German insurers support scaled-back CSRD
Minister agrees that ‘bureaucracy burnout’ needs to be tackled
Norbert Rollinger, CEO of R+V Versicherung AG, has vowed to focus on the “bureaucracy burnout” that is threatening to strangle German business and innovation on a unanimous re-election as president of the German insurance association GDV.
“The complexity of European and national legislation is now almost impossible for companies to understand. There are numerous examples of over regulation or double regulation, for example when the same regulatory content is regulated by different provisions at European and national level. Above all, the numerous reporting obligations are consuming more and more resources. For small and medium-sized companies, this is actually no longer manageable,” said Rollinger.
Other important topics on Rollinger’s agenda include the planned reform of private pension provision in Germany, the insurability of extreme weather events and the handling of cyber risks.
During last week’s Insurance Day in Berlin hosted by the GDV, Rollinger pointed out that the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is particularly unpopular in Germany and has been identified as one that needs to be tackled.
France and Germany will apparently work together to call for a slimmed-down version of the directive, which has still not been transposed by 17 member states, suggesting they will find plenty of support with such an effort.
Also speaking at the event was Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP), who agreed with Rollinger and promised relief. However, the problem cannot be solved at the national level alone, he pointed out.
Buschmann said: “We are suffering from bureaucracy burnout in Germany.” The federal government has set itself the goal of streamlining the rules. Buschmann referred to the Meseberg Bureaucracy Reduction Program, with which the federal government aims to relieve companies of around €3.5bn in bureaucratic costs.
However, Buschmann added that reducing bureaucracy cannot be achieved at national level alone. “Sixty percent of the compliance costs originate from European laws,” he stressed.
The European Union is the worst source of bureaucracy, said the minister. For every euro saved by eliminating regulations, four euros in additional costs from new laws will be offset at EU level, he said.
GDV president Rollinger cited the CSRD directive on sustainability reporting in companies as a prominent example of excessive EU rules during discussion at the event in Berlin.
The basic idea behind it is correct, but many reporting requirements do not provide any added value, he said. “With the CSRD, let us concentrate on the data that provides control impulses for companies, for example in capital investments or risk management,” demanded Rollinger.
Buschmann expressed understanding, even if the national legislator is obliged to implement the requirements of the CSRD.
However, he said that Germany will work together with France to ensure that the upcoming EU legislation will be a phase of bureaucracy reduction. Buschmann said that a “CSRD repair law” is needed.
“If the EU sets about withdrawing some of the reporting obligations, we will support the project,” he said.