Image: TOBIAS SCHWARZ (AFP)
According to Labor Minister Hubertus Heil, efforts in the German government to approve the EU Supply Chain Directive have finally failed. The SPD politician told the Reuters news agency on Tuesday that the FDP was not prepared to go along with the solution he proposed. As a result, Germany will have to abstain from the vote in the European Union (EU), which is tantamount to saying no.
“I am very disappointed that Germany has to abstain from the upcoming vote due to an ideologically motivated blockade of the FDP,” said Heil. “An EU supply chain directive strengthens human rights in international trade relations, for example when it comes to combating child and forced labor.”
- Read here: EU supply chain law on the brink: German ministers do not want to support the plans
This means that the EU project as a whole is in jeopardy, as the necessary majority in the EU is not in sight due to concerns from other countries. Finance Minister Christian Lindner and Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (both FDP) announced last week that they could not support the EU directive. In Germany, the major business associations had called for a no to EU plans to hold companies more accountable for deficiencies in their supply chains.
No compromise possible
According to Heil’s words, the EU project would also be in the interests of the German economy. “Such a directive creates uniform conditions of competition throughout Europe and is therefore in the interests of German companies,” said Heil.
- Read here: Criticism from economists and companies: Human rights and the bureaucracy monster
The labor minister accused his coalition partner of refusing to cut bureaucracy. The abstention will also not go down well with EU partners. “In order to enable German approval, I made compromise and solution proposals in the coalition right up to the end that would have enabled quick relief and unbureaucratic implementation for German companies,” said Heil. “The FDP was not prepared to go along with this solution and has now definitely rejected it. I think that is wrong, also because a German abstention will be met with incomprehension by other partners in Europe.”
- Read here: Debate about the EU supply chain law: Will Austria agree?
more from economics
