In discussing the German proposal, I am basing my argument on letter from four German ministries to the European Commission dated December 17, 2024. In the case of France, the basis is proposal presented by the French ANC (Accounting Standards Authority).
The German proposal goes much further than the French one. Germany proposes:
- Delay in the implementation of CSRD for large private companies by two years
- Raising the thresholds above which large companies would be required to report to €450 million in revenue and 1,000 employees
- Abandoning sector standards
- Replacement of the current ESRS standards (12 standards already issued by the European Commission and currently in force) with the LSME standard, and of the LSME standard with the VSME standard.
- Elimination of disclosures regarding the EU Taxonomy of environmentally sustainable activities and their replacement with another (unspecified) solution.
Some of the proposals contained in the letter from the German ministers are vague, making it difficult to deduce what exactly can be expected from the negotiation process.
The position of the French ANC boils down primarily to the following proposals:
- Application of full ESRS standards for listed companies with revenues exceeding €50 million and more than 500 employees from the 2024 report, and for private companies with revenues exceeding €450 million and more than 1,000 employees from the 2025 report.
- Application of the new standard, based on the current LSME draft, but after appropriate review and refinement, from the 2027 reports for all other listed companies (including small and medium-sized ones) and for all large private companies.
- For the largest large enterprises (over €450 million in revenue and 1,000 employees), the full ESRS standards will apply (for listed companies in their 2024 reports and for private companies in their 2025 reports).
- Review and adjustment of the first set of ESRS standards after the first two reporting cycles – so that the improved standards apply to reports for 2027
- Maintaining sectoral standards, but developing them in a way that would make it easier for companies to apply the main standards
- Extension of certain existing transitional provisions or introduction of new ones
Interestingly, neither Germany nor France presented any specific proposals on how to improve the Taxonomy Regulation. However, a specific proposal was included in letter sent by the Polish Association of Listed Companies to the European Commission on January 10, 2025.
If you work for a large private company and are now wondering whether to start preparing for the implementation of CSRD and ESRS, you can wait four weeks for the official draft to be presented by the European Commission. During this waiting period, it is worth conducting educational activities, as they will certainly not be a waste of time. However, if you decide to wait, you should remember that:
- Both proposals, which I have briefly discussed above, were put forward by governments that are either about to cease to exist (Germany) or are in a politically unstable situation (France).
- I only wrote about the proposals of two member states, and there are many other voices in the Council.
- New regulations are adopted not only by the Council, but also by Parliament, and today it is impossible to assess its possible future position.
- The legislative process may be slow and will certainly provoke much debate, so it may be that we will enter 2026 with the regulations currently in force.
If you want to learn more about Omnibus, I recommend conference organized by Frank Bold on Thursday, January 30, 2025, from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.. The conference is taking place live in Brussels and simultaneously online.
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