The European Council has taken a decisive step towards boosting competitiveness and modernising European Union legislation. The Committee of Permanent Representatives of the European Union (Coreper) has approved the Council’s negotiation mandate for the proposed ‘Stop the Clock’ Directive, which forms part of the ‘Omnibus I’ package presented by the European Commission in February 2025.
This initiative aims to streamline sustainability-related regulations by delaying the implementation of certain corporate reporting and due diligence obligations. Key measures proposed include:
- Postponement of the CSRD: The requirements for large companies that have not yet begun reporting, as well as listed SMEs, to comply with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive will be deferred by two years.
- Extension of the CSDDD: The transposition period and initial implementation phase of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, which targets larger companies, will be extended by one year.
Furthermore, this agreement between co-legislators paves the way for negotiating substantial changes to both the CSRD and the CSDDD, reinforcing the European Commission’s commitment to simplifying and accelerating regulation. The European Parliament is expected to vote on 1 April to request an urgent procedure for this proposal, while on 20 March EU leaders reaffirmed the need to swiftly adopt these packages, with the goal of having them in place by June 2025.
The simplification strategy, supported by both the Economic and Financial Affairs Council and the Competitiveness Council, marks a milestone in the Commission’s efforts to promote clearer legislation that is better suited to today’s sustainability demands.
We’ll continue to keep an eye on how the Omnibus evolves.
