Katarina Barley, the European Parliament’s vice‑president from the SPD, has warned against further amendments to the EU supply‑chain directive and called for firms to receive planning certainty. She told the news portal that “de‑bureaucratisation also means reliability”. After extensive negotiations, a balance has been reached. “Once you have done it, companies can adapt” she said, adding that “I would not want to keep circling around the same issue again and again”.
Barley reaffirmed the directive’s objective: a value‑based Union that will not produce or trade in goods linked to child labour or rainforest destruction. She said that unified EU rules are not a bureaucratic burden but can supplant national regulations. “If we find a common rule that applies to 27 countries, we can at the same time eliminate 27 separate national rules, which is true de‑bureaucratisation” she explained.
Looking at Europe’s competitiveness, Barley expressed general confidence. The continent, with 450 million people and strong companies, is already an economic power. She believes the institutions can compete and that Europe must now demonstrate this in tumultuous times. “They can probably do even better. We have to prove that now” she said.
At the same time, she urged a faster pace toward European strategic independence, especially regarding supply chains and sovereignty. Barley sharply criticised stalled German‑French industrial projects such as FCAS, describing their failure as a “drama” caused by national egoism. “We really have to overcome national egos” she insisted, adding that Europe is “damned to collaborate”.