Anger is heard when the European trade union confederation, Etuc, demonstrates outside the EU Commission's main building in Brussels.
There is a new madness in this house, snarls one of the speakers into his microphone.
This is no simplification – it's a dismantling, sneers another.
The complaints are directed against the regulatory simplifications that the EU Commission launched last week as part of strengthening the EU's global competitiveness.
The concern is great that social welfare, good working conditions, and the environment will be sacrificed when the economy is to become more efficient.
We believe that workers' rights and support for the environment are part of competitiveness. It's exactly what makes the difference in Europe. It's a society that stands for social progress, says Etuc's deputy general secretary Isabelle Schömann to TT.
A good middle way?
Extensive reporting requirements and overly complicated bureaucracy have long been criticized within the EU. Most notably, this has been seen in agriculture, where angry farmers in rumbling tractors have regularly rolled into Brussels to protest – not least last year.
But also among companies, there is heavy sighing over the regulatory burden. Instead, the USA is pointed out as a model, with significantly simpler conditions.
The EU Commission, however, believes it has found a good middle way, where it both simplifies and maintains the requirements at the same time. An example is the carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), where importers of steel, cement, aluminum, and fertilizers must pay extra if their products are manufactured in countries that do not have equally tough climate requirements as within the EU. When the CBAM rules are now to be changed, 90 percent of importers are expected to be exempt – but they account for only one percent of imports.
"Jungle of rules"
Good for everyone, thinks the Commission. And the European employers' organization Business Europe is satisfied.
"Doing better with fewer and clearer rules is what European companies of all sizes are asking for," writes General Secretary Markus Beyrer in a press release.
Swedish EU Parliament member Tomas Tobé (M) agrees.
We have already driven a jungle of rules over our companies in Europe. There is no doubt that we must stick to our climate goals, but we must ask ourselves whether this extreme reporting that we require of our companies really contributes to achieving that goal, he says.
We must give companies some breathing room.
Hot battles
A hot political battle is, however, to be expected. A number of environmental and human rights organizations have protested, and in the EU Parliament, criticism is heavy among both the Greens and parties to the left.
The European trade union is flagging for more demonstrations.
It will be very difficult. Then it's even more important that we preserve our values and fight for what we have and don't dismantle it, says Isabelle Schömann.
Tomas Tobé, in turn, hopes for more simplifications.
The EU has regulated extremely much in the last decade, and it hasn't been good for jobs and prosperity in Europe. This is an important first step, but it won't be enough, he believes.
The EU Commission's first so-called "omnibus" proposal on regulatory simplifications was presented on February 26 and concerns, among other things, the new directives for sustainability reporting (CSR), corporate social responsibility (CSDD), and the EU's carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM).
By letting CSR requirements only apply to companies with more than 1,000 employees, the Commission hopes to exempt 80 percent of companies from reporting requirements. For CBAM, 90 percent of companies will be exempt from reporting, as the rules will only apply to those who import more than 50 tons per year of certain goods.
The simplifications also include that companies and countries will have more time before the directives come into full effect. Reporting will also not need to be done as frequently as planned.
Source: EU Commission
