No agreement in sight
Ampel stops discussions about EU supply chain law
February 14, 2024, 3:26 p.m
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After a blockade by the FDP, the EU Council Presidency is postponing the vote on the EU Supply Chain Act. The SPD and the Greens are outraged and try to change their coalition partner’s mind – but without success.
The federal government has apparently given up the struggle for a common position on the EU supply chain law. “I think the talks have taken place,” said government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit. There are no further developments to report. The FDP-led Federal Ministry of Justice subsequently also questioned the German supply chain law.
The traffic light parties had enshrined in the coalition agreement that they would advocate for a European regulation on the issue of supply chains. The law has already been negotiated at EU level. However, in the last few meters, Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann found it to be “unacceptable for small and medium-sized companies” in its current form. Germany should therefore have abstained from the final vote of the EU member states.
Without German consent, the majority among the member states was no longer secured. The Belgian EU Council Presidency therefore postponed the vote indefinitely last week. According to government spokesman Hebestreit, there is no new date.
Also not convinced by the German supply chain law
The supply chain law is intended to make companies across Europe responsible for child labor, exploitation and environmental pollution in the production of their goods. The planned European directive would in some respects go beyond a German law that has been in force since the beginning of 2023.
The FDP has so far made no secret of the fact that the German supply chain law is also a thorn in its side. In the coalition negotiations, it supported the EU regulation so that German companies would not be disadvantaged in competition with other European companies. When asked about disadvantages for German companies due to the FDP’s blockade of the EU directive, a spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Justice said that his office was “open to relief.”