67 Amendments of Nicolás GONZÁLEZ CASARES related to 2021/0366(COD)
Amendment 235 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
This Regulation lays down rules regarding the placing and making available on the Union market, including the release for free circulation and all the special Customs regimes, as well as the export from the Union market, of cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, soya and wood (“relevant commodities”) and products, as listed in Annex I, that contain, have been fed with or have been made using relevant commodities (“relevant products”), with a view to
Amendment 238 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
This Regulation lays down rules regarding the placing and making available on the Union market, as well as the export from the Union market, of cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, soya and wood (“relevant commodities”) and relevant products, as listed in Annex I, that contain, have been fed with or have been made using relevant commodities (“relevant products”), with a view to
Amendment 259 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 2
Article 1 – paragraph 2
The Regulation shall not apply to relevant commodities and products placed on the Union market that were produced before the date established in Article 36(1) except for those already covered by Regulation (EU) No 995/2010 that shall substantiate full compliance of this latter Regulation prior to its repeal.
Amendment 343 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 9 a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 9 a (new)
(9a) ‘due diligence system’ means a written framework of procedures and measures to ensure that the risk of non- compliant relevant commodities or relevant products being placed or exported from the Union market is negligible;
Amendment 344 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 10
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 10
(10) ‘placing on the market’ means the first making available of a relevant commodity or product on the Union market, including the release for free circulation and all the special Customs regimes;
Amendment 387 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point c a (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point c a (new)
(ca) they are duly covered by a due diligence system as laid down in Article 8.
Amendment 392 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1
Article 4 – paragraph 1
1. Operators shall exercise due diligence prior to placing relevant commodities andor products on or prior to their export from the Union market in order to ensure their compliance with Article 3(a) and (b). To that end, they shall use a framework of procedures and measures, hereinafter referred to as a ‘due diligence’, as set out in Article 8.
Amendment 402 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 6
Article 4 – paragraph 6
6. Operators that have received newor detected new relevant information, including substantiated concerns, that the relevant commodity or product that they have already placed on the market is not in conformity with the requirements of this Regulation shall immediately inform the competent authorities of the Member States in which they placed the relevant commodity or product on the market. In the case of exports from the Union market, the operators shall inform the competent authority of Member State which is the country of production.
Amendment 409 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2
Article 5 – paragraph 2
2. The authorised representative shall, upon request, provide a copy of the mandate in an official language of the European Union to the competent authorities and a copy in the language of the member state in which the due diligence statement is handled or, failing that, in English.
Amendment 415 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – point a a (new)
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – point a a (new)
(aa) The reference number of the due diligence statement or statements assigned by the information system referred to in Article 31 regarding all the relevant commodities or products that have been supplied to them;
Amendment 416 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – point b
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – point b
(b) the name, registered trade name or registered trade mark, the postal addressregistered office in the country, the email and, if available, a web address of the traders to whom they have supplied the relevant commodities and products.
Amendment 422 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 4
Article 6 – paragraph 4
4. Traders which are SMEs that have received newor detected new relevant information, including substantiated concerns, that the relevant commodity or product that they have already made available on the market is not in conformity with the requirements of this Regulation shall immediately inform the competent authorities of the Member States in which they made available the relevant commodity or product on the market.
Amendment 429 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 1
Article 8 – paragraph 1
1. Prior to placing relevant commodities and productderivatives on the market or beforeprior to exporting them, operators shall exercisedevelop a due diligence with regard to allsystem for each relevant commoditiesy and productsderivative supplied by each particular suppliersupplier in order to ensure that the requirements established in Article 3 (a) and (b) are guaranteed.
Amendment 431 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Article 8 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
2. For the purposes of this Regulation, the due diligence system shall include the following:
Amendment 432 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 2 – point a a (new)
Article 8 – paragraph 2 – point a a (new)
(aa) the company’s policies on engagement, sourcing and risk management, as per Article 10 (6);
Amendment 433 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 2 – point c a (new)
Article 8 – paragraph 2 – point c a (new)
(ca) records of the activity per Article 11.
