Announcement on the interpretation of selected provisions of the CSRD and the ESRS

On 7. On 7 August 2024, the European Commission published a draft notice on the interpretation of selected provisions of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (2022/2464/EU, CSRD) concerning the Accounting Directive (2013/34/EU), the Transparency Directive (2004/109/EC), the Disclosure Regulation ((EU) 2019/2088), the Statutory Audit Directive (2006/43/EC), the Statutory Audit Regulation ((EU) 537/2014) and the ESRS ((EU) 2023/2772, European Sustainability Reporting Standards) (hereinafter "FAQ").

With the FAQs, the European Commission aims to make it easier for stakeholders to comply with the legal requirements and to ensure the usability and comparability of sustainability information. The FAQs are also intended to provide reporting companies with additional clarity and certainty in the preparation of their reports.

In its draft FAQ, the European Commission addresses the following topics, among others:

• Questions on the obligation to apply, exemption options from sustainability reporting (including by third-country companies), the timing of initial sustainability reporting and the form of reporting.
• Questions on reporting on the value chain and the possibility of using estimates.
• Questions on reporting by third-country companies, in particular in accordance with Article 40a of the Accounting Directive. These concern, among other things, the application obligation, the scope of reporting, the date of first-time application, the application of ESRS and the audit obligation.
• Questions regarding the auditors of sustainability reporting.

The European Commission refers to the possibility of future amendments to the FAQs.

The draft FAQ is available here in English.