The European Commission (the Commission) is proposing to adapt the rules governing Member State economic support to industry, changing the focus of the permitted subsidies that guide the EU economy to a great degree. The proposal forms part of a wave of initiatives aimed at improving the competitiveness of the EU.
On 11 March 2025
On 26 February 2025, the European Commission published its Omnibus simplification package which aims at simplifying several ESG-related legislations.
In the context of this publication, we offered insight on the proposals announced by the Commission, which notably included i) a proposal for a Directive amending the implementation and transposition deadlines of the Corporate Sustainability
Universal Restriction of PFAS – The European Chemicals Agency’s (ECHA) Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC) is scheduled to meet from March 3-7, 2025, for its 72nd session. During this meeting, the Committee will discuss the proposed restriction on PFAS, focusing on their use in fluorinated gases, transport, and energy sectors. The
Now that the Commission has issued its Omnibus proposal, no one can say for certain what will precisely happen to the scope and requirements of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) in the future.
The Omnibus proposal will be debated and voted on by the EU Parliament (EP) and the EU Council, who act as
As part of the so-called Omnibus 1 package, the European Commission has proposed a regulation (with annex) to amend several parts of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2023/956.
The most significant changes include:
The European Commission published on 26 February 2025 its awaited Omnibus simplification package proposing the amendment of several pieces of sustainability and ESG-related legislations adopted under the previous Commission mandate (the EU Green Deal).
The proposals, which were announced by Ursula Von der Leyen in November 2024, include:
As announced by President Ursula von der Leyen to the European Parliament on 27 November 2024, and as formally incorporated into the Communication A Competitiveness Compass for the EU (COM(2025) 30 final), published on 29 January 2025, the European Commission launched a Strategic Dialogue with the European automotive industry, social partners, and
EU PFAS Generic Restriction – Recently leaked documents from the Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) reveal that industry representatives are relying on legal opinions to push back against the planned regulations. A key argument is that the EU’s proposed restriction unfairly groups over 10,000 PFAS compounds together, assuming they all share the
Regulation (EU) 2025/40 on packaging and packaging waste (‘PPWR’) was published on 22 January 2025 in the EU official journal. It will apply from 12 August 2026.
The regulation, repealing the existing Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste (‘PPWD’) introduces more stringent, circularity-oriented obligations.
Unlike the previous regulation, the PPWR will be
In December 2024, the EU and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur), which comprises of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, concluded negotiations on an EU-Mercosur partnership agreement, with the deal creating a free trade agreement (FTA) between the regions.The EU-Mercosur FTA follows an ongoing EU policy to negotiate sustainability provisions for EU FTAs.