Representatives of the Member States of the European Union and the European Parliament reached an agreement last night on Omnibus I, a directive aimed at weakening the European duty of diligence (CSDDD). Following a historic alliance between the right and far right in the European Parliament, and faced with relentless foreign (United States, Qatar, etc.) and industrial interference, the Member States and the Commission chose to capitulate. The compromise reached fatally distances the CSDDD from its objective: to prevent and remedy human rights and environmental abuses committed by multinationals. The political agreement must now be formally voted on by the Council and the European Parliament in the coming days.
The cocktail was explosive: many actors warned about the setbacks proposed by Omnibus I, the irregularity of the legislative procedure, aggressive lobbying against the Green Deal texts, and the historic political alliance of the European right with the far right against this text. The Council of the EU and the European Parliament could have resisted throughout the legislative process. Unfortunately, last night, the Member States and the Parliament agreed to dismantle the European duty of diligence:
- The compromise raises the thresholds for the application of the European duty of diligence so that it only applies to companies with more than 5,000 employees and a revenue of more than €1.5 billion. The number of companies concerned would be reduced to a mere handful.
- The compromise confirms the outright removal of the climate section from the European duty of diligence directive. The European far right and lobbyists have succeeded in ensuring that companies are no longer required to adopt climate transition plans aimed at ensuring that their economic model and strategy are compatible with the objectives set by the Paris Agreement.
- The compromise does not spare civil liability, a fundamental pillar of the due diligence. Far from simplifying matters, the compromise puts an end to the harmonisation of civil liability regimes, leading to fragmentation of legal regimes between Member States, detrimental to both victims and companies.
- Finally, the deadline for transposition has been pushed back another year, to July 2028. The new obligations will not apply to companies until July 2029. Once again, multinationals are buying time.
These setbacks will have very real negative consequences for those affected by the activities of multinational corporations, both in Europe and elsewhere.
Beyond its environmental and social impacts, the outcome of this trilogue marks a historic turning point: European institutions have broken the cordon sanitaire and accepted that the far right and European but also foreign lobbies will be calling the shots when it comes to legislating in Europe.
This is the first deregulation text in a series announced by the European Commission, foreshadowing the worst for the future of European law.
In light of these disastrous developments, our organisations call on France to rise to the challenge and honour its past commitments by firmly rejecting this regressive compromise.
Release from:
Sherpa, ActionAid France, Amis de la Terre France, Bloom, CCFD-Terre Solidaire, Collectif Ethique sur l’Étiquette, Notre Affaire à Tous, Oxfam France, Reclaim Finance.
For more information: presse@asso-sherpa.org.
