At the last and with no margin: EU initiatives in the fight against modern slavery

Abstract

As the deadline set by SDG 8 to eradicate forced labor by 2025 approaches, various community proposals aimed at combating slavery both within and beyond the community borders are emerging. The proposal for a Regulation on products made with forced labor, currently under legislative process, will serve as the starting point for reviewing the objective set by Ursula Von der Leyen of not allowing the trade of manufactured products originating from forced labor in the European market. This is not a regulation that can be analyzed independently, so the review of the proposal will require us to consider other norms that the EU is implementing in its fight against slavery, especially those related to due diligence, which are being processed in parallel to the text under analysis. While there are advantages to this approach, it does not hide the difficulties involved in such a comprehensive undertaking as proposed by the EU legislator.