During the plenary session at the end of October, a compromise reached by the EPP, socialists, and liberals was unexpectedly rejected in a secret vote, necessitating a new vote amid a lack of agreement among the pro-European parties. The EPP proposed several amendments, all of which were adopted.
Ultimately, 382 Members of Parliament supported the final text, while 249 opposed it and 13 abstained. Notably, far-right groups such as Patriots for Europe, ESN, and the ECR, which had previously voted against the compromise proposal, shifted to support it in this vote.
The duty of care law, a directive (CSDDD) from 2024, mandates that companies closely monitor potential abuses in their supply chains, including forced and child labor. The parliament intends for this law to apply only to companies with over 5,000 employees and a net turnover of 1.5 billion euros. Additionally, members are seeking to limit the scope of the directive (CSRD), which requires companies to report their environmental and climate impact, to those with an average of over 1,750 employees and a minimum net turnover of 450 million euros. The previously rejected compromise had aimed to include companies with at least 1,000 employees.
Furthermore, the requirement for companies to submit climate transition plans, which was part of the initial compromise proposal, has been removed.
Belgian Members of Parliament from Open VLD, CD&V, N-VA, and Vlaams Belang voted in favor of the final text. Hilde Vautmans (Open VLD), one of the few members from Renew who supported it, called it a “much-needed relief for the burdens on our companies.”
In contrast, other parties opposed the vote and criticized the EPP’s collaboration with the far-right. Yvan Verougstraete (Les Engagés) stated, “The European Parliament is officially in the hands of the far-right. The sanitary cordon is dead and buried, the Green Deal and the duty of care have been abandoned, murdered by a climate-skeptical, ultra-liberal, and conservative coalition.” His party transitioned from EPP to Renew this legislative session.
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