6 Amendments of Jean-Paul GARRAUD related to 2023/0135(COD)
Amendment 144 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) To root out corruption, both preventive and repressive mechanisms are needed. Member States are encouraged to take a wide range of preventive, legislative and cooperative measures as part of the fight against corruption. Whereas corruption is first and foremost a crime and specific acts of corruption are defined in national and international law, failings in integrity, undisclosed conflicts of interests or serious breaches of ethical rules can become corrupt activities if left unaddressed. The prevention of corruption mitigates the need for criminal repression and has wider benefits in promoting public trust and managing the conduct of public officials. Effective anti-corruption approaches often build on measures to enhance transparency of political funding, ethics and integrity, deontological rules for at-risk audiences, codes of conduct in companies and declarations of interests and of assets for public officials, as well as by regulating in areas such as conflict of interest, lobbying and revolving doors. Public bodies should seek the highest standards of integrity, transparency and independence as an important part of tackling corruption more broadly.
Amendment 153 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) To avoid impunity for corruption offences in the public sector, the scope of application, encompassing all public officials and public servants, needs to be well defined. First of all, the concept of public official should also cover persons working in international organisations, including the institutions, agencies and bodies of the European Union and international courts. This should, amongst other things, encompass all members of control and audit bodies, judges (national judges of Member States, judges sitting in European courts and judges sitting in international courts), all parliamentarians (sitting in the parliaments of the Member States or in the European Parliament), members of the governments of the Member States and the leaders of the European executive (European Commissioners and the President of the European Council), persons acting as members of collegial bodies responsible for deciding on the guilt of an accused person in the framework of a trial, as well as persons who by virtue of an arbitration agreement are called upon to render a legally binding decision in disputes submitted by the parties to the arbitration agreement. Secondly, many entities or persons nowadays exercise public functions without holding a formal office. Therefore, the concept of public official is defined to cover all relevant officials, whether appointed, elected or employed on the basis of a contract, holding a formal administrative or judicial office, as well as all persons providing a service, which have been vested with public authority or who are subject to the control or supervision of public authorities in relation to the carrying out of such a service, even if they do not hold formal office. For the purposes of this Directive, the definition should cover persons working in state-owned and state- controlled enterprises, as well as in asset management foundations and privately- owned companies performing public service functions and the legal persons established or maintained by them. Any person holding a legislative office should be treated as a public official for the purposes of this Directive.
Amendment 165 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) It is necessary to strenghthen the legal framework to combat bribery and to provide law enforcement and prosecution with the necessary tools. In bribery of public officials, there are two sides to distinguish. Active bribery exists when a person, directly or through an intermediary, promises, offers or gives an advantage of any kind to influence a public official. Passive bribery exists when the public official requests or receives himself or a third party to act or refrain from acting in accordance with his duty or in the exercise of his functions. Passive bribery exists when the public official promises, offers or gives, directly or through an intermediary, such an advantagesin order to act or to refrain from acting in a certain way. This Directive should also set minimum rules on bribery and other forms of corruption in the private sector, where the immediate victims include companies that are impacted unfairly and where free competition is diminished by each bribe offered or accepted. , for himself or for a third party, in order to act in accordance with his duty or in the exercise of his functions. The concept of a public official guilty of active bribery or passive bribery shall cover both officials of the European Union and those of the Member States. This Directive should also set minimum rules on bribery and other forms of corruption in the private sector, where the immediate victims include companies that are impacted unfairly and where free competition is diminished by each bribe offered or accepted. It should also state that as all public officials are required to exercise their judgement or discretion impartially, the payment of bribes intended to influence the judgement or discretion of a public official and the acceptance of such bribes should fall under the definition of corruption.
Amendment 188 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 29
Recital 29
(29) Persons reporting information to competent authorities concerning past, ongoing or planned instances of corruption, which they have acquired in the context of their work-related activities, risk suffering retaliation in that context. Such whistleblowers’ reports can strengthen enforcement by enabling the competent authorities to effectively prevent, detect and prosecute corruption. Given the public interest in shielding public and private institutions from such acts, and in enhancing transparency, good governance and accountability, it is necessary to ensure that effective arrangements are in place to enable whistleblowers to use confidential channels, to alert competent authorities and to protect them from retaliation. Whistle- blowing can be a fundamental source of information in the fight against organised crime and in the investigation of corruption in the public sector. Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council47 applies to reports of breaches affecting the financial interests of the Union as referred to in Article 325 of the Treaty and as further specified in relevant Union measures and thus applies to the reporting of all criminal offences falling within the scope of Directive (EU) 2017/1371 of the European Parliament and of the Council48. As regards the criminal offences referred to in this Directive, Directive (EU) 2019/1937 should be applicable to the reporting of such offences and to the protection of persons reporting such offences under the conditions established therein. Beyond the obligations flowing from Directive (EU) 2019/1937, competent national authorities should ensure that persons providing evidence or otherwise cooperating with criminal investigations are given the necessary protection, support and assistance in the context of criminal proceedings. _________________ 47 Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law (OJ L 305 26.11.2019). 48 Directive (EU) 2017/1371 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2017 on the protection of the Union's financial interests by means of criminal law (OJ 198 L, 28.7.2017, p. 29).
Amendment 202 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 35
Recital 35
(35) To provide for an equivalent level of protection between the Union’s and the national financial interests, the provisions of Directive (EU) 2017/137160 should be aligned with those of this Directive by bringing together the provisions on public officials and the private sector in a single legal act. To this end, the rules applicable to criminal offences affecting the Union’s financial interests as regards sanctions, aggravating and mitigating circumstances and limitation periods should be equivalent to those laid down by this Directive. _________________ 60 Directive (EU) 2017/1371 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2017 on the protection of the Union's financial interests by means of criminal law, OJ 198 L, 28.7.2017, p. 29.
Amendment 417 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 20 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
Article 20 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
(ba) an offender who, at the time of the offence, was subject to the Staff Regulations or the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants, provided that a Member State has jurisdiction over such offences when they are committed outside its territory;