What may be the final round of negotiations to weaken the European supply chain law begins in Brussels on Monday evening. Negotiators from the EU states and the European Parliament meet for this purpose. They had actually already agreed on the requirements in 2024, but now it should only apply to a few large companies. Negotiations are also underway to weaken the project’s climate requirements.
Almost a month ago, the European Parliament faction around the CDU and CSU cleared the way for a weakening with the support of right-wing and right-wing extremist parties. The EU states had previously also spoken out in favor of less strict rules.
Merz called for complete abolition
During his inaugural visit to Brussels, Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) even called for the directive to be completely abolished. When a first compromise to weaken the EU supply chain law failed in the European Parliament, Merz called this “unacceptable” and called for a correction.
The aim of the Supply Chain Act is to strengthen human rights worldwide. Large companies should be held accountable if they profit from human rights violations such as child or forced labor. The project was vehemently criticized by companies – in particular, they criticized the excessive bureaucratic burden.