The EU countries want to significantly weaken the European supply chain directive. A majority of the federal states spoke in favor of only companies with more than 5,000 employees instead of 1,000 under the law to protect human rights, the EU countries said. In addition, the sales limit of 450 million euros in annual net sales is to be increased to 1.5 billion euros.
Poland’s European Minister Adam Szlapka announced that this creates a decisive step for a cheaper business environment, “which helps our company to grow, to be innovative and to create high -quality jobs.” Poland currently has the six-year-old chair among the EU countries and is preparing in this role, among other things, the ministers are preparing.
The aim of the EU directive is to protect human rights
A request from the German Press Agency, as the Federal Government is on the position of the EU countries, did not initially answer the Labor Ministry responsible for the law. The European supply chain law was actually decided last year.
The aim 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. According to the criticism of companies, parts of the guideline should be simplified before they are used.
Negotiations in the European Parliament are still running
In the European Parliament, discussions are still underway as to which position the parliament wants to represent in the reform of the supply chain directive. After that, the final negotiations with the EU countries can begin. The chairwoman of the internal market committee in the EU Parliament, Anna Cavazzini (Greens), says that the EU countries “made themselves a vicarious agent of the lobby associations”.
The EU countries also speak out for the fact that companies will no longer have to concentrate on their suppliers in the future, but only on areas “in which actual and potential negative effects are most likely”. The companies should no longer be obliged to carry out comprehensive inventory, but instead carry out more general studies instead.