49 Amendments of Stanislav POLČÁK related to 2022/0051(COD)
Amendment 92 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 1
Recital 1
(1) The Union is founded on the respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights as enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. Those core values that have inspired the Union’s own creation, as well as the universality and indivisibility of human rights, and respect for the principles of the United Nations Charter and international law, shouldall guide the Union’s action on the international scene. Such action includes, inter alia, fostering the sustainable economic, social and environmental development of developing countries.
Amendment 99 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) The behaviour of companies across all sectors of the economy is key to success in the Union’s sustainability objectives as Union companies, especially large ones, rely on global value chains. It is also in the interest of companies to protect human rights and the environment, in particular given the need for long-term sustainability as a prerequisite for ensuring economic development for future generations and the rising concern of consumers and investors regarding these topics. Several initiatives fostering enterprises which support value-oriented transformation already exist on Union77[1], as well as national level78[2]. __________________ 77 ‘Enterprise Models and the EU agenda’, CEPS Policy Insights, No PI2021-02/ January 2021. 78 E.g. https://www.economie.gouv.fr/entreprises/ societe-mission
Amendment 104 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) Existing international standards on responsible business conduct specify that companies should protect human rights and set out how they should address the protection of the environment across their operations and value chains. The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights79[1] recognise the responsibility of companies to exercise human rights due diligence by identifying, preventing and mitigating the adverse impacts of their operations on human rights and by accounting for how they address those impacts. Those Guiding Principles state that businesscompanies should avoid infringing human rights and should address adverse human rights impacts that they themselves have caused, contributed to or are linked with in their own operations, subsidiaries and through their direct and indirect business relationships. __________________ 79 United Nations’ “Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations ‘Protect, Respect and Remedy’ Framework”, 2011, available at https://www.ohchr.org/documents/publicati ons/guidingprinciplesbusinesshr_en.pdf.
Amendment 107 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 7
Recital 7
(7) The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals83[1], adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, include the objectives to promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth. The Union has set itself the objective to deliver on the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The role of the private sector contributes tois crucial to achieving those aims. __________________ 83 https://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.as p?symbol=A/RES/70/1&Lang=E.
Amendment 117 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 12
Recital 12
(12) This Directive is in coherence with the EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 2020-202499 . This Action Plan defines as a priority to strengthen the Union’s engagement to actively promote the global implementation of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and other relevant international guidelines such as the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, including by advancing relevant due diligence standards.(Does not affect English version.) __________________ 99 Joint Communication to the European Parliament and the Council on the EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 2020-2024 (JOIN/2020/5 final).
Amendment 128 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 16
Recital 16
(16) The due diligence process set out in this Directive should cover the six steps defined by the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct, which include due diligence measures for companies to identify and address adverse human rights and environmental impacts. This encompasses the following steps: (1) integrating due diligence into policies and management systems, (2) identifying and assessing adverse human rights and environmental impacts, (3) preventing, ceasing or minimising actual and potential adverse human rights, and environmental impacts, (4) assessing the effectiveness of measures, (5) communicating, (6) providing remediation.(Does not affect English version.)
Amendment 159 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 26
Recital 26
(26) Companies have guidance at their disposal that illustrates how their activities may impact human rights and which corporate behaviour is prohibited in accordance with internationally recognised human rights. Such guidance is included for instance in The United Nations Guiding Principles Reporting Framework and the United Nations Guiding Principles Interpretative Guide. Using relevant international guidelines and standards as a reference, the Commission should be able to issue additional guidance that will serve as a practical tool for companies.(Does not affect English version.) __________________ 104 https://www.ungpreporting.org/wp- content/uploads/UNGPReportingFramewor k_withguidance2017.pdf. 105 https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/ Business/RtRInterpretativeGuide.pdf.https: //www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Busine ss/RtRInterpretativeGuide.pdf.
Amendment 172 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 31
Recital 31
Amendment 175 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 32
Recital 32
(32) In line with international standards, prevention and mitigation as well as bringing to an end and minimisation of adverse impacts should take into account the interests of those adversely impacted. In order to enable clontinuousg-term engagement with the value chain business partner instead of termination of business relations (disengagement) and possibly exacerbating adverse impacts, this Directive should ensure that disengagement is a last-resort action, in line with the Union`s policy of zero-tolerance on child labour. Terminating a business relationship in which child labour was found could expose the child to even more severe adverse human rights impacts. This should therefore be taken into account when deciding on the appropriate action to take.
