Copublished with Friends of the Earth France, CCFD-Terre Solidaire, Notre Affaire à Tous, Sherpa, Oxfam France, Forum Citoyen pour la RSE & ActionAid France
Paris, February 27, 2024 – Ahead of a vote in the European Council, NGOs are warning that the future of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive is in jeopardy, despite the compromise agreement reached by member states and the European Parliament in December. Following pressure from corporate lobby groups, some member states, including Germany, are threatening to block the text when the Council of the European Union votes tomorrow.
Almost 4 years after the European Commission announced its proposal for a directive, and following the conclusion of the trialogues in December, the vote scheduled in the Council to validate the text prior to its adoption by Parliament should have been no more than a formality.
But this formality has become a sword of Damocles, making final adoption of the directive uncertain due to differences within the German government, which could lead the country to abstain from the vote. In such a case, the position of the other member states would be decisive.
Although the text has been largely weakened under pressure from financial lobby groups, it nonetheless represents a major step forward for the regulation of multinational companies in many member states. It is therefore crucial that France fully supports it, and that the government now mobilizes at the highest level to lobby all of its European partners for the directive to be adopted.
With 100 days to go before the European parliamentary elections, the European Union risks going backwards on climate change. A positive vote by the EU Council is essential to validate this step forward for the protection of human rights and the environment. But even if this vote goes through, financial services will remain outside the scope of this duty of care, an absurdity when we know the vital role played by the financial sector in climate change.
Olivier Guerin, EU advocacy officer at Reclaim Finance
The directive was originally called for in 2022 by French President, Emmanuel Macron, following a resolution adopted unanimously by the French National Assembly. The agreement reached in December 2023 was also celebrated by the presidential majority, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stéphane Séjourné, recently pledged to French MPs that he would see it through as it stands.
Now that a compromise has been reached, to fail at this stage, on the eve of the European elections, would make the future of this text highly uncertain. It would be a disaster for European democracy, for the people and communities affected by the activities of multinationals, and for the planet.
