Published on May 22, 2025   by- News Desk

French President Emmanuel Macron has surprised allies and critics alike by joining calls to scrap the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) — a law that obliges businesses to monitor their global supply chains for human rights violations and environmental harm. This unexpected shift places Macron in alignment with center-right German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as well as with the far-right bloc that has long opposed the directive. 

 

The CSDDD, seen as a keystone of the EU’s broader Green Deal and ethical business standards, has sparked intense debate. Initially backed by centrist and liberal coalitions, the law is now under review as part of the EU’s first omnibus simplification package, opening the door to significant revisions — or even full repeal. 

 

Macron’s position has put him at odds with his own political family in the European Parliament. Pascal Canfin, a prominent French MEP from Macron’s centrist Renew Europe group, has rejected the idea of scrapping the law altogether. He advocates for targeted revisions to ease compliance for businesses, particularly SMEs, but warns that full repeal would create a fragmented and uneven internal market. 

 

While some lawmakers in the center-right European People’s Party and Renew Europe support simplifying the directive, the call for outright cancellation has until now been championed only by far-right groups such as Patriots for Europe. They accuse mainstream parties of hypocrisy for retreating from laws they helped create.

 

The opposition from the left remains firm. Dutch MEP Lara Wolters of the Socialists and Democrats group slammed Macron’s position as a betrayal of responsible capitalism. “Repealing the directive sends a dangerous message — that companies may profit from exploitation and ecological damage,” she warned. Wolters accused Macron of mimicking U.S.-style deregulated capitalism and prioritizing corporate interests over public welfare. 

 

Greens and center-left lawmakers also oppose any rollback. Without support from Renew Europe and progressive factions, a full repeal would depend on a rare coalition between centrist and far-right MEPs — a move that would break the long-standing “cordon sanitaire” that separates mainstream parties from extremist ones in EU politics.

 

Policy Perspective: 

From a policy standpoint, Macron’s stance raises serious concerns about the EU’s commitment to sustainable and ethical governance. The CSDDD represents an attempt to embed human rights and environmental accountability into the economic fabric of Europe. While legitimate questions exist about its implementation burdens, especially on smaller enterprises, a wholesale repeal would undermine years of progress toward a more responsible global trade system. 

 

A more balanced approach would involve revising the directive to streamline compliance, increase clarity, and offer phased implementation tailored to company size and sector. EU policymakers should resist the temptation to use economic competitiveness as a justification for deregulation and instead invest in support mechanisms that help companies transition without sacrificing ethical standards. 

 

Ultimately, weakening or eliminating the directive could damage the EU’s global leadership on sustainability and human rights — and send a troubling signal that political expediency now outweighs principled governance.

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