44 Amendments of Lídia PEREIRA related to 2021/0191(COD)
Amendment 230 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) Environmentally sustainable bonds are one of the maian instruments for financing investments related to low- carbon technologies, energy and resource efficiency as well as sustainable transport infrastructure and research infrastructure. Financial or non-financial undertakings or sovereigns can issue such bonds. Various existing initiatives for environmentally sustainable bonds do not ensure common definitions of environmentally sustainable economic activities. This prevents investors from easily identifying bonds the proceeds of which are aligned with, or are contributing to environmental objectives as laid down in the Paris Agreement. A transparent, credible and effective process of defining and labelling these bonds, based on technical, scientific and knowledge-based criteria is, therefore, important to provide the market and the investors with solid information that aims to facilitate financial flows and investments.
Amendment 240 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6
Recital 6
(6) The lack of harmonised rules for the procedures used by external reviewers to review environmentally sustainable bonds and the diverging definitions of environmentally sustainable activities make it increasingly difficult for investors to effectively compare bonds across the internal and global market with respect to their environmental objectives. The market for environmentally sustainable bonds is inherently international, with market participants trading bonds and making use of external review services from third party providers across borders. Action at Union level could reduce the risk of fragmentation of the internal market for environmentally sustainable bonds and bond-related external review services, and ensure the application of Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council34 in the market for such bonds. __________________ 34 Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2020 on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment, and amending Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 (OJ L 198, 22.6.2020, p. 13).
Amendment 245 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 7
Recital 7
(7) A uniform set of specificset of harmonized requirements should therefore be laid down for bonds issued by financial or non- financial undertakings or sovereigns that voluntarily wish to use the designation ‘European green bond’ or ‘EuGB’ for such bonds. Specifying quality requirements for European green bonds in the form of a Regulation, respecting the subsidiarity principle, should ensure that there are uniform conditions for the issuance of such bonds by preventing diverging national requirements that could result from a transposition of a Directive, and should also ensure that those conditions are directly applicable to issuers of such bonds. Issuers that voluntarily use the designation ‘European green bond’ or ‘EuGB’ should follow the same rules across the Union, to increase market efficiency by reducing discrepancies and thereby also reducing the costs of assessing those bonds for investors, safeguarding the integrity of the internal market, promoting the competitiveness of our economies and economic agents and increasing the strength and resilience of our Capital Markets Union.
Amendment 268 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9 a (new)
Recital 9 a (new)
(9a) This regulation aims to create a gold standard for sustainable bonds and should therefore be fully aligned with the taxonomy for sustainable investments.
Amendment 274 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) Sovereigns are frequent issuers of environmentally sustainable bonds and should therefore also be allowed to issue ‘European green bonds’, provided that the proceeds of such bonds are used to finance either assets or expenditure that meet the taxonomy, or assets or expenditure that will meet those requirements within a reasonably shorte period from the issuance of the bond concerned, which can be extended however where duly justified by the specific features of the economic activities and investments concerned.
Amendment 295 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13 a (new)
Recital 13 a (new)
(13a) Disclosure requirements must guarantee high standards of investor´s protection, transparency and comparability. However, these requirements must not represent an excessive administrative and bureaucratic burden to issuers. Therefore, both the requirements and the templates must be legally certain, accessible and safeguard simple and effective processes to guarantee full compliance.
Amendment 296 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) Investors should benefit from cost- effective access to reliable and reasonably detailed information about the European green bonds. Issuers of European Green Bonds should therefore contract external reviewers to provide a pre-issuance review of the European green bond factsheet, and post-issuance reviews of European green bond annual allocation reports.
Amendment 300 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) Issuers of European green bonds should abide by their commitments to investors and allocate the proceeds of their bonds within a reasonably shorte time after issuance. At the same time, issuers should not be penalised for allocating bond proceeds to economic activities that do not yet meet the taxonomy requirements, but will do so within the five year period (or extended ten year period). Issuers should in any case allocate all proceeds of their European green bonds before the maturity of each bond.
Amendment 304 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 17
Recital 17
(17) Certain financial undertakings that have a portfolio of European green bonds may not be able to identify, for each European green bond, the distinct financial assets to which the proceeds of said bond have been allocated. This is due to a mismatch between, on the one hand, the time to maturity and the volume of funding of those bonds, and on the other hand the time to maturity and volume of the financial assets on the balance sheet of the financial undertaking. Financial undertakings should in such cases be required to disclose the allocation of the aggregate proceeds of their portfolio of European green bonds to a portfolio of environmentally sustainable financial assets on the undertaking’s balance sheet. Those financial undertakings should then demonstrate in annual allocation reports that the related environmentally sustainable financial assets complied with the taxonomy requirements at the time they were created. In order to ensure that all proceeds of European green bonds are allocated to environmentally sustainable economic activities, the financial undertakings should also demonstrate that the amount of those environmentally sustainable financial assets exceeds or equals the amount of European green bonds that have not yet matured. To ensure that the information provided remains complete and up to date, an external reviewer should review the annual allocation reports each yearregularly. That external reviewer should in particular focus on those financial assets that were not on the issuer’s balance sheet in the previous year’s allocation report.
