BusinessEurope reacts to approval of the political agreement on prohibiting products made with forced labour

13 March 2024 - Commenting on today’s Member States’ approval of the political agreement reached on the proposal for a Regulation prohibiting products made with forced labour on the Union market, BusinessEurope Director General Markus J. Beyrer said: "This is an important step in the EU’s efforts to tackle forced labour, but there is still much work to be done to make the Regulation workable and effective."

"Forced labour is a serious human rights violation that European business fully condemns. We see significant improvements in the agreed text around streamlining implementation and improving coordination, as well as increasing awareness and sharing best practices.

At the same time, we remain concerned about the effective and efficient implementation of the rules, which are complex and entail increased costs and administrative burdens for economic operators and competent authorities alike.

The priority should now be to ensure that the framework to support the implementation and enforcement of the Regulation is in place and fully operational well before the rules come into force."