EU Updates - March
Over the past two months, the European Commission has announced significant policy advancements centred on competitiveness, sustainability, and simplification - three core priorities for improving legislative quality while reinforcing Europe’s global standing amid pressing challenges, from unfair competition to climate change.
Commission Work Programme 2025
In this framework, the Commission Work Programme 2025, adopted on February 12, 2025, sets the strategic agenda for the year, primarily focussing on making regulations simpler and more effective.
To this end, three Omnibus proposals will be introduced between Q1 and Q2 2025, addressing sustainability, investment simplification, support for small mid-caps, and the removal of paper-based requirements. Collectively, these measures aim to reduce administrative burdens by at least 25%—and by at least 35% for SMEs. Complementing these efforts, the Industrial Decarbonisation Accelerator Act will support a cleaner, more resilient European industry by accelerating permits for sectors in transition.
Below is the timeline of key milestones in the coming months:
Q1 – March 2025
5/03/2025 – Action Plan for the Automotive Industry
5/03/2025 – Union of Skills
19/03/2025 - Communication on a Savings and Investments Union
TBC - European Climate Law amendment
Q2 April – June 2025
Single Market Strategy
Third Omnibus package, including small mid-caps and removal of paper requirements
EU Start-up and Scale-up Strategy
Ocean Pact
European Water Resilience Strategy
For more information:
Competitiveness Compass
Along with the Work Programme, the European Commission published on January 29, 2025, the Competitiveness Compass which, drawing on the insights of the Draghi Report, outlines the cardinal points steering EU action over the next five years:
Bridging the innovation gap with global competitors.
Aligning decarbonization with competitiveness through a joint roadmap.
Enhancing Europe's security while reducing external dependencies.
Anchored in these three pillars, the Compass will ensure that all policies align to drive sustainable prosperity and competitiveness.
To further support this goal, the Commission has identified five key enablers:
Regulatory simplification.
Better EU-Member States coordination in key sectors (e.g., energy, transport, digital infrastructure).
Leveraging the Single Market’s scale for greater impact.
Unlocking private investment and boosting financing via an Investment and Savings Union and a re-structured EU budget.
Promoting skills, quality jobs, and social fairness.
Among the 40 flagship initiatives announced, two stand out: the Omnibus Simplification Package and the Clean Industrial Deal.
CSR Europe has recently shared with its members its first 2025 EU Issue Insight on the Competitiveness Compass.
The Issues are available exclusively to CSR Europe members. Become a CSR Europe Member and navigate the avalanche of EU Regulations with us.
In 2025 members will receive EU Issue Insights on:
Omnibus Package and Clean Industrial Deal
Mid-Year Review: The Commission’s Progress on Corporate Sustainability
Green Claims and the Empowering Consumers Directives
The EU’s Approach to Linking Sustainability and Competitiveness
For more information:
Omnibus Simplification Package
On February 26, 2025, the European Commission unveiled the first Omnibus Simplification Package, aiming to streamline regulatory requirements across key EU sustainability laws:
Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)
Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D)
EU Taxonomy
Key Proposed Amendments include:
CSRD
The reporting threshold will be more aligned with the CSDDD, meaning that it will apply only to companies with 1,000+ employees
This adjustment removes approximately 80% of companies currently subject to CSRD requirements.
The double materiality principle is retained.
Limited assurance will remain with guidelines expected by 2026.
The first set of European Sustainability Standards will be reviewed and simplified within 6 months after the entry into force of the Omnibus.
Reasonable assurance to be deleted.
Sector-specific standards to be deleted.
LSME standards to be deleted
There will be restrictions on information requests along the value chain (value chain cap) for the companies not in the scope of the CSRD.
CS3D
Date of application for the first wave of companies (>5000 employees and > EUR 1,5 billion net worldwide turnover) delayed by 1 year (from July 2027 to July 2028).
Companies will only be required to conduct due diligence on the direct supplier (tier 1).
Full due diligence beyond tier 1 is needed only when plausible information suggests that there are actual or potential adverse impacts in the chain of activities.
Monitoring requirements will be reduced, shifting from annual reviews to once every five years.
The requirement to terminate contracts with non-compliant suppliers will be removed.
EU-wide civil liability provisions will be eliminated.
Financial institutions will be exempt from due diligence obligations.
The obligation to adopt and update climate transition plans remains, but enforcement will be subject to administrative supervision rather than mandatory implementation.
For more information:
Clean Industrial Deal
The Clean Industrial Deal serves as a cornerstone of the EU’s strategy to support industry in achieving the 2040 target of a 90% emission reduction.
Accompanied by the Affordable Energy Prices Action Plan, it stressed the need to secure renewable energy sources and critical raw materials providing confidence and predictability to companies and investors. Concurrently, it aims to make Europe a more attractive hub for manufacturing while promoting clean tech and circular solutions.
It also calls for a renewed value-chain approach moving beyond silos and based on six business drivers:
affordable energy;
lead markets for green technologies;
investment and financing;
circular economy and resource efficiency;
global market leadership and international partnerships.
Skills development
For more information:
Green Claims Directive
Co-legislators engaged in interinstitutional negotiations on the Green Claims directive, which will establish common criteria against greenwashing and misleading environmental claims.
The first trialogue on January 28, 2025, introduced their respective mandates, with a second round set for April 24, 2025. According to MEP Anna Cavazzini (Greens/EFA, DE), the Parliament stressed the need for detailed exemption lists, a ban on climate neutrality claims based on offsetting, and stricter labelling rules. On the other hand, while pushing for clear, uniform regulations to prevent unnecessary administrative burdens, the Council disagreed on providing exemptions for microenterprises, implementing restrictions on climate-related claims, and mandating ex-ante verification for both substantiating and communicating claims (only for substantiation purposes). A provisional agreement is expected to be reached by mid-June 2025.
Overall, these policy developments highlight the Commission's strategic push to balance competitiveness and sustainability. Particularly, through regulatory simplification, the EU seeks to strengthen economic resilience and accelerate industrial transformation while staying aligned with its climate goals and ensuring a level playing field in the global economy.
For more information:
