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Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
European Parliament Proposes Nearly 1000 Amendments To Sustainability Reporting Law
People walk by an European Union flag (Photo by) The future of sustainability reporting in the European Union is in peril as legislators debate sweeping changes to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directives. The Commission proposed reforms in the Omnibus Simplification Package. Those proposals are now being debated in the Parliament and Council. As the legislative process unfolds in the Parliament, members are submitting proposed amendments. The 987 proposals show MEPs fighting to save the original directives, others looking for full repeal, and movements in the middle. As part of the European Green Deal, a trilogy of directives were passed by the EU to force businesses to address climate change and report greenhouse gas missions. The Taxonomy for Sustainable Activities created a classification system for business and investors to know what activities are considered green or climate friendly. The CSRD created requirements for businesses to report GHG emissions and other environmental, social, and governance actions. The CSDDD, also known as the CS3D, created additional reporting requirements, as well as legal liability, for companies in relation to their supply chain. However, the cost of these proposals on businesses and the broader impact on the EU economy became a theme during the 2024 elections. The shift to the right in EU politics embolden opponents to the European Green Deal directives. As a result, the Commission proposed a package of new directives to 'reduce the burden' on businesses. The Omnibus Simplification Package was officially adopted by the Commission in February. The proposal is being debated in the Council and the Parliament. In the Parliament, the debate is public and working through multiple committees, giving interest parties and MEPs the opportunity to voice their opinions. The Committee on Legal Affairs, known as JURI, is the primary committee that will produce the legislation that will be sent to the full Parliament for a vote. However, related committees will draft opinions to be considered during the process. The committees work independently, but there will be coordination with party leaders and crossover of committee members. Both the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, known as ECON, and the Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety, known as ENVI, posted amendments proposed by their respective members. The proposals were posted in three documents. ECON posted 514 proposed amendments and ENVI posted 473 proposed amendments, divided into 1 - 206 and 207 - 473. The amendments change the language of the Omnibus Simplification Package as proposed by the Commission. The volume of amendments is less a function of diverse opinions as it is a procedural step. Rather than offering sweeping amendments that encompass every change a MEP or Party wants to see, every change to every subparagraph is offered in a separate amendment. In ENVI, the result is 473 amendments, that can be divided into 13 core proposals. The most consistent theme in the amendments relates to the employee thresholds under the CSRD and CSDDD. The Commission proposal raises the threshold to 1,000 employees. In the proposed amendments in both committees, the 1,000 employee threshold is referenced 350 times. A significant number of amendments propose to lower the employee threshold from 1000 to 500. Multiple amendments propose raising the threshold from 1,000 to 3,000. Some amendments go even further, propose raising the threshold to 5,000 employees. One amendment proposes to lower it to 250. Relating to the CSDDD, Amendment 31 in the ECON attempts to raise the value chain requirement from 1,000 employees to 10,000. Other amendments address specific aspects of the CSRD and CSDDD, including the type of reporting that should be required and what standard of evaluation should be used by businesses to determine if information is relevant. The bookends of the debate argue for saving or fully repealing the original directives. In Amendment 2 in the ENVI, MEPs Lynn Boylan, Emma Fourreau, Carola Rackete, Jonas Sjöstedt, Sebastian Everding, Anja Hazekamp, and Li Andersson of The Left made a strong statement in opposition to the Omnibus Simplification Package. The justification stated, 'this gross deregulation of the CSRD and CSDDD takes a narrow-minded focus on competitiveness, at the expense of human rights, that will be to the disadvantage of companies in the long run. European businesses are already seeing the impacts of climate change and the sustainable transformation of companies is integral to achieving our climate and environmental goals. To discard the bulk of corporate sustainability requirements at this time is short-sighted and reckless.' The same group of MEP offered a proposal that appears to be in reference to a recent complaint filed by the European Ombudsman. The complaint claims the Commission 'departed from key procedural requirements foreseen in the Better Regulation Guidelines and failed to carry out a public consultation and an impact assessment without a proper justification.' In Amendment 5, The Left proposed adding the language: "the Commission has declared it necessary to amend Directives 2006/43/EC3 , 2013/34/EU4 , (EU) 2022/24645 and (EU) 2024/1760 of the European Parliament and of the Council, without conducting any impact assessment and limiting public consultation to a closed-door stakeholder event." Alternatively, Amendment 340 in the ECON, proposed by MEPs Christophe Gomart, François-Xavier Bellamy, Laurent Castillo, Angelika Niebler of the European People's Party, calls for the full repeal of the CSDDD. Their justification states, 'the Commission has set itself a clear objective of simplifying the regulatory environment in order to reduce the administrative burden on European