Industry representatives are concerned about the impact of the Directive on corporate due diligence once the legislative work is completed. Twenty-one of them, including BusinessEurope, SME United and Eurochambres, signed a joint statement detailing seven recommendations to co-legislators.
They claim, for example, that the obligations of the directive do not apply throughout the value chain. According to them, companies must be able to prioritise their actions for greater efficiency.
They also consider that directors’ obligations have no place in the due diligence directive, as this risks interfering with company law at national level without having any added value in pursuing the objectives of the text.
On the other hand, they fear the possibility of taking companies to court when they have not directly caused or contributed to any damage. Above all, due diligence must be an obligation of means, in their view. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)