The adopted text destroys key elements of the EU’s corporate sustainability framework by weakening due diligence rules and deleting any obligation for climate transition plans. This means that under this version, companies will have no legal obligation to address their climate risks.
By siding with the far right to push this package through, the EPP has fractured the pro-European coalition that has underpinned the EU’s legislative stability and sustainability leadership for nearly a decade.
Richard Gardiner, Interim Head of EU Policy at ShareAction, said:
“Today’s vote risks not only gutting the impact of landmark laws like the CSDDD and CSRD but also drives a stake through the heart of Europe's wider sustainability agenda.
“What we’re witnessing isn’t just a watering down of ambition, but a public alliance of political forces fundamentally opposed to sustainability itself.
“This is happening at a moment when the realities of climate breakdown and social injustice demand more courage, not less. Yet, once again, short-term profits for the largest companies are being placed above the long-term well-being of the planet and its people.
“As trilogue negotiations begin, it’s now basically up to the Danish Presidency of the Council and member states to reverse this course and save the EU's sustainability framework before it’s nothing but words on a page.”
Notes to editors:
The trilogue negotiations between the Parliament, Council and Commission are expected to begin shortly under the Danish Presidency, aiming to reach a final agreement by the end of 2025.
