The member states of the European Union have failed to give the green light today to the new directive to force large companies to mitigate the risk of their activities aimed at environmental and social sustainability. Germany, France and Italy have expressed various reluctance about the text already agreed with the European Parliament.
The Government of Berlin already announced earlier this month that it would abstain from voting to approve the agreement despite having given its approval last December, which led other states such as Italy to reconsider their position in favor of the agreement. abstention, so the Belgian presidency decided on February 9 to postpone the debate to try to achieve the necessary qualified majority.
Finally, the ambassadors of the Twenty-Seven addressed the issue but it was impossible to obtain sufficient support to move it forward, as reported on the social network X by the Belgian presidency of the Council of the European Union. “We now have to consider the state of play and will see if it is possible to address concerns by member states, in consultation with the European Parliament,” a spokesman said.
Impact of the activities of large companies.
The law seeks to hold large companies responsible for the impact of their activities and those of their supply chain on environmental sustainability and human rights, obliging them to monitor these risks and mitigate them under penalty of fines, which is why it is considered essential by the organizations. environmentalists and defense of human and labor rights.
The directive, proposed by the European Commission in 2022, had already been agreed between the Governments and the European Parliament last December, so the step, in principle routine, of the States formally approving it was missing. However, in today’s meeting, Germany, France and Italy expressed that they could not support the text agreed with the European Parliament, to which Spain maintains its support, according to European sources.
Without the support of the three large EU countries, it was not necessary for the ambassadors to vote to confirm that the measure does not have the necessary majority. Although it is unusual to reach this point in the legislative process, it is not the first time that a Government has blocked a closed political agreement at the last minute: last year Germany forced to reopen the agreement to prohibit the sale of new cars that emit CO2 separately. ir of 2035 and shortly after France used the same strategy with the renewable energy directive. In both cases, they ended up getting concessions.
“Member states were keen to torpedo the legislation despite strong support for the directive from businesses and consumers”
“The Member States were eager to torpedo the legislation despite the strong support for the directive from companies, civil society and consumers,” criticized the vice president of the Greens and one of those responsible for the dossier in Parliament, calling on the States to “not give going back on the agreements” with the European Parliament.
On the other hand, numerous organizations defending the environment and human rights have criticized the blockade and criticized governments for putting business interests first. “By withdrawing its support for a ready-made deal, Germany sparked a boycott of these key rules on EU supply chains. Now, with France and Italy seizing the case to push their own agendas, this vital legislation hangs in the balance” said Oxfam EU Economic Justice Director Marc-Olivier Herman, who accused these countries of “playing into the hands of big business.”
Under the blocked pact, the directive would apply to EU companies and their subsidiaries with more than 500 employees and a global annual turnover of more than €150 million, as well as companies with 250 employees and more than €40 million in turnover. . n in high-risk sectors. These would have to identify, evaluate, prevent, mitigate, end and remedy their negative impact and would be exposed to fines of up to 5% of their global annual turnover in the event of non-compliance.
