Proposal for the first omnibus package

On 26 February 2025, the Commission of the European Union published its proposal for the First Omnibus Package on amendments to the EU Accounting Directive (Directive 2013/34/EU), the EU Audit Directive (Directive 2006/43/EC), the CSRD (Directive (EU) 2022/2464) and the CSDDD (Directive (EU) 2024/1760).

The EU Commission is proposing the following changes to CSRD sustainability reporting:

• Postponement of the first-time reporting obligation for companies in the ‘second and third wave’ by two years
• Reduction of the scope of the reporting obligation to companies with more than 1,000 employees and a turnover of more than EUR 50 million or a balance sheet total of more than EUR 25 million
• Adoption of a delegated act for reporting standards for voluntary reporting based on the VSME standard developed by EFRAG
• Limiting the possibility of obtaining information from companies in the value chain with fewer than 1,000 employees to the information specified by the VSME standards
• Revision of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) over the next six months with the aim of significantly reducing the number of data points required, clarifying unclear requirements, improving consistency with other legislation and generally simplifying the requirements
• Cancellation of the introduction of sector-specific reporting standards
• Moving away from the envisaged increase in audit intensity from limited assurance to reasonable assurance

The EU Commission is proposing the following changes to the EU Taxonomy Regulation:

• Mandatory taxonomy reporting only for large companies with more than 1,000 employees and a net turnover of more than 450 million euros
• In addition, companies that have already made progress towards sustainability targets will be able to voluntarily report on their partial compliance with the EU taxonomy. The Commission proposes further changes to simplify taxonomy reporting, including the simplification of reporting forms and the use of a materiality concept.

Until the amendments are adopted, the proposal published by the EU Commission must undergo the further EU legislative process with the involvement of the European Parliament and the European Council. In order to become legally effective for German companies, the provisions of the CSRD and CSDDD, including the amendments resulting from the omnibus initiative, must first be transposed into national law.

The press release with the proposals for the First Omnibus Package has been published on the European Commission's website.

Register now for the KPMG webcast on 27 February 2025, in which we will present the planned changes to the CSRD, CSDDD and EU taxonomy and their significance for the companies concerned.