Activities of Milan BRGLEZ related to 2022/0051(COD)
Plenary speeches (1)
Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (debate)
Amendments (58)
Amendment 68 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 32
Recital 32
(32) In line with international standards, prevention and mitig, tracking, mitigation, remediation as well as bringing to an end and minimisation of actual and potential adverse impacts should take into accountfocus on the interests of those adversely impacted. In order to enable continuous 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 Unall persons, groups of persons and entities adversely impacted. In line with the Union’s policy of zero-tolerance on child labour, Union’s Strategy on the rights of the child1a and the target date of 2025 proclaimed by the United Nation`s policy of zero- tolerancefor the full elimination onf child labour. Terminat worldwide, when ending 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. s, the company should act in the best interest of the child. _________________ 1a https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal- content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52021 DC0142
Amendment 81 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 42
Recital 42
(42) Companies should provide thestablish the effective 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 comprehensively inform workers, trade unions and other workers’ representatives, where relevant, in due time about such processes and related measures. Recourse to the complaints and remediation mechanism should not prevent the complainant from having recourse to judicial remedies and enforcement. 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 116 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. This Directive shall apply to all companies which are formed in accordance with thin the Union, as referred to in principles 11 and 14 of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP) and standards of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), regardless of: (i) their size, both in terms of number of workers and turnover; (ii) whether they are lregislation of a Member State and which fulfil one of the following conditions:tered in the Union or in a third country; (iii) whether they operate in the public or private sector; (iv) whether the activity which they carry out is high risk or not; (v) the context in which they operate; (vi) their legal form;or (vii) their ownership or structure.
Amendment 122 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point a
Amendment 128 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b
Amendment 148 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Amendment 151 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
2. This Directive shall also apply to all companies which are formed in accordance with the legislation of a third country, and fulfil one of the following conditions: in line with UNGP principles 11 and 14.
Amendment 153 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point a
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point a
Amendment 157 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point b
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point b
Amendment 170 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) ‘adverse human rights impact’ means any adverse impact on protectedersons or groups of persons resulting from the violation, unjustified restriction or removal of the enjoyment of one of the rights or prohibitions listed in the Annex, Part I Section 1, as enshrinend in the international conventionand European Human Rights instruments listed in the Annex, Part I Section 2 which should be reviewed biennially including the subsequent case law;
Amendment 181 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point n
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point n
(n) ‘stakeholders’ means the company’s employees, the employees of its subsidiaries, and other individuals, groups, communities or individuals or groups of individuals as well as their representiatives whose rights or interests are or could be affected by the the products, services and operations of that company, its subsidiaries and its business relationshipa company and its branches, its subsidies and all entities with whom the company or any of its subsidiaries or branches have business relationships. These stakeholders can be organisations whose statutory purpose is the defence of human rights, social and labour rights, the environment or good governance, including workers and their representatives, trade unions, whistleblowers, civil society organisations, non profit organisations, citizens’ associations, local communities and public entities, indigenous peoples, human rights defenders and the undertakings’ shareholders;
Amendment 196 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. Member States shall ensure that companies integrate due diligence into all their corporate policies and have in place a functioning due diligence policy for the company, its subsidiaries, its branches and all entities with whom the company or any of its subsidiaries or branches have business relationships established with the comprehensive and effective involvement, consultation and information of workers, their representatives and trade unions. The due diligence policy shall contain in particular all of the following:
Amendment 200 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) a code of conduct describing rules and principles to be followed by the company’s employees and subsidiarieacross all functions and operations by the company’s management, its workers as well as its subsidiaries, its branches and all entities with whom the company or any of its subsidiaries or branches have business relationships;
Amendment 221 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 4
Article 6 – paragraph 4
4. Member States shall ensure that, for the purposes of identifying and assessing the adverse impacts referred to in paragraph 1 based on, where appropriate, quantitative and qualitative information, companies are entitled toshall make use of appropriate resources, including independent reports and information gathered through the complaints procedure provided for in Article 9. Companies shall, where relevant, also carry out consultations with potentially affected grouptrade unions and workers’ representatives, potentially affected persons and groups of persons including workers and other relevant stakeholders, to gather information on as well as identify and assess actual or potential adverse impacts. Trade unions and workers’ representatives shall be kept informed throughout the process.
