By raising the threshold for the number of employees from 500 to 1000 and the turnover from €150 million to €450 million, only one third of companies now fall under the new law, contrary to the original proposal.
Especially the German and French liberal factions in Berlin, Paris, and Strasbourg had objections against restrictive rules for companies and entrepreneurs in EU countries.
Belgium, which holds the six-month rotating presidency of the European Union, had twice unsuccessfully attempted to secure EU support for the law, as Germany and other EU members, including Italy, abstained from voting.
Rome referred to complex negotiations, which also involved a new law on packaging waste, about which Italy expressed some concerns, stating that the right balance has now been found. That law was also approved on Friday.
Dutch Member of the European Parliament Lara Wolters (S&D/PvdA), who oversaw the preparation of the legislation, said that “the approval of the anti-look-away law is a victory for people and the environment, and a loss for cynical lobbyists. Unwilling entrepreneurial lobbies did everything they could to dilute and stop the law.”
“Now the ball is in the European Parliament's court for the very last hurdle. After five years of negotiations and consultations, it is high time to take a big step towards a fairer economy of the future.”
In the short term, the European Parliament will announce when it will vote on the agreement. This will happen in two stages: the Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee (JURI) will first consider the agreement next week; if there is a majority in the committee, the Parliament will vote in plenary session in April.