A clear majority of the European Parliament has spoken in favor of changing the European supply chain law in the urgent procedure.
The MPs decided to coordinate a shift in the project next Thursday, the parliament said. This would shift the first implementation periods to 2028.
As can be seen from the list of voting, MPs from the parliamentary groups in particular voted on the right of the middle and the liberals for the faster procedure. On the other hand, members of the parliamentary groups to the left of the middle spoke out. A total of 427 MPs voted for the urgent procedure and 221 against it. In addition to the shift, the content of the supply chain law is to be adjusted in another procedure and thereby reducing bureaucracy.
Law only decided last year
The European supply chain law was only decided last year. The EU countries should actually have a good two years to implement the new rules into national law.
The aim of the project is to strengthen human rights worldwide. Large companies should be able to be held accountable if they benefit from human rights violations such as child or forced labor. Companies see exaggerated requirements in the project that impose large bureaucratic burdens on them.
SPD fears weakening the project
The chairman of the SPD delegation in the European Parliament, René Repasi, criticizes that the quick procedure in this case is used as an instrument to avoid consultations in the responsible specialist committee. He fears a hollowing out the law, among other things by reducing the liability of companies in the event of duty of care.
His CDU colleague Daniel Caspary described the coordination behavior of the Social Democrats as a “completely grotesque”. The EU is pace in reducing bureaucracy. “We will massively dismantle the reporting obligations for small, medium and large companies.” What concrete changes in content there are in the end is still open.