The Stop-the-Clock Proposal

On 3 April 2025, the European Parliament voted to postpone the implementation deadlines of two major EU sustainability laws: the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). The motion passed with an overwhelming majority of 531 votes in favor, 69 against, and 17 abstentions, supporting the European Commission’s “stop-the-clock” proposal. This vote, conducted under an urgent procedure, is part of a broader effort to streamline corporate sustainability requirements and reduce compliance burdens on companies. The Council of the EU had already endorsed the delay on 26 March 2025, citing the need to provide businesses with additional time to adapt to the directives. Final formal approval by the Council is expected shortly, after which the adjusted timelines will take effect.

Extended Deadline for Sustainability Reporting (CSRD)

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) mandates companies to make extensive ESG disclosures. The approved delay affects the implementation timeline as follows:

• • • Large companies' reports delayed by 2 years: Companies defined as “large” under CSRD will now begin reporting on the financial year 2027, with the first sustainability reports published in 2028. Previously, these companies were expected to commence reporting for the financial year 2025, with reports published in 2026.

    • Listed SMEs granted additional time: Listed small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and other qualifying small companies will commence CSRD reporting one year later than initially scheduled, covering their financial year 2028 data in reports published in 2029. Under the original plan, these SMEs were to begin reporting for the financial year 2027, with an option to opt out until 2028.

Companies already within the scope of EU sustainability reporting (large public-interest entities under the previous Non-Financial Reporting Directive) are largely unaffected by this delay and have begun reporting for the financial year 2024 as planned. For the rest of the corporate sector, the CSRD’s effective start is deferred, providing additional time to build reporting systems and comply with the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). The European Commission has tasked the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) with simplifying and streamlining the reporting standards by late October 2025, enabling companies to adopt a more manageable set of disclosures when reporting begins.

One-Year Postponement for Due Diligence Rules (CSDDD)

The Parliament’s vote also extends the timeline for the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), an EU law requiring companies to identify and mitigate human rights and environmental impacts in their operations and supply chains. The adopted delay includes:

• • Transportation deadline extended: EU Member States now have until 26 July 2027 to transpose the CSDDD into national law, a one-year extension from the original July 2026 deadline. This extension allows governments to pass national legislation implementing the due diligence requirements.

  • First corporate compliance phase delayed to 2028: The initial wave of companies subject to the CSDDD will have an additional year before the rules apply. Large EU firms with over 5,000 employees and €1.5 billion+ in turnover (and non-EU companies with equivalent EU turnover) must begin complying in July 2028 rather than 2027. Notably, this July 2028 phase will also cover companies with over 3,000 employees and €900 million turnover, effectively merging the directive’s first two implementation waves into one timeline.
  • Subsequent phase in 2029: The next set of in-scope companies, including those with ≥1,000 employees and €450 million in turnover, are expected to come under the CSDDD by July 2029 as previously scheduled. The overall phase-in period is compressed into two stages (2028 and 2029) rather than spanning 2027–2029. This compressed rollout means the largest companies gain a one-year reprieve, while the smaller large companies will enter only slightly later than initially planned.
    

Next Steps

While this vote confirms a delay in implementation, negotiations regarding bigger changes to the laws (updating the reporting standards and the scope of companies affected) are still in their early stages. Those negotiations include exempting an estimated 80% of the companies initially covered by only applying these regulations only to firms with more than 1,000 employees. We delve deeper into these developments in our recent summary of the Omnibus initiative.

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Sources

• • • European Parliament Press Release:  Parlement Européen
    • Reuters Article on EU Parliament Vote:  Reuters
    • EFRAG Announcement on ESRS Simplification:  EFRAG 

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