The Greens criticize the FDP's blockade of the supply chain law

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Green politician Luise Amtberg: “Very disappointed”

Photo: Michael Kappeler / dpa

The FDP's veto of the European supply chain law is causing annoyance in the traffic lights.

Green politicians in particular cannot support the blockade stance.

The MP Luise Amtberg was “very disappointed”.

“We are missing the opportunity to make a significant contribution to global human rights protection,” Amtberg told SPIEGEL.

The directive could set uniform standards for corporate due diligence across the EU - specifically, according to Amtberg, child labor and exploitation in supply chains could be combated more strongly.

"Rejecting the negotiations shortly before the conclusion also damages our reliability towards our European partners and is not worthy of the committed work of Labor Minister Hubertus Heil in recent years." The Green politician is hoping for a strong word from Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) recently defended his party's blockade stance in SPIEGEL.

He is an “ardent fan of the EU” and wants “acceptance for European politics”.

At the same time, negotiations should be able to be called into question if the result is considered wrong.

“If a result is bad, you have to be able to say no,” said Buschmann.

“Then the majorities will be formed in the future without Germany.”

In addition to Amtberg, Green Party politician and Minister of State in the Foreign Office, Anna Lührmann, also criticized this view.

"We can talk about how we make the decision-making processes in Brussels more transparent and how we strengthen the European Parliament," Lührmann told the Table.Media editorial team.

But: "I don't believe in fundamentally criticizing established procedures if you don't suggest practical alternatives at the same time." Rather, it should be about promoting the EU and explaining how decisions are made in Brussels.

In her office, Lührmann is responsible for the issues of Europe and climate.

She warns that Germany could lose influence.

"We have to be a reliable partner and stick to the word we once gave." If Germany first represents a position and then doesn't vote for the result achieved: "Then the majorities will be formed in the future without Germany." This could also happen bring economic disadvantages.

For the supply chain law, the traffic light parties had originally enshrined in the coalition agreement that they would advocate for a European regulation.

The planned directive is intended to hold companies accountable for child labor, exploitation and environmental pollution in their supply chains.

However, in the last few meters, Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) found the law to be “unreasonable for small and medium-sized companies” in its current form.

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