The European Commission plans to loosen its rules on corporate sustainability reporting and supply chain transparency, it said on Wednesday, in a bid to make Europe more competitive with the United States and China.

Officials are seeking to boost competitiveness and reduce the regulatory burden on businesses during what a European commissioner called a “perilous” time.

Following calls to reduce the regulatory burden imposed on businesses, the European Union is poised to reform a series of laws passed under the EU Green Deal

There has long been a tension between so-called “reporting burden”, political expediency and providing the transparency that enables efficient markets and sustainable development.