Last week, I wrote about the latest developments in the EU’s Omnibus reform process. The highlight of the blog was Parliament’s recent actions to adopt a political agreement and the pending vote on a negotiating position, which would move forward into trilogues. At the time of writing, that vote was expected to pass, getting Parliament’s position in just under the wire, and keeping everything on track. However, as the omnibus process has shown time and again, it’s best to expect the unexpected. In a surprise move, the vote on Parliament’s political agreement failed. A press release from Parliament states:
“In a vote on Wednesday, Parliament rejected the mandate adopted by the Legal Affairs Committee on 13 October on simplified rules for sustainability reporting and due diligence obligations, by 309 votes in favour, 318 against and with 34 abstentions.
Following today’s rejection and in line with Rule 72(3) of the Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, MEPs will vote on amendments to the file at the upcoming plenary session in Brussels on 13 November. They will then be ready to start talks with EU governments, which already adopted their position on 23 June. The aim is to finalise the legislation by the end of 2025.”
Instead of the streamlined political agreement, Parliament will now have to debate and amend its entire negotiating position. These debates won’t begin until mid-November at Parliament’s next plenary session. This makes the EU’s long-shot goal of having legislation finalized by the end of 2025 even more unlikely. Additionally, it appears that the center coalition does not have the votes needed to progress its negotiating position – potentially opening the door for a center- and far-right alliance, which could substantially alter Parliament’s negotiating position.
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