Following the failed Council vote on the EU supply chain law, Bread for the World, ECCHR, Germanwatch, Misereor and terre des hommes are calling on Chancellor Scholz to actively support the Belgian Council Presidency's search for a compromise. "The Federal Chancellor must now use his authority to implement the coalition agreement and set an international example for a values-based EU and values-based globalisation," demanded Pirmin Spiegel, Managing Director of Misereor. "A failure of the law would be a serious setback for the global campaign against child labour, human rights violations and environmental damage. Only a strong law will give those affected access to justice," said Dagmar Pruin, President of Bread for the World. Following the failed Council vote, the Belgian Council Presidency announced on Wednesday that it would renegotiate with the Council and Parliament, whose representatives have shown themselves to be open to this.
The development and human rights organisations published a briefing on the expected economic, social and environmental effects of the EU supply chain law. They see positive impetus for broad-based economic development in countries of the Global South due to better protection of human rights, the environment and the climate. A withdrawal of European companies is only to be feared in extreme individual cases. "The law will strengthen the bargaining power of trade unions and counteract the anti-development trend of production being relocated to countries with even lower labour costs, social and environmental standards," explained Joshua Hofert, Board Spokesperson for terre des hommes.
The German government's abstention on this key socio-ecological transformation project, which is being driven by the German government itself, is unacceptable. In January 2024, the FDP not only distanced itself from the Federal Government's positions, which Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann expressly supported and helped shape until 15 November 2023. Since then, it has also rejected talks on far-reaching compromise offers from the Belgian Council Presidency that go far beyond the original FDP demands. The FDP has thus also distanced itself from the coalition agreement, the central business basis of this federal government. The implementation of the coalition agreement is clearly the responsibility of the Federal Chancellor.
"The Federal Government's last-minute U-turn is damaging its reputation, credibility and weight in the EU. It undermines fundamental mechanisms of compromise and decision-making in the EU itself. It is also fuelling political disenchantment in favour of right-wing populist parties and other EU sceptics - and this in the run-up to the European Parliament elections," warns Silvie Kreibiehl, CEO of Germanwatch. According to a recent INSA survey, 68 per cent of the German population are in favour of the EU supply chain law, while only 18 per cent are against it. The approval rating among SPD voters is 78 per cent and even among FDP voters it is 67 per cent.