Amendment 439 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. Operators shall collect information, documents and data demonstrating that the relevant commodities and products are complianty with Article 3. ForTo this purpose, theend, operators shall collect, organise and keep for 5 years the following information relating to the, accompanied by evidence, on each relevant commodities ory and products, supported by evidence:for five years.
Amendment 454 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point h
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point h
(h) adequate and verifiable information throughout the supply chain ensuring that the production has been conducted in accordance with relevant legislation of the country of production, including any arrangement conferring the right to use the respective area for the purposes of the production of the relevant commodity;
Amendment 468 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 3
Article 9 – paragraph 3
3. The Commission may adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 33 to supplement paragraph 1 concerning further relevant information to be obtained that may be necessary to ensure the effectiveness of the application of the due diligence system.
Amendment 506 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 6 – point a
Article 10 – paragraph 6 – point a
(a) model risk management practices, reporting, record-keeping, internal control and compliance management, including for operators that are not SMEs, the appointment of a compliance officer at management level, specifying the contact details or an up-to-date contact email address;
Amendment 511 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 7
Article 10 – paragraph 7
7. The risk assessments, as well as, where appropriate, the risk mitigation decisions taken shall be documented, reviewed at least on an annual basis and made available to the competent authorities upon request.
Amendment 515 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 a (new)
Article 10 a (new)
Amendment 516 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 11 – title
Article 11 – title
Amendment 517 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 11 – paragraph 1
Article 11 – paragraph 1
1. In order to exercise due diligence in accordance with Article 8, operators shall establish and keep up to date a due diligence system to ensure that they can guarantee compliance with the requirements set out in Article 3(a) and (b). The due diligence system shall be reviewed at least once a year and if necessary adapted to and accounting for new developments which may influence the exercise of due diligence. Operators shall keep record of updates in the due diligence system(s) for 5 years.
Amendment 520 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 11 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 11 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. The due diligence system shall be reviewed at least once a year and if necessary adapted to and accounting for new developments which may influence the exercise of due diligence. Operators shall keep record of updates in the due diligence system(s) for 5 years.
Amendment 527 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 11 – paragraph 3
Article 11 – paragraph 3
3. Operators shall keep for at least 5 years all documentation related to due diligenceue diligence documentation, such as all relevant records, measures and procedures pursuant to Article 8er Article 8, allowing each product or commodity placed on the market, the risk analysis carried out and the result obtained to be identified beyond doubt. They shall make themse available to the competent authorities upon request.
Amendment 529 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 11 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Article 11 – paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. The Commission shall draw up guidelines with a basic and minimum structure of a due diligence system with indications and standard formats to facilitate and homogenise the approach of the operators and competent authorities.
Amendment 545 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 2
Article 12 – paragraph 2
2. However, if the operator obtains or is made aware of any relevant information that would point to a risk that the relevant commodities and products may not fulfil the requirements of this Regulation, all obligations of Article 9 and 10 have to be fulfilled.
Amendment 555 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 2
Article 13 – paragraph 2
2. By [threesix months after the date of entry into force of this Regulation], Member States shall notify the Commission of the names, addresses and contact details of the competent authorities designated pursuant to paragraph 1. Member States shall inform the Commission without undue delay of any changes to this information.
Amendment 556 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 13 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. If the amendment or extension of commodities and products foreseen in Article 32 requires new competent authorities responsible for carrying out the obligations, Member States shall notify the designations within three [or six] months after the entry into force of the delegated act
Amendment 570 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 3
Article 14 – paragraph 3
3. To carry out the checks referred to in paragraph 1, the competent authorities shall establish a check plan based on a risk-based approach. The check plan shall contain at least risk criteria to carry out the risk analysis under paragraph 4 and thereby inform the decisions on checks. In establishing and reviewing the risk criteria, the competent authorities shall take into account in particular the assignment of risk to countries or parts thereof in accordance with Article 27, the history of compliance of an operator or trader with this Regulation and any other relevant information. Based on the results of the checks and the experience on implementation of the check plans, the competent authorities shall review those check plans and risk criteria on a regular basis in order to improve their effectiveness. When reviewing the check plans, the competent authorities shall establish a reduced frequency of checks for those operators and traders who have shown a consistent record of full compliance with the requirements under this Regulation. The review by the competent authorities and the possible reduction of frequency of checks for operators and traders shall be without prejudice to the achievement of annual checks established by Article 14 (9) and Article 20.
