Human rights Agreement reached on weakened EU supply chain law
The EU wants to weaken the European Supply Chain Act to protect human rights - even before it is implemented.
09.12.2025, 02:51
09.12.2025, 03:05
SDA
Negotiators from the EU member states and the European Parliament agreed in Brussels that the requirements should only apply to a few large companies, as both sides announced. The Parliament and the EU member states still have to approve the change, but this is normally a mere formality.
In future, the requirements will only apply to large companies with more than 5,000 employees and an annual turnover of at least 1.5 billion euros. Originally, the limit was 1000 employees and a turnover threshold of 450 million euros.
In addition, companies that violate the rules will no longer be subject to civil liability at EU level - which means that victims of human rights violations will no longer be able to take legal action. If companies do not comply with the regulations, a maximum fine of three percent of their global net turnover could be imposed. In addition, according to information from Parliament and the EU member states, there will no longer be an obligation to draw up action plans for climate targets.
Merz called for complete abolition
The move was preceded by a fierce political exchange of blows. Just under a month ago, the conservative CDU and CSU group in the European Parliament had paved the way for a weakening of the regulations with the support of right-wing and far-right parties. Prior to this, the EU member states had also spoken out in favor of less stringent regulations.
During his inaugural visit to Brussels, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) even called for the directive to be completely abolished. When an initial compromise to weaken the EU supply chain law failed in the European Parliament, Merz called this "unacceptable" and demanded a correction.
The aim of the Supply Chain Act is to strengthen human rights worldwide. Large companies should be held accountable if they profit from human rights violations such as child or forced labor. The plan was vehemently criticized by companies - they mainly criticized that the bureaucratic burden would be unreasonable if potential breaches of rules had to be investigated along the sometimes complex supply chains.
Explosive majority formation in parliament
The right-wing majority in favour of weakening the Supply Chain Act in parliament was heavily criticized by the Liberals, Social Democrats and Greens. The decision was explosive, as the conservative EPP, which also includes the CDU and CSU, had sought and found a majority outside of the usual alliances.
The EPP, Social Democrats (S&D) and Liberals actually work together in a kind of informal coalition. They have a narrow majority in Parliament. However, the Supply Chain Act is now likely to be the first major legislative project to pass through Parliament with a clear right-wing majority. It is still unclear what impact this will have on the upcoming cooperation between the EPP, S&D and Liberals.
Criticism from the SPD and Greens
The SPD MEP Tiemo Wölken spoke of a black day for Europe, as human rights and climate protection were clearly just cheap bargaining chips. "A compromise with the democratic forces of the Parliament would have been possible, but failed due to the blackmail tactics of the conservatives," said Wölken.
"The conservatives in the European Parliament and the EU member states have put the final nail in the coffin of the EU supply chain law tonight", criticized Green MEP Anna Cavazzini.
