On Friday, Chancellor Friedrich Merz made his inaugural visit to the European Union, including with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Contrary to the agreements of his own coalition agreement, he also surprisingly spoke out for the abolition of the European supply chain guideline (corporate sustainability due diligence directive - csddd).
For several reasons, this procedure is an irresponsible self -accommodation from the Chancellor:
- In the coalition agreement, the Union and the SPD have agreed to campaign for the CSDDD.
- Several SPD politicians have drawn an appeal that calls for the implementation of the directive https://appell-zi-zlief chains Directive.de/
- A so-called omnibus process*is currently underway, which is massively criticized by civil society anyway because he wants to drastically shut down the diligence of companies-i.e. their responsibility. In addition, civil society has not been listened to: the process runs under massive pressure, although the right is not even applied.
"During his inaugural visit to Brussels, Chancellor Merz spoke to Ursula von der Leyen in favor of the complete abolition of the European Supply Chain Directive. This stance contradicts the recently signed coalition agreement and opens the door to violations of human rights and environmental protection. This would massively reduce the planned due diligence obligations of companies. This could mean that more children will have to toil in raw material extraction or on cocoa plantations. As a children's rights organization, we cannot accept this under any circumstances! We will continue to advocate for an EU Supply Chain Directive together with other organizations so that our prosperity is not based on the exploitation of children!"
Joshua Hofert, Chief Communications Officer and Spokesperson of the Terre des Hommes Board
In terms of content, the EU supply chain directive must be preserved:
- It makes an important contribution to preventing child labor and other violations of human rights in the supply chains of European companies.
- It counteracts massive environmental damage, which in particular endanger the health of children in countries in the global south.
Help save the Supply Chain Act: Join Terre des Hommes the Supply Chain Act initiative's petition, lieferkettengesetz.de/
»In addition, we cancel the National Special Center Objectives Act (LKSG). It is replaced by a law on international corporate responsibility, which implements the European supply chain directive (CSDDD) low in bureaucracy and, friendly. «
Extract from the coalition agreement of the CDU/CSU and SPD
*The "Omnibus procedure" in the EU is a process in which the European Commission is at the same time making legal changes in various areas, for example to simplify sustainability regulations and to reduce administrative effort for companies.