Claude Moraes (S&D), in writing. − Last month I tabled a series of parliamentary questions including a priority question relating to the recent Rana Plaza factory collapse, the corporate social responsibility of European companies linked to the tragedy, and EU action on this ongoing issue.

This is not the first factory disaster in Bangladesh, simply the latest in a series over the past twelve months. The Commission’s guidelines on CSR contain only one reference to the responsibilities of EU companies operating outside the EU, but I think their actions matter as much in third countries as well as within the single market, especially when Europeans are the end-user of a product. The company operating the Rana Plaza complex had not signed up to the Bangladesh Fire and Safety Code. If EU companies had more responsibility to monitor their supply chain, the Bangladeshi company would have had more pressure to comply with safety and labour laws. On behalf of my London constituents, I will continue to pursue this issue.