In September 2022, the EU Commission presented a series of measures aimed at closing the European market to countries where forced labour is practised. A proposal that was developed following the outcry against the exploitation of the Uighur Muslim minority in China’s Xinjiang province, and the 2021 coup in Myanmar, when many NGOs signalled that the new junta’s seizure of power triggered a deterioration in the country’s working conditions. Both China and Myanmar are major textiles and apparel producers.By expressing a ‘position’, the EU Council formally assumes a mandate for negotiating with the EU Parliament in order to finalise the framework of future legislation. The sectors and products that are most at risk in terms of links with forced labour still need to be identified. It will be up to the EU Commission to do so, on the basis of information that must be “pertinent, verifiable and credible.”
The Council mentioned three specific instances. Firstly, the measures will target products presumably made using forced labour on a significant and serious scale. Secondly, cases in which forced labour is presumably employed to manufacture products outside the EU. Finally, products presumably made by means of forced labour that have a considerable impact on Europe’s internal market, defined as “[products] that are present in at least three member states,” according to the Council.
Onus on member states
The Council indicated that a new EU-wide Forced Labour Product Network should be set up to monitor forced labour risks, in order to “ensure better coordination” between the relevant authorities and the Commission in enforcing regulations. The Council also proposed that a centralised platform on forced labour should be created, to provide specific information and tools, including a one-stop desk for communicating details, and a data base containing all decisions taken on the subject.
The Council’s position also enshrined the principle that EU member states are responsible for monitoring at-risk products. Authorities within member states will be tasked with “enforcing regulations on the forced labour ban in a way that ensures that their application and implementation are consistent with the obligations set by the directive on the duty of vigilance by companies with regards to sustainability, and the directive on whistleblowers.”In 2022, various NGOs criticised the EU for its non-binding approach in fighting forced labour, questioning the ability of the individual states’ authorities to initiate preliminary enquiries in countries where products suspected of being made with forced labour originate from. The NGOs’ criticism was also prompted by the fact that the US Congress adopted the opposite approach in banning products linked to Uighur exploitation, making consumer brands responsible for proving that their suppliers are compliant with working conditions regulations.
