EU countries have voted to pass a landmark supply chain law that would make companies responsible for environmental and human rights abuses, but only after the number of companies it will affect was cut by at least a fifth.
Ambassadors from the bloc voted on Friday to pass the due diligence law after several weeks of delays due to concerns from countries including Germany, Italy and France.
France, in particular, pushed to raise the threshold that determines which companies will have to report under the law.
It will now be companies with 1,000 or more employees and €450mn in annual revenue, up from 500 employees and €150mn in revenue.
The World Benchmarking Alliance estimates that this means 5,300 businesses will be affected, compared with 6,800 previously.