Letters to President Macron and Chancellor Merz in support of CSDDD

The letters call on President Macron and Chancellor Merz to maintain France and Germany’s respective support for the preservation of the risk-based approach in line with international standards as part of the EU Omnibus negotiations on simplifying the Directive.

The requirements of the CSDDD – adopted by the European Parliament in April 2024 and the European Council in May 2025 as the result of a balanced political compromise – are proportionate and feasible. They do not introduce any additional reporting requirements beyond those already set out in the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the European Taxonomy Regulation. 

The Directive brings economic and social benefits to French, German and European companies, including better financial risk management and a reduction in human rights violations. It should therefore be retained and clarified in the context of the omnibus reform, while maintaining a risk-based and proportionate due diligence framework as defined in the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.