From . – 19.01.2023 14:15 (act. 19.01.2023 14:15)
The “Liefergesetz Initiative” was shocked by the planned changes to the law in a letter to EPP MP Axel Voss. ©APA/AFP/FREDERICK FLORIN (icon image)
A coalition of 130 organizations accused members of the European People’s Party of wanting to render the planned supply chain law ineffective.
In an open letter this Thursday to German EPP deputy Axel Voss (CDU), the “Liefergesetz Initiative” (supply law) was dismayed by the changes proposed to the law by the politician and his party colleagues.
Supply Chain Law: Organizations blamed MEPs
“If it’s up to you, EU supply chain law should only be fully enforced in member states from 2033 – too late,” criticized organizations including Amnesty International, the Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation. (BUND) and The German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) belongs. The proposed changes are an incentive to look the other way. Thus, they provide, for example, that the duty of care applies only to direct business partners, but not to the entire supply chain. More recently, EU states have also campaigned for the weakening of EU supply chain law.
EU votes on planned supply chain law
A supply chain law is being voted on at the EU level, with the aim of ensuring that large companies avoid child or forced labor and environmental harm in their international supply chains. It is not yet clear when the law will take effect. According to a first draft, it could be stricter than the German supply chain law that will apply from 2023.
Too strict, as Voss and his EU Justice Committee EPP colleagues think. According to the nearly 200 proposed changes in the legal committee, the law should give companies more leeway. The initiative criticized the fact that the export of weapons or toxic pesticides would remain possible and that the draft EPP lagged behind German supply chain law.