Regulation (EU) 2024/3015 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2024 on prohibiting products made with forced labour on the Union market and amending Directive (EU) 2019/1937 (Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 114 and Article 207 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1),

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure (2),

Whereas:

(1) As recognised in the Preamble to the 2014 Protocol to Convention No 29 on forced labour (ILO Convention No 29) of the International Labour Organization (ILO), forced labour constitutes a serious violation of human dignity and fundamental human rights, contributes to the perpetuation of poverty and stands in the way of the achievement of decent work for all. The ILO declared the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour as a principle of fundamental rights. The ILO classifies ILO Convention No 29, including the supplementing 2014 Protocol to Convention No 29 and the ILO Convention No 105 on the abolition of forced labour (ILO Convention No 105) as fundamental ILO conventions and issues recommendations to prevent, eliminate, and remedy forced labour, such as the Forced Labour (Supplementary Measures) Recommendation No 203. The ILO has developed several indicators used to identify and indicate cases of forced labour, such as threats and actual physical and sexual harm, abuse of vulnerability, abuse of working and living conditions and excessive overtime, deception, restriction of movement or confinement to the workplace or a limited area, isolation, debt bondages, withholding wages or excessive wage reduction, retention of passports and identity documents or threat of denunciation to the authorities when the worker has an irregular immigration status. Forced labour is very often linked to poverty and discrimination. The manipulation of credit and debt, either by employers or by recruiting agents, is still a key factor that traps vulnerable workers in forced labour situations. According to the ILO supervisory bodies, prison labour, including where it is performed for private companies, does not in itself constitute forced labour, provided that it is done on a voluntary basis, for the benefit of the prisoner and is comparable to the conditions of a free labour relationship. Community work as an alternative penal sanction to imprisonment should always be in the public interest and should, under no circumstances, be abused by states as a means to degrade the convicted person or deprive that person of their dignity. In cases in which work or service is imposed by exploiting the worker’s vulnerability under the threat of a penalty, that threat does not need to take the form of a penal sanction but might take the form of a loss of rights or benefits.

(2) The use of forced labour is widespread in the world. It is estimated that about 27,6 million people were in situations of forced labour in 2021. Vulnerable and marginalised groups in society are particularly susceptible to being pressured into performing forced labour. Such groups include women, children, ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, lower casters, indigenous and tribal people, and migrants, especially undocumented migrants, who have a precarious status and operate in the informal economy. Even when it is not state imposed, forced labour is often a consequence of the absence or lack of good governance with regard to certain economic operators and a demonstration of a state’s failure to enforce social and labour rights, particularly for vulnerable and marginalised groups. Forced labour can also take place as a result of authorities’ tacit consent. 86 % of all forced labour cases occur in the private sector, in particular through the forced labour exploitation of 17,3 million people. The obligations of economic operators set out in this Regulation should be predictable and clear in order to ensure full and effective compliance and contribute to bringing forced labour to an end.

(3) The eradication of forced labour in all its forms, including state imposed forced labour, is a priority for the Union. Respect for human dignity and the universality and indivisibility of human rights are firmly enshrined in Article 21 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU). In order to achieve Target 8.7 of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, the Union should uphold and promote its values and contribute to the protection of human rights, in particular the rights of the child. Article 5 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (the ‘Charter’) explicitly prohibits slavery, servitude, forced or compulsory labour and trafficking in human beings, and Article 4 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms provides that no one is to be required to perform forced or compulsory labour. The European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly interpreted Article 4 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms as requiring Member States to penalise and effectively prosecute any act maintaining a person in the situations set out in that Article. The right to effective remedies for violations of fundamental rights is a human right, and a fundamental element in the process of effective prosecution of crimes. Existing Union law, the United Nations Guiding Principles on the Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), the Council of Europe recommendation on human rights and business and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) guidelines, such as the Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct, affirm that victims have the right to an effective remedy for business-related human rights violations or abuses, including forced labour.

(4) All Member States have ratified the fundamental ILO conventions in the area of forced labour, namely ILO Convention No 29 and ILO Convention No 105, and ILO Convention No 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour (ILO Convention No 182). They are therefore legally obliged to prevent and eliminate the use of forced labour and to report regularly to the ILO.