Amendment 574 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 4
Article 14 – paragraph 4
4. In order to implement the risk- based plans of check plans established under paragraph 3, the competent authorities shall carry out a risk analysis of the object of control on the basis of the information contained in the due diligence statementdeclarations made available to them according toin accordance with Article 4(2). The risk analysis shall use the risk criteria included in the plans established under paragraph 3, and shall be carried out by means of electronic data-processing techniques integrated in the information system set out in Article 31.
Amendment 575 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 5
Article 14 – paragraph 5
Amendment 576 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 7
Article 14 – paragraph 7
7. The suspensions referred to in paragraph 6 shall end within 3 working days, starting from the date of check when a high risk of non-conformity in the commodities or product is identified in the Register, unless the competent authorities, based on the resultoutcome of the checks conductedarried out within that period, conclude that they require additional time to establishneed more time to determine whether the relevant commodities and derived products comply with the requirements of this Regulation. In such case, the competent authorities shall extend the period of suspension by means of additional interim measures taken under Article 21 or, in the case of relevant commodities or products entering or leaving the Union market, by notifying the customs authorities of the need to maintain the suspension under Article 24(6).
Amendment 579 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 8
Article 14 – paragraph 8
8. Competent authorities shall exchange information on and coordinate the development and application of the risk criteria referred to in paragraph 3 with competent authorities of other Member States and, with the Commission and with customs authorities, in order to improve the effectiveness of the enforcement of this Regulation.
Amendment 590 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 13
Article 14 – paragraph 13
13. The competent authorities shall keep records of the checks indicating in particular their nature and results, as well as on the measures taken in case of non- compliance, including administrative or criminal offences and penalties related to compliance with this regulation. Records of all checks shall be kept for at least 5 years.
Amendment 595 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) examination of the due diligence system, including risk assessment and risk mitigation procedures, except when Article 12 applies;
Amendment 599 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – point d a (new)
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – point d a (new)
(da) if any, examination, and conclusion when it applies, of the corrective measures and/or interim measures.
Amendment 602 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – point f
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – point f
(f) any technical and scientific means adequate to determine the exact place where the relevant commodity or product was produced, including isotope testinganatomical, chemical and DNA analysis, among others;
Amendment 603 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – point f a (new)
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – point f a (new)
(fa) any technical and scientific means adequate to determine the biological species affected by the regulation and contained in the relevant commodity or product included in Annex I, including anatomical, chemical and DNA analysis, among others.
Amendment 607 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 16 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) examination of documentation and records that demonstrate the compliance with Article 6(2);, (3) and (4).
Amendment 608 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 16 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Information proving that the trader is an SME.
Amendment 613 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 1
Article 17 – paragraph 1
1. Member States may authorise their competent authorities to reclaim from the operators or traders the totality of the costs of their activities with respect to instances of non-complianceinfringements.
Amendment 622 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 5 a (new)
Article 18 – paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. For the proper implementation of this Regulation, Member States shall cooperate to establish procedures for the exchange of scientific information, protocols and reference samples, so as to ensure the necessary scientific expertise in all reference laboratories of the Member States for the development of all types of analysis required in the implementation of this Regulation. Member States shall also cooperate in developing open databases among their reference laboratories to ensure efficient use of resources and optimisation of the technical and scientific means referred to in point (f) of Article 15 (1).
