Brussels – The rift on the delay of sustainability obligations for European companies was just a flash in the pan. Two days after the EU Parliament gave the go-ahead for the use of the urgency procedure, with accompanying controversy from Social Democrats and Greens, the rift has been healed in the name of simplification: all on board—except for the European Left Group and a minority of ecologist MEPs. The European Commission’s proposal to postpone the implementation of the Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) by two years and the Corporate Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) by one year passes with a very large majority.
The so-called “Stop-the-clock” contained in the broader Omnibus I simplification package unveiled by the EU executive on Feb. 26, was approved with the votes of sovereignists (ESN), patriots (PfE), conservatives (ECR), populars (EPP), liberals (Renew), socialists (S&D) and more than half of the Greens. A total of 531 votes in favour, 69 against and 17 abstentions. For the regulations to be postponed until 2027 and 2028, all that is missing is the formal green light from the member countries, which already voted in favour a week ago. At that point, the co-legislators will get their hands on the real core of the Omnibus I package, the one concerning easing content and requirements for companies set by the directives.
The crisis denounced only two days ago by the Socialist group leader, Iratxe Garcia Perez, over the lack of a cooperation agreement with the EPP to avert an excessive drift to the right has receded. “Today, the pro-European forces—the European People’s Party, the S&D Group, Renew Europe and the Greens—have laid the foundations for lasting cooperation to ensure democratic stability and predictability for our citizens and businesses,” the Socialist family said in a statement on the sidelines of the vote. The agreement reached “after days of negotiations” commits the four groups “to cooperate for the common good of our citizens, our businesses and our planet.”
Little does it matter if it means bringing onto the bandwagon the votes of the far right, from ECR to the sovereignists, who are eager to water down the monitoring, mitigation, and sustainability reporting obligations for European companies laboriously approved at the end of the last legislature. Because, thanks to the understanding reached before the vote, “we will hold the EPP accountable for its commitments, ensuring that simplification does not come at the expense of sustainability standards and that pro-EU forces will seek a compromise to strike this crucial balance,” the Socialists assure.
The Greens’ co-chair, Terry Reintke, confirmed the agreement on the Omnibus package in the name of “stability in the European Parliament” and “predictability for businesses.” The four groups “will commit to working constructively at all stages of the negotiation process,” he added in a post on X. In the ranks of the Greens, however, there were several defections: the group split, with 28 voting in favour of postponing the rules, 20 against—including the four from the Italian Avs delegation—and four abstaining.
Actually, the progressive front’s confidence in the intentions of the EPP is wavering. The EPP knows it can count on an alternative majority on the right and has never hidden its intention to reduce burdens on business, even at the cost of widening the mesh of environmental and social constraints. But socialists and greens have their hands tied; it’s the harsh law of current EU Parliament numbers. Indeed, Tomas Tobé, a popular MEP responsible for the Omnibus, merely said, “The constructive forces in Parliament are ready to start working on real simplification measures that will increase Europe’s competitiveness in the long run,” wisely avoiding emphasizing guarantees on sustainability standards.
For now, requirements to monitor and mitigate the negative impact of its activities on human rights and the environment across the entire supply chain should apply to companies with more than three thousand employees and net sales of more than €900 million, and sustainability reporting standards to all companies, including SMEs.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
