Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)

I feel that not having that EU-backed liability scheme, which the omnibus in its process removes, would actually lead to enforcement of fragmentation. That would be my perspective on it.

I will not take up too much of the witnesses' time. I agree with a lot of people that we have not had a huge amount of time to scrutinise and discuss this.

I am delighted to have been invited as a member of the foreign affairs committee to discuss it here. I know it falls under the Department but I think Mr. Forde mentioned in his opening statement that the omnibus proposals are vast, and there are justice components as well. It feels very rushed by the Commission. It is completely at odds with the years of discussion on the corporate sustainability reporting directive and the corporate sustainability due diligence directive. We have not even had time to transpose the corporate sustainability due diligence directive and see the positive impacts it would have brought to the supply chain. We have not had the proper opportunity as legislators to discuss this. There are pushes to have it finalised by the end of the Danish EU Presidency in six months. It is completely at odds with where we stood before. The omnibus tears to pieces the main ambitions of the corporate sustainability reporting and corporate sustainability due diligence directives.