The European Union Ministers for the Internal Market and Industry will be invited by the French Presidency of the Council of the EU to reach a political agreement (‘general approach’) on the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), at the Competitiveness Council in Brussels on Thursday 24 February. In addition, the ministers will hold a policy debate on the regulation on foreign subsidies that distort the internal market.
Thus, the ministers should reach a political agreement on the compromise adopted by the Member States’ ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) on Wednesday 16 February (see EUROPE 12894/11). The compromise introduces the notion of proportionality of ‘reporting’ requirements, in particular for SMEs, in order to avoid administrative overload. The Presidency also established transitional provisions on quality assurance reviews of reporting until the Commission adopts an EU-wide assurance standard.
The Council will open in the morning with a policy debate on the future regulation to combat unfair foreign subsidies. In the European Parliament, the text is being dealt with in the Committee on International Trade (INTA) and is expected to be voted on in that committee in April.
The French Presidency of the Council of the EU (FPEU) prepared a compromise text of which EUROPE had a copy (see EUROPE 12878/5), which does not differ much from the Commission’s proposal (see EUROPE 12711/9) nor from the position of the rapporteur, Christophe Hansen (EPP, Luxembourg) (see EUROPE 12868/4).
In the second item of the day, the Ministers will hear from the European Commission on the draft regulation on semiconductors, or ‘European Chips Act’, presented earlier this month (see EUROPE 12886/1). The Presidency has allowed a relatively short period of time, but the ministers will be able to speak on this issue. “There is no expectation of a substantive debate” on this issue, a source told us. So far, the response from Member States has been positive, although some questions remain unanswered.
A working lunch will follow. Here, the Presidency’s wish is to have a moment of exchange on SMEs and the internal market in connection with the European Commission’s annual reports in preparation on the single market and on strategic dependencies. Both reports are expected to be presented by the Commission on Wednesday 23 February. Linked to this last point, the impact of the Ukrainian crisis on the supply of certain raw materials could be discussed.
The afternoon will open with three important ‘other’ items. First of all, the Presidency will inform the Ministers, in a public session, of the negotiation mandate on the regulation on the common charger, adopted by the Member States’ ambassadors to the EU at the end of January (see EUROPE 12877/8). The European Commission will then present its strategy in the field of standardisation (EUROPE 12882/3). Finally, the Presidency will hold a briefing on the issue of critical raw materials.
The ministers will then hold a debate on the future of the industrial ecosystem of mobility in the face of the green transition. Here, they will be invited to speak on the investment needs and measures required to accelerate the green transition. It will focus on the levers to strengthen the future competitiveness of the European mobility ecosystem in relation to the development of electric and autonomous vehicles. Access to critical raw materials will also be discussed in this context.
Finally, under ‘other business’, the European Commission will present its legislative proposal on sustainable corporate governance and due diligence (see other news). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens, Anne Damiani and Léa Marchal)