10 October 2025
On 4 November 2025, in the context of the Intergroup on Services of General Interest and the Social Economy, SGI Europe, together with MEP Alexandra Mehnert (EPP, DE), vice-chair of the Intergroup, will organise an event on the role of public transport in EU rural areas.
The event will be held at the European Parliament from 12:00 to 13:30. It will bring together, among others, Commission representatives, MEPs from various political groups, SGI Europe members and UITP representatives, to discuss how the new MFF can help unlock investment, promote best practices, and strengthen public transport in rural areas as a Service of General Interest. By doing so, the EU can reinforce cohesion and make the “Freedom to Stay” a tangible reality for citizens in all territories.
Contact: Benoit Cassorla
SGI Europe has submitted its response to the European Commission’s second-stage consultation on telework and the right to disconnect.
The paper, adopted on 3 October after discussion and amendment by members of the Social Affairs Board, outlines SGI Europe’s key messages for a modern and balanced approach to telework. It recalls that the existing EU and national frameworks, including the 2002 Framework Agreement on Telework and the 2020 Framework Agreement on Digitalisation, already provide solid foundations. Any new EU action should therefore remain proportionate, respect national diversity and social-partner autonomy, and be based on up-to-date evidence.
SGI Europe emphasises that telework must remain regular, voluntary, and reversible, with employers and workers maintaining the flexibility to agree on what works best. The right to disconnect should protect workers from adverse consequences for not responding outside working hours, without creating a rigid “ban on contact”.
SGI Europe also emphasises that implementation should occur at the appropriate level, through dialogue between employers and workers, and that the Commission should prioritise competitiveness, simplification, and practical implementation over new regulation.
In coordination with BusinessEurope and SMEunited, SGI Europe expresses its openness to exploring, together with the trade unions, whether negotiations could be envisaged in the future.
Contact: Guillaume Afellat
SGI Europe has responded to the European Commission’s public consultation on the revision of the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER). The consultation aims to assess how the rules could be simplified and whether there is a need to include additional eligible aid categories.
The SGI Europe response comprises answers to the Commission’s questionnaire, as well as a position paper that outlines specific aspects of the GBER that could be improved. Both are based on membership consultation.
For the revision, SGI Europe calls for a reduction of bureaucratic burden, while still preserving the integrity of the single market and avoiding distortions of competition. In particular, some compatibility conditions, such as the requirement to compare eligible costs to a counterfactual scenario, are often too complex and burdensome.
All SGI Europe members are united in their request to revise the definition of small and medium enterprises (SME) in Annex I of the GBER, to consider publicly owned enterprises as SMEs. The current definition excludes enterprises that are owned at least 25% by public bodies, meaning that local public enterprises must comply with burdensome obligations that do not correspond to their size, resources and capabilities, to the detriment of the services of general interest they provide.
Additionally, the Commission should explore further ways to guide the interpretation of the GBER. This guidance should be publicly available to serve public authorities at all levels, enterprises and stakeholders across all Member States, making the GBER easier to interpret and increasing legal certainty.
The Commission plans to adopt the revised GBER in the 4th quarter of 2026.
Contact: Raquel Carro-Andollo
On Monday 7 October, the European Parliament’s ECON and ENVI Committees held an exchange of views with Commissioner Maria Luís Albuquerque on the final delegated act simplifying the EU Taxonomy. The act, which aims to facilitate reporting and reduce costs, passed a scrutiny vote on 8 October in the Plenary in Strasbourg.
Commissioner Albuquerque defended the act as a balanced approach to enhance the Taxonomy’s usability, citing a nearly 70% reduction in data points. Key measures include a 10% materiality threshold for non-financial companies and a two-year optional reporting period for banks regarding their detailed Green Asset Ratios (GAR). The Commission also simplified the "Do No Significant Harm" (DNSH) criteria concerning chemicals.
However, the proposal is heavily criticised. The EPP Group called for adoption to provide businesses with legal certainty. The S&D, Greens, and Renew groups, however, warned that the changes risked greenwashing and undermining the framework's credibility. MEPs expressed particular concern that the 10% threshold and the grace period for banks could lead to less transparency.
For the delegated act to be rejected, an absolute majority (353 MEPs) must vote in favour of the objection during this extended scrutiny period, which runs until 7 January 2026. If no objection is formally raised by either Parliament or the Council by this date, the act will enter into force, with its simplification measures intended to apply from 1 January 2026. Commissioner Albuquerque countered that the changes preserve the Taxonomy’s core integrity, aiming to facilitate compliance and encourage banks to report on a broader range of activities, including retail clients.
In parallel, on 8 October, an agreement in principle was found to secure a majority within the European Parliament on the review of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). The new cross-party compromise reportedly preserves obligations for climate transition plans and includes a review clause to reintroduce civil liability in the future. This agreement must now be ratified at the JURI Committee vote on 13 October to finalise the position on streamlining corporate due diligence under the CSDDD.
Contact: Henriette Gleau
Join us, stay informed
Subscribe to have all the latest news and developments delivered straight to your inbox.