Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
A successful outcome was reached last night to ban products made with forced labor from entering the EU market. Negotiators from the European Parliament and the Council reached a political agreement on the new EU law, which the Socialists and Democrats were at the forefront of demanding and drafting. The Social Democratic bloc in the European Parliament said in a statement, a copy of which we received at dawn today, “We welcome its broad scope to ensure that it includes all products made using forced labor, and the clear provisions related to addressing forced labor imposed by the state. The good institutional balance between the Commission and member states in implementing the legislation It would ensure that the EU is ready to take the lead globally.
Socialists and Democrats have proudly begun this fight to create a powerful tool to ban products made using forced labor from entering the EU market. The SDG negotiators have come up with strong provisions to collect information on the ground and address any lack of cooperation from companies or third countries as well as a commitment by all institutions to ensure adequate resources are available to enforce the regulation.
Under the new rules, the Commission will be able to conduct investigations into cases of forced labor outside the EU, while member states will conduct investigations within the EU.
Maria Manuel Leitão Márquez, S&D MEP and co-rapporteur on the prohibition of forced labor in the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee (IMCO), said:
“Under today’s agreement, the EU will finally have a tool to make sure that products made with forced labor have no place in the EU single market. This has been a major ongoing demand of the Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament during the current term. It is a victory for our group and for all of us!”
“The prevalence of forced labor products in our market has become more evident than ever, most notably with products made with the forced labor of Uyghurs. This is unacceptable. We can no longer turn a blind eye to what is happening in our supply chains. We are fighting for a European Union that does not manage His back is to people and their dignity. It is time to end this form of modern slavery.
“This new law will be product-based, not company-based, meaning all companies will have to comply with the ban if forced labor is detected at some point in their supply chain. This is certainly good news for all companies suffering from unfair competition from Companies that use forced labor.
Raphael Glucksmann, member of the European Parliament for the Social Democratic Party and shadow rapporteur on this issue at the International Trade Committee (INTA), said: “As socialists and democrats, we can be proud today. After years of civil mobilization and political battles, and after months of difficult negotiations, We finally reached agreement on the first ever European law to ban products made with forced labour. We asked for it as a group, then we led the process in Parliament and we reached agreement. 28 million people around the world are forced to work and the least we can do to end it is Ban the products of their enslavement from our market. In our European stores, there should be no place for products tainted by Uyghur forced labor or other forced labour.
“It is particularly important to reach specific provisions on state-imposed forced labour. The French government’s late attack has led to a problematic exclusion of vital supply chains and we have struggled to limit the damage.
“The aim was to pass legislation before the end of this mandate. We now urge Member States to respect the agreement reached with the Belgian Presidency, and to finalize the new law as soon as possible, unlike what happened with the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive ( CSDDD) Our fight against forced labor continues!
It is estimated that in 2021, nearly 28 million people worldwide were in forced labor – three million more than in 2016. With this new law, the EU will finally have an effective tool to help eliminate forced labour.
The agreement still needs approval by the full plenary session of the European Parliament and the Council of Member States.