Yesterday, the European Parliament adopted a proposal to urge corporations to detect, prevent and reduce social and environmental risks and impacts across the entire production chain.

It’s a first step in preventing European businesses from getting away with tragedies like the Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh. ECCJ spoke to Euronews on the vote and the necessary next steps.

Members of European Parliament no longer want to rely on the goodwill of companies and this is one more step towards greater corporate accountability.

The rapporteur of the text, Lara Wolters (S&D), gives the example of Rana Plaza in Bangladesh, oil spills in Nigeria or the deaths of workers in Qatar at World Cup construction sites. “What we are trying to do is for examples like this to occur less and less and for European companies which are strongly linked to these matters to take responsibility,” explained the MEP.

Claudia Saller, Director General of the European Coalition for Corporate Justice spoke to Euronews about why access to justice and remedy for affected individuals and communities is essential for the success of the upcoming legislation. Often victims and their families halfway around the world are unfamiliar with the law. “They do not know which law has been violated, they do not know which law can help them, which jurisdiction applies, how to have access to a European court”, she underlined in the interview.