The Twenty-Seven, held back by Germany and Italy, failed on Wednesday to agree on legislation imposing obligations on EU companies to protect the environment and human rights in their production chains .
However, negotiators from the European Parliament and the Member States announced in December a political agreement on this flagship text which creates a
“duty of vigilance”
.
It would force companies to identify and correct environmental and human rights failings, including among their subcontractors abroad.
This
“agreement”
could not be validated on Wednesday during a meeting of the ambassadors of the Twenty-Seven in Brussels, after already a failure on February 9, threatening the survival of this regulatory project.
It will in fact now be very difficult to conclude the legislative process before the European elections in June.
Beate Beller, campaigner for the NGO Global Witness, denounced
“a major setback for human rights and the environment”
, believing that the EU Council had
“torpedoed”
the text.
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“The work continues”, assures the presidency
The Belgian Presidency of the Council announced that the required qualified majority (a minimum of 15 member states representing 65% of the EU population) could not be found.
The opposition of the German liberals of the FDP against additional regulations on businesses forced Berlin to abstain, forming a front of refusal with Rome and a dozen other countries, including Bulgaria, Hungary, and Slovakia, which were not ready to endorse the text, according to European diplomats.
Sweden even voted against it, alone.
“Many Member States abstained today for various reasons (legal uncertainty, administrative burden, fear of unequal treatment on the global stage, etc.). However, we believe that there is a clear desire to have legislation on this very important subject
,” declared a spokesperson for the Belgian presidency.
The presidency announced that it would continue the work to see
“whether it is possible to respond to the concerns expressed, in consultation with the European Parliament”
.
The text must make the companies concerned legally responsible for violations of human and social rights (child labor, forced labor, safety, etc.) and environmental damage (deforestation, pollution, etc.) throughout their value chain, including for their suppliers abroad.
It would apply to European groups with more than 500 employees and a net global turnover of 150 million euros, but also to companies with 250 employees or more if their revenues exceed 40 million euros and half of which are generated in risk sectors (textiles, forests, agriculture, minerals, etc.).