EFFAT welcomes today’s decision by the European Parliament, rejecting the Committee on Legal Affairs’ (JURI) decision to enter into trilogue negotiations with its recently adopted Report.
With 318 votes against and 309 in favour, Members of the European Parliament refused to endorse a text that would have dramatically weakened the EU’s due diligence and sustainability reporting framework, threatening key hard-won achievement for workers, trade unions and human rights defenders including by:
- Cutting by 90% the number of corporations subject to the law.
- Introducing extreme value chain reporting caps which allow companies to turn a blind eye to abuses in franchise networks, subcontracting chains and global supply chains;
- Eliminating the core principle of civil liability, denying victims of human rights violations access to justice
Enrico Somaglia, EFFAT General Secretary said:
Today shows once again that mobilisation pays off. We, therefore, want to thank our affiliates and allies that have mobilised together with us to reject this unacceptable compromise.
Many pro-European MEPs answered our call for a full vote on the Parliament’s position and prevented this shameful text from advancing in the EU legislative process. Today’s result demonstrates that this Report was rushed and perceived as a serious weakening of human rights and environmental sustainability. Today the European Parliament agreed that the text doesn’t address a genuine involvement with social partners, that it’s bad for workers and wider society in Europe.
And added:
The Parliament now has a short window of opportunity to develop an Omnibus position that benefits workers, the climate, and responsible employers. EFFAT further calls on all pro-European MEPs to continue working together in defence of European values and not to engage with far-right forces that seek to undermine workers’ protections and corporate accountability.
The European Parliament will debate and vote on amendments to the file during the next plenary session in Brussels from 11-13 November.
EFFAT urges MEPs to use this time constructively to develop real compromises that respect our key demands, preserving the current Directive’s inclusion civil liability provisions and meaningful human rights due diligence across franchise networks.
EFFAT supports smart simplification that both enhances protections and reduces useless paperwork. But we will never back any attack on workers’ rights and environmental sustainability.
