(Finance) – The EU Council gives the green light to the directive on due diligence for corporate sustainability. “Following the informal trialogue between the representatives of the three institutions held on 13 December 2023, the Committee of Permanent Representatives – writes the Belgian Pierre Cartuyvels in the letter sent to Adrian Vázquez Lázara, President of the Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament – today approved an overall compromise draft. I am therefore now able to confirm that, should the European Parliament adopt its position at first reading, in accordance with Article 294(3) of the Treaty, in the form defined in the compromise package contained in the Annex to this letter the Council would approve, pursuant to Article 294(4) of the Treaty, the position of the European Parliament. On behalf of the Council, I would also like to thank you for the close cooperation which should enable us to reach an agreement on this file at first reading.”
The agreement reached with the European Chamber in mid-December, modified in recent days by the Belgian presidency of the EU, has been confirmed
by the ambassadors of the 27 EU countries. Among the changes theraising the turnover threshold from 150 to 450 million euros above which a company will fall within the scope of the legislation. A point, the latter, on which Italy voted in favor.
For the European trade union confederation Etuc, the green light from the EU Council on the directive on due diligence for corporate sustainability paves the way for “a notable improvement in respect for the human rights of millions of workers in the supply chains of companies operating in the EU”. According to trade unions, some member states have watered down the ambitions of the directive, reducing the number of companies covered from 16 thousand to less than 7 thousand, but there are still “some important progress for workers”.
“The European Trade Union Confederation welcomes the positive vote on the Corporate Social Due Diligence Directive,” she said deputy general secretary of the ETUC Isabelle Schömann –. The strong mobilization of the trade union movement in Europe makes a difference for workers and unions in businesses and supply chains, despite the many obstacles that have been placed in the way. By adopting the world’s first set of legally binding rules to hold EU and third-country companies and their subsidiaries accountable for their violations, Europe will remain at the forefront of protecting trade unions and workers’ rights as well as the environment . This is a historic turning point.”