EU supply chain law
Hofreiter: FDP is causing “gigantic damage” in the EU
Anton Hofreiter criticizes the FDP’s approach: “If you don’t say something in time, then you end up with a problem and look stupid.” photo
© Kay Nietfeld/Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH/dpa
The FDP is standing in the way of an EU project that holds large companies to account. Green Party politician Anton Hofreiter is at a loss.
Green politician Anton Hofreiter has it FDP sharply criticized for its resistance to the European supply chain law. “The problem is that, firstly, the FDP is not aware of the gigantic damage it is causing in the European Union,” said Hofreiter, chairman of the Committee for European Union Affairs in the Bundestag, on WDR radio.
The FDP is now once again violating the principle that concerns about a project must be raised at an early stage, but not just before the vote. “And the second thing is that I don’t think the Chancellor and the Chancellor’s Office understand how much damage we are causing and is therefore not taking sufficient care of it,” said Hofreiter. This is about “planning deficiencies in the Chancellery, which repeatedly lead to Germany appearing as unreliable at the European level.”
Germany wants to abstain from voting on the supply chain law at EU level today because the FDP has concerns. The law is intended to hold large companies accountable if they profit from child or forced labor outside the EU.
Hofreiter holds the Chancellor responsible
Chancellor Olaf Scholz must make it clear to the FDP that they can talk about anything, but at the right time. “It’s not the case that people act arbitrarily in Brussels. They say, ‘Oh, we’re not interested in what Germany says.’ But you have to say it in good time. And if you don’t say something in time, then you have it In the end it’s just a problem and looks stupid.”
Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) said in the ZDF “Morgenmagazin” that the FDP was ready for constructive negotiations and wanted to achieve a decent result. “But the result is not neat because it creates a significant burden of bureaucracy, especially for medium-sized companies. And Germany is characterized by a medium-sized economic structure.”
Since there is a weak growth, currently is the worst possible time to build up even more bureaucracy. “And that’s why it can’t stay like this. And it was always clear that we couldn’t support it if the result wasn’t really convincing. And it doesn’t,” said Wissing.