In the line of fire
Criticism of EU corporate disclosure regulation is not new. In a leaked policy paper drafted by former German Finance Minister Christian Lindner, the minister said Berlin should seek to abolish the EU regulation on sustainability reporting rules, among others.
The suggestion echoed one made by French Prime Minister Michele Barnier in October, arguing that some aspects of the EU’s rules on corporate sustainability reporting be delayed by up to three years.
But there’s a long time between the moment EU countries express their discontent with EU law and when Brussels actually does something about it.
Not everyone is convinced by von der Leyen’s assurances that simplification won’t lead to a weakening of the regulations. “Of course I’m worried,” said Marie Toussaint, a French Greens MEP, the former rapporteur on the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive.
After all, the proposed delay to the deforestation law ultimately prompted center-right lawmakers in the European People’s Party (EPP) — von der Leyen’s political group — to attempt to water it down.
The common political line in the European Parliament and among EU countries, Toussaint argues, is to blame regulation — specifically environmental rules — for the lack of competitiveness in Europe. “It’s the opposite of what we were saying five years ago, which was [that] defending European competitiveness is ensuring we have the best products, produced in the best conditions,” she said.
