Business can do without these extra rules, says MEP

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Thu 30th May 2002

Liz Lynne, Liberal Democrat MEP for the West Midlands region, welcomes the European Parliament's vote against placing more regulations on businesses.

The European Parliament voted today on a Report drafted by a Labour MEP on the European Commission Green Paper on Corporate Social Responsibility. In its original form the document would have called for EU legislation requiring companies to draft comparable reports on the way they integrate social and environmental concerns into their business operations.

Liz Lynne has joined with other Liberal Democrat MEPs to ensure a primarily voluntary approach to Corporate Social Responsibility. Said Liz "Legislation will not achieve its goal, because companies can easily fill their annual reports with warm words but no substance.

"There should be no one-size-fits-all approach. Different companies in different countries have different problems. Legislation would cause unnecessary administrative burden on businesses. The way forward is by better implementation of existing laws on discrimination and environmental standards, for example, and voluntary promotion of good working conditions, going beyond legal requirements.

"I am also happy that we took account of the concerns of disabled people and called for companies to manufacture and use products 'designed for all'. Furthermore, we asked the Commission to establish a blacklist to prevent the tendering for public contracts by companies who resort to bribery, similar to the one developed by the World Bank."