Alka Bhide, MSc.’s Post

===CSRD transposition : Belgium is part of it!=== The commission starts putting pressure on states that still need to transpose #CSRD in their local frameworks. Deadline was July 2024. Commission gave them 2 additional months to transpose. #esg #sustainability #sustainabilityreporting #esgreporting

The Commission calls on 17 Member States to fully transpose the CSRD! ⏰ The European Commission decided to open #infringement procedures by sending a letter of formal notice to 17 Member States, Belgium, Czechia, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Cyprus, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Finland, for failing to notify their national measures transposing fully 📌the Accounting Directive (Directive 2013/34/EU), 📌the Transparency Directive (Directive 2004/109/EC) 📌and the Audit Directive (Directive 2014/56/EU), as amended by the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (#CSRD) (Directive (EU) 2022/2464). The CSRD introduces new rules on #sustainabilityreporting. It requires large companies and listed companies (excluding micro-undertakings) to disclose information on the social and environmental risks they face, and on how their activities impact people and the environment. This helps investors and other stakeholders to evaluate the sustainability performance of companies. The new sustainability reporting rules apply from financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2024. In the absence of #transposition of these new rules it will not be possible to achieve the necessary level of harmonisation of #sustainabilityreporting in the EU and investors will not be in a position to take into account the #sustainability performance of companies when making investment decisions. The 17 Member States concerned have not yet communicated full transposition into national law of the provisions of the CSRD. The transposition deadline expired on 6 July 2024. The Commission is therefore sending letters of formal notice to the concerned Member States, which now have ❗️two months ❗️to respond and complete their transposition. In the absence of a satisfactory response, the Commission may decide to issue a reasoned opinion.

Administrative burden reduction: Accountancy Europe’s first specific recommendations 🖊️ As we welcome the European Commission’s efforts to reduce administrative and reporting burdens for #EuropeanCompanies while maintaining policy objectives, Accountancy Europe expresses concern that amending recent sustainability legislation, such as the #CSRD, may not allow sufficient time to learn from #practical experience and could undermine trust in #EULegislation. The European Commission should balance #simplification with preserving legislative #integrity, minimising disruption to ongoing compliance efforts, and focusing on alleviating provisions yet to be implemented. If the Commission decides to move forward, our suggestions for how this could be achieved include: - Differentiate between categories of ‘large entities’ and introducing less demanding sustainability reporting requirements for them, staggered over time. - Ensure global alignment and cooperation on sector-specific standards, and considering making these voluntary for certain categories of ‘large entities’. - Consider a retrospective assessment of the #EUTaxonomy to inform targeted adjustments and evaluating whether the concepts between CSRD and #CSDDD should be aligned. ⏩ Visit our website to read our recommendations: https://lnkd.in/djXERD5K. Johan Barros #OmnibusPackage #AdministrativeBurdenReduction

Swedish laws are not in line with #CSRD, according to the Commission. In its December infringement package, the Commission has sent a reasoned opinion to Sweden for failure to transpose CSRD correctly.   Reasoned opinions adopted on 16th December 2024 include one for Sweden, were the Commission calls on Sweden to correctly transpose the new rules for the reporting of sustainability information by companies introduced by the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. The European Commission decided to send a reasoned opinion to Sweden (INFR(2024)2195) for failing to bring its legislation in line with the Accounting Directive (Directive 2013/34/EU), the Transparency Directive (Directive 2004/109/EC) and the Audit Directive (Directive 2006/43/EC), as amended by the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) (Directive (EU) 2022/2464). The CSRD introduces new rules for the reporting of sustainability information by companies. These rules apply from financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2024, depending on the company size.   👀 The national transposing measures adopted by Sweden require companies to start reporting information for financial years beginning on or after 1 July 2024. 👁️🗨️ This is not in line with the CSRD as Sweden delays the application of sustainability reporting requirements by half a year. By introducing this delay, Sweden risks creating an unlevel playing field between EU companies in different Member States. The Commission is therefore sending a reasoned opinion to Sweden, which now has two months to respond and address the shortcomings raised by the Commission. In the absence of a satisfactory response, the Commission may decide to refer the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union.   💥 What this means: Companies should be aware of this mismatch in timeline under national law in Sweden. CSRD is a directive requiring national transposition (so national laws), but the minimum requirements and principles are set in the directive itself. When in doubt, the directive's requirements (here CSRD) are a good starting point in line with precautionary principle and risk management. Sweden as a member state could go to European Court of Justice for failure to transpose CSRD correctly, and to be ordered to amend its laws accordingly. Following this closely 👀 #sustainabilitylaw #esg #sustainabilityreporting #sustainability

