DLA Piper Hungary / Omnibus proposal: necessary simplification or step back in sustainability efforts?

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 02. 28. 11:01

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On February 26, the so-called Omnibus proposal aimed at simplifying sustainability reporting obligations became officially available, with which the European Commission aims to improve European competitiveness. To this end, it harmonizes existing regulations, such as the reporting obligations under the CSRD, CSDDD and the EU Taxonomy Regulation, thereby reducing the administrative burden on European companies. Dóra Dránovits, professional coordinator of the ESG practice at DLA Piper Hungary, prepared a summary of the main amendments to the Omnibus proposal.

The Omnibus stirred up serious emotions even before its publication: sustainability experts, economic actors and interest groups, member states and regulators all expressed their positions. The main objection of those concerned about sustainability is that the Commission would modify and practically empty the reporting rules without empirical data, in accordance with the interests of large companies.

It can indeed be stated that the Commission’s proposal contains drastic amendments, such as (among other things):

the number of parties required to report under the CSRD would be reduced by around 80 percent and companies would be given additional preparation time;

the rules for the due diligence of the supply chain under the CSDDD would be amended, in which only direct suppliers would be involved instead of the entire supply chain, and the audit would only be carried out every five years;

the rules on the civil liability of companies would be deleted, under which any interested party could even bring direct claims against companies;

the number of parties required under the EU Taxonomy Regulation would also be aligned with the new rules of the CSRD, thus reducing the number of parties required here by around 80 percent.

The Omnibus is currently only a proposal for legislative amendments from the Commission, which must be accepted by both the Parliament and the Council, so there may still be a long way to go before the new rules are promulgated – if at all – and especially before they are applied.