15 Amendments of Carles PUIGDEMONT I CASAMAJÓ related to 2020/0374(COD)
Amendment 45 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 8 a (new)
Recital 8 a (new)
(8 a) Very large online platforms tend to disrupt also local retail markets, with a negative externality in the lack of diversification due to the inability of local producers to present their products in the digital markets. Therefore, this Regulation should take into account the principles set out by the Farm to Fork Strategy.
Amendment 47 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12
Recital 12
(12) Weak contestability and unfair practices in the digital sector are more frequent and pronounced for certain digital services than for others. This is the case in particular for widespread and commonly used digital services that mostly directly intermediate between business users and end users and where features such as extreme scale economies, very strong network effects, an ability to connect many business users with many end users through the multi-sidedness of these services, lock-in effects, a lack of multi- homing or vertical integration are the most prevalent. Often, there is only one or very few large providers of those digital services. This situation produces disruptions and restrictions, in particular on SMEs in the transport, tourism and hospitality sector, where intermediaries have a dominant market position. These providers of core platform services have emerged most frequently as gatekeepers for business users and end users with far- reaching impacts, gaining the ability to easily set commercial conditions and terms in a unilateral and detrimental manner for their business users and end users. Accordingly, it is necessary to focus only on those digital services that are most broadly used by business users and end users and where, based on current market conditions, concerns about weak contestability and unfair practices by gatekeepers are more apparent and pressing from an internal market perspective.
Amendment 48 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12 a (new)
Recital 12 a (new)
(12 a) There are serious negative externalities posed by home-sharing digital services, transport applications such as car sharing or bike or scooter sharing, or delivery digital services, that disrupt the market, especially in urban areas or in densely inhabited territories. In order to find the best solutions to these problems, authorities should inform the Digital Services Coordinator set out in Regulation […] on a Single Market for Digital Services (Digital Services Act), as well as their national or regional competent authority and the European Digital Services Board -also set out in the Digital Services Act-, of the legal measures or policies they wish to implement and enforce. Finally, through the Digital Services Data Space, local or regional authorities could also share their information as well as retrieve information from their peers and other stakeholders using this Data Space with the final aim to better solve the negative externalities posed by some digital services.
Amendment 61 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 31
Recital 31
(31) To ensureData has a very relevant role on digital competition. In order to ensure that the competitiveness in the European single market is not disrupted, the effectiveness of the review of gatekeeper status as well as the possibility to adjust the list of core platform services provided by a gatekeeper, the gatekeepers should inform the Commission of all of their intended and concluded acquisitions of other providers of core platform services or any other services provided within the digital sector. Such information should not onlymarket concentrations should not only be duly informed, but also cleared by the Commission. The information on these concentrations should eventually be subject to the merger control procedure. Finally, this information could serve the review process mentioned above, regarding the status of individual gatekeepers, but will also and provide information that is crucial to monitoring broader contestability trends in the digital sector and can therefore be a useful factor for consideration in the context of the market investigations foreseen by this Regulation.
Amendment 64 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 33 a (new)
Recital 33 a (new)
(33 a) This Regulation should not pose a legal or administrative problem to the capacity of digital services in transport to design or develop interoperable digital services or applications, providing inter- ticketing across all modes. Moreover, this Regulation should be designed not to hamper the development of automation solutions, data storage, or artificial intelligence, or any other digital development, in transport services. Finally, all serious negative externalities appearing because of these developments should be assessed, measured and solved by the authorities, either national, regional, or local, following the principle of subsidiarity.
Amendment 67 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 39
Recital 39
(39) To safeguard a fair commercial environment and protect the contestability of the digital sector it is important to safeguard the right of business users to raise concerns about unfair behaviour by gatekeepers with any relevant administrative or other public authorities. For example, business users may want to complain about different types of unfair practices, such as discriminatory access conditions, unjustified closing of business user accounts or unclear grounds for product de-listings. Any practice that would in any way inhibit such a possibility of raising concerns or seeking available redress, for instance by means of confidentiality clauses in agreements or other written terms, should therefore be prohibited. This should be without prejudice to the right of business users and gatekeepers to lay down in their agreements the terms of use including the use of lawful complaints-handling mechanisms, including any use of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms or of the jurisdiction of specific courts in compliance with respective Union and national law, and where applicable regional law. This should therefore also be without prejudice to the role gatekeepers play in the fight against illegal content online.
Amendment 69 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 40
Recital 40
(40) Identification services are crucial for business users to conduct their business, as these can allow them not only to optimise services, to the extent allowed under Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Directive 2002/58/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council33 , but also to inject trust in online transactions, in compliance with Union or national law, or where applicable regional law. Gatekeepers should therefore not use their position as provider of core platform services to require their dependent business users to include any identification services provided by the gatekeeper itself as part of the provision of services or products by these business users to their end users, where other identification services are available to such business users. _________________ 33Directive 2002/58/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 2002 concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector (Directive on privacy and electronic communications) (OJ L 201, 31.7.2002, p. 37).
