Responding to the Commission’s decision to delay legislative proposals on corporate due diligence for a third time, S&D Group members put out the following statement:

“Today marks a sad day: the day on which the European Commission was due to publish its proposal for a directive on Sustainable Corporate Governance. Instead, the proposal has been delayed for a third time, in a process that lacks transparency.

“Regular news reports of oil spills, child labour, poor working conditions, land grabbing and bribery in value chains demonstrate that making our businesses more responsible and more sustainable is a matter of urgency. While different member states are now moving forward with national laws to ensure vigilance, we are yet to see a proposal for European legislation, and this almost a year after the European Parliament showed broad, cross-party support for such an initiative. Meanwhile, consumers are waiting for fair products, victims for access to justice and businesses for clarity on what is expected of them.  

“For Socialist and Democrat Members of the European Parliament, responsible business conduct is an absolute priority. We thus call on the European Commission to come forward with draft legislation without further delay. We also expect more transparency from the European Commission on why the Regulatory Scrutiny Board has reportedly blocked this proposal and will not hesitate to take further steps to get clarity on its deliberations.”