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CCC Reference Guide on Code Implementation & Verification
Section 5. Code-Related Activities in a Global Context
EU level CSR and EP-related resolutions
The European Parliament passed a first resolution in 1999 to promote the
accountability of European-based multinationals by supporting initiatives
in the field of codes of conduct. In the resolution, proposed by MEP Richard
Howitt, the Parliament states its support for voluntary codes of conduct,
but explicitly states that these cannot and should not be a substitute
for or a way to avoid international regulation. Furthermore, the EP calls
upon the European Commission and the European Council to come to terms
with the subject of a "European Monitoring Platform" and proposes
to organise hearings on the subject. The Council and the Commission are
also called upon to set up conditions for legal measures to monitor multinationals.
Since European Parliament resolutions are not binding for national
member states, it will require an enormous amount of lobbying to get
Europe to implement this resolution. A first hearing was organized in
november 2000, where a.o. adidas was called to testify. Parlementarian
Richard Howitt put forward a second resolution in June 2002 which calls
a.o. for new legislation to require companies to publicly report annually
on their social and environmental performance.
For more information see:
Meanwhile, the European Commission, under the Belgian presidency,
put "CSR" high on the agenda. A green paper was published
and many NGOs, trade unions and of course corporations reacted. CCC
also send in their comments. The Directory Generate for Employment and
Social Affairs published all reactions on their
website and also started a so-called "CSR Stakeholder Forum".
High level meetings took place in 2003 and 2004 to take stock of progress,
and findings and conclusions were presented to the Commission on 29th
June 2004. At the final meeting of the CSR Multi-Stakeholder Forum,
NGOs published a joint statement, calling for strong action to create
a European framework for corporate responsibility. Whilst acknowledging
that some advances had been made during the work of the Forum, the NGOs
insist that public authorities must now step forward, building on the
work of the Forum, in order to develop CSR policies, set standards,
and where necessary enforce them. The Belgian based NGO "Social
Platform" coordinates the NGO input and criticisms, see: http://www.socialplatform.org/code/en/camp.asp?Page=308
DG Employment continues to take an active interest in the development
of CSR and regularly organizes conferences and publishes reports and
other materials, see: http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/soc-dial/csr/index.htm
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