The Socialist and Democrats (S&D) in the European Parliament have given in, and accepted the European People’s Party (EPP) offer to water down the EU sustainability rules less than the conservative party would have with the far right.
The law is the first of a series of “omnibus” simplification – or deregulation – proposals that have become the hallmark of Ursula von der Leyen’s second mandate at the helm of the European Commission.
The deal was reached after a day of intense negotiations on Wednesday, and will see the S&D, EPP, and liberal Renew backing a joint draft Parliament position on the European Commission’s simplification proposal at committee level next Monday.
Immediately afterwards, the S&D lead negotiator on the file, Lara Wolters, announced her resignation from the role of top negotiator for the group, as the position “has become untenable”.
“The last five years I have given all I could in a fight for responsible companies that respect people and planet. I will never stop fighting against injustice, and for the values that are close to my heart,” Wolters said in a statement.
The mood was quite different in the EPP. “There is no changes to the package that I presented in the committee a week ago, so eventually they decided to join my package and I’m really happy about that,” said Jörgen Warborn, the EPP lawmaker in charge of the file.
The deal uniting the party that back Ursula von der Leyen in the house “means we have a stable majority with the pro-European groups that delivers simplification for businesses,” Warborn said.
“We actually cut costs more than the commission does and at the same time we keep the timetable which has been very important. With this we create some kind of predictability,” he concluded.
Renew’s Pascal Canfin has welcomed the deal, “as we always aimed for a VDL coalition on the file,” he said.
Under Warborn offer, the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), would apply to companies with 1000 employees and €450 million turnover.
The Corporate Sustainability and Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), which requires firms’ supply chains to have no human rights or environmental abuses issues, would apply to those employing more than 5000 people and with a turnover of €1.5 billion.
The S&D has also abandoned the key request of keeping strong liability rules. Under the deal, they should be watered down according to the European Commission proposal but subject to a review clause.
(aw)
