Vote on conflict minerals disappoints European companies

To address the problem of illegal exploitation of minerals and their potential use as financial sources for conflicts the Strasbourg plenary session of the European Parliament voted in favour of a mandatory EU-wide scheme on responsible minerals originating from conflict-affected and high-risk areas. Markus J. Beyrer, BUSINESSEUROPE Director General said: 'It is with regret that we see today the result of a vote based on emotions, ignoring facts and lessons learned on the implementation of product-based due diligence approaches. Unfortunately, the system, as voted by the plenary session of the European Parliament is neither workable for business operators, nor going to provide concrete solutions for the conflicts on the ground.'