TotalEnergies and Siemens have urged European governments to scrap one of the EU’s key corporate sustainability laws, arguing that doing so would enhance the continent’s competitiveness,

The plea was disclosed in a letter, according to Reuters.

The letter, signed by TotalEnergies CEO, Patrick Pouyanné, and Siemens AG CEO, Roland Busch, on behalf of 46 European companies, was addressed to French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

The letter, dated October 6, stated that abolishing the rules would send “a clear and symbolic signal to European and international companies that the governments and the Commission are truly committed to restoring Europe’s competitiveness.”

Siemens added that strengthening Europe’s global competitiveness would require reducing “excessive regulation” across all sectors.

The proposal to abolish the sustainability rules was cited as an example of where “meaningful steps can be taken to reduce bureaucracy,” the letter noted.

A TotalEnergies spokesperson said late on Thursday that the letter outlined the top five priorities identified by the 46 companies to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness.

The letter also urged the European Union to halt its plans to reduce industries’ free pollution permits next year and to reform competition rules to permit more mergers by assessing them in a global, rather than purely European, context.

The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, adopted last year, mandates companies to address human rights and environmental violations within their supply chains or risk fines of up to 5 per cent of their global turnover.