Civil society secures European Parliament support for transparency of mineral imports

Madrid, 22 May 2015 – The European Parliament this week took a strong stance in favour of binding rules on transparency for the mineral extraction industry, following a letter sent to MEPs signed by 157 civil society organisations, including Access Info Europe, calling for action to tackle the deadly trade in conflict minerals.

The civil society letter called on MEPs to require all companies bringing minerals into the EU – whether in their raw form or contained in products – to carry out supply chain due diligence and publicly report in line with international standards.

If it eventually becomes law, the European Parliament position voted for on 20 May 2015 will require European companies importing four key minerals – tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold – to ensure their purchases are not contributing to conflict or human rights abuses. Crucially, the future law would also require European companies importing minerals in products, such as laptops and mobile phones, to source minerals responsibly for the first time.

The vote comes in the face of lobbying by the extractives industry which was proposing that European businesses that sell and make products containing those minerals would only be subject to a voluntary reporting system.

The vote determines the position with which the European Parliament enters into negotiations with Member States in the Council and the Commission over the final text of the law.

You can read a copy of the letter sent to MEPs, here: