The parliamentary rapporteur, EPP member Axel Voss, wants only companies with more than 3,000 employees to be required to report sustainability information. In the current plans, the threshold is still set at 1,000 employees. Voss believes this stricter approach puts too much pressure on small and medium-sized enterprises.
According to Voss, the reporting obligations should also be limited to providing information to the European institutions. Only at a later stage could companies be required to actually adjust their business operations. This way, he hopes to find a balance between sustainability and economic feasibility.
The proposals are part of the so-called Omnibus revision of EU rules and procedures. This was initiated based on recommendations from former EU Commissioner Mario Draghi, who last year called for a more competitive European economy.
Within the European institutions, Voss’s position receives broad support. Both within the Council of Ministers and in most European Parliament groups, there is backing for reducing regulatory pressure and lowering burdens on companies. This applies especially to center-right and liberal parties.
Opponents, mainly from left-wing and progressive-liberal backgrounds, believe the EU should not yield to pressure from the business community. They want the EU to maintain binding oversight of sustainability policy, including for smaller companies. According to them, government control remains necessary to prevent environmental damage and abuse.
Negotiations over the Omnibus legislation are still ongoing. According to the Christian Democrat Voss, the EU must guard against an overly bureaucratic approach to sustainability. "We need to simplify without weakening," he stated earlier in a press release.