Far right
cheers as von der Leyen’s party abandons centrist coalition over green rules
It marks
a dramatic departure from previous EU norms, where centrist groups refused to
collaborate with the far right.
November
12, 2025 6:32 pm CET
By Max
Griera
BRUSSELS
— Center-right lawmaker Jörgen Warborn’s subtle handshake with center-left René
Repasi on the way out of the European Parliament hemicycle on Wednesday
afternoon marked a nail in the coffin of Ursula von der Leyen’s coalition.
With that
handshake, the European People’s Party and the Socialists and Democrats groups'
negotiators halted talks to find a last-minute agreement on a package to slash
green corporate rules for businesses.
“This is
what I would interpret as the end of the negotiations,” said Repasi after his
chat with Warborn.
Now the
center-right EPP, home to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and German
Chancellor Friederich Merz, is expected to vote the package through with the
far right on Thursday — unless a last-minute deal is reached at the leaders'
level.
It marks
a dramatic departure from previous norms in the European Parliament, where
centrist groups refused to collaborate with the far right on major policies.
The
result could roll back key policies from von der Leyen's own Green Deal,
requiring far fewer companies to monitor and report on the environmental and
social damage caused by their operations.
“The EPP
will vote for the amendments it proposed as the Socialists and Democrats have
not shown willingness to compromise and continue stuck in the same position as
a month ago when the first agreement fell through because Socialist MEPs
revolted against the deal,” EPP spokesperson Pedro López de Pablo told
POLITICO.
The
center-right group says it has lost its appetite to find a new compromise with
the centrist coalition after the first one fell through in October. Instead,
the EPP will vote for their own amendments substantially slashing green
reporting rules for businesses, which far-right groups are ready to support.
The
right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists, and far-right Patriots and
Europe of Sovereign Nations groups have indicated they will back the EPP
amendments, as will some right-leaning members of Renew.
The EPP
proposals, if passed into law, would significantly raise the thresholds for the
size of companies that would be subject to the corporate sustainability
reporting and due diligence rules, with only those with 1,750 employees and
revenue of €450 million a year having to comply. The Commission had proposed
setting the threshold at 1,000 employees.
It would
also scrap the requirements for companies to have climate change transition
plans under the due diligence rules.
“We all
know it can pass with the right-wing bloc,” said an EPP MEP, granted anonymity
to speak candidly. “It is what it is.” However, officials pointed out the whole
file could fall through if not enough far-right MEPs support the EPP's
position.
But the
far-right Patriots group is already cheering.
“We have
won … the EPP has no other choice but to vote for the amendments they proposed,
which are actually copy-pasted from the ones the Patriots and other right-wing
groups agreed last month,” said French MEP Pascale Piera, negotiator for the
file on behalf of the Patriots.
The
Socialists and Greens accuse the EPP of not even trying to engage in
constructive talks. The EPP’s negotiator, Warborn, has refused to meet with the
MEPs leading the negotiations on behalf of S&D, Renew, and Greens in the
same room.
“We have
proposed several options for EPP, where we move in their direction,” said Green
MEP Kira Marie Peter-Hansen. “I find it outrageous that the EPP slams the door
on a pro-European solution, refusing for weeks to meet with the three
democratic groups, and instead go into an alliance with the extreme right.”
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