Dear Friends,
I am delighted to send you this Spring update on progress in the field of corporate social responsibility at the European level. The response following the November Update and the subsequent hearings, was extremely encouraging and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the information and support you have provided in recent months. If you require further details on anything mentioned in this latest update please feel free to contact myself or my researcher, Lola Almudévar, in my Brussels office, and please do continue to keep us up to date with your news and activities.
All the best,

Richard Howitt MEP
European Parliament Rapporteur:
'Standard setting for European enterprises operating in developing countries'

Green means GO: DG Employment set to launch Green Paper on CSR
I am very pleased to report that the Commission is now set to produce a communication on CSR by the summer of this year. The adoption of this first Green Paper is foreseen to be June 2001. A six month consultation period will then follow until December 2001, with the final Communication being put forward in early 2002. Key to this debate will be a Conference set to take place during the Belgian presidency, from November 27-28 2001. I have been encouraged by my meetings with the Dominique Bé, who is the Commission Official responsible for the Green Paper, and I continue to be in regular contact with him over the issue. For more information contact empl-csr@cec.eu.int or by Dominique Bé directly at Dominique.Be@cec.eu.int Alternatively you can consult DG Employment's website at http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/soc-dial/csr/csr_index.htm

In anticipation of the forthcoming Green Paper I have tabled a Parliamentary Question to Commissioner Diamantopoulou, which should be answered during the May Plenary session in Strasbourg. The question reads as follows: Does the Commission still support the view expressed by Anna Diamantopoulou in her address to the EU Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce on 30 October 2000 that "when voluntary action fails, the pressure for regulation grows" and that "there are certain abuses of basic rights which simply cannot wait for voluntary action to address it?" How will this view be upheld in the Green Paper on Corporate Social Responsibility currently being prepared by DG Employment? What sort of monitoring system does the Commission envisage in order to allow for both voluntary action and legislative regulation? I will include the Commission's response in the next update so watch this space. . .

A new face behind social labelling
Hilde de Clerck in DG Employment, who was responsible for this budget line (B3-4000, has now moved on to newer pastures. I was sorry to see her go but am pleased to welcome Kim Eling as her replacement. As of yet he has not provided a full update of activities being funded under the B3-4000 budget line, but I will update you on this as and when the information arrives. The Madariaga European Research Foundation EMCOD project is progressing well and preparations are underway for the conference in June which will disclose the findings of the extensive research on the need for monitoring of codes at a European level (see below.) More information on the project can be obtained by contacting Bianca Busuioc bbusuioc@madariaga.org or consulting the Foundation's website: http://www.madariaga-foundation.org

RELEX: don't do it
In November I wrote of my disappointment at the failure of DG RELEX to take any kind of action in the field of business and human rights. I was at that time told that the Human Rights Communication forecast for February 2001 would set out the external services position on corporate social responsibility. The Communication is now expected in May and I have been told that it will not make any proposals on CSR as there has been an internal agreement with DG Employment that these issues will be addressed in the Green Paper on CSR and in subsequent documents. This could be positive if the Green Paper is implemented throughout the Commission thus leading to the mainstreaming of CSR in all relevant work of the Commission. However I was concerned at being told that 'given it is such a broad subject, there didn't seem much point in tackling only an edge of it in the paper limited to 20 pages on all Human Rights and democratisation.' In my view, the huge impact that TNCs can have on democracy and human rights in any country at least warrants a mention. is Vicky Bowman is the member of Commissioner Patten's Cabinet who is responsible for the Communication. Her email is Vicky.Bowman@cec.eu.int

DG 'Developing slowly'
In 1998 the Commission introduced a new strategy for private sector development in the ACP countries (http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/development/lex/en/com98667.pdf ) Facilities such as, PROINVEST, DIAGNOS and EU- ACP Business Assistance Scheme (EBAS), exist to support this strategy. This year, in my capacity as Development Committee Rapporteur on the discharge of the European Development Fund for the financial year 1999, I tried to find out the extent to which the Commission tries to comply with internationally agreed standards on investment and corporate conduct in implementing its strategy. I was told in very general terms that international standards are always considered in all programming. This does not seem to me to be reflected as a priority in the information provided by the Commission, which, along with contacts, can be found at http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/development/sector/private_en.htm As a consequence of my findings I included the following paragraph in my parliamentary resolution: "Regrets the failure to evaluate investment promotion activities in developing countries against compliance with international labour, environmental, and human rights standards, and insists that all contracts and loans are made subject to such internationally agreed standards, including a monitoring and complaints mechanism".

EUROPEAIDing Human Rights
Under the new management structure of the Commission's External Management Services 'EUROPEAID' has been created as a new body to deal with the implementation of the EC's external programmes. Within this new body F3: Human Rights and Democracy exists as a Unit headed by Tim Clarke. I am very encouraged by the exchanges that I have had with Tim over the question of business and human rights. His email address is Timothy.Clarke@cec.eu.int

In its mission statement the Unit says it will: 'Facilitate the direct application of EU human rights, democracy and prevention of conflict strategies, policies and legally-binding obligations into the Community's co-operation programmes and projects,' and also 'Promote enhanced exchange of information on human rights, democratisation and prevention of conflict between Community institutions, Member States International donors, the NGO community, the private and academic sectors and other relevant institutions.' I believe that these objectives can not properly be achieved without fully taking into account the massive impact the private sector exerts over human rights and democracy through out the world.

