Confidentiality
1. The competent authorities shall only use information received pursuant to this Regulation for the purpose of applying this Regulation, unless otherwise required by Union or national law in compliance with Union law.
2. The Commission, Member States and competent authorities shall treat the identity of those who provide information, or the information provided, as confidential, in accordance with Union or national law in compliance with Union law, unless stated otherwise by those who provided the information.
3. Paragraph 2 shall not preclude the Commission from disclosing general information in a summary form, provided such general information does not contain any information which allows the identification of the provider of the information. Such disclosure of general information in a summary form shall take into account the legitimate interest of the parties concerned in preventing the disclosure of confidential information.
Exercise of the delegation
1. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article.
2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 27(1) shall be conferred on the Commission for an indeterminate period of time from 13 December 2024.
3. The delegation of power referred to in Article 27(1) 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.
4. Before adopting a delegated act, the Commission shall consult experts designated by each Member State in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making.
5. As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.
6. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 27(1) shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or by the Council within a period of 2 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 2 months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.
Urgency procedure
1. Delegated acts adopted under this Article shall enter into force without delay and shall apply as long as no objection is expressed in accordance with paragraph 2. The notification of a delegated act to the European Parliament and to the Council shall state the reasons for the use of the urgency procedure.
2. Either the European Parliament or the Council may object to a delegated act in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 33(6). In such a case, the Commission shall repeal the act immediately following the notification of the decision to object by the European Parliament or by the Council.
Committee procedure
1. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee. That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.
2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.
3. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 8 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011, in conjunction with Article 5 thereof, shall apply.
Amendment to 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) 2024/3015 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2024 on prohibiting products made with forced labour on the Union market and amending Directive (EU) 2019/1937 ( OJ L, 2024/3015, 12.12.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/3015/oj ).’.
Penalties
1. Member States shall lay down the rules on penalties applicable to economic operators for non-compliance with a decision referred to in Article 20 and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that they are implemented in accordance with national law.
2. The penalties provided for shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. Competent authorities shall ensure that the penalties referred to in paragraph 1 give due regard to the following, as applicable:
(a)
the gravity and duration of the non-compliance with a decision referred to in Article 20;
(b)
any relevant previous non-compliance with a decision referred to in Article 20 by the economic operator;
(c)
the degree of cooperation with the competent authorities;
(d)
any other mitigating or aggravating factor applicable to the circumstances of the case, such as financial benefits, gains or losses avoided, directly or indirectly, from the non-compliance with a decision referred to in Article 20.
3. Member States shall, by 14 December 2026, notify the Commission of those rules and of those measures, and shall notify it, without delay, of any subsequent amendment affecting them.
4. Member States, when laying down rules on applicable penalties in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, shall take utmost account of the guidance referred to in Article 11, point (i).
Evaluation and review
1. By 14 December 2029 and every 5 years thereafter, the Commission shall carry out an evaluation of the enforcement and the implementation of this Regulation. The Commission shall present a report on the main findings to the European Parliament, the Council and to the European Economic and Social Committee. The evaluation shall in particular include an assessment of:
(a)
whether the mechanism in place effectively contributes to the objective of this Regulation, as set out in Article 1;
(b)
the cooperation between competent authorities, including within the Network, as well as all other relevant authorities in applying this Regulation;
(c)
the effectiveness of international cooperation in contributing to the elimination of forced labour from global supply chains;
(d)
the impact on businesses, and in particular on SMEs, including on their competitiveness of the procedures related to the investigations and decisions;
(e)
the cost of compliance for economic operators, and in particular for SMEs;
(f)
the overall costs and benefits and the effectiveness of the prohibition.
Where the Commission considers it appropriate, the report shall be accompanied by a legislative proposal for the amendment of the relevant provisions of this Regulation.
2. The report shall also assess whether the scope needs to be enlarged to include services ancillary to the extraction, harvesting, production or manufacturing of products.
3. As part of the assessment under paragraph 1, point (a), the report shall cover the impact of this Regulation on victims of forced labour, with particular regard to the situation of women and children. The assessment of this impact shall be based on regular monitoring of information from international organisations and relevant stakeholders.
4. In its report, the Commission shall further assess the need for a specific mechanism to address and remediate forced labour, including an impact assessment for the implementation of such a mechanism.
Entry into force and date of application
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union .
It shall apply from 14 December 2027.
However, Articles 5(3), 7, 8, 9(2), 11, 33, 35 and 37(3) shall apply from 13 December 2024.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
