Recommendations for EU policymakers to preserve alignment with international norms during CSDDD simplification efforts
EU policymakers have repeatedly endorsed aligning national legal frameworks with existing international responsible business conduct standards such as the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct (Guidelines).
Unfortunately, a recent misguided attempt to simplify the EU’s May 2025 Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) would deviate seriously from the OECD Guidelines’ tested framework, limiting impact for affected people while increasing corporate burden.
In this brief, OECD Watch highlights the most salient new areas of non-alignment between the so-called “first Omnibus” and the OECD Guidelines.
We call on policymakers to switch course and ensure that simplification efforts are assure greater, instead of lesser, alignment with the OECD Guidelines. Member states should also be given flexibility to pursue greater impact through increasing alignment between their national legislation and the international norms.
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