Supply chain law passes the EU Parliament with a large majority
Vienna (OTS/SK) – After a long tug of war, the final approval of the EU Supply Chain Act was obtained today in the plenary session of the EU Parliament. EU Parliament Vice-President Evelyn Regner, who negotiated the dossier for the Social Committee, says: “It is a great success that we were able to finalize the supply chain law today – not least because there are conservatives in the Council and also in the EU Parliament liberal parties have opposed this law with all their might. Fortunately, the pressure from us progressive forces has worked and the supply chain law is now actually coming. With the EU Supply Chain Act we are ushering in a paradigm shift. In the future, companies will have to guarantee consumers that products are manufactured under fair working conditions and in accordance with environmental protection. We make it clear: companies have a responsibility, just like every private individual. Although I wanted a supply chain law that included more companies and also included personal financial incentives for company management to fulfill their due diligence obligations, the fact that we were able to pass an EU-wide supply chain law for the first time is a great success. The law goes hand in hand with the ban on products made from forced labor passed yesterday.” ****
Regner on the attempts by conservative and liberal parties to stop the law: “The Austrian government has not even agreed to this now significantly weakened version of the supply chain law and is hiding behind the pretext of bureaucracy and a competitive disadvantage for domestic companies. For me, this is a false argument: Without due diligence, we strengthen the unfair competitive advantage of, for example, cheap Chinese products made from forced labor. This weakens Austria and Europe as a business location – and at least that’s what the ÖVP should actually understand. As a society, we must make it a priority not to produce cheap products that further fuel social inequality and drive the climate crisis. Doing business incorrectly – i.e. ignoring good working conditions and climate protection – will not only be unethical in the future, but also illegal.” (End) le/pok
Questions & Contact:
Lena Easthill
Press spokesperson for the SPÖ delegation in the European Parliament
+32 472397210
lena.easthill@europarl.europa.eu