The proposed Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive is approaching its final phase as the European Parliament is negotiating its position prior to the initiation of the trilogue with the Council and the Commission. There are a number of worrying proposals from the Commission and among those presently on the table in the European Parliament, that risk being disruptive to the current sustainability efforts of companies.
The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise remains very critical to the proposals relating to corporate governance and questions the need for such rules and their purpose. Harmonization in the area is not needed. Instead, harmonization would be harmful, and risks counteract the purpose of making companies take a more long-term sustainable approach. Therefore, the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise has together with its sister organizations in Denmark, Norway and Finland approached Members of the European Parliament. In a joint letter, which you can find below, it is emphasized why rules on corporate governance should not be included in the proposed Directive.
The JURI Committee, responsible for legal matters, is main Committee responsible for the file and is expected to vote on its report later in the spring 2023. A plenary vote in the Parliament is thereafter scheduled after which the trilogue is expected to start. The Council agreed its general approach at the Competitiveness Council in December 2022 in which it removed most of the parts of the Commission proposal related to corporate governance.