In June 2013 the European Parliament and Council voted in favour of the Accounting and Transparency Directives that will require companies in the extractive industries of oil, gas and mining, as well as the logging of primary forests, to disclose payments made to governments. This measure is intended to fight corruption in countries that are rich in natural resources but less developed. The EU rules follow similar rules introduced in the US last year and are an important step toward establishing a global standard of transparency for the sector.