EU Commission issues 4th Omnibus Package

On 21 May 2025, the EU Commission issued a 4th Omnibus Package to reduce bureaucracy.

One component of this package is a proposal to introduce a new category of Small Mid-caps (SMCs). SMCs are defined in particular in a draft recommendation as entities that are not small or medium-sized enterprises within the meaning of Recommendation 2003/361/EC, have fewer than 750 employees and either a turnover of less than €150 million or a balance sheet total of less than €129 million (a different definition is introduced in a new point 13a in Article 4(1) of MiFID II, Directive 2014/65/EU). In this regard, proposals are made to amend various EU directives and EU regulations to introduce simplifications for SMCs. These proposals include, in particular, simplifications for issuers with regard to prospectuses and reporting requirements under the Prospectus Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2017/1129) and MiFID II (Directive 2014/65/EU). Further simplifications include, for example, the removal of due diligence obligations under the Battery Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/1542) or requirements under the GDPR (Regulation (EU) 2016/679).

The fourth omnibus package also includes proposals on the digitisation of product information, the standardisation of product specifications and further provisions of the GDPR.

The EU Commission provides an overview of all omnibus packages. On 6 March 2025, the DRSC issued a briefing paper (in German only) on the first omnibus package regarding the simplification of sustainability reporting.