Press releases

CLECAT welcomes the publication of the Omnibus proposals, a significant step towards regulatory simplification and reduced administrative burden for many sectors, including the European freight forwarding, logistics, and customs sector. The European Commission’s initiative to streamline compliance obligations across key EU legislative frameworks marks an important shift towards a more business-friendly regulatory environment while maintaining sustainability and transparency objectives.

CLECAT commends the European Commission for its pragmatic approach in refining the implementation of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). The 50-tonne annual weight-based exemption will provide relief for smaller importers. CLECAT is equally pleased with further flexibilities for business to manage their CBAM obligations in a manner that best suits their operations, in particular the possibility for declarants to delegate CBAM reporting to a person acting on their behalf and in the name of the declarant. Eva Cartwright, Customs Manager at CLECAT, noted: "The Commission has delivered a well-balanced solution that effectively addresses industry concerns. The proposal maintains and expands the use of default values including regional adaptations, introduces a realistic exemption threshold, enhances customs data integration and eliminates some redundant reporting steps overall demonstrating that policymakers have listened to the logistics sector.’

CLECAT welcomes the adjustments to the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) and Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which bring much-needed proportionality and legal certainty to sustainability obligations. The Omnibus package will also ensure that approximately 80% of companies are excluded from the scope of CSRD, focusing sustainability reporting obligations on the largest businesses that are likely to have the greatest impact on people and the environment. We appreciate that the reporting requirements for large companies will be structured to ensure they do not create an undue burden on smaller businesses in their value chains. This is important for small and medium-sized freight forwarders as we expect the amount of information required by their clients in the scope of the CSRD, including GHG emissions from transport operations, to be proportionate.

We also welcome the Commission’s commitment to simplify the first set of European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and abandon the development of sector-specific standards. Furthermore, the reporting obligations for companies currently within the CSRD’s scope, originally set to begin in 2026 or 2027, will be postponed by two years until 2028. The EU Taxonomy reporting requirements will also be reduced, limiting obligations to the largest companies while still allowing others to report voluntarily. This approach is expected to generate significant cost savings for smaller businesses while enabling those seeking access to sustainable finance to continue their reporting efforts.

Nicolette van der Jagt, Director General of CLECAT, stated: "These reforms reflect a strong commitment from the European Commission to ensuring a more efficient and competitive regulatory environment for logistics service providers and customs agents.  CLECAT looks forward to continuing collaboration with policymakers to ensure smooth implementation and further enhancements where needed."