businesses by at least 25% (35% for SMEs). The changes to the CS3D proposed by the Commission below only partially address the concerns of the 5,300 European companies directly affected and their subcontractors, who will continue to face the double risk of costly administrative burdens and legal uncertainty (with fines of up to 5% of their turnover for non-compliance). Simply postponing or watering down the directive is not a satisfactory solution for achieving the EU's objectives of simplification and competitiveness.' MEPs from of the Patriots of Europe Group and European Conservatives and Reformists Group offered similar repeals of the CSRD and CSDDD. In the ECON Committee amendments, nearly 25% of the proposals came from political parties. The Left Group proposed 60 amendments through MEP Manon Aubry. The Greens/EFA Group proposed 63 Amendments through MEP Bas Eickhout. The remaining proposals were fragmented, with MEPs of the same party forming alliances based on individual amendments. In looking through the ECON Committee amendments, key leaders to watch are Aurore Lalucq (S&D), Chair of the Committee; Janusz Lewandowski (EPP), rapporteur for the opinion; Lara Wolters (S&D), shadow rapporteur in JURI; and Pascal Canfin (Renew), shadow rapporteur in JURI. Lynn Boylan, Emma Fourreau, Carola Rackete, Jonas Sjöstedt, Sebastian Everding, Anja Hazekamp, Li Andersson (The Left) - 66; Sirpa Pietikäinen (European People's Party)- 65; Marie Toussaint (The Greens/ European Free Alliance) - 65; Jana Nagyová, Mathilde Androuët, Ondřej Knotek, Filip Turek, Marie-Luce Brasier- Clain, Jorge Buxadé Villalba, Anne-Sophie Frigout, Silvia Sardone (Patriots for Europe Group) - 53; Stine Bosse, Martin Hojsík, Michal Wiezik, Emma Wiesner, Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy (Renew Europe Group) - 44; Laurent Castillo, Christophe Gomart, François-Xavier Bellamy - 31; Tiemo Wölken, Annalisa Corrado, Marta Temido, Sakis Arnaoutoglou, Delara Burkhardt (Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament) - 29; Jeannette Baljeu, Svenja Hahn, Andreas Glück, Ivars Ijabs (Renew) - 28; Radan Kanev (EPP) - 21; Raúl de la Hoz Quintano, Esther Herranz García, Dolors Montserrat, Carmen Crespo Díaz, Susana Solís Pérez (EPP) - 14; Jorge Buxadé Villalba (PfE)- 14; Alexandr Vondra (European Conservatives and Reformists Group) - 8, Massimiliano Salini, Flavio Tosi, Letizia Moratti (EPP) - 5; Sander Smit (EPP) - 2. Leadership to note: Jessica Polfjärd, Rapporteur for opinion (EPP) - 23 The committees will have about a month to debate the amendments as the committee opinions are due in mid-July. Ultimately, the fate of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive will rest in the Committee on Legal Affairs and the full vote of the Parliament. Even then, the language of the final Omnibus Simplification Package will need to be agreed upon by the Council, Commission, and Parliament. A lot of negotiations will unfold in the next few months.
Epoch Times
23-05-2025
- Business
- Epoch Times
EU Plans to Slash Red Tape for Medium-Sized Companies
The European Commission is creating a new category of companies that will be exempted from some rules as part of its ongoing effort to slash red tape. On The creation of the new category of company means that they are granted exemption from some laws on data protection and net-zero rules. The EU said that when companies grow beyond 250 employees, they become large enterprises under the current rules and face a sharp increase in compliance obligations. It said that this 'cliff-edge' can discourage growth and limit competitiveness. There are nearly 38,000 companies now potentially classed as small mid-caps in the EU. Related Stories 5/21/2025 4/13/2025 Some of the measures include simplifying the record-keeping obligation in the EU's 2018 personal data GDPR law. About 10,000 small businesses will no longer have to fill out EU climate paperwork for selling or importing items such as used cars with air-con gas, under the new rules planned for 2026. 'Cutting red tape and simplifying rules means giving businesses the freedom to innovate, grow, and create jobs,' Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy Stéphane Séjourné said in a statement. The tech lobby group Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) Europe said that the changes were too minor. 'Easing GDPR requirements for small and mid-sized companies may offer limited relief, but this minor change falls far short of addressing the deeper structural issues that plague the EU's data protection framework,' 'At best, today's proposal will ease GDPR burdens for just 0.2 percent of EU companies. While well-intentioned, its limited scope means it won't meaningfully strengthen Europe's dwindling digital competitiveness. These are cosmetic fixes, not systemic solutions.' The EU Commission has already proposed reforms to the law to reduce red tape for European businesses. The call from the EU's biggest economies comes as the bloc rolls out its 'Simplification Omnibus,' which aims to enable the 27-nation alliance to compete with countries such as the United States and China. On Feb. 25, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen 'This will make life easier for our businesses while ensuring we stay firmly on course toward our decarbonization goals. And more simplification is on the way,' she said. The European Commission, the bloc's executive arm, aims to reduce reporting burdens by 25 percent in an initial wave of measures in the first half of 2025. It said this would translate into savings of 40 billion euros ($42 billion) for European companies. France and Germany recently called on the EU to scrap a supply chain audit law. The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), approved in May 2024, establishes far-reaching mandatory human rights and environmental obligations on both EU and non-EU companies meeting certain turnover thresholds, starting from 2027. While requiring companies to make environmental and human rights checks on their direct suppliers, the law also forms part of the European Green Deal. Companies will be required to adopt and implement a French President Emmanuel Macron said on U.S. President Donald Trump has also committed to a red tape-cutting strategy after establishing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in January to root out fraud, waste, and abuse within the federal government. The task force has a deadline to complete its work by July 4, 2026, but senior presidential adviser and Tesla boss Elon Musk
