The European Parliament’s rapporteur on corporate due diligence is confident the European Commission will follow the “broad brushstrokes” of Parliament’s attempt to make companies more accountable for their supply chains.
The assembly is set to vote Wednesday on recommendations to the European Union’s executive, which is preparing its own proposal, expected this summer.
Lara Wolters, a center-left Dutch member of European Parliament leading the file, told journalists Thursday that when it comes to “the idea of horizontal legislation, the idea of this applying to as many companies as possible, the need for proportionality and all of the broad concepts,” she is confident that the Parliament and commission texts will “match.”
What’s happening: Under the Parliament’s plan, all companies seeking access to the EU internal market would be forced “to take all proportionate and commensurate measures and make efforts within their means to prevent adverse impacts on human rights, the environment and good governance from occurring in their value chains, and to properly address such adverse impacts when they occur.”
Any that fail to do so would face fines comparable to those under competition and data protection law. “In practice, that would be between 4% to 10% of global turnover,” Manon Aubry, a French MEP representing the Parliament’s left group on the file, told journalists.
In Germany, voluntary monitoring of supply chain abuses 'has failed'
The country is under pressure to introduce compulsory regulations.
Why it matters: Finnish Green MEP Heidi Hautala said that with various domestic efforts underway to set due diligence rules around the EU, the private sector has been calling for a Europewide approach. NGOs covering the textiles and extractive industries said Thursday that Parliament’s approval would give the commission “an undeniable mandate to move swiftly to introduce legislation.”
What to watch: Wolters said around 15 amendments to the text agreed by the legal committee earlier this year would be considered next week, including some tabled jointly by the political groups, particularly to address concerns of small and medium-sized enterprises.
About the author
Vince Chadwickvchadw
Vince Chadwick is a contributing reporter at Devex. A law graduate from Melbourne, Australia, he was social affairs reporter for The Age newspaper, before covering breaking news, the arts, and public policy across Europe, including as a reporter and editor at POLITICO Europe. He was long-listed for International Journalist of the Year at the 2023 One World Media Awards.
