EU Parliament votes in favor of European supply chain law
Published: Wednesday, Apr 24th 2024, 13:20
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The European Parliament has approved the EU supply chain law to protect human rights. The controversial project has been weakened in the final stages.
The European Union (EU) Parliament has cleared the way for a European supply chain law to protect human rights. A majority of MEPs voted in favor of the project in Strasbourg on Wednesday, as the Parliament announced. One of the aims of the proposal is to ensure that companies can be held accountable in European courts in future if they profit from human rights violations in their supply chains.
Negotiations on the project were also characterized by controversial debates in the German government. While business representatives and the FDP in the German government warned against placing too great a burden on companies, representatives of the SPD and the Greens see the EU Supply Chain Act as a major gain for the protection of human rights.
For example, if large fashion companies have their sweaters and pants sewn by children in Asia, the victims of such exploitation will be able to claim compensation under the new Supply Chain Act.
Only large companies affected by the law
The EU member states also still have to officially approve the project, but this is considered a formality. In mid-March, a sufficient majority of EU member states signaled their approval in the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Member States.
The new EU rules will affect fewer companies than originally planned, mainly due to concerns among EU member states. The Supply Chain Act will no longer apply to companies with more than 500 employees and a turnover of at least 150 million euros. The threshold has been raised to 1000 employees and 450 million euros. In the first few years, both thresholds will be even higher.
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