Amendment 189 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 41
Recital 41
(41) In order to ensure that bringing actual adverse impacts to an end or minimising them is effective, companies should prioritize engagement with business relationships in the value chain, instead of terminating the business relationship, as a last resort action after attempting at bringing actual adverse impacts to an end or minimising them without success. However, this Directive should also, for cases where actual adverse impacts could not be brought to an end or adequately mitigated by the described measures, refer to the obligation for companies to refrain from entering into new or extending existing relations with the partner in question and, where the law governing their relations so entitles them to, to either temporarily suspend commercial relationships with the partner in question, while pursuing efforts to bring to an end or minimise the extent of the adverse impact, or terminate the business relationship with respect to the activities concerned, if the adverse impact is considered severe. In order to allow companies to fulfil that obligation, Member States shouldall provide for the availability of an option to terminate the business relationship in contracts governed by their laws in light of potential adverse human rights or environmental impacts that cannot be avoided or mitigated to the maximum extent possible.
Amendment 193 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 42
Recital 42
(42) Companies should provide the possibility for persons and organisations to submit complaints directly to them in case of legitimate concerns regarding actual or potential human rights and environmental adverse impacts. Organisations who could submit such complaints should include trade unions and other workers’ representatives representing individuals working in the value chain concerned and civil society organisations active in the areas related to the value chain concerned where they have knowledge about a potential or actual adverse impact. Companies should establish a procedure for dealing with those complaints and inform workers, trade unions and other workers’ representatives, where relevant, about such processes on their websites and directly in a transparent manner. Recourse to the complaints and remediation mechanism should not prevent the complainant from having recourse to judicial remedies. In accordance with international standards, complaints should be entitled to request from the company appropriate follow-up on the complaint and to meet with the company’s representatives at an appropriate level to discuss potential or actual severe adverse impacts that are the subject matter of the complaint. This access should not lead to unreasonable solicitations of companies.
Amendment 197 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 44
Recital 44
(44) Like in the existing international standards set by the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD framework, it forms part of the due diligence requirement to communicate externally relevant information on due diligence policies, processes and activities conducted to identify and address actual or potential adverse impacts, including the findings and outcomes of those activities. The proposal to amend Directive 2013/34/EU as regards corporate sustainability reporting sets out relevant reporting obligations for the companies covered by this directive. In order to avoid duplicating reporting obligations, this Directive should therefore not introduce any new reporting obligations in addition to those under Directive 2013/34/EU for the companies covered by that Directive as well as the reporting standards that should be developed under it. As regards companies that are within the scope of this Directive, but do not fall under Directive 2013/34/EU, in order to comply with their obligation of communicating as part of the due diligence under this Directive, they should publish on their website an annual statement in a language customary in the sphere of international business.(Does not affect English version.)
Amendment 260 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) the company globally, including all its subsidiaries and affiliates, had more than 500 employees on average and/or had a net worldwide turnover of more than EUR 150 million in the last financial year for which annual financial statements have been prepared;
Amendment 269 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b – introductory part
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b – introductory part
(b) the company did not reach the thresholds under point (a), but had globally, including all its subsidiaries and affiliates, more than 250 employees on average and had a net worldwide turnover of more than EUR 40 million in the last financial year for which annual financial statements have been prepared, provided that at least 50% of this net turnover was generated in one or more of the following sectors:
Amendment 345 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point h
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point h
(h) ‘independent third-party verification’ means verification of the compliance by a company, or parts of its value chain, with human rights and environmental requirements resulting from the provisions of this Directive by an duly authorised auditor which is independent from the company, free from any conflicts of interests, has experience and competence in environmental and human rights matters and is accountable for the quality and reliability of the audit, including legal liability to third parties who may suffer damage as a result of a deficient audit;
Amendment 357 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point l
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point l
(l) ‘severe adverse impact’ means an adverse environmental or climatic impact or an adverse human rights impact that is especially significant by its nature, or affects a large number of persons or a large area of the environment or affects the territory of two or more states, or which is irreversible, or is particularly difficult to remedy as a result of the measures necessary to restore the situation prevailing prior to the impact;
Amendment 411 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 2
Article 6 – paragraph 2
Amendment 417 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 3
Article 6 – paragraph 3
3. When companies referred to in Article 3, point (a)(iv), provide credit, loan or other financial services, identification of actual and potential adverse human rights impacts and adverse environmental impacts shall be carried out onlyboth before providing that service, and repeatedly during the provision of the service, depending on the nature of the service, but at least once every 12 calendar months. .
