The Regulation on a prohibition on products made using forced labour on the Union market (Regulation (EU) 2024/3015, OJ EU L of 12 December 2024) has now been published in the Official Journal of the EU. The Regulation, referred to for short as the “Forced Labour Regulation” (FLR), entered into force on 13 December 2024, but will only apply from 14 December 2027.
Article 3 of the Regulation contains a prohibition, under which economic operators may neither place on the market, nor make available on the Union market, products made using forced labour, nor export such products. Placing a product on the market means the first making available of a product on the Union market, that is, any supply of a product for distribution, consumption, or use on the Union market in the course of commercial activity, whether for payment or free of charge.
A product is regarded as having been made using forced labour where forced labour was used at any stage of its extraction, harvesting, production, or manufacture (Article 2(7)). The Regulation does not itself define the term “forced labour,” but refers, in this regard, to a Convention of the International Labour Organization (ILO Convention No. 29), Article 2(1).
The EU Commission is to make available, by 14 June 2026, a database providing information on forced labour risks in specific geographic areas or in relation to specific products or product groups. Companies can therefore consult this database to inform themselves about potential forced labour risks relating to their products, or to the geographic origin of their products.
In addition, the Commission is to establish a so-called single information submission point. Through this single point, anyone may submit information about the economic operators or products concerned, together with the grounds and evidence substantiating the alleged violations, and, where possible, supporting documentation. The submission of information through the single point is subject to the protection afforded under the so-called Whistleblower Directive (Directive (EU) 2019/1937).
A Commission web portal is intended to serve as a central source of information and tools on this topic. Alongside the database and the single information point, this will also include individual decisions on the prohibition of a product, or the lifting of such a prohibition, as well as guidelines to be drawn up by the EU Commission on various specific issues (Article 11).
In assessing the likelihood of a violation, the competent authority draws, among other things, on the information contained in these databases, as well as on information from other authorities and on the risk indicators communicated by the Commission by way of guidance. In carrying out all of its assessments, the competent authority follows a risk-based approach, based on the following criteria:
- the scale and severity of the alleged forced labour,
- the quantity of products entering the Union market,
- the proportion, within the finished product, of a suspected part of the product.
In a preliminary examination, the authority assesses, on the basis of such an evaluation and the information provided by the economic operator, whether a well-founded suspicion exists that the prohibition on placing on the market, making available, or exporting a product made using forced labour has been violated. Where the outcome of such a preliminary examination is that no well-founded suspicion exists, the authority does not open a further investigation. Where, on the other hand, it concludes that a well-founded suspicion of such a violation exists, it opens an investigation into the products and economic operators concerned and notifies the economic operators affected. In such an investigation, the authority must assess, on the basis of all the information and evidence available to it, whether a violation of Article 3 has occurred. Where no such violation can be established, the investigation is closed. Where a violation is established, however, the authority issues a decision prohibiting the products concerned from being placed on the market, made available on the Union market, or exported, where appropriate together with an order requiring the products concerned to be withdrawn from the Union market.
Recommendation
It is, for now, up to the EU Commission to create the conditions necessary for the Regulation’s application. The first deadline for establishing the necessary tools is 14 June 2026. That said, companies too are advised to make use of the time remaining before the Regulation becomes applicable (14 December 2027): companies should review their own business activities to determine whether there are risks of forced labour being used in connection with the products they import into the Union, first make available for sale, consumption, or use within the Union, or export. It is not sufficient, in this regard, to review only direct suppliers, since every stage of a supply chain, and every individual processing and manufacturing step, is relevant to the question of whether a product was made using forced labour. The guidelines the EU Commission is required to publish by 14 June 2026 should be consulted as early as possible, since these will provide insight into the considerations the Commission will apply in its risk assessments. We will continue to monitor this as well and keep you informed!