(5) Through its policies and legislative initiatives, the Union seeks to eradicate the use of forced labour and promote decent work and labour rights worldwide. The Union promotes due diligence in line with international guidelines and principles established by international organisations, including the ILO, the OECD and the United Nations, to ensure that forced labour does not have a place in the supply chains of undertakings established in the Union.

(6) Union trade policy supports the fight against forced labour in both unilateral and bilateral trade relationships. The trade and sustainable development chapters of Union trade agreements contain a commitment to ratify and effectively implement the fundamental ILO conventions, which include ILO Convention No 29 and ILO Convention No 105, whereas trade and gender provisions establish a gender lens that is essential for the economic empowerment of women in order to combat gendered forced labour. Moreover, unilateral tariff preferences under the Union’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences may be withdrawn for serious and systematic violations of ILO Convention No 29 and ILO Convention No 105.

(7) Forced labour has a distinct impact on vulnerable and marginalised groups, such as children, women, migrants, refugees or indigenous peoples, and therefore an intersectional and gender-sensitive approach is essential to combat forced labour effectively. This Regulation is therefore expected to contribute to the objectives of relevant international agreements and conventions, such as ILO Convention No 182, the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, the Beijing Declaration of September 1995, the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, the Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and ILO Convention No 169 on indigenous and tribal peoples.

(8) Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) harmonises the definition of trafficking in human beings, including forced labour or services, and establishes rules on minimum penalties. Any rules laid down concerning the prohibition of placing and making available on the Union market domestic or imported products made with forced labour, or exporting such products, and the obligation to ensure that such products are withdrawn from the Union market (prohibition of products made with forced labour), should be without prejudice to that Directive, and in particular to the competence of law enforcement and judicial authorities to investigate and prosecute offences related to trafficking in human beings, including labour exploitation.

(9) Regulation (EU) 2017/821 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4) requires Union importers of minerals or metals falling under the scope of that Regulation to carry out due diligence obligations consistent with Annex II to the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas, and the due diligence recommendations set out therein. Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 of the European Parliament and of the Council (5) contains obligations for economic operators to carry out due diligence in their supply chains, including with respect to labour rights. Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 of the European Parliament and of the Council (6) requires due diligence regarding certain commodities and products associated with deforestation and forest degradation, including with respect to human rights.

(10) Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (7) requires Member States to ensure that certain economic operators annually publish non-financial statements in which they report on the impact of their activity on environmental, social and employee matters and on respect for human rights, including on forced labour, anti-corruption and bribery matters. Furthermore, Directive (EU) 2022/2464 of the European Parliament and of the Council (8) on corporate sustainability reporting amended that requirement by introducing detailed reporting requirements for companies falling within the scope of that Directive regarding respect for human rights, including in global supply chains. The information that undertakings disclose about human rights should include, where relevant, information about forced labour in their value chains.

(11) As a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the Union is committed to promoting a rules-based, open, multilateral trading system. Any measures introduced by the Union that affect trade should be WTO compliant.

(12) In July 2021, the Commission and the European External Action Service published guidance on due diligence for EU businesses to address the risk of forced labour in their operations and supply chains.

(13) As recognised in the communication of the Commission of 23 February 2022 on decent work worldwide for a global just transition and a sustainable recovery, notwithstanding the current policies and legislative framework, further action is needed to achieve the objectives of eliminating forced-labour products from the Union market and, hence, further contributing to the fight against forced labour worldwide.

(14) Core priorities of the Union, as enshrined in the EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 2020–2024, include promoting decent work and a human-centred future of work ensuring respect for fundamental principles and human rights, promoting social dialogue, as well as the ratification and effective implementation of relevant ILO conventions and protocols, strengthening responsible management in global supply chains and access to social protection.

(15) In its resolutions of 9 June 2022 on a new trade instrument to ban products made by forced labour (9), of 17 December 2020 on forced labour and the situation of the Uyghurs in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (10) and of 16 December 2021 on forced labour in the Linglong factory and environmental protests in Serbia (11), the European Parliament strongly condemned forced labour and called for a ban on products made with forced labour. It is therefore a matter of public moral concern that products made with forced labour could be available on the Union market or exported to third countries without an effective mechanism to ban or withdraw such products.

(16) To complete the Union legislative and policy framework on forced labour, the placing and making available on the Union market of products made with forced labour or exporting domestically produced or imported products made with forced labour should be prohibited and it should be ensured that those products are withdrawn from the Union market.

