"We support the aim of the legislation to protect human rights and end child labour. A European approach is definitely better than a patchwork of national go-it-alones. Such legislation, however, must take into account what especially small and medium-sized enterprises can achieve and contribute.

The EU-Parliament calls on the EU-Commission to draft legislation that makes companies liable if they violate or contribute to violations of human rights, environmental standards and good Governance. It is imperative that the EU-Parliament, the EU-Commission and the Council of the EU agree on a realistic approach!

After all, the mechanical engineering industry, which is dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises, is globally networked and very export-oriented. Due to the great variety of products, machine builders typically have many suppliers - sometimes hundreds - from all over the world. Fully monitoring such chains is almost impossible, especially for medium-sized companies.

The recently expressed ideas of the responsible EU Commissioner Didier Reynders that companies work together with local authorities to find solutions is also unworldly. The compliance tasks to be managed must be manageable for medium-sized and export-oriented companies in the mechanical engineering sector and the burdens must absolutely be kept within limits."