The French government last week approved legislation to boost transparency in the extractives industry, forcing large mining, forestry, and other extractive companies to report payments to governments on a country by country basis as well as on a project basis.
France joined the United Kingdom in implementing the European Union directive before the July 2015 deadline. The EU law, passed last year, requires large listed and unlisted oil, gas, mining, and forestry firms to publish annually material payments to governments of countries in which they operate, beginning with January 2016 financial statements. Companies covered by the law must exceed two of the three criteria set by the EU – turnover of €40 million, assets of €20 million, or 250 employees. The U.K. passed its implementation of the directive in August.
