Fresh analysis of who had access to EU policymakers during the rollback of corporate sustainability rules raises a question for the cocoa sector: whose experience shapes the laws governing global supply chains?
Transparency International EU (TI EU) says business interests accounted for at least two-thirds of the 110 organisations listed for a European Commission roundtable on its Omnibus I package in February 2025. Just 13 participants were self-declared non-governmental organisations, according to the organisation’s report, released on 21 October.
Omnibus I changed two laws with implications for large companies sourcing cocoa: the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which governs sustainability disclosures, and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), which addresses risks to people and the environment in companies’ activities and supply chains.
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TI EU says the Commission used the roundtable as part of its consultation in place of a public consultation on the proposals.
It obtained the participant list through an access-to-documents request. Its wider analysis found that representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) accounted for fewer than 4% of the combined meetings it examined involving EU economy commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, his cabinet and Parliament’s lead negotiator, Jörgen Warborn.
Reducing burdens on SMEs was a central reason given for the changes.