Amendment 306 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 18
Recital 18
(18) To improve transparency, issuers should also disclose the environmental impact of their bonds by means of the publication of impact reports, which should be published at least once during the lifetimeevery five years until maturity of the bond. In order to provide investors with all information relevant to assess the environmental impact of European green bonds, impact reports should clearly specify the metrics, methodologies and assumptions applied in the assessment of the environmental impacts. To strengthen the comparability of European green bonds and to facilitate the localisation of relevant information, it is necessary to lay down templates for the disclosure of such information. The impact reports should be subject to scrutiny by external reviewers.
Amendment 310 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 20
Recital 20
(20) To ensure the efficiency of the market for European green bonds, issuers should publish on their websites details about the European green bonds they issue. To ensure the reliability of information and investor confidence, they shall also publish the pre-issuance review as well as any post-issuance reviews. To ensure high standards of transparency, accessibility and investor protection, these publications must be available in an accessible way within the website, with adequate timelines that allow the user to identify the substantial changes from one review to another.
Amendment 315 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 24
Recital 24
(24) To ensure the independence of external reviewers and safeguard high standards of transparency and ethical conduct, external reviewers should avoid situations of actual or potential conflict of interest and manage those conflicts adequately when they are unavoidable. External reviewers should therefore disclose any conflicts of interest in a transparent and timely manner. They should also keep records of all significant threats to their independence, to that of their employees and to that of other persons involved in the external review process. They should also keep records of the safeguards applied to mitigate those threats.
Amendment 318 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 25 a (new)
Recital 25 a (new)
(25a) In order to support ESMA´s activity in the exercise of its general competence for the registration and ongoing supervision of registered external reviewers in the Union, the national competent authorities must cooperate, in a loyal and effective way, with ESMA, with exchange of information mechanisms that guarantees a transparent, credible and effective process of registration and supervision. To that end, ESMA must be provided with sufficient resources.
Amendment 321 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 31
Recital 31
(31) In accordance with Article 290 TFEU, power should be delegated to the Commission to specify the procedure for the exercise of the power to impose fines or periodic penalty payments, including provisions on rights of defence, temporal provisions, the collection of fines or periodic penalty payments, and detailed rules on the limitation periods for the imposition and enforcement of penalties and the type of fees, the matters for which fees are due, the amount of the fees, and the manner in which those fees are to be paid. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert and national competent authorities level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making35 . In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council should receive all documents at the same time as Member States’ experts, and their experts should systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts. __________________ 35 OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p. 1.
Amendment 323 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 32
Recital 32
(32) As a body with highly specialised expertise, it would be efficient and appropriate to entrust ESMA with the development of draft regulatory and implementing technical standards that do not involve policy choices for submission to the Commission that must, in any case, be properly and timely informed about such standards, as the European Parliament, to safeguard proper democratic scrutiny.
Amendment 412 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) ensure that the completed European green factsheet has been subject to a pre- issuance review with a positive opinion by an external reviewer, duly registered with ESMA according to this Regulation.
Amendment 414 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 3
Article 9 – paragraph 3
3. Issuers of European green bonds shall obtain a post-issuance review by an external reviewer of the allocation report drawn up after the full allocation of the proceeds of the European green bond in accordance with Articles 4 to 7. This external reviewer must be registered with ESMA.
Amendment 415 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 4
Article 9 – paragraph 4
4. Where, following the publication of the allocation report in accordance with Article 13(1), point (c), the allocation of proceeds is corrected, issuers of the European green bonds concerned shall amend the allocation report and obtain a post-issuance review by an external reviewer of that amended allocation report. This external reviewer must be registered with ESMA.
Amendment 416 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 5
Article 9 – paragraph 5
5. By way of derogation from paragraph 3, every allocation report from issuers that are financial undertakings that allocate proceeds from a portfolio of several European green bonds to a portfolio of financial assets as referred to in Article 5 shall be subject to a post-issuance review by an external reviewer. The external reviewer, duly registered with ESMA, shall pay particular attention to those financial assets that were not included in any previously published allocation report.
Amendment 421 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 6
Article 9 – paragraph 6
6. Issuers of European green bonds shall provide the allocation reports referred to in paragraph 3, 4, and 5 to an external reviewer within 3045 days following the end of the year to which the allocation reports refer. The post-issuance review must be made public within 90 days following the receipt of the allocation report.
