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The EFJ members had the pleasure to meet in person for the General Assembly on the 17^th of April 2024 in Brussels, in the heart of the European quarter.

On the eve of a new European Parliament and a new European Commission, it was a good opportunity to exchange views on the sector’s future priorities. “Thanks to our efficient work and cooperation, we have consolidated the Federation’s position as a key stakeholder within the European institutions. We will continue this approach in the next legislative period to ensure that the needs of the European jewellery sector will be taken into account.” stressed Bernadette Pinet-Cuoq, President of the European Federation of Jewellery.

The EFJ members also reaffirmed that one of the sector’s top priorities is to ensure the free movement of jewellery articles. Indeed, the jewellery sector remains one of the non-harmonised sectors in the EU. Despite the implementation of the regulation on mutual recognition of goods, operators still face barriers to trade in the EU, which hinders the development of the sector. This is why the Federation is convinced that the harmonisation of precious metal articles is the way forward, with the publication of a regulation to effectively guarantee the free movement of jewellery articles.

“Jewellery is one of the flagships of the European creative industries and in 2022, jewellery articles accounted for the largest share (54.4%) of extra-EU exports of cultural goods, worth €13.8 billion. In the context of the publication of Enrico Letta’s high-level report advocating the strengthening of the Single Market, we ask the European Commission and Member States to support our call for harmonisation of the European jewellery sector, which will be instrumental in strengthening the sector’s competitiveness.” stated Laurence Chevillon, Executive Vice-President of the Federation.

The EFJ members also took stock of the state of play of the legislative proposal on “Green Claims”, which will help to fight against some misleading commercial practices on synthetic diamonds and provide consumers with an informed choice and of the Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence, which will foster sustainable and responsible corporate behaviour throughout global value chains. The General Assembly was followed by a series of meetings with Permanent Representations to address the key issue of harmonisation.

On the 23^rd of February, the European Commission published a proposal for a Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (CSDD). It is now being discussed by the co-legislators. As regards the Council, the Czech Presidency is willing to conduct the bulk of the discussions during their mandate (from the 1^st of July until the 31^st of December 2022). In the European Parliament, the draft report from the rapporteur of the lead Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI), Ms Lara Wolters, will be released by the end of October. Debates will follow within the JURI Committee, in cooperation with five associated Committees on Foreign Affairs; Environment, Public Health and Food Safety; Economic and Monetary Affairs; International Trade and Employment and Social Affairs.

In this context, the European Federation of Jewellery released its position on this important matter.

The EFJ believes that an EU-wide cross-sectorial legal framework on due diligence has the potential to significantly influence the way EU businesses will conduct their operations in the future and will define an ambitious threshold for countries and companies globally. However, the new rules have to be pragmatic, implementable and they need to take into account the specificities of the jewellery sector. Given that the European jewellery and diamond sector is fragmented and consists mainly of SMEs, the EFJ advocates for the adoption of an EU legislation that would:  

• Establish a proportional approach which adapts the burden of the compliance costs to the size and resources of the companies.
• Set up an appropriate support mechanism to help targeted companies comply with the rules, as well as SMEs that are indirectly affected.
• Base the due diligence system on an obligation of means rather than an obligation of results.
• Take into account the existing legislation/certification schemes in the jewellery and diamond sector to ensure consistency.
• Ensure legal certainty for companies with clear definitions of the risks and duties.
• Guarantee a level-playing field for EU companies at EU and international level to support EU competitiveness.

The Federation will continue to be fully involved, active and a source of proposals in the decision-making process.