![\"illustration](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/admin-ajax.jpeg\" "\\"RI")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
France and Germany have called for \u201cspeedy progress\u201d<\/strong> of the negotiations on the European Commission\u2019s various Omnibus simplification packages \u201cto achieve legal certainty for companies and ensure proportionality, especially for SMEs, while safeguarding our political ambition and relevant standards\u201d. In a joint economic statement<\/a>, the EU\u2019s largest economies said they \u201cgenerally stress\u201d the need to continue to move fast on regulatory simplification, given the \u201ctense economic and geopolitical context\u201d. The two countries welcomed the Commission\u2019s recommendation on the definition of \u201csmall mid-cap enterprises\u201d, and supported a \u201cmore ambitious\u201d European small mid-caps category of 250-1,000 employees \u201cto take better account of the specific characteristics of these companies and encourage their growth by further simplifying regulations for them\u201d.<\/p>\n A Texas district judge has issued preliminary injunctions<\/a><\/strong> against the enforcement of state legislation targeting proxy advisers, following suits filed by Glass Lewis and ISS<\/a>. Law SB 2237, which was due to come into effect today, would require proxy advisers to include a warning with their advice that it is \u201cnot made solely, and may not be, in the best financial interest of the shareholders\u201d if it incorporates ESG or DEI considerations, \u201csocial credit or sustainability scores\u201d, or membership of an organisation that \u201cbases its evaluation or assessment of a company\u2019s value on non-financial factors\u201d. In July, both proxy advisers filed lawsuits against Texas attorney general Ken Paxton challenging the law and sought preliminary injunctions.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for ISS welcomed the ruling by US district judge Alan Albright. \u201cWe provide our clients with rigorous, fact-based analysis based on the client\u2019s direction, so that they can make their own voting decisions. We remain committed to transparency, independence, and supporting investors in meeting their fiduciary duties,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n Metzler Asset Management has become the first German fund manager <\/strong>to sign up to the Business Statement Supporting a Moratorium on Deep Sea Mining. Metzler joins 38 countries and a number of European peers including Storebrand, Ossiam and ASN Bank in endorsing the statement, which commits signatories not to finance activities relating to deep-sea mining. Daniel Sailer, head of Metzler AM\u2019s sustainability office, said: \u201cGiven the fragility [of deep-sea ecosystems], we see it as our duty to permit any form of deep-sea mining only with the utmost caution and scientific backing. Since this is not currently guaranteed, we support the moratorium.\u201d<\/p>\n European sustainable funds sold $2.3 billion in equity<\/strong> and bond holdings in companies captured by the European Securities and Markets Authority\u2019s new fund-naming guidelines in the year to end-May, according to Barclays. Analysts at the bank found that, in the 12 months before implementation of the rules<\/a>, exposure to firms tagged by MSCI as being in breach of the minimum exclusion criteria decreased by $1.8 billion for equity funds and $500 million for fixed income funds. Some edge cases remained in funds in scope of the rules, the analysts said, such as three railroad companies with exposure to coal transport, where the rules are unclear whether the transportation of coal qualifies as \u201cdistribution\u201d, a divestible activity. They also found inconsistent treatment of utilities, which are not required to report the exact metric under which they might be divested, and of companies in the process of structurally changing their operations.<\/p>\n Almost half of FTSE 100 companies restated climate<\/strong> and sustainability metrics in 2025, of which three-quarters related to greenhouse gas (GHG) metrics, according to Deloitte UK<\/a>. While the total number of companies making restatements was the same as last year, the analysis found that six more companies made multiple changes this year, resulting in a total of 69 individual adjustments. Seventy-seven percent of restatements related to GHG emissions metrics, down from 89 percent last year. The remaining 23 percent covered topics including waste, water, DEI, and health and safety.<\/p>\n NGOs including Frank Bold, ShareAction and WWF<\/strong> have written<\/a> to the European Parliament\u2019s lead Omnibus negotiators calling for policymakers to retain the review clause in the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)<\/a>, which requires the European Commission to assess whether financial institutions should be legally required to assess and mitigate their impacts on people and the planet. The signatories said removing the clause would \u201csend the wrong signal\u201d to financial institutions. \u201cTo exempt them indefinitely is to undermine the very premise of the directive: that all companies bear responsibility for their impacts on people and the planet,\u201d the NGOs said. They added that this is even more important in light of the Commission\u2019s Savings and Investment Union initiative. \u201cBy using the CSDDD as a tool for risk management rather than additional paperwork, and by aligning expectations for asset managers and companies, the Commission can reassure long-term asset owners that sustainability risks will be effectively managed as they allocate capital to innovation and transition,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n