EU Conflict Minerals: Trialogue Negotiations Have Begun

The Decision Is Near: Are Your Ready?
Feb 16, 2016 3:30 PM ET

As anticipated, the European Union (EU) Conflict Minerals Directive has had a strong start in 2016.  On February 1st, the EU Commission, EU Council, and the EU Parliament began trialogue negotiations. The goal of the ongoing negotiations is to reach a final decision on their pending Conflict Minerals Directive, by June 2016.

According to the IPC, the three parties will go through extensive technical meetings, directed by the EU Council.  The Council Presidency is currently held by The Netherlands.  The Netherlands have vocalized their adamancy about finalizing the negotiations by the end of their term, however the complexity of the directive could push the decision into the next period.  The trialogue negotiations signify the last step of the directive process.  

All indications show this will be a comprehensive directive that encompasses around 880,000 downstream EU firms.  If you would like to learn more about the EU Conflict Minerals Directive, click here to get access to a webinar on demand where the industry’s top experts give key insights into the pending regulation.