19 Amendments of Paolo DE CASTRO related to 2018/0082(COD)
Amendment 104 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) The relevant rules should apply to business conduct by larger, that is to say non-small and medium-sized, operators in the food supply chain as they are the ones who normally possess stronger relative bargaining power when trading with small and medium-sized suppliertheir suppliers. Those rules should not be to the detriment of the various social formations consisting of and governed by agricultural producers, the aim of which is to promote the agricultural and food products of their members under the best possible market conditions.
Amendment 117 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 11
Recital 11
(11) As unfair trading practices may occur at any stage of the sale of an agricultural and food product, i.e. before, during or after a sales transaction, or in connection with the provision of services related to that product by the buyer or group of buyers to the supplier, Member States should ensure that the provisions of this Directive should apply to such practices whenever they occur.
Amendment 133 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 12 a (new)
Recital 12 a (new)
(12 a) Nutrition labelling schemes unilaterally imposed by buyers on suppliers, which do not provide the consumers with comprehensive information, may discriminate between producers and mislead consumers in their choice of products. The imposition of such schemes may be considered as falling under the definition of unfair trading practice.
Amendment 149 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) Complaints by producer or supplier organisations or associations of such organisations, including representative organizations, can serve to protect the identity of individual members of the organisation who are small and medium- sized suppliers and consider themselves exposed to unfair trading practices. Enforcement authorities of the Member States should therefore be able to accept and act upon complaints by such entities while protecting the procedural rights of the defendant.
Amendment 157 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) The enforcement authorities of the Member States should have the necessary powers that enable them to effectively gather any factual information by way of information requests. They should have the power to order thebe impartial bodies with no conflicts of interest with operators in the agricultural and food supply chain and have an in depth knowledge of the functioning of the chain. They should guarantee the fair and proper functioning of the agricultural and food supply chain and promptly termination ofe a prohibited practice, where applicable. The existence of a deterrent, such as the power to impose fines and other equally effective sanctions and the publication of investigation results, can encourage behavioural change and pre-litigation solutions between the parties and should therefore be part of the powers of the enforcement authorities. Repeated infringements should be taken into account when determining the sanction to be applied. The Commission and the enforcement authorities of the Member States should cooperate closely so as to ensure a common approach with respect to the application of the rules set out in this Directive. In particular, the enforcement authorities should provide each other mutual assistance, for example by sharing all relevant information and assisting in investigations which have a cross-border dimension.
Amendment 204 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 2
Article 1 – paragraph 2
2. This Directive applies to certain unfair trading practices which occur in relation to the sales of agricultural and food products by a supplier to a buyer that is not a small and medium-sized enterprise to a buyer that is not a small and medium-sized enterprise, as well as to the services provided by a buyer and related to those products.
Amendment 235 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) “buyer” means any natural or legal person established in the Union who buys, irrespective of their place of establishment, who buys agricultural and food products by way of trade. The term "buyer" may include a group of such natural and legal persons;
Amendment 270 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
(b a) "supply agreement" means an agreement between a supplier and a buyer that covers price, quantities, delivery and payments conditions, as well as rights and termination procedures.
Amendment 284 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point e
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point e
(e) “perishable agricultural and food products” means agricultural and food products that will become unfit for human consumption unless they are stored, treated, packaged or otherwise conserved to prevent them from becoming unfitrapidly decay due to their natural characteristics, in particular in the absence of appropriate storage conditions.
Amendment 309 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point a – introductory part
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point a – introductory part
(a) a buyer pays a supplier for perishablelater than: - 30 calendar days starting from the last day of the month of receipt of the supplier’s invoice for perishable agricultural and food products, or later than 30 calendar days after the receipt of the supplier’s invoicedate of delivery of the perishable agricultural and food products; or - 60 calendar days starting from the last day of the month of receipt of the supplier’s invoice for non-perishable agricultural and food products, or later than 360 calendar days after the date of delivery of the non-perishable food products, whichever is the lateragricultural and food products. Member States shall ensure that, in sales transactions and for services provided where the buyer is a public authority, these practices are equally prohibited. Thisese prohibitions shall be without prejudice:
Amendment 321 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point a – indent 1 a (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point a – indent 1 a (new)
- to the rules on payment terms laid down in the statute of a producer organization or of an association of producer organizations, including cooperatives, of which an agricultural producer is a member, if that statute contains rules enabling members to scrutinise democratically their organisation and its decisions;
Amendment 345 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) a buyer unilaterally and retroactivelyimposes changes to the terms of the supply agreement concerning the frequency, timing or volume of the supply or delivery, the quality standards or the prices of the foodagricultural and food products or the services related to those products;
Amendment 462 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
2. Member States shall ensure that the following trading practices are prohibited, if they are not agreed in clear and unambiguous terms at the conclusion of the supply agreement or in any subsequent agreement between the buyer and the supplier during the validity of the supply agreement, or if they are the result of the economic dependence of the supplier on the buyer, which enabled the buyer to impose these terms:
Amendment 508 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Member States shall ensure that the trading practices referred to in paragraph 2 points (b), (c) and (d) are prohibited if the ensuing payments from the supplier to the buyer are not related to the costs incurred by the buyer.
