)
Recital 6 d (new)
(6d) Social matters include responsible behaviour on tax planning to ensure that a fair share of tax is paid in the right place and that aggressive tax avoidance is averted.
Amendment 70 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 6 h (new)
Recital 6 h (new)
(6h) Undertakings should provide adequate and relevant information in relation to matters that stand out as being most likely to bring about the materialisation of risks of severe impacts, along with those that have already materialised. The severity of such impacts should be judged by their scale and gravity. The risks of adverse impact may stem from the undertaking's own activities or may be linked to its operations, products, services or business relationship such as suppliers, subcontractors and other business partners.
Amendment 72 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 7
Recital 7
(7) In providing this information, companies may rely on national frameworks, EU-based frameworks such as the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS), andshould rely, as a general rule, on national, EU-based or international normative frameworks such as the United Nations (UN) Global Compact, the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights implementing the UN ‘'Protect, Respect and Remedy’' Framework, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. This may also be complemented by other reporting frameworks such as the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS), the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) 26000, the International Labour Organization (ILO) Tripartite Declaration of principles concerning multinational enterprises and social policy, and the Global Reporting Initiative, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) or other recognised national, EU-based or international Rreporting Initiativeframeworks. In their statement, undertakings should specify which framework(s) they have relied upon.
Amendment 81 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 9 a (new)
Recital 9 a (new)
Amendment 98 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 11 a (new)
Recital 11 a (new)
(11a) The European Council of 22 May 2013 called for the mandatory introduction of country-by-country reporting for all large companies and groups as part of the revision of this Directive. Therefore, in order to provide for enhanced transparency of payments made to governments, large undertakings and public interest entities should disclose material payments made to governments in the countries in which they operate. Such disclosures should be audited.
Amendment 99 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 11 b (new)
Recital 11 b (new)
(11b) To mitigate aggressive tax planning and avoidance by EU undertakings, Member States should introduce general anti-avoidance rules (GAAR) in line with the European Commission Recommendation on Aggressive Tax Planning on the 12th December 2012 and the OECD Progress Report to the G20 on 5th September 2013. Furthermore, large undertakings in the Union should also make public a report on their aggressive tax planning systems, including other relevant information.
Amendment 107 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 16
Recital 16
(16) The obligation to disclose their diversity policies for their administrative, management and supervisory bodies with regard to gender and other aspects such as age, gender, geographical diversitydisability, ethnic or national origin, educational and professional background should only apply to large listed companies. Therefore small and medium-sized companies that may be exempted from certain accounting obligations under article 27 of Directive 78/660/EEC should not be covered to by this obligationundertakings. Disclosure of the diversity policy should be part of the corporate governance statement, as laid down by Article 46a20 of Directive 78/660/EEC. Companie2013/34/EU. Undertakings not having a such a diversity policy should not be obliged to put one in place, but they should clearly explain why this is the case.
Amendment 117 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – point 1
Article 1 – point 1
Amendment 136 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – point 1 – point a
Article 1 – point 1 – point a
Directive 78/660/EEC
Article 46 – paragraph 1 – point b – subparagraph 2
Article 46 – paragraph 1 – point b – subparagraph 2
Where a company does not pursue policies in relation to one or more of these matters, it shall provide an clear and reasoned explanation for not doing so.
Amendment 150 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – point 2
Article 1 – point 2
Directive 78/660/EEC
Article 46 a
Article 46 a
Amendment 154 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – point 2 – point a
Article 1 – point 2 – point a
Directive 78/660/EEC
Article 46 a – paragraph 1 – point g
Article 46 a – paragraph 1 – point g
(g) a description of the company's diversity policy for its administrative, management and supervisory bodies with regard to gender and other aspects such as age, gender, geographical diversitydisability, ethnic or national origin, educational and professional background, the objectives of this diversity policy, how it has been implemented and the results in the reporting period. If the companyundertaking has no such policy, the statement shall contain a clear and reasoned explanation as to why this is the case.
