EU Commission adopts delegated act on ESRS Set 1

On 11 July 2025, the EU Commission issued a new delegated act amending ESRS Set 1 (Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2772), which extends the transitional provisions set out in the ESRS (quick fix). An overview of the changes has also been issued. The amendments should be viewed in the context of the Omnibus 1 package (see DRSC Briefing Paper) and aim to ease the burden on entities in the so-called Wave 1 by either not subjecting them to any new reporting requirements for the 2025 and 2026 financial years beyond those applicable at the date of initial application or by withdrawing existing reporting requirements. In particular, entities in wave 1 with more than 750 employees have a new option not to report information in accordance with ESRS E4, ESRS S2, ESRS S3 and ESRS S4 for the financial years 2025 and 2026, even if this information has been identified as material. If entities make full use of the transitional provisions for ESRS E4, ESRS S1, ESRS S2, ESRS S3 and ESRS S4, a new disclosure must be included in the sustainability report (ESRS 2.17, as amended).

The delegated act comprises a delegated regulation with an annex, which in particular amends the transitional provisions in Annex C of ESRS 1. The amendments are to apply to financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2025. The EU Parliament and the EU Council may raise objections to the delegated act within a maximum period of four months, but may not make any substantive changes. If no objections are raised, the delegated act will be issued in the EU Official Journal and its provisions will enter into force on the third day after publication. Following this publication, the provisions of the delegated act will apply directly and will not require national transposition in the EU Member States, as it is an EU regulation.

The draft bill (RefE) for the implementation of the CSRD has now been published and, according to the explanatory memorandum in the RefE, the EU provisions of the CSRD and the Stop the Clock Directive are to be transposed into German law ‘as quickly as possible’. However, the draft bill does not constitute a final implementation law, and entities based in Germany are not yet required to apply ESRS Set 1, but may voluntarily use it as a framework for their non-financial reporting. EFRAG has partially addressed the question of whether the transitional relief also applies to the voluntary use of ESRS Set 1 in an explanation (ID 1090). In addition, the IDW commented on the use of transitional relief in a question and answer document (page 9).