On Thursday (13 November), the European Parliament voted to scale back environmental reporting requirements for businesses, marking the first time the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) has successfully passed major legislation with the backing of far-right groups after negotiations with centrists and centre-left groups collapsed.
A total of 382 MEPs endorsed simplification measures to the EU’s sustainability rules, with 249 voting against and 13 abstaining. The vote followed weeks of failed negotiations between the EPP, the centre-left Socialists and Democrats (S&D), and the liberal Renew group, prompting the EPP to turn to the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) and the far-right Patriots for Europe (PfE) to secure passage. The move came after a previous consensus text on the “Omnibus I” package, negotiated between the EPP, the S&D, and Renew, was rejected during October’s plenary when a significant number of S&D MEPs voted against it on the grounds that it went too far in weakening the rules. Following that impasse, the European Council urged Parliament President Roberta Metsola to expedite the adoption of an agreement, a step that may have tipped the balance towards the EPP seeking right-wing support. The decision has provoked anger among pro-European lawmakers, who warn it sets a dangerous precedent that could reshape the balance of power in Brussels for years to come.
The new rules
The adopted text touches two key EU environmental laws, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).
Under the revised CSRD, the scope of companies required to report on their environmental and social impact has been significantly narrowed. Only firms employing more than 1,750 staff and with an annual turnover exceeding €450 million will now be subject to sustainability reporting obligations. This represents a substantial increase from the 1,000-employee threshold included in a previous compromise text, which was rejected by centre-right and liberal MEPs during the last plenary session.
As for the CSDDD, the thresholds climb even higher. Only corporations with more than 5,000 employees and an annual turnover above €1.5 billion will be required to comply. These large firms will be expected to adopt a risk-based approach, relying mainly on information already available rather than systematically requesting data from smaller business partners.
Perhaps most controversially, companies will no longer be obliged under the CSDDD to prepare transition plans outlining how their business models align with the Paris Agreement’s climate goals. Liability for non-compliance will rest primarily at national level, rather than at the EU level, although firms that fail to meet due diligence obligations will still have to fully compensate victims for any damages. To facilitate implementation, the European Commission will create a digital portal providing free templates, guidance, and information to help businesses navigate the simplified requirements.
A political earthquake in Brussels
The vote represents far more than a technical adjustment to reporting rules; it signals a fundamental shift in how legislation may be passed during this parliamentary term. Until Thursday, cooperation between the EPP and far-right groups had been largely symbolic, confined to non-binding resolutions such as the EP’s Venezuela Resolution on 19 September 2024, a vote that gave rise to the term “Venezuela majority” now used to describe this emerging centre-right and right-wing alliance. This marks the first time such a coalition has succeeded in shaping major EU legislation.
“It is a black day for European democracy,” declared René Repasi, the lead German S&D negotiator. “We are sleepwalking into breaching a taboo, the fallout of which is unpredictable.” Green MEP Kira Marie Peter-Hansen accused the EPP of “slamming the door in the face of the pro-European parties” and “deliberately choosing to ally themselves with extremists.”
The Patriots group celebrated what it called the breaking of the “cordon sanitaire”. Meanwhile, EPP rapporteur on the file Jörgen Warborn defended the outcome, insisting that “Europe can be both sustainable and competitive” whilst urging socialist lawmakers to prove “as constructive as their socialist governments have been in the Council.”
Next steps
Negotiations between Parliament and EU member state governments, that have already adopted their own position, are scheduled to begin on 18 November, with lawmakers aiming to finalise the legislation by the end of 2025. Finally, whether this new political alignment between centre-right and far-right forces becomes the template for future lawmaking remains to be seen.
