Informal agreement over a regulation on conflict minerals

The Council of the European Union reached an informal agreement with the European Parliament and the European Commission on 22 November 2016 regarding a regulation to stop the financing of armed groups through trade in conflict minerals.

The draft text establishes that all but the smallest EU importers of tin, tungsten, tantalum, gold and their ores have to do 'due diligence' checks on their suppliers, and big manufacturers have to disclose how they plan to monitor their sources to comply with the rules.

The original proposal was published by the Commission in March 2014. The Parliament adopted its position on the draft law in May 2015, triggering informal negotiations. These negotiations stalled in early 2016 according to media sources, but the main elements of the proposal were agreed upon in June.

• Primary Source

European Commission: DG Communication: IP/16/3931, 23.11.16: EU Reaches Landmark Agreement on Conflict Minerals Regulation http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-16-3931_en.htm

European Parliament: Press Release, 22.11.16: Conflict minerals: MEPs secure mandatory due diligence for importers http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/news-room/20161122IPR52536/

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