On 24 February 2026, the Council of the European Union adopted the final text of the Omnibus Directive simplifying sustainability reporting and due diligence requirements.
Overview
The Omnibus Directive simplifies the directives on corporate sustainability reporting (CSRD) and corporate sustainability due diligence (CS3D) by reducing the reporting burden and limiting the trickle-down effect of obligations on smaller firms.
The amendments include:
- Narrowing the CSRD’s scope by raising its thresholds to firms with more than 1,000 employees and above 450 million euros in annual net turnover. As for third-country undertakings, the updated requirements will apply only to companies with an annual net turnover above 450 million euros for the parent undertaking within the EU and above 200 million euros generated turnover for the subsidiary or branch.
- Narrowing the CS3D’s scope by raising its thresholds to companies with more than 5,000 employees and above 1.5 billion euros annual net turnover. The obligation for companies to adopt a transition plan for climate change mitigation under the CS3D has also been removed.
- For penalties, firms will be liable at a national level for failure to apply the rules correctly with the new Omnibus Directive providing a maximum cap of 3% of the company’s net worldwide turnover. The European Commission will issue the necessary guidelines in this regard.
- Delaying the CS3D’s transposition deadline by Member States into national law by another year to 26 July 2028. Firms will have to comply with the new measures by July 2029.
Next steps
The Omnibus Directive will enter into force on the twentieth day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Member States must transpose the Directive into national law within 12 months of its entry into force except for Article 4 on the level of harmonisation to which the transposition deadline is 26 July 2028.