...[T]he European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) published, in April 2017, an opinion on "Improving access to remedy in the area of business and human rights at the EU level". As a follow up to the Agency's opinion, the European Commission has already proposed that this Agency could collect information on judicial and nonjudicial mechanisms in the Member States concerning access to remedy for victims of business related violations...

... [U]nder EU law, beginning in 2018, companies will be required to disclose information on policies, risks and outcomes as regards environmental matters, social and employee-related aspects, respect for human rights, anti-corruption and bribery issues; the European Commission issued guidelines in June 2017 to support companies in fulfilling their reporting obligations...The EU has also passed a new regulation in May 2017 to stop conflict minerals and metals from being exported to the EU; to stop global and EU smelters and refiners from using conflict minerals; and to stop mine workers from being abused...

...Rather than an "all-encompassing business and human rights negotiation" risking delaying progress, there are ways for the discussion to move towards international legal instruments as precision tools...We cannot emphasise enough that States must implement existing obligations...