News

EU Omnibus I – European Parliament votes on amendments to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)

14 November 2025

On 13 November 2025, the European Parliament held its plenary vote on the Omnibus I simplification package. The MEPs adopted a proposal which was put forward by a coalition EPP and right-to-far-right coalition (including ECR and PfE groups). The proposal contained a number of amendments which were not included in the report adopted by the JURI committee.

The story so far…

It hasn't been an easy path to adopting a Parliamentary proposal for amendments to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (“CSRD”) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (“CSDDD”).

8 October 2025	The European Parliament reached an agreement (“agreement 1”) on the scope of amendments to the CSRD and the CSDDD
13 October 2025	The Legal Affairs (JURI) Committee approved agreement 1
22 October 2025	The Parliament unexpectedly rejected agreement 1. It was a secret ballot therefore we don't know who voted for and against. This effectively sent the omnibus simplification package back to the Parliament to be voted on again in the next plenary session. Initially it was thought that the same draft would be voted on, but in the last couple of weeks it has become clear that more amendments were being tabled to increase thresholds and remove the requirements for transition plans
13 November 2025	The Parliament adopted a negotiating proposal which was put forward by a coalition EPP and right-to-far-right coalition passed with 382 votes in favour, 249 against and 13 abstentions

What else before the amendments are agreed?

The plenary vote on 13 November 2025 paves the way for discussions between Europe's three institutions, the Commission, Council and Parliament, in the trilogues which begin on 18 November 2025 with the aim of finalising the amendments by the end of 2025. Time is of the essence as companies call on the EU to provide certainty for sustainability reporting and due diligence.

What the Parliament agreed

Previously, we wrote about the Commission's and the Council's position on the omnibus simplification package and the process for getting it passed. The negotiating position agreed by the Parliament would result in a more limited CSRD and CSDDD both in terms of those who would be required to comply as well as the obligations with which they would need to comply. Arguably, as the Parliament reflects the will of the people it could strongly influence the final text. But the process has been anything but smooth so far and it is unclear what further twists and turns might emerge on the way to the final amendments being adopted by all three institutions.

The text adopted by the European Parliament on 13 November 2025 can be found here and their press release here. Below we set out some of the key changes set out in the Parliament's proposals:

Thresholds	CSRD: 1,750 employees and net annual turnover of €450 million CSDDD: 5,000 employees and a net annual turnover of over €1.5 billion
Reporting: only for larger businesses	The Parliament stated in its press release that reporting standards will be further simplified and reduced and sector-specific reporting will be voluntary. Smaller companies would be protected from reporting requirements of their large business partners, which would not be allowed to request more information than what is set out in the voluntary standards.
Due diligence	MEPs want companies to take a risk-based approach to monitoring and identifying negative impact on people and planet. Information: companies should seek to rely on information which is already available and only request additional information from smaller business partners as a last resort.
Transition plans	Companies would no longer be required to prepare transition plans to make their business model compatible with the Paris Agreement. The proposal states that the provisions for transition plans currently in the CSDDD “have been deemed to be disproportionate, particularly due to the administrative burden on companies and competent authorities, and could lead to legal uncertainty”. Companies could face fines for not complying with guidance on due diligence requirements provided by the Commission and member states but the Parliament's draft limits these to (i) 5% of the net worldwide turnover of the company or (ii) for companies where the company has not reached the required threshold but the ultimate parent company has reached the thresholds for the previous financial year, 5% of the consolidated worldwide turnover of the ultimate parent undertaking. Liability is proposed to be set at national level rather than EU level.
Digital portal	MEPs also want the Commission to establish a digital portal to give businesses free access to templates, guidelines and information on all EU reporting requirements complementing the European Single Access Point. The proposal also suggests that the Commission assess “the potential of technological solutions, including the use of trustworthy artificial intelligence” to support reporting and improve quality and accessibility.

“Quick fix” delegated act published in the Official Journal

In other news, the “quick fix” delegated act was published in the Official Journal on 10 November 2025 and was effective from 13 November 2025 for financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2025. Read more about the “quick fix” here and here.

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Authored by Emily Julier, Rita Hunter and Julia Cripps.