Amendment 520 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 a (new)
Article 3 a (new)
Article 3a Contractual relations 1. Without prejudice to Articles 125 and 148 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, Article 168 of that Regulation applies to agricultural and food products as defined in Article 2 point (d) of this Directive. 2. Member States may identify, share and promote best practices concerning long- term contractualisation, aimed at strengthening the bargaining position of producers within the agricultural and food supply chain.
Amendment 532 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 a (new)
Article 4 a (new)
Article 4a Competent enforcement authority 1. The enforcement authority of the Member State in which a buyer suspected to have engaged in a prohibited trading practice is established, shall be competent to investigate unfair trading practices committed by the buyer. 2. If a supplier delivers its products to a recipient related to the buyer but established in a Member State which does not correspond to the place of establishment of the buyer suspected to have engaged in a prohibited trading practice, the enforcement authority of that Member State shall be competent to investigate unfair trading practices committed by the buyer. The recipient of the products shall be considered as jointly liable for infringements committed. 3. Where the buyer is established outside the Union, the enforcement authority of the Member State where the supplier is established shall be competent to investigate unfair trading practices committed against the supplier. 4. The enforcement authority shall also be competent to investigate unfair trading practices as regards the provision of services related to the supply agreement. The buyer shall be considered as jointly liable for any infringements committed by a third-party provider of the related services.
Amendment 565 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 2
Article 5 – paragraph 2
2. POrganisations of producers organisations or associations of producer of suppliers or associations of organisations of producers or of suppliers, including representative organiszations, whose member(s) or member(s) of their members consider(s) that they are affected by a prohibited trading practice shall have the right to submit a complaint.
Amendment 626 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 6 a (new)
Article 6 a (new)
Article 6 a Obligations of the enforcement authority 1. Enforcement authorities shall control and ensure the proper and fair functioning of the agricultural and food supply chain in the Union. 2. Within 60 days from the receipt of a complaint, the enforcement authority shall inform the complainant about its decision to act or not to act on the complaint. 3.Where the enforcement authority considers that there are insufficient grounds for acting on a complaint, it shall adopt a formal motivated decision rejecting the complaint and inform the complainant about that decision. The decision shall be subject to judicial review. 4. Where the enforcement authority considers that there are sufficient grounds for acting on a complaint, it shall initiate and conduct an investigation, which shall be concluded within six months from the initiation of the investigation. In duly justified cases, the period of six months may be extended by an additional period of six months. 5. Where, as a result of the investigation, an infringement of the prohibitions laid down in Article 3 is established, the enforcement authority shall require the buyer to terminate the prohibited trading practice and impose a pecuniary fine or other equally effective sanctions on the author of the infringement, in accordance with national legislation. The fine and the other sanctions shall be effective, proportionate to the harm caused and dissuasive taking into account the nature, duration and gravity of the infringement. Repeated infringements by the same buyer shall be taken into account when determining the pecuniary fine and the other sanctions to be applied. 6. The enforcement authority may abstain from taking any measure referred to in paragraph 5 of this Article, if such decision would risk revealing the identity of a complainant or disclosing any other information in respect of which the complainant considers disclosure harmful to his interests, provided that the complainant has identified that information in accordance with Article 5(3). 7. The enforcement authority may decide to publish its decisions relating to paragraph 5 of this Article.
Amendment 670 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 11 a (new)
Article 11 a (new)
Article 11a Reporting on effects on consumers 1. The Commission shall carry out an evaluation to establish whether specific trading practices which are unfair have negative effects on consumers, and shall present a report on the main findings to the European Parliament, the Council and the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. 2. On the basis of the findings of its report, the Commission may present appropriate legislative proposals.