The European Association of Co-operative Banks (EACB) welcomes the opportunity to comment on the European Commission’s Inception Impact Assessment on Sustainable corporate governance.
Among major concerns, we would like to flag that by now the particularities of cooperatives are not considered in the current reflections of the Commission and Parliament. Especially measures intended to take a more long-term perspective in their business and to reflect the concern of stakeholders could become problematic if they do not reflect the specific governance of cooperatives (which are by nature well-tailored to reflect long-term orientation, sustainability goals and the views of stakeholders). Any measures being considered by the Commission should thus either not be applied to cooperatives or if this cannot be avoided, in a way that is appropriate to the existing governance structures of cooperatives.