Amendment 437 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 1
Article 7 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall ensure that companies take appropriate measures to prevent, or where prevention is not possible or not immediately possible, adequately mitigatmitigate to the maximum extent possible potential adverse human rights impacts and adverse environmental impacts that have been, or should have been, identified pursuant to Article 6, in accordance with paragraphs 2, 3, 4 and 5 of this Article.
Amendment 444 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point a
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point a
(a) where necessary due to the nature or complexity of the measures required for prevention, develop and implement a prevention action plan, with reasonable and clearly defined timelines for action and qualitative and quantitative indicators for measuring improvement. The prevention action plan shall be developed in consultation with affected stakeholders;
Amendment 451 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point b
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point b
(b) seek contractual assurances from a business partner with whom it has a direct business relationship that it will ensure compliance with the company’s code of conduct and, as necessary, a prevention action plan, including by seek, where appropriate, by requiring corresponding contractual assurances from its partners, to the extent that their activities are part of the company’s value chain (contractual cascading). When such contractual assurances are obtained, paragraph 4 shall apply;
Amendment 466 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 3
Article 7 – paragraph 3
3. As regards potential adverse impacts that could not be prevented or adequately mitigatedmitigated to the maximum extent possible by the measures in paragraph 2, the company mayshould seek to conclude a contract with a partner with whom it has an indirect relationship, with a view to achieving compliance with the company’s code of conduct or a prevention action plan. When such a contract is concluded, paragraph 4 shall apply.
Amendment 470 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 2
Article 7 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 2
Amendment 474 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part
Article 7 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part
As regards potential adverse impacts within the meaning of paragraph 1 that could not be prevented or adequately mitigatedmitigated to the maximum extent possible by the measures in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4, the company shall be required to refrain from entering into new or extending existing relations with the partner in connection with or in the value chain of which the impact has arisen and shall, where the law governing their relations so entitles them to, take the following actions:
Amendment 477 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1 – point b
Article 7 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1 – point b
(b) terminate the business relationship with respect to the activities concerned if the potential adverse impact is severe or if there is no reasonable expectation that efforts to prevent or mitigate impacts will be successful in the short term.
Amendment 479 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 2
Article 7 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 2
Member States shall provide for the availability of an option to terminate the business relationship in contracts governed by their laws in light of potential adverse human rights or environmental impacts that cannot be avoided or mitigated to the maximum extent possible.
Amendment 509 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point c
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point c
(c) seek contractual assurances from a direct partner with whom it has an established business relationship that it will ensure compliance with the code of conduct and, as necessary, a corrective action plan, including by seekf one has been drafted, including, where appropriate, by requiring corresponding contractual assurances from its partners, to the extent that theyir activities are part of the company’s value chain (contractual cascading). When such contractual assurances are obtained, paragraph 5 shall apply.
Amendment 514 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point e
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point e
(e) provide targeted and proportionate support for an SME with which the company has an established business relationship, in particular where compliance with the code of conduct or the corrective action plan would jeopardise the viability of the SME;
Amendment 518 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 4
Article 8 – paragraph 4
4. As regards actual adverse impacts that could not be brought to an end or adequately mitigated by the measures in paragraph 3, the company mayshould seek to conclude a contract with a partner with whom it has an indirect relationship, with a view to achieving compliance with the company’s code of conduct or a corrective action plan. When such a contract is concluded, paragraph 5 shall apply.
Amendment 524 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 2
Article 8 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 2
Amendment 530 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 1 – point b
Article 8 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 1 – point b
(b) terminate the business relationship with respect to the activities concerned, if the adverse impact is considered severe, has occurred repeatedly in relation to the partner or in its value chain, or where there is a serious risk of recurrence.
Amendment 531 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 2
Article 8 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 2
Member States shall provide for the availability of an option to terminate the business relationship in contracts governed by their laws in light of potential adverse human rights or environmental impacts that are severe, have occurred repeatedly, or where there is a serious risk of their reoccurrence.
Amendment 545 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 1
Article 9 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall ensure that companies provide the possibility for persons and organisations listed in paragraph 2 to submit complaints to them where they have legitimate concerns regarding actual or potential adverse human rights impacts and actual or potential adverse environmental impacts with respect to their own operations, the operations of their subsidiaries and their value chains. It must be possible to submit such complaints in a manner that is accessible, secure, predictable and transparent, while allowing for anonymous or confidential submission methods.
Amendment 567 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 2 – point c
Article 9 – paragraph 2 – point c
(c) civil society organisations active in the areas related to the value chain concerned or defending the interests protected by this Directive.
