On Friday 9 February, the permanent ambassadors of the Member States to the European Union (‘Coreper’) were ultimately unable to reach a decision on the provisional agreement with the European Parliament on the directive introducing a due diligence obligation for European companies (see EUROPE 13346/2).
Noting the existence of a blocking minority, the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council opted to postpone the vote by a few days. Italy joined the countries that did not support the agreed text, including Germany, Finland, Sweden and Estonia.
The Council had, however, obtained concessions from the Parliament at the end of the negotiations, notably on the scope of the text. Clarifications were then provided by the Belgian Presidency in an attempt to reassure certain national delegations.
However, opponents of the text criticise the directive for being too complicated and for imposing too much responsibility on companies. The text is “problematic” for Estonia, for example. It finds that the definition of due diligence is too broad and vague, and the principle of civil liability in the event of a breach of the obligations also poses a problem.
This postponement of the vote is regrettable for the text’s supporters, who fear that it will not be adopted before the end of the legislative cycle.
“Today’s decision by the Belgian Presidency to postpone the vote must now be used to quickly secure the support of the Member States”, said Anna Cavazzini MEP (Greens/EFA, German).
In Germany, the Greens, who are part of the government coalition, had called for a vote in favour of the text.
Questioned by EUROPE at a meeting of European competitiveness ministers in Genk on Friday, Germany’s State Secretary for Economic Affairs, Sven Giegold, said he regretted the abstention. “France, Germany and other countries already have rules on corporate due diligence. Having a European standard means having fair competition, based on a common set of rules. That’s why we would have voted in favour, but we are obliged to abstain because of our coalition agreement”, he said.
Environmental and human rights organisations reacted swiftly to the postponement of the vote, calling on the Council to approve the text quickly. “The decision to postpone the vote is outrageous [...] We urge Member States to look beyond their own self-interest, return to the negotiating table and ensure the passage of this crucial legislation as quickly as possible”, said Isabella Ritter, a political analyst at ShareAction.
The vote could be put back on the Coreper agenda on Wednesday 14 or Friday 16 February, according to several sources. A yes vote at that time would still allow the text to be adopted before the European elections. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)