LONDON, March 19 (Reuters) - A panel of lawmakers in the European Parliament on Tuesday backed a draft law requiring large companies in the bloc to check if their supply chains use forced labour or cause environmental damage.
The rules, known as the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, have been watered down by European Union states to overcome a lack of support from Germany and other member countries, worried about piling red tape on companies.
The legal affairs committee voted 20 in favour, 4 against and no abstentions, on the scaled back version agreed by EU states last week.
The rules are due to come into force in 2028, applying to companies that have more than 1,000 employees and a net worldwide turnover above 450 million euros ($487.85 million).
The revised scope means that fewer companies will be captured after originally targeting companies with more than 500 employees and a turnover of 150 million euros.
($1 = 0.9224 euros) (Reporting by Huw Jones; editing by Simon Jessop)
