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LE January 25, 2019, Brazil was the scene of a tragedy still impunia today. In a few minutes, the collapse of the Brumadinho mining dam, managed by the Brazilian mining company Vale, released the equivalent of 4,000 Olympic toxic sludge swimming pools. 272 people lost their lives, kilometers of land was destroyed by 12 million cubic meters of mining residues. The Paraopeba river, a crucial ecosystem in Brazil, was contaminated.

At the origin of the hell of Brumadinho, no fatality, but flagrant negligence of the company operating the dam. Worse, these shortcomings were covered by a German certification company: Tüv Süd, itself linked by financial interests to its client. This drama, one of many others on a global scale, should haunt the political and economic spheres of the European Union.

However, while we commemorate the sixth anniversary of this disaster, European news shows us how the lessons of this tragedy have not been drawn. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced on November 8, 2024 wanting to simplify three key pillars of the European Green Deal. A European law proposal called “Omnibus” will be presented at the end of February to “Simplify” In particular the recent directive on the duty of vigilance of companies. Such an initiative, carried by the president of the European Commission, constitutes an unacceptable decline in the fight against the abuses of multinationals.

Against the impunity of irresponsible economic actors

The directive on the duty of vigilance of businesses in matters of sustainability, adopted in June 2024 by the European Union, was a historic advance. The fight against impunity had just progressed significantly. The 27 member states had ended up paving the path at the international level, after France did it at the national level by adopting in 2017 the first world law on the duty of vigilance.

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Source: Lemonde

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