Reuters
21-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
European supply chain law should be slimmed down, Berlin says
BERLIN, May 21 (Reuters) - The German government clarified on Wednesday that it aimed to "slim down" the European Union's new supply chain audit law but not to scrap it entirely. Some European leaders worry that the law, which requires larger companies to check if their suppliers use forced labour or cause environmental damage, could hurt the bloc's ability to compete with the U.S. and China. French President Emmanuel Macron said this week that the law should be taken "off the table", 10 days after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called for it to be scrapped during his first visit as chancellor to Brussels. Merz's spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said on Wednesday that Berlin was in talks with the European Commission, the bloc's executive, to reform the law. As part of the EU Commission's reform efforts to reduce bureaucracy, "the aim is to slim down the supply chain law," Kornelius added. In its current form, the law, also known by its acronym CSDDD, would start imposing obligations on companies from 2027.
Epoch Times
21-05-2025
- Business
- Epoch Times
Macron, Merz Call to Scrap EU's Supply Chain Sustainability Law
The leaders of France and Germany have called on the European Union to scrap a supply chain audit law. The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), approved in
Forbes
20-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Macron Calls For End Of EU Sustainability Due Diligence Law
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during the "Choose France Summit", aiming to attract foreign ... More investors to the country, at the Chateau de Versailles, near Paris, Monday, May 19, 2025. (Gonzalo Fuentes/Pool via AP) At the Choose France summit on May 19, French President Emmanuel Macron called for the end of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. Macron echoed earlier statements by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, encouraging the European Union to go beyond the current proposal to simplify the CSDDD to a complete rollback. If successful, it will prove to be a major setback for climate activists and human rights activists in the EU and globally. Adopted in May 2024, the CSDDD created new legal liabilities for companies relating to the environment and human rights. The directive was poised to force companies to look beyond their internal policies and actions, but also to those of companies in their value chain. Companies face regulatory penalties and potential civil action from those who are adversely impacted by the companies actions. This opened the door for a form of class action lawsuit that could be brought by those seeking damages for climate change. The final draft of the CSDDD initially appeared poised for easy approval. However, support quickly eroded, leading to 45 days of closed-door negotiations, false starts, and political pressure. Eventually, a watered down version of the final draft was renegotiated by the Council, then sent to the Parliament for approval. The fight over the CSDDD was an indicator of a wider pushback on the EU Green Deal. During the European Parliament elections in July, the regulatory burdens on business played a significant role. The conservative European People's Party ran a campaign that blamed many of the burdens on businesses on the green deal. It worked. The EPP gained seats. Environmentally friendly political parties did not fare as well. The Greens-European Free Alliance and Renew Europe both saw significant losses. Action was swift. The Council proposed the Omnibus Simplification Package, a series of proposals to reduce the scope of the CSDDD and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. Additionally, the package included a stand alone bill to delay enaction of the CSDDD and CSRD. The idea was to delay while broader policy discussions occured, That proposal was fasttracked through the Parliament. Member states now have until the end of the year to transpose it into national law. While the debate over broader reductions continues in the Parliament, national leaders are expressing their opinions. At the Choose France Summit on May 19, an annual international business summit hosted at Versailles, Macron used the opportunity to share his vision for the CSDDD with the business leaders in attendance. In a video posted by AFP, Macron said in English, 'We have to go fast and we have to do big if we want to be back in the race. For me, this is part of the top priority we have. First, simplification. We had first simplification… with this agenda, but clearly we are very aligned now with Chancellor Merz and other colleagues to go much faster. And CSDDD and some other regulations has not to just be postponed for one year, but put out of the table. I'm not even speaking about the content, I'm just speaking about how to synchronize with the U.S. and the rest of the world." The statement echoes broader concerns that the European Green Deal has placed the EU at an economic disadvantage by imposing overly burdensome regulations on businesses. Much to the frustration of sustainability advocates, this narrative will continue to fuel the debate over the CSRD, CSDDD, and other sustainability initiatives while the Omnibus Simplification Package is debated. Expect a final vote in the Parliament in late summer or early fall.
