Habeck considers agreement on EU supply chain law possible

Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Robert Habeck (Greens) believes an agreement in the coalition dispute over the EU Supply Chain Act is still possible. Habeck said on Wednesday evening at a citizens' dialog of the "Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland" in Leipzig with regard to the law that there are justified concerns that the "whole thing" is going wrong. "But of course there is also a corridor of reason, so that the whole thing can be set up in such a way that concerns can be allayed." However, he could not say whether it would be possible to get there.

If Germany abstains as a result of opposition from the FDP in the traffic light coalition, the entire EU supply chain law could fail. As there is no majority among the member states, a planned vote at EU level has been postponed. The EU Supply Chain Act is intended to hold large companies accountable if they profit from child or forced labor outside the EU, for example, or if their production causes environmental damage there. A national supply chain law has been in force in Germany since 2023, but the EU project goes beyond this.

Habeck said that the planned law would also allow German plaintiffs, such as civil law organizations, to sue German companies if they had committed labour law violations in Bangladesh, for example. This could result in a wave of lawsuits. The German economy is rightly afraid of this. But the issue is solvable. "That's why I think we can talk about it again." The advantage of an EU supply chain law would be that there would then be a level playing field for all companies in Europe. Habeck also warned that other countries could lose trust in Germany. Germany would have to organize majorities.