Monday 12th May 2025 – Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) have today published a position paper on the simplification of the EU Sustainable Finance Framework Omnibus Legislative Proposal. The paper was launched at a special BPFI members’ event where MEPs Billy Kelleher and Barry Andrews provided insights into the changing EU approach and intentions of the Omnibus package and the role of European Parliament in shaping sustainable finance legislation.
Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) welcomes the European Commission’s (EC) Omnibus initiative, published in February 2025, to streamline and simplify the EU Sustainable Finance framework and to reduce reporting burdens on businesses, particularly SMEs. The proposed actions in the Omnibus proposal include the reduction of the number of templates in the Taxonomy, the removal of a significant number of businesses from the scope of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) reporting obligations and postponement of compliance by two years for CSRD. This extension provides smaller companies with additional time to adjust to evolving regulatory requirements, ensuring more accurate and comprehensive disclosures. Additionally, the proposed postponement of the CSDDD reporting, along with the changes to its civil liability regime, will help companies navigate the complexities of due diligence more effectively. These changes will help create a more balanced and manageable compliance environment while still promoting sustainability goals.
However, BPFI believe there is room for further harmonisation of the sustainability framework. This would ensure that financial institutions’ reporting obligations are fully aligned to the reduced reporting scope of companies under CSRD and the EU Taxonomy. The Omnibus proposal should take a broader view of the sustainability framework to ensure greater consistency across related regulatory files, such as the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) and Capital Requirements Directive (CRD), MiFID, and the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).
Aligning these frameworks would reduce regulatory fragmentation and enable financial institutions and companies to adhere to consistent standards across all relevant areas.
