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The European Commission tasked EFRAG to simplify ESRS. Read Accountancy Europe’s full statement.
The European Parliament’s (EP) Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) held an exchange of views on the Omnibus proposals on 23 April.
Rapporteur MEP Jörgen Warborn (EPP/Sweden) stressed the necessity to reduce regulatory burden to boost EU competitiveness. He welcomed the EC’s proposal but argued that the costs should be cut even further. Warborn shared his initial suggestions for further changes:
Some shadow rapporteurs called for abolishing the reporting and due diligence requirements all together. In contrast, shadow rapporteur MEP Pascal Canfin (Renew Europe/France) reaffirmed his group’s strong support for preserving the core objectives of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) rationale.
Canfin also identified the following key priorities: the principle of double materiality, simplifying the audit ecosystem and associated regulations, keeping a harmonised civil liability framework for due diligence and ensuring the ‘SMEs shield’ requirement.
MEP David Cormand (Greens/EFA/France) expressed criticism of the proposal, citing the absence of a proper impact assessment. He called for maintaining the CSRD scope, with targeted amendments to larger SMEs; a review of auditors’ obligations in line with the initial position adopted by the JURI Committee on the CSRD; opposition to limiting value chain considerations to tier 1 and changes to civil liability.
The JURI Committee draft report on the Omnibus proposal is expected in June 2025.
The Council has given its final approval on the Omnibus so-called ‘stop-the-clock’ directive proposal, following its adoption by the EP. The directive has been published in the Official Journal of the EU and entered into force on 17 April.
It delays the application of the CSRD requirements by two years for companies required to issue their first CSRD reports in 2026 and 2027. It also delays the CSDDD application for the largest companies and the transposition deadline by one year.
Member States are required to transpose it into national law by 31 December 2025.
MEP Jörgen Warborn (EPP/Sweden) has been appointed as rapporteur on the Omnibus proposal, which amends certain corporate sustainability reporting and due diligence requirements. Shadow rapporteurs on the file have been appointed as follows:
The directive falls under the EP’s JURI Committee responsibility.
At a recent event on the voluntary SME sustainability reporting standard (VSME) organised by EFRAG, Sven Genther from EC DG FISMA shared the EC’s approach to adopting a voluntary sustainability reporting standard as per the EC’s recent Omnibus proposal.
As a first step, the EC will adopt EFRAG’s VSME as recommended guidance by June 2025, with only ‘minor’ changes. As a second step, the Omnibus voluntary sustainability reporting standard will be developed after the legislative negotiations on the Omnibus are complete, particularly about the setting of the value chain cap and the employee threshold. Once agreed, this standard would be adopted as a delegated act and subject to the usual due process for EU delegated acts – 2 months for the EP and the Council to consider, reject or approve, with a possibility to extend this period by additional 2 months.
The updated guidance and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) offer simplified measures and clear instructions to help companies, EU Member State authorities, and partner countries demonstrate that their products are deforestation-free.
A new Delegated Act provides further clarity on the EUDR’s scope, helping reduce administrative costs and respond to stakeholder requests.
The EC is also finalising a country benchmarking system, set for adoption by 30 June 2025.
EFRAG launched a public questionnaire to gather feedback on revising and simplifying the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) Set 1, following the EC mandate for technical advice. Stakeholders are invited to provide their input on the key areas of simplification as outlined in the CSRD Omnibus Recital, including:
Responses are due by 6 May 2025. Accountancy Europe has already provided its response, now available on our website.
EFRAG submitted its work plan to the EC outlining concrete steps and a timeline to meet the 31 October 2025 deadline for submitting the technical advice on the ESRS revision to the EC. EFRAG will:
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) launched a consultation to gather feedback on the proposed level 2 measures under the European Green Bond Regulation (EuGB), specifically focusing on the external reviewer regime. It covers six key areas, including:
The consultation includes five draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) and one Implementing Technical Standard (ITS), along with a cost-benefit analysis. Stakeholders can submit their feedback by 30 May 2025. ESMA is expected to submit draft RTs to the EC by 21 December 2025.
The report provides an overview of the activities related to the supervision and enforcement of corporate reporting carried out during 2024 by the national enforcers. It also highlights key findings and messages to improve future financial and non-financial reports.
Regarding financial reporting:
Non-financial reporting:
Digital reporting (ESEF):
ESMA together with the National Competent Authorities (NCAS), launched a Common Supervisory Action (CSA) to assess compliance with environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosures by Benchmark Administrators in the EU under the Benchmarks Regulation (BMR) in January 2024. The CSA revealed inconsistencies in how ESG factors are defined, calculated, and disclosed, primarily due to insufficient guidance.
In response, ESMA recommended to the EC clearer definitions and methodologies, and more streamlined disclosure requirements. It also emphasised the importance of continued cooperation with NCAS and signalled the potential use of supervisory convergence tools to promote consistent and effective ESG disclosures oversight across the EU.
Accountancy Europe has been monitoring the CSRD transposition developments across the European Economic Area (EEA) countries.
Our tracker compiles information on as assurance providers provisions, assurance standard and similar. We recently added Greece and Estonia to the list, along with some general updates across other countries.
Under a newly signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation and the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) committed to build upon the TNFD recommendations for the needs of global capital markets. More specifically, the organisations will:
The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) published an Exposure Draft with targeted amendments to IFRS S2 climate-related disclosures, easing the application of GHG emissions reporting requirements.
The aim is to reduce reporting burdens without compromising the usefulness of disclosures for investors. The Exposure Draft is open for comment until 27 June 2025, and the final amendments are expected by the end of 2025.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has urged the Trump Administration to urge the EU to limit the scope of the CSDDD to the European market only.
In its letter, the Chamber expresses significant concerns about the EU’s CSDDD, particularly its extraterritorial application to U.S. companies. The Chamber argues that CSDDD’s requirements could conflict with U.S. laws, impose burdensome obligations, and increase liability and reputational risks for American businesses operating in the EU.
Take part in ACCA’s survey to assess and improve your readiness to fulfil the growing demand for financial and sustainability information.
PwC
In search of sustainable value: The CSRD journey begins
European Commission
DA on the fees to be paid by external reviewers for their supervision by ESMA under the European Green Bond Standard
European Commission
Green bonds and sustainability-linked bonds – templates for voluntary post-issuance disclosures
European Commission
DA on the imposition of fines or other penalty payments related to supervision under the European Green Bond Standard
European Commission
New product priorities for ecodesign for sustainable products
ESMA
List of companies registered with ESMA under the EU Green Bond standard
DRSC
Ten suggestions for the revision of ESRS Set 1: Initial ideas by the DRSC Sustainability Reporting Technical Committee
