Tightened eye on conflict minerals – Västerbotten Courier

Economy. A new EU law tightens control of minerals extracted conflict areas. However, the law raises criticism.

Facts

an investigation by the European Commission shows that 93 percent of European companies dealing with conflict minerals did not take up the issue, for example, its annual reports.

in the US there is already a law which requires all companies listed on the US stock exchange to check for conflict minerals from Central Africa in their supply chain.

New EU law means that companies imported raw minerals are tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold to Europe to check the minerals’ origin.

Source: Swedwatch

the trade in conflict minerals, ie, tin, tantalum, gold and tungsten mined in conflict areas such as Central Africa, Colombia and parts of Asia, should be better regulated, according to a decision of the European Parliament.

After long negotiations, the Parliament together with the European Council agreed on a new law. The law makes it mandatory for companies that imported raw minerals are tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold to Europe to check the minerals’ origin.

The aim is to prevent the minerals extracted in mines that fund of war and conflict and controlled by armed groups .

But the new law that the EU now present is insufficient, and sharpens only a fraction of the trade in conflict minerals, according to a recent report by Swedwatch.

– the law will only apply to the one hundred companies that imported raw minerals to the EU. But most companies are importing conflict minerals in the form of electronics products such as computers, tablets, lithium batteries in electric cars. For these companies, it will not be mandatory to check the origin, says Theo Jaekel, a lawyer at Swedwatch and specializes in conflict minerals, said.

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