Amendment 429 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 1
Article 10 – paragraph 1
1. Issuers of European green bonds shall, after the full allocation of the proceeds of such bonds and at least once during the lifetimeevery five years until the maturity of the bond, draw up a European green bond impact report on the environmental impact of the use of the bond proceeds by using the template laid down in Annex III. That report shall be subject to scrutiny by external reviewers.
Amendment 436 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 13 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. Issuers of European green bonds shall publish on their website, in a distinct and accessible section titled ‘European green bonds’ and make available free of charge until at least the maturity of the bonds concerned, all of the following:
Amendment 440 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 4
Article 13 – paragraph 4
4. Issuers of European green bonds shall notify the National Competent Authority referred to in Article 36 of the publication of all the documents referred to in paragraph 1 without undue delin 30 days.
Amendment 451 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – point h
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – point h
(h) the policies or procedures implemented by the applicant to identify, and eliminate or manage and disclose anyin a transparent manner any actual or potential conflicts of interests as referred to in Article 27;
Amendment 452 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – point i
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – point i
(i) where applicable, documents and information related to any existing or planned outsourcing arrangements for activities of the external reviewer covered by this Regulation, including information on entities assuming outsourcing functions;
Amendment 453 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – point a – point i
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – point a – point i
Amendment 456 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1
Article 15 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1
3. ESMA shall assess whether the application is complete within 2015 working days after its receipt.
Amendment 457 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 2
Article 15 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 2
Where the application is not complete, ESMA shall notify the applicant thereof and set a deadline by which the applicant is to provide additional information, without undue delay.
Amendment 458 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 3
Article 15 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 3
Where the application is complete, ESMA shall notify the applicant thereof, without undue delay.
Amendment 460 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 3
Article 15 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 3
ESMA shall notify in writing an applicant, without undue delay, of his or her registration as an external reviewer, or of its refusal to register an applicant. The decision to register or the refusal to register shall provide reasons and take effect on the fifth working day following its adoption.
Amendment 461 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Article 16 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
An external reviewer shall notify ESMA of any material changes in the information provided in accordance with Article 15(1) or in the facts concerning the information referred to in Article 15(1) before such changes are implemented and without undue delay.
Amendment 462 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
Article 16 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
ESMA shall analyse those material changes. Where ESMA objects to such material changes, it shall inform the external reviewer within two month45 working days of the notification of those changes and shall state the reasons for the objection. The changes referred to in the first subparagraph may only be implemented provided that ESMA does not object to those changes within that period.
Amendment 463 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) that any actual or potential conflicts of interest are properly identified, and eliminated or managed and disclosed in a transparent manner;
Amendment 469 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 25 – paragraph 3
Article 25 – paragraph 3
Amendment 471 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 27 – paragraph 1
Article 27 – paragraph 1
1. External reviewers shall identify, eliminate, or manage and disclose in a transparent manner any actual or potential conflicts of interest, irrespective of whether that conflict of interest concerns their analysts or employees, any person that is contractually related to the external reviewers and that is directly involved in assessment activities, or persons approving pre-issuance reviews and post-issuance reviews.
Amendment 480 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 31 – paragraph 7
Article 31 – paragraph 7
7. Within 20 working days of receipt of the application, ESMA shall assess whether the application is complete. Where the application is not complete, ESMA shall set a deadline, without undue delay, by which the applicant third-country external reviewer is to provide additional information.
Amendment 481 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 31 – paragraph 9 – subparagraph 1 a (new)
Article 31 – paragraph 9 – subparagraph 1 a (new)
ESMA may extend the period referred to in the first subparagraph by 15 working days where the applicant intends to use outsourcing to perform its activities as an external reviewer.
Amendment 482 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 34 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 5
Article 34 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 5
ESMA shall notify an applicant, without undue delay, of its recognition as a third country external reviewer or of its refusal. The decision to recognise or the refusal to recognise shall provide reasons and take effect on the fifth working day following its adoption.
Amendment 483 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 35 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 3
Article 35 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 3
Where the application is complete, ESMA shall notify the applicant thereof, without undue delay.
Amendment 484 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 35 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 5
Article 35 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 5
ESMA shall notify an applicant, without undue delay, of its decision regarding endorsement referred to in paragraph 1. The decision shall provide reasons and take effect on the fifth working day following its adoption.
Amendment 491 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 37 – paragraph 3
Article 37 – paragraph 3
3. Member States shall ensure that appropriate measures are in place so that competent authorities have all the supervisory and investigatory powers, as the adequate resources, that are necessary to fulfil their duties.
Amendment 493 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 44 – paragraph 4
Article 44 – paragraph 4
Amendment 494 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 47 – paragraph 2 – point d
Article 47 – paragraph 2 – point d
(d) set a reasonable time-limit within which the information is to be provided;
Amendment 500 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 64 – paragraph 1
Article 64 – paragraph 1
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. It shall apply from ... [one year after the date of entry into force of this Regulation].