On 26 March 2025, the Council of the EU adopted its position, approving without amendment, the “stop the clock” proposal.

The “stop the clock” proposal forms part of the Omnibus Package published by the European Commission on 26 February 2025.  The proposal amends application of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) as follows:

• CSRD: postponing reporting requirements by two years for large companies that have not yet started reporting, as well as for listed SMEs. Companies that are currently required to report in 2026 (on financial years commencing on or after 1 January 2025) would instead report in 2028 (on financial years commencing on or after 1 January 2027).
• CSDDD: postponing the transposition deadline and the first phase of application (covering the largest companies) by one year.

For more information, please see our Insights on the Omnibus Package.

Next Steps

The European Parliament is scheduled to vote on the urgent procedure for the “stop the clock” proposal on 1 April 2025.

The European Commission and the European Council have called for the co-legislators to reach an agreement on the “stop the clock” proposal by June 2025. If adopted, the proposal will be published in the Official Journal and will come into force 20 days thereafter. If adopted as currently drafted, the amendments to the dates of application will need to be transposed by Member States by 31 December 2025.

We will continue to monitor developments and provide updates as they become available.