This Thursday 13 November, Parliament voted at first reading on the adjustments to the European directives on corporate sustainability reporting (CSRD) and due diligence (CSDDD), as part of the so-called “Omnibus I” legislative package, ahead of future trilogue negotiations.
MEPs Sophie Wilmès, Benoit Cassart and Olivier Chastel have always advocated simplifying the obligations arising from these directives, to make life easier for businesses. However, it was not the text adopted by the pro-European parties in the Legal Affairs Committee (JURI) that was passed today, but an alternative text negotiated between the EPP and the European far right.
Sophie Wilmès's first reaction: “It is astonishing that such good measures for our businesses can only pass with the help of the far right. There is a moral failing on the part of the EPP in aligning itself with the far right and legitimising it within an alternative majority. Nothing can be built with them, since they dream of making everything collapse. And from the outset there is also a political failing on the left, particularly the S&D, for failing to secure the agreement between pro-European parties.”
As a reminder, a first agreement on this file was reached on 13 October in the JURI committee. The result of work between the political groups of the pro-European platform (EPP, Renew, S&D) went further than the European Commission's original proposal. For example: fewer businesses are affected; obligations focus on the key at-risk links in the value chain; climate transition plans are significantly simplified; European civil liability is abolished. As it stood, in the view of the three MEPs, this ambitious text could serve as a negotiating basis for Parliament ahead of the trilogue, since it largely met the expectations of the business world. They therefore voted in favour of this text during the plenary session on 22 October.
However, the negotiating mandate was not granted. In the preceding days, several official and unofficial statements had already suggested numerous defections within the ranks of the socialist S&D group. These negative votes, together with those of the Greens, the far right and the far left, were enough to defeat the compromise reached in JURI, which had been supported by the liberals.
Sophie Wilmès recalls: “It must be understood that the socialists, but also the Greens, certainly bear responsibility for the failure of this first step, which would have been the simplest way to avoid the situation we experienced today. The EPP and Renew had nonetheless announced they would stand behind the compromise negotiated with the S&D in the JURI committee. Citizens were clear at the last elections: they want less administrative burden, less bureaucracy. But this message is still not being heard by everyone, especially on the left of the chamber.”
This Thursday, as procedure requires, the text was put to a vote again, this time with the possibility of tabling amendments. Consistent with their vote in October, the Belgian liberal MEPs once again supported the original version of the JURI text.
Sophie Wilmès explains: “The text from the Committee on Legal Affairs was not perfect, but it was good. It largely does the job. It also had the merit of coming from pro-European parties and, above all, it was far from a watered-down compromise, since it went much further than the European Commission's initial proposal in terms of a simplification shock. Given the many points of agreement with the Council's position, the text also promised swift adoption of these measures. And that is fundamental: businesses can no longer bear the waiting and uncertainty. After the S&D's defection, the EPP made a different choice: an alternative text, negotiated with and adopted thanks to the far right. This choice could complicate the trilogue discussions. Moreover, the EPP is taking a further step in abandoning its core principles by sending to trilogue, for the very first time, a text born of an open and openly assumed alliance with the far right. This game of alternative majorities weakens the entire European project. It also means risking gridlock, when decisions are urgently needed instead.”
The final text resulting from the trilogue negotiations will go before the European Parliament one last time to be formally approved. Within this interinstitutional agreement, Sophie Wilmès, Benoit Cassart and Olivier Chastel will objectively assess the proposal on the table. With the aim of achieving a swift, real and significant reduction in the administrative burden weighing on the shoulders of our businesses.