Non-financial reporting directive

Question for written answer  E-001521/2021
to the Commission
Rule 138
Sandro Gozi (Renew)

The Directive on the disclosure of non-financial information is currently under review. I wish to draw the Commission’s attention to the adverse effects of broadening the scope of that Directive to include companies with fewer than 500 employees among those subject to the reporting obligation. This change, which would create an additional administrative burden and increased costs, might well endanger small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which are very vulnerable at the moment, or stall their recovery.

Given this, would the Commission not consider it appropriate to keep the 500-employee threshold, while still allowing SMEs to participate voluntarily, using a simplified reporting format?