In this episode, I talk about the EU’s omnibus package with Copenhagen Business School Professor Andreas Rasche. The omnibus is a legislative package that aims to simplify several European sustainability directives all at once and has far-reaching implications for the European economy. It is a chance to adjust regulation that has rightly been criticized for being too complex and confusing, but there is a risk that the proposed fixes create more confusion without solving some of the underlying problems.
My favourite insights from this conversation were:
It’s the right time to engage with your Member of European Parliament and make sure your views and needs with regard to adjusting the CSRD, the CSDDD, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, and the EU taxonomy are heard.
According to a survey that Andreas has contributed to, European businesses would prefer targeted improvements over a fundamental overhaul of the CSRD, given that they have already invested in compliance. It would be a shame if the omnibus ends up as political posturing without delivering on simplification.
A huge underlying problem is a lack of comprehensive cost-benefit estimates of the existing regulations and the proposed adjustments.
It seems that European leaders have overly focused on details and failed to consider the bigger picture of what their rules are supposed to achieve. Improving this can hopefully start with frank conversations such as this one.
I can highly recommend following Andreas for updates on this important topic. Here is a link to the mentioned survey: CSRD Survey
