STUDY Power Dynamics around Corporate Social Responsibility within the EU LAURA GROEBEL November 2018 „ „ The question of whether corporate social responsibility(CSR) should be voluntary or mandatory for companies has been repeatedly debated within the European Union (EU) in the past 20 years. In 2014, advocates of a mandatory approach advanced a step further on their enduring quest with the adoption of Directive 2014/95/EU, which requires certain large European companies to disclose their non-financial and diversity information. „ „ Previous legislation on non-financial reporting and company disclosure levels diverged significantly across EU member states. Accordingly, governments’ positions on Directive 2014/95/EU also differed. The stances and lobby efforts of two countries stood out as particularly extreme: France’s initiation and continuous support of an extensive, mandatory, and audited disclosure; and Germany’s fierce rejection of additional regulation. „ „ This paper examines why the two major economies in Europe took opposing positions. To understand the forces at work during the domestic decision-making processes, submissions to the European Commission’s public consultation were evaluated and interviews with representatives of key stakeholder groups were conducted. The paper provides insights on the forces that shape CSR in the EU and shows what is lacking in Germany for mandatory powers to succeed.