...We strongly welcome the recent commitment by EU Commissioner for Justice and Consumers Didier Reynders to bring forth a proposition for an EU legislation on mandatory corporate human rights and environmental due diligence in 2021. In light of this, we underline that this is the crucial moment for the EU to engage formally and constructively in the negotiations for a binding treaty on business and human rights at the UN. We thus urge the EU to adopt a negotiation mandate and fully engage in the UN treaty process as soon as possible...this commitment will help secure a level-playing field for EU companies that are increasingly subject to mandatory corporate human rights due diligence requirements...

The core claim of the UN treaty, namely to implement mandatory rules on business and human rights at the global level, reflects the EU's own assessment that voluntary measures have failed to prevent companies from committing human rights violations and environmental harms, or hold them accountable for harm...The EU has an obligation enshrined in the EU treaties to uphold the principle of multilateralism, a duty it defends and upholds in related fields like trade and investment. The EU must uphold this value in the human rights and environmental field by engaging in the treaty process...