disastrous Omnibus proposal erodes EU’s corporate accountability commitments and slashes human rights and environmental protections.
Civil society organisations’ reaction to the Omnibus Simplification Package.
On 8 November 2024, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced she would introduce a proposal to amend three key pillars of the European Green Deal through an Omnibus law: the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), and the Taxonomy Regulation. In January already, 170 organisations representing members of civil society, human rights and environmental defenders, trade unions and climate activists, jointly decried the planned Omnibus. Many more prominent voices from a wide variety of sectors also publicly opposed the proposal evidenced by the blizzard of public statements and letters sent to the European Commission in the last weeks.
On Wednesday, 26 February 2025, the European Commission unveiled the Omnibus Simplification Package, which revises core corporate sustainability laws. As they were adopted, these laws enforce responsible business conduct, hold corporations accountable for human rights violations and environmental damage, and facilitate access to justice for victims. They also strive to enhance transparency in sustainability reporting and provide direction for sustainable investments. These measures are crucial for the EU’s ambition to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050.
In response to the Omnibus proposal, over 300 civil society organisations, including CIDSE, issued a statement urging the Council of the EU and the European Parliament to revise it without any amendments aiming to weaken the CSDDD. Discussions concerning the CSDDD should strictly limit themselves to interpretative measures, such as guidance and delegated acts, while the law’s text must remain unchanged.
The Omnibus proposal threatens to eliminate many essential provisions of the CSDDD, rendering it nearly ineffective. Additionally, it would postpone the Directive’s transposition by EU Member States by a year.
If implemented, some of the impacts would be:
- Civil liability largely rests with EU Member States, risking reduced access to justice for victims. Representative actions are eliminated, hindering NGOs and unions from assisting victims in court. Without the overriding mandatory provision, EU courts may favor local laws over national law, compromising civil liability effectiveness.
- Companies must only assess harms linked to direct partners, drastically limiting the value chain.
- There is no obligation to implement Climate Transition Plans, creating a loophole where companies can theoretically comply by drafting plans without action.
- Member States cannot create more ambitious human rights and environmental rules or grievance mechanisms than those in the directive.
- Companies are no longer required to terminate contracts in ongoing abuse scenarios.
- Stakeholder engagement is restricted to those “directly” affected, excluding groups like consumers and NGOs. Consultation with relevant stakeholders is no longer needed for disengagement or monitoring.
- Monitoring frequency for due diligence effectiveness is cut from annually to every 5 years. The minimum sanction cap of 5% of turnover is removed, potentially leading to lower sanctions and creating competitive disadvantages among Member States.
- The Commission is not required to review the need for due diligence rules in financial services and investment activities moving forward.
For further details and to see the full list of signatories, please read the civil society joint statement.
Additional reading:
– EU-Kommission legt Kettensäge an die Lieferkettenrichtlinie, Misereor, 26 February 2025.
– Europa dumpt zorgplicht en opent deur voor uitbuiting en vervuiling, Broederlijk Delen, 26 February 2025.
– Lettre ouverte : Alerte des organisations de la société civile française sur la proposition de législation dite « Omnibus », CCFD-Terre Solidaire and 20 French civil society organisations send open letter to Stéphane Séjourné, Executive Vice-President of the European Union, 25 February 2025.
– Deregulering is het foute antwoord op Trump, Oped by Wies Willems, Broederlijk Delen, published in Knack Magazine, 10 February 2025.
– Rollback des European Green Deal? Omnibus-Verordnung droht EU-Lieferkettenrichtlinie auszuhöhlen, Briefing paper by Armin Paasch, Misereor, for the the German Initiative Lieferkettengesetz, 13 February 2025.
– Le recul de la Commission européenne sur le devoir de vigilance européen revient à affaiblir la lutte contre les abus des multinationales, Oped by Virginie Amieux, CCFD-Terre Solidaire, Carolina de Moura, Institut Cordilheira and Dominique Potier, French MP, published in Le Monde, 1 February 2025.
– Omnibus proposal will create costly confusion and lower protection for people and the planet, joint civil society statement to the European Commission, 14 January 2025.
– Protect people, nature, and democracy in EU regulations, civil society letter to European Commission President Ursula von Der Leyen, 13 January 2025.
Contact: Susana Hernández Torres, Corporate Regulation Officer, CIDSE (hernandez(at)cidse.org)
Photo: Civil society organisations protesting in front of the European Commission against the Omnibus Regulation. Credits: Friends of the Earth Europe (FoEE).