Amendment 627 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 1
Article 19 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall make available to the public and the Commission, at the latest by 30 April of each year, information on the application of this Regulation during the previous calendar year. This information shall include their plans for checks, the number and the results of the controls carried out on operators and traders, including the contents of these checks, the volumproportion/percentage of relevant commodities and products checked in relation to the total quantity of relevant commodities and products placed on the market, the countries of origin and of production of relevant commodities and products as well as the measures taken in case of non-compliance and the costs of controls recovered.
Amendment 629 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 2
Article 19 – paragraph 2
2. The Commission services shall make publicly available, on an annual basisat the latest by 30 June of each year, a Union-wide overview of the application of this Regulation based on the data submitted by the Member States under paragraph 1.
Amendment 638 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 20 – title
Article 20 – title
Amendment 645 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 21 – paragraph 1
Article 21 – paragraph 1
Where, following the checks referred to in Article 15 and 16, possible serious shortcomings have been detected, or risks have been identified pursuant to Article 14(6), the competent authorities may take immediate additional interim measures, including seizure or suspension of the placing or making available on and exporting from the Union market of the relevant commodities and products.
Amendment 646 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 22 – paragraph 1
Article 22 – paragraph 1
1. Without prejudice to Article 23, where competent authorities establish that an operator or trader has not complied with its obligations under this Regulation or that a relevant commodity or product is not compliant with this Regulation, they shall without delay require the relevant operator or trader to take appropriate and proportionate corrective action to bring the non-compliance to an end, both for the relevant commodities or products concerned and all others with the same risk profile.
Amendment 651 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 22 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Article 22 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, the corrective action required to be taken by the operator or trader shall include at least one or more of the following:
Amendment 654 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 22 – paragraph 2 – point d
Article 22 – paragraph 2 – point d
(d) destroying the relevant commodity or product or donating it to charitable or public interest purposes or destroying the relevant commodity or product.
Amendment 667 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 23 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 23 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Member States may publish the sanctions imposed for infringements of the Regulation, at least the amount of the sanction, the identity of the offenders and the infringement committed, with the exceptions that the protection of personal data imposes on this type of information. This publicity should be temporary, for a period of 5 years.
Amendment 698 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 24 – paragraph 3
Article 24 – paragraph 3
3. Customs authorities shall control the correct customs declaration of relevant commodities and products entering or leaving the Union market. Such controls shall be based primarily on risk analysis, with the purpose of identifying and evaluating the risks and developing the necessary countermeasures, and shall be performed within a common risk management framework on the Union level.
Amendment 701 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 24 – paragraph 8 – subparagraph 1
Article 24 – paragraph 8 – subparagraph 1
Where the competent authorities conclude that a relevant commodity or product entering or leaving the Union market is not compliant with this Regulation, they shall notify the customs authorities accordingly through the information system established under Article 31 (the Register). Competent authorities may also indicate in the information system that they object to placing the relevant commodity or product under other specific customs procedures.
Amendment 702 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 24 – paragraph 8 – subparagraph 2
Article 24 – paragraph 8 – subparagraph 2
Upon notification of thae not compliant status, customs authorities shall not allow the release for free circulation or export of that relevant commodity or product. They shall also include the following notice in the customs data-processing system and, where possible, on the commercial invoice accompanying the relevant commodity or product and on any other relevant accompanying document: ‘Non-compliant commodity or product —- release for free circulation/export not authorised —- Regulation (EU) 2021/XXXX.’ [OP to indicate reference of this Regulation].
Amendment 703 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 24 – paragraph 8 – subparagraph 3
Article 24 – paragraph 8 – subparagraph 3
Where the relevant commodity or product is subsequently declared for other customs procedures and provided that the competent authorities did not object to such placement, the notice shall be included by operator in the customs declarations and registered, under the same conditions, in the customs data-processing system and, where possible, on the accompanying documents used in connection with any such procedures.