Taking Trade a step further
After initial signals that DG Trade was becoming active on the issue relating to the ethical international trade, a date has now been set for a conference on the OECD Guidelines in May (details below). I am in regular contact with Mauro Petriccione, head of the unit in DG Trade responsible for investment, standards and certification and the implementation of the OECD guidelines. His unit seems to be very dynamic and is evidently being fully supported by Commissioner Lamy. Mauro Petriccione's email is Mauro.Petriccione@cec.eu.int

Getting heard at the first EP Hearings
November 22 2000 marked the date of the first Parliamentary hearings held by the Development Committee following my 1999 Resolution on standard setting for European Enterprises. After a great deal of opposition from the European People's Party in particular, we chose to address two sectors: Infant nutrition and Sportswear. In the case of infant nutrition Nestle was invited to talk about their marketing practises in Pakistan along with a representative from the Network for Consumer Protection in Pakistan and David Clarke from UNICEF's nutrition section in New York. Adidas was also invited to talk about labour standards in Indonesia, as well as Rainy Hutabarat from the Urban Community Mission in Jakarta and Ratna Sapari Professor at the Institute of Social History in Amsterdam. After numerous attempts to 'influence' the programme, both companies chose to boycott the hearings. This, coupled with damning new evidence presented on the day, lead to extensive coverage in the Observer, Guardian, Independent newspapers and on the BBC and in turn to subsequent letters of apologies from the companies. We were able to hold extremely constructive hearings and advance the debate on corporate social responsibility but I would have preferred if the Companies concerned had shown their previously stated support for the hearings on the day. Copies of the evidence submitted at the hearings by all parties can be obtained by contacting my Brussels office.

Adidas has since met with myself and other members of the development committee as well as NGO representatives in Brussels and further afield. The Development Committee has agreed to invite Adidas to address the Committee in the future to report on progress made in labour standards..

Slipping into the next Parliamentary Hearings
We are currently seeking suggestions on possible sectors or companies to address at the next parliamentary hearings. Two suggestions that have already been put to me are the oil and gas industry and the European banana industry. I welcome any information on these sectors or suggestions for other sectors or companies that you may have.

Conferences on business ethics
The Parliament is championing two major conferences. The first, scheduled for April 24 is being organised by my colleague in the Socialist group, Ieke van den Burg . It is entitled 'Corporate social responsibility and Governance'. The conference will include Commissioner Bolkestein, responsible for the internal market, tax system and Customs Union, as one of the keynote speakers. More information can be obtained from Ieke's office: ivandenburg@europarl.eu.int

The Second Conference is being organised by myself and the European Commission (DG Trade) and will take place on May 10 - 11 in Brussels. It is entitled 'Best business practises for Corporate Social Responsibility: Management tools for implementing the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.' Commissioner Pascal Lamy will speak at the conference which aims to address concrete cases of implementation of the principles of corporate social responsibility by companies and to examine how companies can implement the OECD Guidelines or internal codes of conduct in their management structures. More information is available from Corrine Dreyfus: Corrine.Dreyfus@cec.eu.int or from my Brussels office.

As a panel member of the 'Scientific Committee', I am also collaborating with DG Employment and the Madariaga research Foundation EMCOD project to organise a conference on June 20 2001 which will bring together the findings of extensive research conducted over the past year. More details of this conference can be obtained from Bianca Busuioc bbusuioc@madariaga.org or at the Foundation's website: http://www.madariaga-foundation.org

The Rappor-tour continues
Apart from the aforementioned conferences I will also be speaking at the MEDEF Conference on Codes of Conduct in Paris (June 19-20). I also hope to attend the UN's Sub-Commission working group on the new UN guidelines for human rights and business, in Geneva. The Sub-Commission session begins on July 30 and the schedule for the Working Group will not be officially set until that day or the next, but it is very likely to take place on July 31 at 3pm and then again on August 3 at 3pm. The UN Sub-Commission draft guidelines on human rights and business are gaining momentum, increasingly being seen as the option for something stronger and much more comprehensive than the Global Compact. The next working group meeting that I refer to will be open to all and I suspect details will soon be available on the Website on Business and Human Rights: www.business-humanrights.org

I strongly urge you to make this website one of you internet favourites. It hosts a magnitude of information on topics such as monitoring, legal accountability and the work of the European Parliament.

Final word
I am really very grateful to you for keeping me informed about your work and for all the invitations I receive to speak at conferences and participate in round tables, discussion groups etc. Please keep it coming and remember, I'm only a phone call away. . .

13G246, European Parliament, Rue Wiertz, 1047, Brussels, Belgium.
Tel: 00 322 284 5477 Fax: 00 322 284 9477
email: rhowitt@europarl.eu.int