Yes, trialogue negotiations between the European Commission, Parliament, and Council are yet to kick off, but with the positions of all institutions on the table, the baseline for compromise is set incredibly low.

Despite eager leadership to date, the European co-legislators walked away from their chance to welcome clear, ambitious guardrails for corporate sustainability. Recent developments surrounding the European Commission’s “Omnibus I” proposal to revise EU corporate sustainability legislation have revealed both the complexity and fragility of progress in this space. As Cascale noted for JustStyle, Sourcing Journal, and EcoTextile News, the stakes could not be higher for companies, investors, workers, and communities worldwide. This urgency doesn’t change for industry leaders, and the clock doesn’t stop on the climate crisis.

Yet these developments did not come in a vacuum.

Cascale, our members, and ecosystem peers have been following the Omnibus process closely with critical engagement throughout. In July 2025, we hosted a member-exclusive EU Omnibus briefing webinar in collaboration with Policy Hub, equipping members with expert insights on the simplification packages and their implications for the apparel and footwear sector. In February and most recently in September 2025, we co-signed joint statements with other industry associations calling on EU institutions to ensure that the Omnibus package strengthens – rather than weakens – corporate sustainability and due diligence, maintaining alignment with international standards and a risk-based approach.

In October, the European Parliament voted to reject the Legal Affairs Committee’s (JURI) negotiating mandate on the Omnibus package, effectively halting inter-institutional negotiations at that stage.

Why European Negotiations Fell Flat 

The plenary session on November 13 offered further revelations, with the European Parliament now adopting a right-leaning compromise on the Omnibus I proposal by 382 votes to 249, with 13 abstentions. The final text passed with the support of the European People’s Party (EPP), far-right groups (European Conservatives and Reformists, Patriots for Europe, Europe of Sovereign Nations), and parts of the centrist group Renew. This marks one of the most significant political defeats for the original deal-maker, Ursula von der Leyen’s majority (EPP-S&D-Renew-Greens).

The adopted position introduces a substantially deregulatory framework, raising thresholds under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), removing climate-transition obligations under CSDDD, and dismantling the EU-wide civil liability regime, changes that go beyond the Commission’s February proposal.

It’s Not Over: Cascale Keeps the Faith 

Cascale and our members are not neutral observers. We have strong, sustained expectations for EU policy: a simplified framework, sure, but one that remains ambitious, enforceable, and fit for purpose. This makes the current results from European policy negotiations all the more frustrating. Yet this is the nature of sustainability work – to keep pressing forward amid challenging conclusions.

Trilogue negotiations were scheduled to start on November 18, 2025. The outcome of the vote represents a decisive victory for the EPP, and now the Council of the EU, the European Parliament, and the Commission are quite aligned on their unflinching stance. Our team will now seek some technical clarification on certain points from policy makers, but the lack of ambition on scope is a done deal. We will continue to relay additional updates to our members, but the greater message stands.

In the face of this disappointing vote, our public affairs team urges Cascale members to stand firm on green ambition. Though these weeks have revealed a backsliding stance for European policy makers, dilution of principles underlying the CSDD and CSRD, and greater unknowns for the state of global policy, that same fate doesn’t have to follow for consumer goods corporations.

Cascale members must choose: uphold ambition and maintain the integrity of their sustainability stances, or risk undermining the very foundations of responsible business for generations to come.