Amendment 726 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 27 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Article 27 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
2. The identification of low and high risk countries or parts thereof pursuant to paragraph 1 shall take into account information provided by the country concerned at the request of the Commission and be based on the following assessment criteria:
Amendment 761 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 27 – paragraph 4
Article 27 – paragraph 4
4. The Commission shall, without delay, notify the competent authorities of inclusion or removal of a country from the list referred toany change or proposal of change in the status of a country or parts thereof according to the system set in paragraph 1.
Amendment 768 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 28 – paragraph 1
Article 28 – paragraph 1
1. The Commission shall engage with producer countries concerned by this Regulation as well as with those who are engaged with VPA FLEGT processes to develop partnerships and cooperation to jointly address deforestation and forest degradation. Such partnerships and cooperation mechanisms will focus on the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of forests, deforestation, forest degradation and the transition to sustainable commodity production, consumption processing and trade methods. Partnerships and cooperation mechanisms may include structured dialogues, support programmes and actions, administrative arrangements and provisions in existing agreements or agreements that enable producer countries to make the transition to an agricultural production that facilitates the compliance of relevant commodities and products with the requirements of this regulation. Partnerships may also include mechanisms to exchange with the demand-side all the information that guarantees compliance with this regulation. Such agreements and their effective implementation will be taken into account as part of the benchmarking under Article 27 of this Regulation.
Amendment 794 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 29 – paragraph 3
Article 29 – paragraph 3
3. The competent authority shall, as soon as possible and in accordance with the relevant provisions of national law, inform the natural or legal persons referred to in paragraph 1, which submitted observatiosubstantiated concerns to the authority, of its decision to accede to or refuse the request for action and shall provide the reasons for it.
Amendment 795 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 29 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Article 29 – paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. In order to facilitate the transmission on substantiated concerns from natural or legal persons from producer countries, and especially from local communities, the Commission shall establish a centralised communication procedure that may channel those concerns to the relevant Member States. This procedure shall be complementary to those established by competent authorities.
Amendment 819 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 31 – paragraph 2 – point e
Article 31 – paragraph 2 – point e
(e) allow the risk profiling of operators, traders and relevant commodities and products datasets for the purpose of identifying high risk consignments according to the risk analysis in Article14(4);
Amendment 822 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 31 – paragraph 4
Article 31 – paragraph 4
4. The Commission shall provide access to that information system to customs authorities, competent authorities, operators and traders and/or their legal representatives in accordance with their respective obligations under this Regulation.
Amendment 824 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 31 – paragraph 5
Article 31 – paragraph 5
5. In line with the EU’s Open Data Policy, and in particular the Directive (EU) 2019/102451 , the Commission shall provide access to the wider public, except for the information in paragraph 2(e) of this Article, to the complete anonymised datasets of the information system in an open format that can be machine-readable and that ensures interoperability, re-use and accessibility. __________________ 51 Directive (EU) 2019/1024 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on open data and the re-use of public sector information (OJ L 172, 26.6.2019, p. 56–83).
Amendment 852 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 32 – paragraph 2 – point b a (new)
Article 32 – paragraph 2 – point b a (new)
(ba) an analysis of the progress in meeting the objectives of the Regulation, in particular regarding reducing deforestation and forest degradation;
Amendment 853 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 32 – paragraph 2 – point b b (new)
Article 32 – paragraph 2 – point b b (new)
(bb) an analysis of the efficiency and effectiveness of the obligations imposed by the Regulation on the objectives pursued, in particular the effects on deforestation and the expected environmental benefits;
Amendment 890 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex II – paragraph 1 – point 2
Annex II – paragraph 1 – point 2
2. Harmonised System code, free-text description, and quantity70 of the relevant commodity or product that is intended to be placed on the Union market by the operator; For wood products where the species is a critical piece of information, the scientific name of the species or species that make up the product shall be incorporated. __________________ 70 The quantity must be expressed in kilograms of net mass, specifying a percentage estimate or deviation, and, when applicable, also in the supplementary unit set out in Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 against the indicated Harmonised System code. A supplementary unit is applicable when it is defined consistently for all possible subheadings under the Harmonised System code mentioned in the due diligence statement.