However, that same evening, the heads of the EPP, S&D, Renew and Greens met and agreed to give negotiations another chance, according to two officials with knowledge of the content of the meeting, granted anonymity to discuss sensitive talks.
The centrist talks continued on Thursday and Friday as groups hoped to find an agreement before the start of the plenary session in Brussels next week, at which the vote will take place.
“We call on other groups and individual members to join the EPP and take responsibility for European businesses,” Jörgen Warborn, the EPP’s lead negotiator on the file, told POLITICO. “The vote on Thursday is about nothing else than that: can we show our businesses, which are struggling to remain competitive, that we heard the message.”
Even if the centrist leaders find an agreement, there is no guarantee the bill will pass, as individual lawmakers can go against the party line if they feel the deal goes too far or not far enough. That is what happened last month when, even though S&D chair Iratxe García caved in to the EPP’s demands, many center-left lawmakers revolted, scuppering the deal.
Far right waits in the wings
Last week, the Socialists, Renew and Greens suggested a compromise text in which they offered to reduce climate transition plan obligations for businesses in exchange for including more companies within the scope of the law. That is the current basis of negotiations, two officials said.
The EPP initially did not respond to that offer and instead put forward amendments that mirrored the compromise it had already secured with the support of far-right groups.