The MEPs of the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) have adopted their position on the ‘omnibus’ simplification text, which amends the CSDDD and CSRD directives on due diligence and corporate sustainability. The agreement reached at the eleventh hour on 8 October between the EPP, S&D and Renew Europe (see EUROPE 13727/12) was confirmed following the vote. A qualified majority of MEPs even voted to make this position the mandate for negotiations with the Council of the EU, without going to a vote in the European Parliament plenary session.
The adoption of the report by Jörgen Warborn (EPP, Sweden) - by 17 votes to 6 with 2 abstentions - shows “strong support for simplification”, in the words of the rapporteur.
Last week, he succeeded in rallying the S&D and Renew Europe around a series of amendments similar to those of the EU Council (see EUROPE 13665/25). To the regret of the groups on the left of the hemicycle, these amendments include the deletion of civil liability at European level in the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). On this issue, the JURI Committee’s position includes a revision clause that sends the co-legislators back to 2030.
This solution is unacceptable to the Greens/EFA and The Left groups and to the S&D rapporteur, Lara Wolters (Dutch), who withdrew from the discussions last week.
A compromise was also reached on mandatory climate transition plans for businesses. These are maintained in the text, but are no longer accompanied by an obligation to implement them. Thus, companies falling within the scope of the CSDDD will have to “adopt a transition plan for climate change mitigation, which aims to ensure, through reasonable efforts, that the business model and strategy of the company are compatible with the transition to a sustainable economy and with the limiting of global warming”. The objective of limiting global warming to 1.5°C and taking into account the intermediate targets of climate neutrality in 2050 has been removed.
While it is not perfect, the result is the best possible in the European Parliament’s current circumstances, according to shadow rapporteur Pascal Canfin (Renew Europe, French): “I’m not saying that I’m completely satisfied with the compromise, but I am saying that it’s worth supporting”.
In addition, he welcomes the fact that the European Parliament wants to maintain a due diligence for the entire value chain and not just for direct partners. However, the obligations in this area have been lightened in order to prioritise the most serious risks and in line with the reasonable efforts that companies must make.
For rapporteur Jörgen Warborn, the survival of Europe’s industrial fabric is at stake: “If we use the stick, companies will invest elsewhere than in Europe”, he insisted after the vote in the JURI Committee.
Negotiating mandate. MEPs from the Greens/EFA group and The Left, as well as several MEPs from far-right groups, are expected to oppose the negotiating mandate passed by the JURI Committee at next week’s European Parliament plenary session. This refusal will lead to a plenary vote on whether or not to open negotiations. In the event of a majority against, all MEPs will have to vote on Jörgen Warborn’s report in November, with the possibility of further amendments.
To see the voting list with the compromise amendments: https://aeur.eu/f/ixl (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)