Amendment 575 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 3
Article 9 – paragraph 3
3. Member States shall ensure that the companies establish a procedure for dealing with complaints referred to in paragraph 1, including a procedure when the company considers the complaint to be unfounded, and inform the relevant workers and, trade unions of those proceduresand, where appropriate, other workers’ representatives of those procedures in a transparent manner on their internet sites as well as directly. Member States shall ensure that where the complaint is well- founded, the adverse impact that is the subject matter of the complaint is deemed to be identified within the meaning of Article 6.
Amendment 583 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 4 – point b
Article 9 – paragraph 4 – point b
(b) to meet with the company’s representatives at an appropriate level to discuss potential or actual severe adverse impacts that are severe, have occurred repeatedly, or where there is a serious risk of their reoccurrence, and which are the subject matter of the complaint.
Amendment 596 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 10 – paragraph 1
Article 10 – paragraph 1
Member States shall ensure that companies carry out periodic assessments of their own operations and measures, those of their subsidiaries and, where related to the value chains of the company, those of their established business relationships, to monitor the effectiveness of the identification, prevention, mitigation, bringing to an end and minimisation of the extent of human rights and environmental adverse impacts. Such assessments shall be based, where on appropriate, on qualitative and quantitative indicators and be carried out at least every 12 months and whenever there are reasonable grounds to believe that significant new risks of the occurrence of those adverse impacts may arise. The due diligence policy shall be updated in accordance with the outcome of those assessments.
Amendment 647 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 15 – paragraph 2
Article 15 – paragraph 2
2. Member States shall ensure that, in case climate change is or should have been identified as a principal risk for, or a principal impact of, the company’s operationswhere a company’s activities contribute to greenhouse gas emissions to a greater than negligible extent, the company includes emission reduction objectives in its plan and subsequently implements that plan consistently.
Amendment 666 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 18 – paragraph 3
Article 18 – paragraph 3
3. Inspections shall be conducted in compliance with the national law of the Member State in which the inspection is carried out and with prior warning to the company, except where prior notification hinders the effectiveness of the inspection or significantly reduces it. Where, as part of its investigation, a supervisory authority wishes to carry out an inspection on the territory of a Member State other than its own, it shall seek assistance from the supervisory authority in that Member State pursuant to Article 21(2).
Amendment 686 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 20 – paragraph 3
Article 20 – paragraph 3
3. When pecuniary sanctions are imposed, they shall be based on the company’s turnover, with a view to ensuring that they have a sufficient deterrent effect.
Amendment 697 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 22 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 22 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) theyhave failed to comply with the obligations laid down in this Directive, in particular, but not exclusively, in Articles 7 and 8 and;
Amendment 699 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 22 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 22 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) as a result of this failure an adverse impact that should have been identified, prevented, mitigated, brought to an end or its extent minimised through the appropriate measures laid down in Articles 7 and 8 occurred and led to damage. The burden of proving that it has taken all the measures required by this Directive to prevent, mitigate, bring to an end or minimise the extent of the adverse impact shall be borne by the company.
Amendment 761 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 29 – paragraph 1 – point d
Article 29 – paragraph 1 – point d
Amendment 777 #
Proposal for a directive
Annex I – Part I – point 1
Annex I – Part I – point 1
1. Violation of the people'snations’ right to freely dispose of atheir land's natural resources and to not be deprived of means of subsistence in accordance with Article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;
Amendment 783 #
Proposal for a directive
Annex I – Part I – point 18 – point d a (new)
Annex I – Part I – point 18 – point d a (new)
(da) hinders the ability of ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities to practice their own culture, to practice and express their own religion or to use their own language with other members of the minority group, or
Amendment 787 #
Proposal for a directive
Annex I – Part I – point 18 – paragraph 1
Annex I – Part I – point 18 – paragraph 1
in accordance with Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Articles 5 and 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights;
Amendment 788 #
Proposal for a directive
Annex I – Part I – point 20
Annex I – Part I – point 20
20. Violation of the indigenous peoples’ right to the lands, territories and resources which they have traditionally owned, occupied or otherwise used or acquired in accordance with Article 25, 26 (1) and (2), 27, and 29 (2) of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples;(Does not affect English version.)
Amendment 789 #
Proposal for a directive
Annex I – Part I – indent 10
Annex I – Part I – indent 10
— The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples;(Does not affect English version.)
Amendment 795 #
Proposal for a directive
Annex I – Part II – subheading 1 a (new)
Annex I – Part II – subheading 1 a (new)
1. Violation of the obligation to take ambitious action to achieve the targets set out in Article 2 of the Paris Agreement, adopted under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, arising from Article 3 of that Agreement.