Amendment 227 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
2. Companies shall be required to take the following actions, where relevant:
Amendment 232 #
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 trade unions, workers’ representatives and other affected stakeholders;
Amendment 253 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – introductory part
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – introductory part
3. Companies shall be required to take the following actions, where relevant:
Amendment 256 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point a
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point a
(a) fully neutralise and reverse the adverse impact or minimise its extentwithout undue delay or, if reversal or neutralisation is not possible, minimise its extent and mitigate its impact as quickly as possible by appropriate remedies, including inter alia by the full payment of damages to the affected persons, groups of persons or entities and ofull financial compensation to the affected communities. The action shall be proportionate to the significance and scale of the adverse impact and to the contribution of the company’s conduct to the adverse impactpersons, groups of persons or entities;
Amendment 259 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point b
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point b
(b) where necessary due to the fact that the adverse impact cannot be immediately brought to an end, develop and implement a corrective action plan with reasonable and clearly defined timelines for action and qualitative and quantitative indicators for measuring improvement. Where relevant, tThe corrective action plan shall be developed in consultation with affected stakeholders, including trade unions and workers’ representatives, and shall be publicly available;
Amendment 264 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 2 a (new)
Recital 2 a (new)
(2a) Children have specific rights enshrined in Article 24 of the Charter and in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. As such, the best interests of the child should be a primary consideration in all matters, including remedies, affecting them;
Amendment 274 #
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 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 businesses should avoid infringing human rights and should address adverse human rights impacts that they have caused, contributed to or are linked with in their own operations, subsidiaries and through their direct and indirect business relationships. The Children’s Rights and Business Principles provide a comprehensive set of principles to guide companies on the full range of actions they can take in the workplace, marketplace and community to uphold and promote children’s rights. General comment No. 16 (2013) to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child sets out State obligations regarding the impact of the business sector on children’s rights, which are further specified in General comment No. 25 (2021) as regards the digital environment. _________________ 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 295 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 2 – point b
Article 9 – paragraph 2 – point b
(b) trade unions and other workers’ representatives, including those representing individuals working in the value chain concerned, or those otherwise affected,
Amendment 313 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 4 – point a
Article 9 – paragraph 4 – point a
(a) to requestceive appropriate follow-up without undue delay on the complaint from the company with which they have filed a complaint pursuant to paragraph 1, and
Amendment 316 #
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 as well as adequate remedy that are the subject matter of the complaint., and
Amendment 321 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 4 – point b a (new)
Article 9 – paragraph 4 – point b a (new)
(b a) to request timely full and effective remedy of the situation.
Amendment 327 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 4 a (new)
Article 9 – paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Recourse to the complaints and remediation mechanism at company level shall not prevent the complainant from having recourse to judicial remedies.
Amendment 333 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 13 – paragraph 1
Article 13 – paragraph 1
In order to provide support to companies or to Member State authorities on how companies should fulfil their due diligence obligations, the Commission, in consultation with Member States and, the European cross-industry and sectoral social partners, other relevant stakeholders, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, the European Environment Agency, the European Labour Authority and where appropriate with international bodies like the UN, the ILO and the Council of Europe having expertise in due diligence, mayshall issue guidelines, including for specific sectors or specific adverse impacts and guidance on identifying high-risk activities.
Amendment 335 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 18 a (new)
Recital 18 a (new)
(18a) Companies whose primary activity revolves around children or provide services likely to be accessed by children or likely to have an impact on children shall put in place specific measures to embed safety-by-design features so as to mitigate any potential harm or adverse consequences prior the development of the product or the service;
Amendment 361 #
Proposal for a directive
Annex I – Part I – subheading 1
Annex I – Part I – subheading 1
Violations and restrictions of enjoyment of rights and prohibitions included in international and European human rights agreeinstruments
Amendment 362 #
Proposal for a directive
Annex I – Part I – subheading 1 a (new)
Annex I – Part I – subheading 1 a (new)
This includes especially the following:
Amendment 370 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 27
Recital 27
(27) In order to conduct appropriate human rights, children's rights and environmental due diligence with respect to their operations, their subsidiaries, and their value chains, companies covered by this Directive should integrate due diligence into corporate policies, identify, prevent and mitigate as well as bring to an end and minimise the extent of potential and actual adverse human rights and environmental impacts, establish and maintain a complaints procedure, monitor the effectiveness of the taken measures in accordance with the requirements that are set up in this Directive and communicate publicly on their due diligence. In order to ensure clarity for companies, in particular the steps of preventing and mitigating potential adverse impacts and of bringing to an end, or when this is not possible, minimising actual adverse impacts should be clearly distinguished in this Directive.
