BRUSSELS — Europe’s dominant center-right group will move ahead with a proposal to cut green rules that it is confident will get the support of right-wing and far-right groups in a crucial Parliament vote next week.
If successful, it will mean the EU’s green reporting rules will be significantly relaxed and apply to fewer companies.
When a vote on the omnibus bill failed two weeks ago, the European People’s Party had a choice: It could attempt to grant concessions to centrist groups to its left in order hold the traditional coalition together, or it could abandon the centrists and seek the support of right-wing and far-right groups.
The group appears to be choosing the latter option, reflecting a rightward shift in EU politics since the 2024 European election.
The EPP on Wednesday submitted changes to the first omnibus simplification bill similar to those previously supported by the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists, and far-right Patriots for Europe and Europe of Sovereign Nations, according to three Parliament officials familiar with the file.
“The EPP will now move forward and table only EPP amendments,” said the EPP’s Jörgen Warborn, lead negotiator on the file. “These are reasonable amendments, and I expect that we can secure a majority with this so that we can start the negotiations with [EU countries] swiftly.”
During an EPP leaders’ meeting on Tuesday, the group’s president, Manfred Weber, said the group would aim to find a right-wing majority on this sensitive green file given the Socialists & Democrats had failed to support the first compromise, according to three officials with knowledge of the discussions.
Shifting right
Over the past year, the EPP has capitalized on the new right-wing majority in Parliament to advance its agenda in negotiations, strategically introducing measures that secured support from — and were passed with — the far right, while insisting that it did not formally negotiate the content with them.
“I would love to see a different situation in the European Parliament,” Weber told POLITICO in an interview in May. But far-right lawmakers “are here, they have a vote … and the EPP has one principle and that is following our promises.”
The EPP also hopes that enough Renew MEPs will be tempted to vote in favor of their amendments, which would dilute the claims that it’s siding with the far-right exclusively, according to two other Parliament officials, who spoke to POLITICO on the condition of anonymity to give details about politically sensitive talks. The Renew group did not immediately respond to POLITICO’s request for comment.
The European Commission put forward its first omnibus simplification bill last February to reduce reporting obligations for companies under the bloc’s corporate sustainability disclosure and supply chain transparency rules.
The laws require companies to report on their environmental footprint and hold them accountable for environmental and human rights violations in their supply chains.
During negotiations in the Parliament, the EPP drafted a version of the proposal that got the backing of the ECR, the Patriots and ESN to push for major cuts to the rules. It then used that version to pressure the Socialists and liberals to accept a different version that still rolled back the laws significantly. Although the Socialists and liberals initially agreed, the deal failed to pass in plenary after dozens of Socialist MEPs broke with their party line and voted against it.
“Our position didn’t change at all, if EPP has tabled the package one amendments that is good for us because we would be able to support it,” Pascale Piera, an MEP from the far-right Patriots for Europe group, told POLITICO on Tuesday. Piera leads negotiations for the Patriots on this file.
Greens MEP Kira-Marie Peter Hansen, who leads her group’s work on the file said, “I find it a shame that EPP closed the door to any discussions.”
“We’ve proposed several ways for the four pro-European parties to find an agreement. Unfortunately, the EPP prefers to sit in a corner and sulk, instead of being part of a solution,” she added.
Groups have until next Thursday to decide how to vote.
This article has been updated.
The post EU’s biggest political group bets on far-right support to cut green rules appeared first on Politico.
