Regulation (EU) 2017/821 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2017 laying down supply chain due diligence obligations for Union importers of tin, tantalum and tungsten, their ores, and gold originating from conflict-affected and high-risk areas was published on the Official Journal of the European Union (L 130/1 of 19/05/2017).
A brief overview of the content of Regulation (EU) 2017/821 is available on this website, in a technical note published on 22 March 2017, under the title “Updates on the EU Regulation Proposal on Conflict Minerals”. Available on: http://www.esu.ulg.ac.be/index.php?serv=49&cat=3.
The publication of the Regulation was accompanied by a series of statements by the Council and by the Commission, published on the C series of the Official Journal of the European Union (C 158/1 of 19/05/2017).
In the first statement, the Council agrees to delegate to the Commission the power to adopt delegated acts to amend the thresholds of Annex I, but on an exceptional basis.
In its three statements, the Commission declares that:
- it will consider making additional legislative proposals targeted at EU companies;
- in the exercise of its empowerment to adopt delegated acts, it will take into account the specific risks associated with the operation of upstream gold supply chains in conflict affected and high risk areas and taking into account the position of Union micro and small enterprises importing gold in the EU;
- in response to the request of the European Parliament for specific guidelines, the Commission is willing to develop performance indicators specific to the responsible sourcing of conflict minerals.