During the European Parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg, a debate was held on banning products manufactured using forced labor from the EU market. PiS MEP Kosma Złotowski spoke during the discussion.
“The race to cut costs in the global economy leads to situations where companies—in an effort to generate greater profits—resort to forced labor at various stages of the production chain,” said Złotowski.
As he noted, consumers in the European Union are often unaware of these practices and, when purchasing a product, are guided primarily by price—which may result from unethical practices—thereby harming honest companies and their market position. “We must find ways to effectively detect cases of the exploitation of prisoners, children, or other forms of modern slavery, of which women are very often the victims,” he emphasized.
The PiS MEP pointed out that the European Union’s immediate neighbors include countries such as Belarus and Russia, which derive economic benefits from a system of penal colonies and the labor of political prisoners. He added that in the process of extracting rare earth metals—which are essential for the production of electronics and batteries for electric vehicles—children are often exploited for the hardest labor.
“Companies proven to have knowingly used forced labor should be severely punished, and information on this matter should be made public and accessible,” the Polish politician urged.
