Almost two months after the negotiations of the EU conflict minerals regulation were concluded, there has been some movement towards the end of the European legislative cycle. On January 24, 2017, the European Parliament’s International Trade Committee approved the text of the conflict minerals regulation submitted following the three-way trilogue negotiations that were completed on November 22, 2016. Now, the International Trade Committee is expected to refer the legislation to the European Parliament’s plenary for a formal adoption. That formal adoption is likely to occur at the mid-February plenary session.

The European Council approved the legislative text, as agreed in the trilogue negotiations, in December 2016. After both the European Parliament and Council have formally approved the legislative text, the file will be sent for publication at the Official Journal of the EU and will enter into force 20 days after its publication.