Controversial supply chain law
EU Parliament approves easing measures
The EU Parliament voted once again on the so-called supply chain law – and the majority voted for a weaker version. The final negotiations on the guidelines can now begin.
There were disputes about the EU supply chain law from the start. Actually, it’s been a done deal for more than a year and a half. But after constant pressure from several states, parties and, above all, from business, the EU Parliament has now approved a weaker version of the law.
The supply chain law is intended to oblige companies to take action against violations of human rights and environmental regulations in their supply chains. Otherwise, the corporations should be held accountable. According to the Reuters news agency, violations could result in fines of up to five percent of global sales.
Guidelines should apply to fewer corporations
With the relaxations that have now been decided, the law will in future apply to significantly fewer companies than originally intended. Only companies with at least 5,000 employees and an annual turnover of at least 1.5 billion euros should be subject to the directive. The original limit was 1,000 employees and a turnover limit of 450 million euros.
Another change: Companies subject to the accountability imposed by the law will no longer have to submit plans to comply with climate protection commitments. This was also provided for in the original draft of the Supply Chain Act.
Majority with votes from the right-wing factions
With 382 members, a clear majority in the EU Parliament voted for the weaker version of the law. There were 249 votes against and 13 abstentions. The majority was also achieved by votes from the right-wing and right-wing extremist factions, which caused strong criticism from the Social Democrats, Greens and Left.
After the vote in the EU Parliament, Green MP Anna Cavazzini spoke of a border crossing. For the first time, the conservative EPP consciously and calculatedly pushed a law through parliament with the votes of the extreme right. Despite the allegations, EPP group leader Manfred Weber was satisfied with the result of the vote and spoke of a “good day for Europe’s competitiveness.”
First compromise on easing failed
The EPP parliamentary group, which also includes the CDU and CSU, had originally agreed on a compromise on the supply chain law with the Social Democrats and Liberals in a legal committee at the beginning of October. This also already provided for relaxation of the guidelines. After the EU Parliament approved the law for the first time in April 2024, there were calls to change the requirements again. The United States and Qatar, among others, opposed the original version of the law and warned that the regulations could jeopardize their gas deliveries to Europe. European companies warned of massive bureaucracy and costs.
But the compromise that had actually already been negotiated failed in the EU Parliament around three weeks ago. Numerous other amendments follow. With the current majority in parliament, the final negotiations on the law with the EU states and the EU Commission can begin.
