On 13 October, the Council published a progress report on its work on the six Omnibus packages that have been published by the Commission so far.

MORE DETAILS

Below is a summary overview of some of the current Omnibus packages which are being discussed and amended.

• Omnibus I includes a reform to corporate sustainability reporting (CSRD) and due diligence (CSDDD), as well as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). While reforms on CBAM has already been finalised, changes to CSRD and CSDDD will still need to be formally agreed by the two institutions once Parliament adopts its position during next week's plenary session.

• Omnibus II intends to reform the InvestEU Regulation to mobilise additional public and private investment. To achieve this objective, the reform clarifies SME definition using turnover criteria, raises reporting threshold to €300k to reduce complexity, and restores two performance indicators: jobs created and climate alignment, in a more targeted way.

• Omnibus IV amends a Directive and a Regulation to reduce burdens faced by small mid-cap companies (SMCs), a Directive and a Regulation on digitalisation in product regulation, and includes an adjustment in battery due diligence timelines. It extends SME-style exemptions to SMCs, covering GDPR record-keeping and reporting under battery and F-gas regulations, and promotes digitalisation (through paperless processes and enabling the Commission to set common specifications). The adopted ‘stop-the-clock’ text delays new due diligence rules for batteries from 2025 to 2027. easing industry compliance.

• Omnibus VI focuses on chemicals regulation. and includes two proposals.  The first, delays implementation of revised Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) Regulation, and the second, simplifies requirements for hazardous chemical labelling, cosmetics safety rules, and fertiliser registration. Both changes are expected to significantly cut compliance cost for manufacturers.

NEXT STEPS

These Omnibus packages are currently at different legislative stages (more information in the document). For Omnibus I on CSRD/CSDDD, we expect the Parliament to adopt a position during next week's plenary (20-23 October). Interinstitutional negotiations are expected to start soon after.

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