EU: Leaked draft omnibus proposal includes several changes "significantly" watering down due diligence rules, in move deemed "reckless" by experts
โBrussels plans sweeping cuts to EUโs green rules, leaked bill revealsโ
โฆThe European Commission will propose deep cuts to the European Union's environmental reporting rule bookโฆaccording to a section of a draft of the upcoming omnibus legislation โฆ
โฆa large cohort of businesses could be exempt from complying with corporate sustainability reporting rules, bringing only the largest companies under the regulations, the leaked document showsโฆ
โIf confirmed, this is reckless," Maria van der Heide, head of EU policy at NGO ShareActionโฆ
According to the leaked draft, the Commission suggests making eight changes to the due diligence rules to significantly water them down, including asking businesses only to look at their direct suppliers and not further along their supply chainsโฆ
Changes to the CSRD, meanwhile, would see the law's implementation delayed by a yearโฆ
Companies would no longer have to look beyond suppliers with which they have a direct business relationship. The frequency at which they are expected to monitor suppliers would be reduce to once every five years, down from annuallyโฆ
In addition, companies would no longer be forced to terminate that relationship with suppliers that fail to improve their behaviorโฆ
The proposed changes also limit the scope of the term โstakeholder,โโฆ