Once again no majority for EU supply chain law

It briefly seemed as if the final decision on the European supply chain law could be made on February 28. The Belgian EU Council Presidency had put the dossier on the agenda of EU ambassadors on Tuesday, after Italy, which is on the side of the critics, gave cautious signals that it would change course. On Wednesday afternoon, however, the presidency determined that there was still not a sufficient majority. Only the Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland, Spain, Portugal and Latvia had spoken out clearly in favor of the law, according to diplomatic circles. A whole series of states, including France, Austria, Italy and Germany, had announced that they would abstain. This counts as a No. Other states had not expressed an opinion at all. For the law to be adopted, it needs the approval of 15 states that account for at least 65 percent of the EU population.

Examining the situation

This still does not mean that the law has failed. "We will examine the situation and try to dispel the concerns raised by the Member States in consultation with the European Parliament," said Belgium, which is conducting business in the Council until the end of June. However, the law is now in intensive care for the time being, diplomats said. A quick agreement is hardly likely. However, there is not much time left for an agreement if the law is to be passed before the European elections at the beginning of June.

Compromise fails

Negotiators from the Council of Ministers and the EU Parliament had actually already agreed on a compromise on the Supply Chain Act at the end of 2023. The law is intended to prevent goods from being sold in the EU that were manufactured by children or polluted during production. In principle, companies with more than 500 employees and an annual turnover of more than 150 million euros should check their entire supply chain for violations of human rights, labor rights and environmental protection. The current German Supply Chain Act should have been adapted accordingly.

Source: www.faz.net