Amendment 158 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – point 1 – point a
Article 2 – point 1 – point a
Amendment 176 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 a (new) – point a
Article 2 a (new) – point a
Directive 2013/34/EU
Article 2 – point 16 a (new)
Article 2 – point 16 a (new)
Amendment 179 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 a (new) – point d
Article 2 a (new) – point d
Directive 2013/34/EU
Article 19
Article 19
(d) Article 19 is amended as follows:
Amendment 183 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 a (new) – point d
Article 2 a (new) – point d
Amendment 189 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 a (new) – point e
Article 2 a (new) – point e
Directive 2013/34/EU
Article 20 – paragraph 1 – point c a (new)
Article 20 – paragraph 1 – point c a (new)
(e) In Article 20(1), the following point is inserted: (ca) In order to assess the proportionality of tax reduction methods employed by an undertaking, a description of the undertaking's tax planning arrangements should be specified which at least include: (i) aggressive tax planning arrangements including the general substance of advice received; (ii) transfer pricing arrangements and whether the transfer prices have been agreed by the revenue authorities in each of the countries concerned; (iii) permanent establishment decisions and a list of countries where the undertaking trades without having a permanent establishment; (iv) base erosion methods via interest deduction, royalties and other financial payments, including where brands are developed, where they are paid for by subsidiaries and whether they are owned by the parent company in their main operating base or if not, where domiciled for tax purposes; (v) where research and development takes place and how this is recovered from subsidiaries.
Amendment 193 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 a (new) – point e
Article 2 a (new) – point e
Directive 2013/34/EU
Article 20 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 20 – paragraph 1 a (new)
(e) In Article 20, the following paragraph 1 a is inserted: 1a. Member States shall require large undertakings and all public-interest entities to publicly disclose annually a country-by-country report on a consolidated basis for the financial year. These obligations shall not apply to any undertaking governed by the law of a Member State which is a subsidiary or parent undertaking, where both of the following conditions are fulfilled: (a) the parent undertaking is subject to the laws of a Member State; and (b) the country-by-country report made by the undertaking are included in the consolidated report on payment to governments drawn up by that parent undertaking in accordance with Article 39. The information referred to in paragraph 1 shall be audited in accordance with Directive 2006/43/EC. The Commission shall conduct a general assessment report as regards potential economic consequences of the public disclosure of the country-by-country report, except those entities which publically disclose in accordance with Article 42, including the impact on competitiveness and investment, and may consider recommending that this information should be available to the competent tax authorities, only in the case of a negative assessment. The Commission shall submit its report to the Council and the European Parliament by 31 December 2015.
Amendment 195 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 a (new) – point e
Article 2 a (new) – point e
Directive 2013/34/EU
Article 20 – paragraph 3
Article 20 – paragraph 3
(e) In Article 20, paragraph 3 is replaced by the following: '3. The statutory auditor or audit firm shall express an opinion in accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 34(1) regarding information prepared under points (c), (ca), (cb) and (d) of paragraph 1 of this Article and shall check that the information referred to in points (a), (b), (e), (f), and (g) of paragraph 1 and paragraph 1a of this Article has been provided.'
Amendment 198 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 a (new) – point f
Article 2 a (new) – point f
Directive 2013/34/EC
Article 29 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 29 – paragraph 1 a (new)
(f) In Article 29, the following paragraph is inserted: '1a. For the purposes of paragraph 1 of this Article, the review of parent undertakings of a large group whose average number of employees during the financial year exceeds 500 shall also include a non-financial statement containing information relating to, as a minimum, environmental, social and employee matters, respect for human rights, and the fight against corruption and bribery, including: (a) a description of the policies pursued by the undertaking in relation to these matters, (b) the results of those policies; (c) the risks related to matters linked to the undertaking's activities, operations, products and services or through its business relationships which are likely to cause adverse impacts in these areas; (d) how the company manages those risks, including through due diligence processes. Where the group does not pursue policies in relation to one or more of these matters, the review shall provide a reasoned explanation for not doing so. In providing the information required by the first subparagraph, the parent undertaking shall rely on national, EU- based or international frameworks, and if so, the parent undertaking shall specify which frameworks it has relied upon.