Changes from plenary report to adopted text

RemovedArticle 24 – paragraph 3 – point c b (new): (cb) promote cooperation, exchange of expertise, exchanges of personnel and voluntary mutual visit programmes between competent authorities and, where appropriate, with the authorities of partner third countries or with international organisations, especially with the authorities of low and lower middle-income countries;

RemovedArticle 24 – paragraph 3 – point c c (new): (cc) assist in the organisation of information campaigns about this Regulation inside and outside the Union;

RemovedArticle 24 – paragraph 3 – point c d (new): (cd) involve and organise training for the diplomatic representations of the Union to assist in the information gathering and dissemination efforts of this Regulation;

RemovedArticle 24 – paragraph 3 – point d: (d) contribute to the development of guidance to ensure the effective and uniform application of this Regulation, and identify discrepancies between enforcement at the level of different Member States;

RemovedArticle 24 – paragraph 3 – point f: (f) to promote the cooperation and exchange of expertise and best practices between competent authorities and customs authorities, as well as between those authorities and competent authorities of third countries and international organisations, including the World Customs Organisation;

RemovedArticle 24 – paragraph 3 – point f a (new): (fa) maintain regular contact with the Commission's relevant services to receive information from other Union initiatives that support the eradication of forced labour and provide relevant information about the application of this Regulation.

RemovedArticle 24 – paragraph 4: 4. The Commission shall ensure the effective and uniform application of this Regulation and to that effect support and encourage cooperation between enforcement authorities through the Network.

RemovedArticle 24 – paragraph 4 a (new): 4a. The Network may invite experts and stakeholders, including social partners and other workers’ representatives, civil society and human rights organisations representatives, businesses representatives, international organisations, third countries’ competent authorities, the European Agency for Fundamental Rights, the European Labour Authority or other Union agencies with relevant expertise in the areas covered by this Regulation to attend meetings of the Network or to provide written contributions. Where appropriate, diplomatic representations of the Union, particularly based in countries with regions identified having a high risk of forced labour occurring, shall also be involved in the work of this Network.

RemovedArticle 24 – paragraph 4 b (new): 4b. The Network shall meet at regular intervals and, where necessary, at the duly motivated request of the Commission or a Member State.

RemovedArticle 25 – paragraph 2: 2. The Commission, Member States and competent authorities shall treat the identity of those who provide information, or the information provided, as confidential, unless stated otherwise by those who provide information.

RemovedArticle 26 – paragraph 1: 1. In order to facilitate effective implementation and enforcement of this Regulation, the Commission shall as appropriate cooperate, engage and exchange information with, amongst others, authorities of third countries, international organisations, civil society representatives, including trade unions, workers’ rights organisations, NGOs and networks of affected stakeholders, business organisations and other relevant stakeholders, through new and existing dialogue structures. International cooperation with authorities of third countries shall take place in a structured way as part of the existing dialogue structures with third countries or, if necessary, specific ones that will be created on an ad hoc basis, and shall, where appropriate, facilitate the exchange of information on investigations, including the reasons and evidence for decisions taken to ban products from their jurisdictions. The Commission shall have regular contact and cooperation in particular with third countries that have similar laws in place, to share information on risk products or regions as well as best practices for bringing forced labour to an end.

RemovedArticle 26 – paragraph 1 a (new): 1a. Cooperation with third countries shall be integrated with other Union policies and instruments that include measures to eradicate forced labour, including trade agreements, the Generalised Scheme of Preferences, and development cooperation projects led by the Commission.

RemovedArticle 26 – paragraph 1 b (new): 1b. The Commission and Member States shall develop cooperation and partnership mechanisms with third countries to address the root causes of forced labour, prevent and eliminate forced labour practices, and build the capacity of upstream economic actors to respond to the requirements set out in this Regulation.

RemovedArticle 26 – paragraph 2: 2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, cooperation with, amongst others, international organisations, civil society representatives, business organisations and competent authorities of third countries may result in the Union developing accompanying measures to support the efforts of companies, and in particular SMEs, civil society organisations, partner countries' efforts and locally available capacities in tackling forced labour and its root causes.

RemovedArticle 26 a (new): Article 26a / Amendment of Directive (EU) 2019/1937 / In Part I.C.1 of the Annex to Directive (EU) 2019/1937, the following point is added: / ‘(iv) Regulation (EU) XXXX/XXXX of the European Parliament and of the Council of [date] on prohibiting products made with forced labour on the Union market and amending Directive (EU) 2019/1937.’

RemovedArticle 27 – paragraph 2: 2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 11a, Article 16(1), and in Article 30(4) shall be conferred on the Commission for an indeterminate period of time from date of entry force of this Regulation.

RemovedArticle 27 – paragraph 3: 3. The delegation of power referred to in Article 11a, Article 16(1) and in Article 30(4) may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.

RemovedArticle 27 – paragraph 6: 6. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 11a, Article 16(1) and in Article 30(4) shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or the Council within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.

RemovedArticle 30 – paragraph 1: 1. The Member States shall lay down the rules on penalties applicable to non-compliance with a decision referred to in Article 6(4).

RemovedArticle 30 – paragraph 2: 2. The penalties provided for shall take the form of pecuniary fines and be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.

RemovedArticle 30 – paragraph 3 a (new): 3a. The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 27 in order to supplement this Regulation by establishing further detailed conditions applicable to the penalties referred to in paragraph 1, defining the method for calculating financial penalties and the thresholds applicable, when such penalties are to be used, and specifying mitigating and aggravating circumstances. The first delegated act shall be adopted by ... [6 months from the entry into force of this Regulation].

RemovedArticle 30 a (new): Article 30a / Evaluation and review / 1. By ... [one year after the date of application] and every four years thereafter, the Commission shall carry out an evaluation of this Regulation taking account of its objectives and shall submit a report thereon to the European Parliament, to the Council and to the European Economic and Social Committee. / 2. The report shall assess whether and how this Regulation achieved its objectives, in particular with regard to: / i) the reduction of the number of products made with forced labour on the Union market; / ii) the improvement of cooperation between competent authorities and strengthening the controls on products entering the Union market; / iii) the impact on businesses, and in particular on SMEs, of the administrative procedures related to the investigations and decisions; / iv) the cost of compliance for economic operators, and in particular SMEs; / v) the impact on the competitiveness of companies operating in the internal market; / vi) the impact on trade; / vii) the alignment with other relevant Union legislation; / viii) the contribution to fight forced labour globally; / ix) the overall cost-benefit and effectiveness of the ban. / 3. The report shall be accompanied, where appropriate, by a legislative proposal. / 4. The report shall also assess whether the scope should be enlarged to include services ancillary to the extraction, harvesting, production or manufacturing of products. / 5. The Commission shall continuously monitor…