Too much bureaucracy: Merz calls for abolition of EU supply chain law

The newly appointed German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) has appealed to the EU legislative bodies to abolish the European Supply Chain Directive, which was only passed last year, as quickly as possible. "We will repeal the national law in Germany," emphasized the conservative with regard to the relevant provisions here, which the EU's so-called Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) goes beyond in some cases. "I also expect the European Union to follow this step," explained Merz on Friday during his inaugural visit to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (CDU).

The EU really must repeal this directive, which is also controversial in the Council of Ministers and in the economy, Merz emphasized to the press. He welcomed the fact that the Commission wanted to systematically reduce bureaucracy. The German government would support this. "We will also make proposals as to how we can go further," announced the head of government. In addition to postponing legislation, the complete abolition of some European rules would be the next logical step.

However, the black-red coalition agreement makes no mention of an end to the EU Supply Chain Act. It states: "We support the European omnibus procedure on supply chain due diligence (CSDDD), sustainability reporting (CSRD), taxonomy and carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) and are committed to a low-bureaucracy solution, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises." The three parties involved want to create legal and planning certainty and support the companies concerned "with a good implementation of the law".

Merz command tone irritates the Greens

The aforementioned Commission draft for a package to reduce bureaucracy provides for the CSDDD to take effect later, affecting only a fifth of the companies currently covered and revealing less information. The directive is generally intended to oblige large corporations in particular to mitigate their negative impact on human rights and the environment, such as child labor, slavery, labor exploitation, pollution, deforestation, excessive water consumption or damage to ecosystems. This applies to their own business activities – but also to those of subsidiaries and business partners. They must set up appropriate review processes and document them. Previously, abuses in the supply chains of Apple, Samsung & Co. were uncovered on several occasions.

Sven Giegold, deputy party leader and Europe spokesperson for the Greens, considers the Merz initiative, which was presented on Europe Day in a "commando tone", to be "completely improper". The European idea stands for human rights and the rule of law. It contradicts the ideas of the European treaties to make people work for themselves in global supply chains without basic safeguards. Many companies have long paid attention to social and ecological standards in their supply chains. For Giegold, it is therefore clear that the SPD and the Christian Democratic Workers' Party (CDA) must now make it clear that the coalition agreement will continue to apply and that Germany will not advocate the abolition of supply chain laws. Of course, these would have to be implemented as unbureaucratically as possible.

(nie)