Assessing The Impact of the EU Omnibus Regulation Package
Regulation can be a tricky subject—too many rules can become overly complicated, but too few can hinder sustainability progress.
The European Union’s omnibus regulation package seeks to ease some of the regulatory burden for companies, but many believe it may not be the right approach.
An open letter from the Collège des Directeurs du Développement Durable (C3D), representing over 400 French companies, urges the European Commission to “support companies with resources and guidance to ensure compliance while maintaining competitiveness.”
Unilever, Nestlé, Mars, Primark, DP World, Signify and others signed the letter, stating: "The most practical step the European Commission can take to support future competitiveness is to focus on developing the clear and practical guidance needed to support businesses in implementing the CSDDD."
It’s not just businesses—some politicians in the European Parliament, including the Renew Europe group, are also opposed to major changes.
“The EU Commission must look for a balanced and inclusive approach towards the omnibus," explains Andreas Rasche, Professor and Associate Dean at Copenhagen Business School.
“Nobody is arguing against simplifications, if changes are proportionate.
“But changes to the scope and timeline of regulations like CSRD and CSDDD are not simplifications, they stand for a deregulation agenda that reflects political opportunism.”
Why the EU omnibus package is being proposed
In 2024, the Draghi Report outlined ways for the European Union to enhance its competitiveness and highlighted key issues the Union must address.
The report states: “Innovative companies that want to scale up in Europe are hindered at every stage by inconsistent and restrictive regulations.
“As a result, many European entrepreneurs prefer to seek financing from US venture capitalists and scale up in the US market.”
The EU Competitiveness Compass seeks to address the findings of this report by simplifying regulations within the Union.
In December 2024, over 90 organisations, including representatives from civil society, businesses, banks and investors, issued a joint statement urging the EU to enhance its implementation of CSRD standards, while preserving the directive’s strength.
The European Commission is set to release its omnibus package on 26 February 2025, which will include measures to streamline sustainability reporting requirements across various laws, including the CSRD and CSDDD.
Prior to the announcement of the omnibus, US politicians had already expressed opposition to the CSDDD and its potential impact on companies outside the EU.
"The content of the laws is good, we want to maintain it and we will maintain it," says Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.
"But the way we get there, the questions we're asking, the data points we're collecting is too much, often redundant and often overlapping."
Perspectives on the omnibus
"We at DP World want the commission not to go back on committed legislation covering supply chain due diligence (CSDDD) and reporting (CSRD)," says Nicholas Mazzei, Vice President for Sustainability at DP World.
"What we in the business world want is clear implementation guidance from the commission and not the reopening of adopted legal texts for renegotiation."
The open letter from C3D reads: “ln the context of the ongoing informal consultations on the drafting of the omnibus regulations for the CSRD, CSDDD and the Environmental Taxonomy, we, the French Sustainability Officers responsible for implementing these regulations, urge you to uphold the original intent of the co-legislators and the broader Green Deal agenda.”
A position paper from Renew Europe says: “Renew firmly believes that embracing the Green Deal in a market driven approach is the only way to enhance our competitiveness and unlock genuine business opportunities. It will also strengthen our resilience against external shocks.
“The Clean Industrial Deal will be the EU’s roadmap to compete and win in the global race towards relocating key green value chains.
“It should offer a comprehensive enabling and financing framework for implementing the EU’s climate targets in a way that makes EU industries and sectors leaders in competitiveness, innovation and sustainability.”
Lara Wolters, Member of the European Parliament (S&D, NL), argues that the current omnibus approach is “not good enough for Europe.”
She describes the proposal as a “panic button” response from politicians in France and Germany and emphasises that businesses require stability and certainty to make long-term strategic decisions.
Gwenaelle Avice Huet, Executive Vice President of Europe Operations and Member of the Executive Committee at Schneider Electric, says: “The way forward is clear: to keep driving momentum, we need to accelerate innovation and digitalisation.
“Now is the time to come together with united policy and simplified processes to clear the barriers to green growth.”
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