A first test for the ‘omnibus’ package in the European Parliament will take place next week in Strasbourg. MEPs are due to vote on Tuesday 1 April on whether to adopt one of the ‘omnibus’ texts under the urgency procedure. This is what is known as the ‘Stop the Clock’ directive, which postpones the CSDDD and CSRD directives by one and two years respectively. The EPP, which initiated the request for the urgency procedure, hopes to rally a majority “in the centre” to approve the urgency procedure, i.e. with the S&D, Renew Europe and the Greens/EFA as well as the ECR. “There are good discussions underway”, according to Daniel Köster, head of the EPP press unit at the European Parliament. If the European Parliament agrees to adopt its position as a matter of urgency, the vote will take place on Thursday 3 April.
The groups mentioned appear to be in a position to approve the urgency procedure, but negotiations are underway for a broader agreement. According to several sources, the S&D, Renew Europe and the Greens/EFA are negotiating an agreement with the EPP in which they would agree to adopt the ‘Stop the Clock’ directive as it stands, in exchange for which the EPP undertakes not to vote for amendments with the far right on the other texts in the ‘omnibus’ package.
The extent of this commitment is still under discussion, given the divisions over the substance of the ‘omnibus’ package, but the four groups want to give a chance to what is known as the ‘von der Leyen’ majority, which enabled the President of the European Commission to be elected in 2024. The challenge for S&D, Renew Europe and the Greens/EFA is to try to limit the simplification amendments to the CSDDD directive in particular. The ECR group, which is in favour of the urgency procedure, has already announced its intention to table amendments to the ‘Stop the Clock’ directive between Tuesday and Thursday, to request an even longer postponement of the CSRD and CSDDD texts. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)