Let me begin with the big picture.
The world is changing in front of our eyes.
We see dramatic shifts in the geopolitical landscape.
This week alone, we saw a long-standing strategic partner vote against a UN resolution condemning Russia's aggression against Ukraine.
We need to treat these developments as a call to action.
The freedoms that we enjoy and the values that we cherish can no longer be taken for granted in a complex and more conflictual world.
For the EU, they also depend on maintaining and further developing our economic base by adapting, innovating, and competing in the world.
In short, we need to build a more competitive Europe.
Earlier today, our colleagues presented the Clean Industrial Deal and an action plan to bring down energy prices as part of that effort.
Cutting red tape is another important element to achieve a more competitive Europe.
Put simply, we cannot hope or expect to successfully compete in a perilous world with one hand behind our backs.
The past five years have been a period of intense regulatory activity.
And our commitment to securing the green transition has not wavered, but at the same time, we must acknowledge that this has come at a cost, generating a large regulatory burden on people and businesses.
As we take stock, we see that this accumulation of rules, and their increased complexity, are limiting our economic potential and our prosperity.
Today, regulation is seen by more than 60% of EU companies as an obstacle to investment.
55% of SMEs are flagging regulatory obstacles and administrative burdens as their greatest challenge.
As you know, in Europe, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) constitute approximately 99% of all businesses.
They are most at risk of being suffocated by administrative burdens.
At the same time, they are Europe's economic engine, for whom we are speaking and acting with today's proposals.
I also want to be very clear that we remain deeply committed to building a greener and fairer society and economy.
Simplification is about making sure that EU rules help deliver – rather than impede – the achievement of our economic, social, environmental and security goals.
It is about achieving those goals in a smarter and less burdensome way.
Less bureaucracy means more innovation and investment that will secure our long-term prosperity.
It means creating new and quality jobs for European workers.
It provides citizens with the opportunity to stay, live and work in any region of Europe, from Portugal to Finland.
Today's simplification proposals also help to ensure that responsible European companies can continue to invest and do business across the world.
The alternative would be retreating and ceding the ground to competitors who do not necessarily share our values nor working methods.
Taken all together, that is why we have committed to this ambitious and far-reaching simplification agenda.
Now let me now outline today's proposals.
Companies and stakeholders have repeatedly stressed the need to ensure certainty.
Today, we proposed a "stop-the-clock" to delay the application of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) for companies that have not started reporting yet.
We also proposed to delay the transposition and application of corporate sustainability due diligence (CSDDD).
This seeks to avoid a situation in which companies that are required under CSRD to report for the 2025 financial year (second wave) or 2026 (third wave) are then subsequently relieved of this requirement, incurring unnecessary and avoidable costs.
We will propose to the co-legislators to subject this proposal to a fast-track adoption.
Moving to sustainability reporting.
Firstly, we are freeing around 80% of companies currently under the scope of the CSRD from very burdensome reporting requirements.
Secondly, we are limiting the information that larger companies under the scope of the CSRD can request from smaller companies not in scope – benefitting especially SMEs.
Thirdly, we will review the European Sustainability Reporting Standards, with a view to streamlining them substantially and making them easier for companies to use.
Finally, we are lifting the mandate to adopt sectoral-specific standards and the possibility of moving from a requirement for limited assurance to a requirement for reasonable assurance.
We are therefore providing clarity that there will be no future increase in auditing costs for companies in scope related to sectoral-specific standards and the possibility of moving from a requirement for limited assurance to reasonable.
On due diligence, we are extending the scope of maximum harmonisation, targeting due diligence, as a general rule, to direct business partners.
At the same time, the proposal recognises that there can be situations where companies have to look beyond their direct business partners when, for instance, they become aware of possible harmful activities at the level of an indirect supplier.
We are extending the intervals in which companies need to regularly assess the adequacy and effectiveness of due diligence measures, from one to five years.
This will significantly reduce burdens not just for in-scope companies but also for their business partners, which would receive detailed information requests as part of these monitoring exercises.
Regarding penalties, we are moving towards a more proportionate regime, that shall be "effective, proportionate and dissuasive", and no longer linked to a percentage of global net turnover.
Finally, we are moving away from the EU-wide civil liability regime conditions while preserving the right to full compensation for victims under the civil liability regimes of Member States.
Lastly, I turn to Taxonomy.
Today the College proposed making Taxonomy reporting more proportionate, proposing that only very large companies, meaning above 1,000 employees, and €450 million turnover, are required to report every year on their Taxonomy alignment.
This amendment will free more than 80% of companies from compulsory Taxonomy reporting.
We are also presenting unprecedented simplification changes to the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
We are doing this on basis of reporting and data gathered during the CBAM transitional phase where we learnt that tens of thousands of small importers were subject to the CBAM, but their imports represented only about 1% of CO2 emissions.
With a new threshold we are eliminating CBAM obligations for approximately 182,000 or 90% of importers, most of which are SMEs.
This is expected to bring about €1.12 billion in savings while still covering over 99% emissions in scope.
The new threshold will also bring cost savings to public authorities in Member States worth approximately €87.5 million, through less processing of importers who are now exempt.
This is a clear example of the win-win scenario that simplification can bring about: achieving our green objectives while strengthening our economy.
Turning to today's second Omnibus.
We also propose to optimise and simplify the functioning of several investment instruments including InvestEU, the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) and other legacy financial instruments.
Again, this proposal is breaking new ground.
First, it entails a substantial reduction of administrative burden for our implementing partners, financial intermediaries and final recipients, notably the SMEs.
These simplification measures are expected to generate a total of around €350 million in cost savings.
Secondly, we also propose measures to increase the real investment capacity under InvestEU to mobilise around €50 billion in additional public and private investments.
This will help address existing and emerging new priorities and direct the additional investment capacity in support of priority policies, such as the ones outlined in our Competitiveness Compass and the Clean Industrial Deal.
To conclude, today's first two omnibus packages mark a strong start to delivering our simplification agenda.
A conservative estimate puts the annual savings stemming from these two packages at €6.3 billion.
Our next proposals will target small mid-caps, farmers and changing paper reporting into a digital one.
We are determined to deliver.
Our future prosperity and security depend on us taking action now.
I will stop here. Thank you.
