The European Parliament’s Omnibus rapporteur Jörgen Warborn (EPP) has released draft amendments proposing sharper reductions to the EU’s sustainability reporting regulations, aiming to further ease ESG compliance burdens for businesses. These proposals mark a significant escalation of the European Commission’s original “Omnibus” initiative unveiled in February. 

The Omnibus package sought to streamline sustainability obligations by revising key frameworks like the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), Taxonomy Regulation, and Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). One major change suggested by the Commission was raising the CSRD threshold to cover companies with over 1,000 employees—excluding roughly 80% of firms from ESG reporting obligations. 

Warborn’s EPP draft pushes further, raising the threshold to companies with more than 3,000 employees and €450 million in revenue, drastically narrowing the scope. This move would dramatically reduce the number of companies required to align with the EU’s carbon neutral strategy and ESG frameworks. 

Key proposals include: 

• Removal of mandatory climate transition plans, replacing them with voluntary disclosures. 

• Limiting value chain due diligence, allowing companies to explain the unavailability of supplier data instead of requiring detailed disclosure. 

• Excluding member states from imposing more stringent national ESG rules. 

• Retention of simplified SME reporting via voluntary standards but raising the definition threshold. 

The EPP argues that the changes are necessary to cut red tape and reduce business costs, while critics worry it could undermine the EU’s climate and ESG leadership. 

With divergent views across Parliament—from full support of ESG rollbacks to outright opposition—finding a compromise will be challenging. The outcome could reshape the EU’s path to sustainable finance and its broader carbon neutrality goals. 

Source: 

https://www.esgtoday.com/eu-parliaments-omnibus-negotiator-proposes-much-sharper-cuts-to-csrd-sustainability-reporting-requirements/