Four months after the announcement of a political agreement by negotiators from the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, and after a severe reduction of the number of companies covered last March, the EP gave today its final approval to CSDDD.
Members of the Parliament showed strong support for the proposal, with 374 votes in favour, 235 votes against and 19 abstentions.. This vote marks the culmination of a 4-year process to develop a common European framework on responsible business conduct that contributes to fairer and more resilient global value chains while providing a level playing field for European companies.
“Today’s positive vote paves the way for the Directive to become law, marking a shift to binding due diligence expectations in Europe and beyond. After months of uncertainty, this outcome provides the necessary clarity on the path ahead for European businesses and is a step towards more responsible business conduct. In the coming years, we look forward to collaborating with other stakeholders to ensure an adequate transposition and implementation,” says Daniel Torán, Policy Officer at Frank Bold.
Despite the watering down introduced by Member States after the political agreement in December, Members of the European Parliament decided to endorse the text put forward by Council. Frank Bold welcomes this decision and we now call on the Belgian Presidency of the Council to proceed to a swift confirmation by Member States.
In the context of the last phase of the negotiations on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), Frank Bold initiated a multistakeholder statement together with the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) and Shift.
Today, the European Parliament successfully fended off efforts to reject the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), a key legislative piece to ensure the effective application of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the transitioning efforts in the context of the Green Deal. A majority of 359 Members of the Parliament voted against a motion to reject the ESRS and its replacement with an emptied and diluted piece of legislation.
In light of today’s State of the Union Address by President von der Leyen and the ‘SME relief package’ presented by the European Commission yesterday, Frank Bold calls on the Commission not to disregard the political agreement reached in 2022 on the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).