🎉 CSDDD approved in European Parliament! In the last few minutes, the European Parliament voted in favour of the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (#CSDDD). The word “transformative” is often overused, but in this case, there is no doubt. Unlike most sustainable finance policy developments, this law is not about disclosure, but action. Some may argue, after all the negotiations, the CSDDD has lost its teeth. I’d beg to differ. It’s not perfect, and a much smaller group of companies are in scope of the law than should be. But legislators have made a significant achievement. Many aspects of this law are, or nearly, aligned with the international standards for #duediligence under the UNGPs and OECD Guidelines, which all policy makers should be aspiring to. This directive will pave the way for policy makers worldwide to finally act on not what companies should disclose about sustainability – but what they should actually do, now, to be sustainable. Next steps – the Council must do a final rubber stamp on 15 and 23 May, then the CSDDD will be published in the Official Journal of the EU, to be transposed into national Member State law in the next two years (approximately by September 2026). PRI will publish a briefing note in the next few days – keep your eyes peeled 👀

Eight countries have taken steps to implement the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) into their national legislation, each with some variations and adaptations: 1. Czechia has implemented most of the CSRD requirements into the Accounting Act, with proposed laws to cover remaining companies. 2. Denmark has expanded the scope to include commercial foundations and limited liability cooperatives. 3. Finland has included gold-plating measures like extending coverage to cooperatives and requiring digital format for financial statements. 4. France adjusted thresholds for large companies and requires reporting even for non-public interest entities. 5. Hungary's implementation sets thresholds in local currency, affecting EUR equivalents. 6. Romania proposed lower thresholds for defining medium and large entities subject to reporting. 7. Slovakia's transposition awaits presidential approval, scheduled to come into effect on June 1, 2024. 8. Liechtenstein is transposing CSRD ahead of EEA incorporation, though the timing for implementing Delegated Regulation 2023/2772 is unclear.

🔔 Big news! ☝ On Friday 12 July, the Croatian Parliament adopted the new Accounting Act and amendments to the Audit Act and the Capital Market Act under an urgent procedure. These amendments transpose the provisions of the European Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (#CSRD) into domestic law. 👉 The first sustainability reports under the new Accounting Act will be published in 2025 for the financial year 2024. Reporting will be in accordance with the official European Sustainability Reporting Standards (#ESRS), which has been published in 2023. Marija Musec, Ronald Filipčić, Gregor Famira   #cmslaw #esg #sustainability

[What about #SFDR?] 🆕 EU considers adding more laws to EU omnibus, says head of simplification "The original plan was to simplify three of the EU’s flagship sustainability rules: the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive #CSRD, Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive #CS3D, and #EUTaxonomy Regulation but the EU has confirmed that it is considering adding more sustainability laws to its planned ‘omnibus’ package and that it may be the first of an “omnibus fleet”. via Real Economy Progress #sustainablefinance

***𝐏𝐫𝐞-𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐒𝐑𝐃*** 🟢 The implementation of the #CSRD at the national level was expected by July 6, 2024. However, that has not been the case for Italy and other Member States, where the implementation deed is still in the #pipeline. 📚For now, a #draft text of the implementation legislative decree in Italy is public for reading. The national legislation has echoed the provisions of the CSRD in terms of scope, exemptions, content of the sustainability report and publicity, but a few additions are expected. 💡Specifically, the draft text 1. Clarifies #directors’ #responsibility around the CSRD obligations and confirms the directors’ duty to act with #duediligence 2. Charges the #supervisorybody with the duty to #monitor compliance with the provisions of the decree 3. Requires companies to obtain a minimum level of limited #assurance on the sustainability report 4. Defines the applicable #sanctions in case the reporting obligations are breached Companies shall get prepared! 🧑🧑🧒 We at Bird & Bird are working together with EU and non-EU companies to design #customized #ESG #strategies for being compliant with the CSRD, maintain a strategic position on the market (even when the company is not directly in-scope of the CSRD), and create ESG valuable and protectable #databases and archives to expand companies’ #know-how. Let’s see what the future holds! #connectinglawandpeople #twobirdsitaly #commercialteamItaly #whatsustainabilitymeanstous Afra Casiraghi Lucrezia Guidarelli

📢 Call for Postponement and Simplification of CSRD Requirements The German Government has officially requested a postponement of certain CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) obligations, raising concerns about excessive bureaucracy stemming from the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). Key Requests Include: • Postponing reporting requirements for SMEs until 2027 to shield them from unnecessary burdens. • Simplifying and reducing reporting obligations for businesses, as the current ESRS framework includes over 1,000 potential data points. • Eliminating redundant requirements and applying the “Once-only” principle, allowing companies to submit data once to avoid repetition. The Goal: To strengthen the competitiveness of European businesses while maintaining sustainability objectives. Read the full letter here: https://lnkd.in/gnbuV9Dm #CSRD #ESG #Sustainability #EUκ