The European Commission on Tuesday (19 May) said mandatory requirements on EU companies to trace conflict minerals would hurt trade.
EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem told MEPs in Strasbourg that a mandatory scheme could increase the risks of “disrupting global supply chains” and could drive trade "away from Africa altogether”.
"It is crucial to understand that there is no silver bullet to deal with this problem," she said.
The Brussels executive introduced a bill las...
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Nikolaj joined EUobserver in 2012 and covers home affairs. He is originally from Denmark, but spent much of his life in France and in Belgium. He was awarded the King Baudouin Foundation grant for investigative journalism in 2010.