EU Commission Presents the Clean Industrial Deal: Simpler Regulations

At the end of February 2025, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented the cornerstones of the Clean Industrial Deal (CID) to around 400 business leaders in Antwerp. In particular, it frees small and medium-sized companies from some regulatory overhead, such as excessive reporting requirements. According to the EU plan, an updated version of REACH will be published before the end of this year.

Chemical industry hardly competitive any more
Bureaucracy and high energy prices particularly affect the chemical industry. Compared to companies in the United States and China, the industry in the EU is barely competitive. The situation is even more serious given that the chemical industry is a key supplier to many other sectors of industry. A recent study by CEFIC on the competitiveness of the chemical industry shows that over 11 million tons of production capacity have been or are to be closed down at 21 major sites in two years.

CID as the key to a turnaround
The EU wants to use the CID to make Europe a magnet for green production sites. That’s why it is realigning its industrial and climate policy agenda. The priorities include energy affordability, a functioning circular economy, and international partnerships.

Omnibus packages to provide relief
At the same time, the EU has launched omnibus packages, legislative initiatives that aim to change to several existing regulations simultaneously. The regulations include the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, and the EU Taxonomy. With this initiative, the EU now wants to combine and simplify the reporting requirements of these three regulations into a single law.

Sample reporting requirements and the supply chain
The CSRD is an example of the far-reaching nature of the new draft. It states that only companies with more than 1,000 employees and a net annual turnover of at least €50 million will be subject to reporting requirements. Accordingly, around 80 percent of companies would no longer be subject to reporting requirements.
The changes to the Supply Chain Act are similarly stark. While the previous draft provided for due diligence for the entire supply chain, the current draft proposal only applies to direct business partners (Tier 1 suppliers).

Next steps
The EU has put the Omnibus draft out for public consultation. Comments on the draft proposals can be submitted until March 26, 2025. According to the EU, the final regulation should be available in the second quarter of 2025. The Commission has asked that the legislative initiative be treated as a priority.

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