Commission Omnibus Simplification Package Targets CSRD and CSDDD

The Omnibus simplification package forms part of a target to cut administrative burdens by at least 25%, and by at least 35% for SMEs, by the end of the Commission's mandate.

Sustainability reporting

• Around 80% of companies would be removed from the scope of the CSRD, focusing obligations on the largest companies; the Commission describes companies with fewer than 1,000 employees and EUR 50 million turnover as outside the future scope.
• Reporting for companies currently due to report from 2026 or 2027 would be postponed by two years, to 2028.
• Taxonomy reporting would be limited to the largest companies, with a financial materiality threshold and reporting templates reduced by around 70%.
• Large companies' requests for information from smaller companies in their value chains would be limited.

Due diligence

For the CSDDD, Directive (EU) 2024/1760, the Commission proposes to focus systematic due diligence on direct business partners, to reduce periodic assessments of partners from annual to every five years, to limit the information large companies can request from SMEs and small mid-caps, and to remove the EU-level civil liability conditions while preserving victims' right to full compensation under national regimes. Application for the largest companies would be postponed by one year to 26 July 2028, with Commission guidelines brought forward to July 2026.

CBAM

A new cumulative annual threshold of 50 tonnes per importer would exempt approximately 182,000 importers, or 90%, mostly SMEs and individuals, from CBAM obligations while still covering over 99% of emissions in scope.

What happens next

The proposals must be agreed by the European Parliament and the Council. The Commission has invited the co-legislators to treat the package as a priority, in particular the proposal postponing certain CSRD disclosure requirements and the CSDDD transposition deadline, as these address key concerns raised by stakeholders. Until the changes are adopted, the existing directives and national transposing laws remain in force.

Sources

• European Commission: Commission simplifies rules on sustainability and EU investments, delivering over EUR 6 billion in administrative relief (26 February 2025)
• EUR-Lex: Directive (EU) 2024/1760 on corporate sustainability due diligence