1 Amendments of Åsa WESTLUND related to 2011/0307(COD)
Amendment 5 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 7 a (new)
Recital 7 a (new)
(7a) In several places across the globe, for example in the Democratic Republic of Congo, armed conflicts are closely linked to revenues from the illegal exploitation of minerals. Breaking that link would help to reduce the incidence and intensity of conflicts. One solution could be to oblige European Union issuers which source minerals from areas plagued by or at risk of conflict to carry out due diligence in order to ensure that their supply chains have no connections to the conflicting parties. While an initiative along those lines would have to fully respect the interests of local stakeholders, the EITI as well as the recommendations of the Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development on due diligence and responsible supply chain management could serve as useful points of reference. In order to get a better picture of this potential solution, it is important that the feasibility and expected impact of introducing such an obligation be further investigated in the Union context.