EU: ECCJ publishes preliminary legal analysis of 'watered down' CSDDD after final Council approval
"EU green lights watered down Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence law", 24 February 2026
After four years of intense negotiation and relentless corporate lobbying, EU Member States today gave final approval to the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), as amended by the Omnibus I legislative package.
The CSDDD marks a historic shift for corporate accountability. For the first time, large multinational companies will be required to identify, prevent, and address human rights and environmental abuses throughout their global supply chains. Most importantly, victims of corporate abuse – from oil spills to forced labour – will now have new legal pathways to seek justice, both through EU courts and administrative enforcement.
But significant changes introduced under the controversial Omnibus I deregulatory package have severely weakened the law, slashing human rights and environmental protections, and gutting corporate climate obligations amid an escalating climate crisis.
Despite the flagrant rollbacks to the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, it remains a critical – if compromised – step forward for corporate accountability. Victims of corporate abuse will have new legal avenues to seek justice, both through EU courts and administrative enforcement by EU Member States. Unfortunately, significant amendments to the law introduced as a result of an aggressive, and highly coordinated lobbying campaign driven by a handful of powerful multinational corporations have stripped out key climate, environmental and human rights protections from the final text.Nele Meyer, Director of ECCJ
It is deeply alarming to witness how European governments and elected representatives have capitulated to foreign political interference and corporate lobbying, choosing to weaken a crucial human rights and environmental law rather than defend it.
This level of corporate influence over EU lawmaking sets a dangerous precedent and one that risks seriously undermining democratic accountability and the EU’s credibility as a leader on human rights and sustainability.
Despite the setbacks, the CSDDD now moves to the crucial transposition phase, with EU Member States required to incorporate the Directive into national law by July 2028.
Lawmakers at the national level have a critical opportunity to restore the law’s original ambition, by aligning it with international standards and reinstating the protections stripped away by the Omnibus.
Ultimately, the long-term impact of the CSDDD will hinge on its enforcement. Effective implementation at the national level, both through courts and administrative bodies, will be decisive in delivering justice for victims of corporate abuse.
ECCJ's preliminary analysis of CSDDD changes through Omnibus I is available for download above and on ECCJ's landing page for this resource.