Minister for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation Robert Troy TD joined his fellow Ministers with responsibility for the Internal Market and Industry at today’s meeting of the EU Competitiveness Council in Brussels where they agreed enhanced measures for non-financial reporting by companies on environmental, social, human rights and governance matters.
Welcoming progress on the Directive, Minister Troy acknowledged the imperative for more robust non-financial reporting to drive the urgent need for action on climate change. He said, “there is an onus on us to require sustainability reporting in a clear way that gives maximum relevant information to investors, consumer and other stakeholders while avoiding unnecessary burdens on companies.”
Minister Troy thanked the Commission for its ambition in bringing forward legislation in this area and acknowledged the work done during the current and past Presidencies. He said, “Ireland has fully supported this proposal which strikes the right balance by initially including the largest companies before being expanded to listed SMEs. While this is a positive step to more enhanced corporate sustainability reporting I believe we should be as ambitious as possible on timelines and stay open to bringing forward the timeframes for implementation as we move into Trilogues with the European Parliament.”
Next steps in the process will see Council enter discussions with the European Parliament on the proposal.
During the Council meeting, Ministers also discussed the impact of foreign subsidies on the internal market and the industrial mobility ecosystem in the context of the green transition. The French Presidency also updated Ministers on plans for a universal charger for mobile phones, tablets, cameras, portable wireless speakers, and wireless headphones, which will see devices being made available with or without a charger. Consumers will be provided with information to know what type of charger they would need to charge the device.