On Thursday, 28 March, MEPs will vote on the draft report by Sirpa Pietikäinen (EPP, Finland) and Bas Eickhout (Greens/EFA, Netherlands) that lays the foundations for the future taxonomy on sustainable finance, which will assess the ecological sustainability of economic activities sector by sector (see EUROPE 12026/4).
Adopted by a narrow majority in the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) and Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) on 11 March (see EUROPE 12212/9), the draft report falls far short of what was expected by the S&D, Greens/EFA, and GUE/NGL groups, which, in anticipation of the plenary, resubmitted several amendments that were rejected in parliamentary committee.
It is a matter of “restoring the entire quality of the text,” French MEP Eva Joly (Greens/EFA) explained to EUROPE on Tuesday, 26 March, from Strasbourg. In her opinion, one of the reasons that the document was weakened arose from the fact that the EPP did not toe the line of its rapporteur, Mrs Pietikaïnen.
The Greens have therefore submitted an amendment that, once more, proposes creating a category of “investments having a significantly harmful environmental impact,” which would be supported by the S&D and GUE/NGL groups.
“We would like to extend the label to other financial products, such as bank accounts. Savers should know that if they deposit their salary into an account at BNP [...] it can be used for sustainable investments,” explained Eva Joly, noting that, again, her group had submitted amendments with this in mind.
It should be noted that the S&D, Greens/EFA, and GUE/NGL groups are also re-entering the fray with amendments to set criteria in the text that determine the degree of substantial contribution of an economic activity to social objectives.
Amendments of particular importance to rapporteur Bas Eickhout will also be put to a vote. These amendments aim to make sure that investments in solid fossil fuel activities can never be considered “sustainable” and that sustainable investments also comply with basic human rights standards.
On Tuesday, the outcome of the vote remained difficult to predict. According to several parliamentary sources, the right/left split that prevailed during the committee vote is expected to be reproduced, foreshadowing a close vote.
Mrs Joly acknowledged that there is little chance of these amendments being adopted, despite the support of the S&D and GUE/NGL groups.
“The EPP and certain Liberals are completely against transparency,” decried French MEP Michèle Rivasi (Greens/EFA), estimating that, even with the French delegations’ votes, it would not be enough to win the vote.
The vote will be closely monitored by stakeholders as well. SMEunited, Eurochambres, and the European Association of Guarantee Institutions (AECM) have called on MEPs to hold a “responsible vote” and once again warned of the possible harmful effects that these amendments could have on the economy, especially the “Brown list” of economic activities that have a negative impact on the environment as well as a disclosure obligation for all financial institutions. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana and Pascal Hansens)