EU countries are divided on whether delaying green reports rules

The largest economies of the European Union are divided on whether the block should weaken their sustainability report rules for companies, with Spain and Italy defending some rules that Germany and France want to delay, they showed the documents seen by Reuters.

The European Commission plans to publish a proposal of “Omnibus” next week to simplify the green rules for companies, with the aim of making local industries more competitive and responding to the promise of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, of discarding regulations.

The proposal will address the Rules of EU corporate sustainability reports (known as CSRD), its due diligence law and its “taxonomy” system to label climate friendly investments.

In a letter to the commission, seen by Reuters, the Government of Spain urged Brussels not to weaken the law of due diligence, which since 2027 will require companies to verify human rights and environmental problems in their supply chains.

“It supports the values ​​and priorities of the European Union even beyond our borders, giving an example of leadership,” said the letter, signed by the Minister of Environment of Spain, Sara Aagesen, and the Minister of Economy, Carlos Corpora .

“Your review should be avoided,” he said.

In corporate sustainability reports, Spain said the EU should be delayed when policy is applied to smaller companies, but that after this deadline it should be mandatory for “all companies.”

Separately, Italy has urged the EU not to delay the CSRD for the tens of thousands of companies that will inform under the rules this year, showed a letter from the Minister of Finance of Italy, Giancarlo Giorgetti, to the European Commission.

However, Rome said that smaller companies that will begin to inform later, in 2026, should have more simple time and rules than currently planned, and the EU should also delay their due diligence policy.

“Companies have identified potential risks derived from these new [due diligence] The requirements, which could weigh their competitiveness, “said the letter, dated February 6.

The interventions of Madrid and Rome increase the pressure on Brussels, which also faces calls from Germany and France to rewrite some of its green laws. Germany, France, Italy and Spain are the four largest economies in the EU.

Germany in December requested a two -year delay to the CSRD, which said it would affect 13,000 German companies, among other changes. Last month, France asked the EU to indefinitely delay their rules of due diligence and delay the CSRD in two years.