Negotiations between the European Parliament and the Council of the EU will begin on Tuesday 18 November on the ‘omnibus’ package for simplifying legislation on corporate sustainability, following the adoption of the European Parliament’s position on Thursday 13 November (see EUROPE 13751/1). However, around a hundred European legal experts are questioning the legality of this simplification package. In a letter sent to the European Parliament Committee on Legal Affairs on 10 November, they suggest that the proposal violates the principle of proportionality as well as the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the non-regression principle.
The authors of the letter argue that, under the precautionary principle, any EU measure must pursue a legitimate, suitable, proportionate and necessary objective. The benefits must outweigh the negative effects. However, the fact that no impact assessment has been carried out prevents the Commission from weighing up the advantages and negative effects of the proposal, according to the group of legal experts.
Secondly, in their view the ‘omnibus’ contravenes Article 52 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, which stipulates that limitations of fundamental rights are only possible when they are necessary and meet objectives of general interest, which is not the case with the ‘omnibus’.
See the letter sent to the JURI Committee: https://aeur.eu/f/jgj (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)