Amendment 71 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 58
Recital 58
(58) To ensure the effectiveness of the obligations laid down by this Regulation, while also making certain that these obligations are limited to what is necessary to ensure contestability and tackling the harmful effects of the unfair behaviour by gatekeepers, it is important to clearly define and circumscribe them so as to allow the gatekeeper to immediately comply with them, in full respect of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Directive 2002/58/EC, consumer protection, cyber security and product safety. Moreover, when necessary, gatekeepers should assess whether it is relevant to use decentralised applications or distributed ledger technology to increase safety. The gatekeepers should ensure the compliance with this Regulation by design. The necessary measures should therefore be as much as possible and where relevant integrated into the technological design used by the gatekeepers. However, it may in certain cases be appropriate for the Commission, following a dialogue with the gatekeeper concerned, to further specify some of the measures that the gatekeeper concerned should adopt in order to effectively comply with those obligations that are susceptible of being further specified. This possibility of a regulatory dialogue should facilitate compliance by gatekeepers and expedite the correct implementation of the Regulation.
Amendment 80 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 77
Recital 77
(77) The advisory committee established in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182//2011 should also deliver opinions on certain individual decisions of the Commission issued under this Regulation. When composing the advisory committee, Member States shall also consider including their regions, in case they have devolved digital competences, and the opinions of stakeholders such as small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs), consumer protection experts and associations. In order to ensure contestable and fair markets in the digital sector across the Union where gatekeepers are present, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty should be delegated to the Commission to supplement this Regulation. In particular, delegated acts should be adopted in respect of the methodology for determining the quantitative thresholds for designation of gatekeepers under this Regulation and in respect of the update of the obligations laid down in this Regulation where, based on a market investigation the Commission has identified the need for updating the obligations addressing practices that limit the contestability of core platform services or are unfair. It is of particular importance that the Commission carries out appropriate consultations and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-Making of 13 April 201636 . In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member States' experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts. _________________ 36Interinstitutional Agreement between the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission on Better Law-Making (OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p.1).
Amendment 118 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point g a (new)
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point g a (new)
(g a) refrain from anti-competitive behaviour, especially against local retail;
Amendment 133 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point i
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point i
(i) provide business users, or third parties authorised by a business user, free of charge, with effective, user-friendly, interoperable, high-quality, continuous and real-time access and use of aggregated or non-aggregated data, that is provided for or generated in the context of the use of the relevant core platform services by those business users and the end users engaging with the products or services provided by those business users; for personal data, provide access and use only where directly connected with the use effectuated by the end user in respect of the products or services offered by the relevant business user through the relevant core platform service, and when the end user opts in to such sharing with a consent in the sense of the Regulation (EU) 2016/679; ;
Amendment 143 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 1
Article 8 – paragraph 1
1. The Commission may, on a reasoned request by the gatekeeper, exceptionally suspend, in whole or in part, a specific obligation laid down in Articles 5 and 6 for a core platform service by decision adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 32(4), where the gatekeeper demonstrates that compliance with that specific obligation would endanger, due to exceptional circumstances beyond the control of the gatekeeper, the economic viability of the operation of the gatekeeper in the Union, and only to the extent necessary to address such threat to its viability. The Commission shall aim to adopt the suspension decision without delay and at the latest 3 months following receipt of a complete reasoned request. A report stating the reasons and motivations for the suspension decision shall accompany the decision itself.
Amendment 144 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 1
Article 9 – paragraph 1
1. The Commission may, acting on a reasoned request by a gatekeeper or on its own initiative, by decision adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 32(4), exempt it, in whole or in part, from a specific obligation laid down in Articles 5 and 6 in relation to an individual core platform service identified pursuant to Article 3(7), where such exemption is justified on the grounds set out in paragraph 2 of this Article. The Commission shall adopt the exemption decision at the latest 3 months after receiving a complete reasoned request. A report stating the reasons and motivations for the exemption decision shall accompany the decision itself.
Amendment 165 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 24 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 24 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. The Commission shall implement and manage a publicly accessible and user-friendly website with information on the number of non- compliance decisions adopted, the number of fines imposed, and the names of the companies subject to the non-compliance decisions and fines. The Board set out in Regulation […] on a Single Market for Digital Services shall make recommendations if the Commission shall require it to do so.
Amendment 183 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 38 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 38 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. The Commission’s and the Parliament's annual reports on Competition Policy shall include a chapter on the implementation of this Regulation.