Illegal deforestation of the Amazon rainforest: trees felled and burned to clear land for agriculture and cattle grazing in Pará, Brazil. (Photo: Shutterstock/Paralaxis)
In view of the upcoming inter-institutional negotiations on the ‘First Omnibus package’ proposal published by the European Commission, COMECE presents its assessment and comments in a document issued on Thursday, 20 March 2025, emphasising that the proposed amendments should not distort or neutralise the EU’s landmark sustainability laws. Download Document
The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) acknowledges the efforts to enhance the EU’s competitiveness and support European businesses, particularly SMEs, in facing pressures arising from significant shifts in the global economy.
One of the measures recently proposed by the European Commission in this regard is the so-called ‘First Omnibus Package’, published on 26 February 2025. The stated objective of the EU document is to simplify sustainability reporting requirements and reduce bureaucratic complexity for businesses by amending several key pieces of legislation adopted under the framework of the European Green Deal, including the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), and the Taxonomy Regulation.
COMECE has long advocated for the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), which was finally adopted in 2024 as a crucial step towards ensuring that companies prevent human rights abuses and environmental harm throughout their supply chains, while also guaranteeing victims of such abuses effective access to justice.
While recognising the legitimate need for regulatory simplification, COMECE stresses, however, that the proposed amendments under the First Omnibus Package should not exceed this objective.
In its assessment of the amendments proposed by the European Commission, COMECE warns of the risk of “undermining the integrity of some of the EU’s landmark sustainability laws”.
Fr. Manuel Barrios Prieto, General Secretary of COMECE, explains that, ultimately, “this could have profoundly negative implications for human rights and environmental protection, as well as for the EU’s credibility as a global leader in promoting corporate responsibility. The competitiveness of European businesses must not come at the expense of transparency, accountability, or the EU’s social and environmental commitments.”
Referring to legitimate concerns raised by various civil society organisations, including faith-based actors, COMECE urges the European Parliament and the Council, as co-legislators, to ensure that the spirit and intentions of the EU’s key sustainability laws – particularly the CSDDD and CSRD – are upheld in the upcoming inter-institutional negotiations on the First Omnibus Package.