BRUSSELS: The European Parliament agreed on Wednesday to consider further changes to the EU’s corporate sustainability rules.
The United States and Qatar stepped up pressure on Brussels to weaken the law.
Both countries warned the rules risked disrupting liquefied natural gas trade with Europe.
In a scheduled vote, the European Parliament agreed to negotiate further changes to the law.
The European Union aims to approve the final changes by year-end.
The bloc was already considering changes to exempt more companies from the due diligence law.
This law requires firms operating in the EU to fix human rights and environmental issues in their supply chains.
Companies face fines of 5% of global turnover for non-compliance.
Companies including ExxonMobil have demanded the EU fully withdraw the policy.
They argue it would lead to businesses leaving Europe.
Qatar’s energy minister Saad al-Kaabi and US Energy Secretary Chris Wright issued a joint open letter to EU leaders.
They said the rules pose a significant risk to the affordability and reliability of critical energy supplies.
They also called the law an existential threat to the future growth and competitiveness of the EU’s industrial economy.
The European Commission did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The EU is split over the corporate sustainability due diligence directive.
This directive is a key plank of Europe’s efforts to transition to a cleaner economy.
It is also an attempt to use the EU’s position as a major marketplace to encourage trading partners to do the same.
The leaders of Germany and France have called on the bloc to scrap the law entirely.
They say it hurts European businesses’ competitiveness.
Spain has urged Brussels to keep the rules intact to support European priorities on sustainability and human rights.
The European Parliament had provisionally agreed on changes to the law.
That plan was shelved on Wednesday when an unlikely coalition of EU lawmakers agreed to reopen the rules.
Far-right lawmakers demanded further weakening while Green lawmakers want to strengthen the law.
The letter from the US and Qatar asked the EU to either repeal the law entirely or make significant changes.
Requested changes included removing the law’s application to non-EU companies and the penalties for non-compliance.
They also asked to remove the requirement for companies to have plans in place to comply with climate change goals.
Al-Kaabi told Reuters last week that Qatar would not be able to do business in the EU unless more changes are made.
This includes supplying Europe with LNG as it races to replace Russian energy.
The EU is also ramping up US imports of LNG to replace Russian supplies.
The US was the EU’s top LNG supplier last year, providing 45% of its total supply. – Reuters
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