Amendment 372 #
Proposal for a directive
Annex I – Part I – point 21 a (new)
Annex I – Part I – point 21 a (new)
21 a. Violation of the right to work (for example article 6 ICECR)
Amendment 373 #
Proposal for a directive
Annex I – Part I – point 21 b (new)
Annex I – Part I – point 21 b (new)
21 b. Violation of the prohibition of violating or harassing women (for example ILO Convention 190, CoE ‘Istanbul Convention’)
Amendment 374 #
Proposal for a directive
Annex I – Part I – point 21 c (new)
Annex I – Part I – point 21 c (new)
21 c. Violation of rights without discrimination between men and women as expressed (for example in articles 1 and 2 of the CEDAW and article 3 of the ICCPR)
Amendment 375 #
Proposal for a directive
Annex I – Part I – subheading 2
Annex I – Part I – subheading 2
Amendment 386 #
Proposal for a directive
Annex I – Part I – indent 15 a (new)
Annex I – Part I – indent 15 a (new)
- ILO Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work, 2019
Amendment 387 #
Proposal for a directive
Annex I – Part I – indent 15 b (new)
Annex I – Part I – indent 15 b (new)
- Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (155) and its 2002 Protocol
Amendment 388 #
Proposal for a directive
Annex I – Part I – indent 15 c (new)
Annex I – Part I – indent 15 c (new)
- Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 2006 (187)
Amendment 389 #
Proposal for a directive
Annex I – Part I – indent 15 d (new)
Annex I – Part I – indent 15 d (new)
- Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019 (190)
Amendment 390 #
Proposal for a directive
Annex I – Part I – indent 15 e (new)
Annex I – Part I – indent 15 e (new)
- Termination of Employment Convention, 1982 (158)
Amendment 391 #
Proposal for a directive
Annex I – Part I – indent 15 f (new)
Annex I – Part I – indent 15 f (new)
- European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR)
Amendment 392 #
Proposal for a directive
Annex I – Part I – indent 15 g (new)
Annex I – Part I – indent 15 g (new)
- European Social Charter (revised) (ESC)
Amendment 393 #
Proposal for a directive
Annex I – Part I – indent 15 h (new)
Annex I – Part I – indent 15 h (new)
- Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (‘Istanbul Convention’)
Amendment 394 #
Proposal for a directive
Annex I – Part I – indent 15 i (new)
Annex I – Part I – indent 15 i (new)
- Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings
Amendment 395 #
Proposal for a directive
Annex I – Part I – indent 15 j (new)
Annex I – Part I – indent 15 j (new)
- Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data
Amendment 404 #
Proposal for a directive
Annex I – Part I – indent 23 a (new)
Annex I – Part I – indent 23 a (new)
- UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders
Amendment 405 #
Proposal for a directive
Annex I – Part I – indent 23 b (new)
Annex I – Part I – indent 23 b (new)
- International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families
Amendment 407 #
Proposal for a directive
Annex I – Part I – indent 23 c (new)
Annex I – Part I – indent 23 c (new)
- International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance
Amendment 757 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point l
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point l
(l) ‘severe adverse impact’ means an adverse environmental impact or an adverse human rights impact that is especially significant by its nature, or affects a large number of persons, particularly vulnerable persons such as children, or a large area of the environment, 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 817 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Children require a higher level of protection from adverse impacts caused by the behaviour of companies. Given children's unique stage of physical and psychological development, adverse impacts can be long-lasting and even irreversible. Consequently, companies should include specific provisions in their due diligence rules that take into account children's vulnerability;
Amendment 886 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 6 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Member States shall ensure that companies whose services are likely to be accessed by or likely to have an impact on children, shall take specific measures to identify actual and potential adverse impacts on children's rights. When designing or developing new services or products, companies shall analyse and assess any systemic risks stemming from the functioning and use of their services and products by children in the European Union.
Amendment 890 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 1 b (new)
Article 6 – paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. The development of a product or a service likely to be accessed by or likely to have an impact on children shall comply with specific standards for safety and safety-by-design tools.
Amendment 936 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point a a (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point a a (new)
(aa) Conduct child impact assessments, including prior to the development of a product or service likely to be accessed by or likely to have an impact on a child. Considering the particularly high risk of adverse impacts on children in the digital environment, providers of hosting or interpersonal electronic communication services and providers of hosting services shall perform risk assessments specific to their services that meet the highest European or International standards. Assessments should include the following systemic risks: a. the dissemination of illegal content or behaviour enabled or manifested as a result of their services; b. any negative effects for the exercise of the rights of the child, as enshrined in Article 24 of the Charter and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and detailed in the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child General comment No.25 as regards the digital environment; c. any intended or unintended consequences resulting from the operation or intentional manipulation of their service, including by means of inauthentic use or automated exploitation of the service, with an actual or foreseeable negative effect on the protection of the rights of children;
Amendment 939 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point a b (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point a b (new)
(ab) Implement regulatory frameworks, industry codes and terms of services that adhere to the highest available standards of ethics, safety, security, and sustainability in relation to the design, production, operation, distribution, and marketing of their products or services;
Amendment 949 #
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, child impact assessments, including by seeking 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 1042 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point a a (new)
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point a a (new)
(aa) Adapt or remove system design or product development features that expose children to content, contact, conduct, and contract risks, as identified in the child impact assessment; adapt the features or functioning of their services and products and their terms and conditions to ensure they prioritise the best interests of the child;
Amendment 1137 #
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 adverse environmental impacts with respect to their own operations, the operations of their subsidiaries and their value chains. Companies shall ensure that their internal complaint-handling and redress systems are easy to access and child-friendly, and enable and facilitate the submission of sufficiently precise and adequately substantiated complaints;
Amendment 1158 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 2 – point a
Article 9 – paragraph 2 – point a
(a) persons who are affected or have reasonable grounds to believe that they might be affected by an adverse impact, in case the complainant is a child, a legal guardian may bring a complaint on behalf of the child.