On Friday, Chancellor Friedrich Merz paid his first official visit to the European Union, including a meeting with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Contrary to the agreements in his own coalition agreement, he surprisingly also advocated for the abolition of the European supply chain directive (Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive – CSDDD).
This approach is an irresponsible solo effort by the Chancellor for several reasons:
- In the coalition agreement, the CDU/CSU and SPD agreed to strongly support the CSDDD.
- Several SPD politicians have signed an appeal demanding the implementation of the directive : https://appell-lieferkettenrichtlinie.de/
- A so-called omnibus process* is currently underway, which is already facing massive criticism from civil society because it aims to drastically reduce corporate due diligence obligations – i.e., their responsibility. Furthermore, civil society has not been consulted: the process is proceeding under immense time pressure, even though the law is not yet being applied.
“During his inaugural visit to Brussels, Chancellor Merz advocated to Ursula von der Leyen for the complete abolition of the European Supply Chain Directive. This stance contradicts the recently signed coalition agreement and opens the floodgates to violations of human rights and environmental protection. It would drastically weaken the planned due diligence obligations for companies. This could mean that more children will once again be forced to toil in raw material extraction or on cocoa plantations. As a children's rights organization, we absolutely cannot accept this! We will continue to work with other organizations to advocate for an EU Supply Chain Directive so that our prosperity is not based on the exploitation of children!”
Joshua Hofert, Head of Communications and Spokesperson for the Terre des Hommes Board
The content of the EU supply chain directive must absolutely be preserved:
- It makes an important contribution to preventing child labor and other human rights violations in the supply chains of European companies.
- It counteracts massive environmental damage, which in particular poses a serious threat to the health of children in countries of the Global South.
Help save the supply chain law: Support the petition of the Supply Chain Law Initiative Terre des Hommes lieferkettengesetz.de/
"Furthermore, we are abolishing the national Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG). It will be replaced by a law on international corporate responsibility, which implements the European Supply Chain Directive (CSDD) in a way that is low-bureaucracy and easy to enforce."
Excerpt from the coalition agreement between the CDU/CSU and SPD
*The “omnibus procedure” in the EU is a process in which the European Commission makes legislative changes in various areas simultaneously, for example to simplify sustainability regulations and reduce the administrative burden on companies.