At its November session, the European Parliament will address the simplification of sustainability reporting requirements. This forms part of the “Omnibus I” package presented by the European Commission in February. According to Tomasz Bocheński, the changes proposed by the Commission are merely cosmetic and will not deliver real simplifications; therefore, they should be discussed in plenary rather than only in parliamentary committees.
“We have two directives adopted under the Green Deal in the previous term, and they impose a very large number of mandatory bureaucratic reports on businesses. For example, Polish companies have to report to the European Commission on climate targets, potential climate risks they may not even know about but which could occur, and submit reports on their climate situation and implementation of the Green Deal,” Tobiasz Bocheński, a Member of the European Parliament from Law and Justice (PiS), told the Newseria news agency. “This was supposed to be changed, and Ursula von der Leyen proposed Omnibus I, but these changes are cosmetic.”
The deregulatory package known as Omnibus I was tabled by the European Commission in February. It includes, among other things, simplifications to sustainability reporting (the CSRD) and due diligence (the CSDDD). One proposal—“stop-the-clock,” which postpones the entry into force of certain obligations—has already been adopted and was published in April; in July, the act transposing the directive into Polish law was published in the Journal of Laws and entered into force 14 days after publication. A second proposal introduces substantive changes aimed at easing requirements for companies. On 23 June 2025, Member States reached an agreement based on a compromise text presented by the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU. That document will serve as the Council’s mandate for negotiations with the European Parliament to reach agreement on the file.
The European Commission originally proposed reducing by 80% the number of companies required to report on social and environmental matters, while MEPs want to limit the scope even further—to companies with an average workforce of more than 1,000 employees and annual net turnover above €450 million. For companies no longer covered, reporting would be voluntary. To prevent large firms from shifting reporting obligations onto smaller business partners, they would be barred from requesting information beyond voluntary standards. These changes were adopted by the Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee (JURI) by 17 votes in favour, six against, and two abstentions.
“During the negotiations we fought to remove as many of these obligations as possible. Unfortunately, it has recently emerged that the European People’s Party—which includes Civic Platform—along with the S&D Group, which includes The Left, and the Liberals, where Hołownia sits, have agreed on very minor compromises and want to avoid debating with us in the plenary. They plan to quietly push the file straight forward so that MEPs cannot table amendments,” argues Tobiasz Bocheński, a member of JURI.
The European Parliament is set to decide its position on simplified sustainability and due diligence requirements at the plenary session in Brussels scheduled for 13 November. This follows the rejection by MEPs of the mandate adopted by the Legal Affairs Committee. The 22 October vote ended with 318 against, 309 in favour and 34 abstentions.
According to the ECR Group, the new proposals do not offer genuine simplification, but merely reorganise existing bureaucracy. Tobiasz Bocheński contends that bypassing parliamentary scrutiny would amount to endorsing further administrative burdens on businesses, whereas simplification should provide real relief—and, as a result, boost the competitiveness of the European economy.
“If nowhere else in the world do such obligations exist, and they cost money—because reports must be prepared and entire legal teams hired to handle them—then this burdens a company. Our competitiveness compared with Chinese, Japanese, Australian or American firms will decline,” the PiS MEP stresses.
Dariusz Joński, an MEP from the Civic Coalition, sees the need to strike a balance between essential environmental protection and the freedom to conduct business and foster entrepreneurship. He also advocates introducing strong “European products” capable of competing with China or India. Individually, European countries will not be able to withstand such competition.
“No other continent cares as much about environmental protection as Europe, but this must be done in a balanced way—so that, on the one hand, we protect the environment, including rivers and seas, and on the other, we do not stifle the economy,” says Dariusz Joński. “It is not easy to maintain this balance, but in light of what the Chinese are doing—flooding us with their goods—the proposal was made to advance a European product, ‘made in Europe.’ This is a very good slogan and a very good programme so that Europe finally manufactures at scale. It is difficult for a single EU country to compete with China or India, but for the EU as a whole it is absolutely possible.”
At the last session in Strasbourg, Ursula von der Leyen announced the introduction of a “made in Europe” criterion in public procurement in certain strategic sectors to create stable demand for products manufactured in Europe.