(17) Currently there is no Union law that empowers Member States’ authorities to directly detain, seize, or order the withdrawal of a product on the basis of a finding that it was made, whether in whole or in part, with forced labour.

(18) In order to ensure the effectiveness of this Regulation, the prohibition of products made with forced labour should apply to products for which forced labour has been used at any stage of the production, manufacture, harvest or extraction of those products, including in the working or processing related to such products. The prohibition of products made with forced labour should apply to all products, of any type, including their components, and should apply to products regardless of the sector, the origin, whether they are domestic or imported, or placed or made available on the Union market or exported. This Regulation does not apply to the provision of transport services.

(19) The prohibition of products made with forced labour should contribute to the international efforts to abolish forced labour. The definition of ‘forced labour’ should therefore be aligned with the definition laid down in ILO Convention No 29 stating that forced or compulsory labour means all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily, with the exclusion of any work or service exacted in virtue of compulsory military service laws for work of a purely military character; any work or service which forms part of the normal civic obligations of the citizens of a fully self-governing country; any work or service exacted from any person as a consequence of a conviction in a court of law, provided that the said work or service is carried out under the supervision and control of a public authority and that the said person is not hired to or placed at the disposal of private individuals, companies or associations; any work or service exacted in cases of emergency, that is to say, in the event of war or of a calamity or threatened calamity, such as fire, flood, famine, earthquake, violent epidemic or epizootic diseases, invasion by animal, insect or vegetable pests, and in general any circumstance that would endanger the existence or the well-being of the whole or part of the population; and minor communal services of a kind which, being performed by the members of the community in the direct interest of the said community, can therefore be considered to be normal civic obligations incumbent upon the members of the community, provided that the members of the community or their direct representatives shall have the right to be consulted in regard to the need for such services.

(20) Based on the definition of forced labour specified in ILO Convention No 29 and used in this Regulation, the ILO indicators of forced labour and the ILO guidelines entitled ‘Hard to See, Harder to Count’ set out the most common signs that point to the possible existence of forced labour and should be taken into account when implementing this Regulation. However, those indicators may be insufficient for the identification of forced labour imposed by state authorities, which is based on systemic and global coercive policies that require additional, specifically designed indicators.

(21) The definition of ‘forced labour imposed by state authorities’ should be aligned with ILO Convention No 105, which specifically prohibits the use of forced labour or compulsory labour as a means of political coercion or education or as punishment for the expression of political views or views ideologically opposed to the established political, social or economic system. It also prohibits the use of forced labour as a method of mobilising and using it for the purposes of economic development, as a means of labour discipline, as a punishment for having participated in strikes, or as a means of racial, social, national or religious discrimination.

(22) Distance sales, including online selling, should also fall within the scope of this Regulation. In the case of a product offered for sale online or through other means of distance sales, the product should be considered to be made available on the market if the offer for sale is targeted at end users in the Union. In line with the applicable Union law on private international law, a case-by-case analysis should be carried out in order to establish whether an offer is targeted at end users in the Union. An offer for sale should be considered to be targeted at end users in the Union if the relevant economic operator directs, by any means, its activities to a Member State. For the case-by-case analyses, relevant factors, such as the geographical areas to which dispatch is possible, the languages available and used for the offer or for ordering, means of payment, the use of currency of the Member State or a domain name registered in one of the Member States should be taken into consideration in this regard. In the case of online sales, the mere fact that the interface of economic operators or the interface of providers of online marketplaces is accessible in the Member State in which the end users is established or domiciled is insufficient. The fact that products offered for sale online or through other means of distance sales are deemed to be made available on the Union market if the offer for sale is targeted at end users in the Union empowers competent authorities to check and take the necessary actions in relation to such products pursuant to this Regulation, even though they are not yet actually placed on the Union market at the moment of the offer for sale online or through other means of distance sales. Such products are to comply with the relevant Union law in force at the moment when they are actually placed on the Union market and, in the case of products entering the Union, when they are placed under the customs procedure ‘release for free circulation’. The fact that the product, offered for sale online or through other means of distance sales, is deemed to be made available on the market if the offer for sale is targeted at end users in the Union should be without prejudice to rules regarding products entering or leaving the Union market.