EuroCommerce, the voice of the retail and wholesale sector in Europe, has expressed strong support for the European Commission’s Omnibus Package I on sustainability, unveiled today.
This initiative contributes to the Commission’s ambition to cut down on bureaucracy as outlined in the Competitiveness Compass, political guidelines and simplification communication.
Christel Delberghe, Director General of EuroCommerce, praised the new approach: “Retailers and wholesalers welcome simpler regulations, more practical reporting requirements, and improved due diligence procedures. Individual businesses, including SMEs, deal with thousands of different products and complex global value chains. Clear, practicable and proportionate reporting and due diligence rules are essential for businesses in the sector.”
EuroCommerce advocates for simplifying, harmonising, and reducing reporting burdens to create high-impact, cost-efficient rules. European businesses, especially SMEs and microenterprises, need targeted simplification measures to ease practical compliance with legislation, provide much-needed clear guidance and increase the overall coherence between legislations, fostering a sustainable and competitive EU market. The final Omnibus must ensure legal certainty and clear timelines. Predictability is crucial for companies’ preparation and investment in sustainability reporting and due diligence.
Retailers and wholesalers support aligning definitions and concepts between the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the EU Taxonomy, and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) to simplify and harmonise rules and reduce reporting burdens. EuroCommerce calls for aligning the scope of these directives and reducing the granularity of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards. Full harmonisation of the due diligence directive should be explored, and greater clarity provided for companies in multi-stakeholder initiatives and on disengagement rules from markets hindering due diligence efforts. With regards to the EU Taxonomy’s added value, EuroCommerce advises the Commission to consider making some of the disclosure requirements voluntary.
EuroCommerce also supports simplifying and harmonising the Carbon-Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) rules to address compliance challenges that increase administrative burdens. Data collection, particularly for SMEs, is complex and costly. To ease this burden, EuroCommerce proposes recognising existing emissions reports, introducing simplified assessments, and raising reporting thresholds. Technical issues with the CBAM platform, such as login difficulties and time-consuming data entry, must be addressed.
EuroCommerce urges the European Parliament and the Member States to assess the proposal and reach a timely agreement on the proposed changes. Retailers and wholesalers are ready to contribute to any consultations and stakeholder dialogues, remaining partners for policymakers in developing legislation for this and future Omnibus packages.
