Key Impact Points
- Inquiry targets Omnibus I package that narrows CSRD and CSDDD scope without public consultation or impact assessment.
- Eight NGOs allege breach of Better Regulation Guidelines and failure to do a climate consistency assessment.
- Ombudswoman demands details on stakeholder meetings and justification for bypassing consultations and impact study.
What’s under scrutiny
The EU Ombudswoman Teresa Anjinho opened an inquiry on 21 May 2025 into how the European Commission drafted its Omnibus I simplification package. That package proposes to limit the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive to companies with over 1,000 employees and €50 million turnover and to scale back due diligence under the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive.
Read EU Ombudswoman Teresa Anjinho Full Letter
Complaint by NGOs
Eight civil society organisations—including ClientEarth, Notre Affaire A Tous and Global Witness—filed a complaint on 18 April 2025 arguing the Commission skipped a public consultation, failed to conduct an impact assessment and ignored a climate consistency assessment under the European Climate Law.
Ombudsman’s questions
Anjinho’s office asked the Commission to “elaborate on the reasons for its decision not to carry out a public consultation for this proposal” and to explain the “urgency” behind skipping an impact assessment. The Ombudswoman also wants details on “meetings with companies and other stakeholders” held in February 2025.
In a letter to the Commission President, Anjinho noted this was the third complaint “in recent months concerning the Commission’s compliance with legal requirements, its Better Regulation Guidelines and further rules in preparing legislative proposals,” adding: “It is clear that the issues raised in these three complaints raise a number of important issues for the Ombudsman.”
What happens next
The Commission must respond before the Ombudswoman decides whether to open a full inquiry. The NGOs praised the move:
“This swift and decisive action by the EU Ombudsman underlines the importance of the issues raised in our complaint. The Commission’s rushed rollbacks of three key components of the Green Deal – including laws aimed at tackling the environmental and human costs of global value chains – has completely disregarded the rights of both people and the planet.”
Read Full Article: All Aboard the Omnibus, Next Stop Deregulation: Tim Mohin
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