NGOs have welcomed the EU Ombudsman’s decision to launch an inquiry into how the European Commission prepared its first ‘Omnibus Simplification Package,’ following a complaint they submitted.
The EU Ombudsman has announced today the opening of an inquiry into the Commission’s alleged non-compliance with its Better Regulation Guidelines in preparing the so-called Omnibus proposal. She will conduct an inspection of certain documents in the Commission’s file and meet with relevant Commission Staff before 18 June.
This follows a formal complaint submitted by a coalition of eight NGOs regarding the Commission’s flawed decision-making process underpinning the Omnibus Simplification Package which seeks to amend key corporate sustainability laws, such as the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).
NGOs argue that the Commission bypassed a proper impact assessment and excluded broad public consultation, deviating from its own procedural standards established in the Better Regulation Guidelines, and breached the essential procedural requirement under the European Climate Law to conduct a climate consistency assessment. NGOs allege this constitutes maladministration.
ClientEarth, Anti-Slavery International, Clean Clothes Campaign, European Coalition for Corporate Justice, Friends of the Earth Europe, Global Witness, Notre Affaire À Tous and T&E said:
“This swift and decisive action by the EU Ombudsman underlines the importance of the issues raised in our complaint. The Commission’s rushed rollbacks of three key components of the Green Deal — including laws aimed at tackling the environmental and human costs of global value chains — has completely disregarded the rights of both people and the planet.”
NGOs have also pointed out the significant political implications of the Omnibus proposal. They added :
“Due to the absence of supporting evidence — stemming from the lack of impact assessments and from a process deeply tainted by corporate capture — the Commission is preventing policymakers in the Council and the European Parliament from being fully informed about the consequences of their votes on climate, the environment, human rights, and therefore the overall economy. This undermines the democratic legitimacy of the Commission and poses serious challenges to the rule of law.”
The EU Ombudsman’s decision is especially timely, as key discussions on the Omnibus package are scheduled to take place in COREPER this Friday.
