On April 3, 2025, the European Parliament voted to postpone the application dates for new EU laws on due diligence and sustainability reporting requirements. The Parliament’s vote comes after the Council approved its negotiating mandate in late March.

Member states will have an extra year —until July 26, 2027— to transpose the new due diligence rules into national legislation. The one-year extension will also apply to the first wave of businesses to be affected, namely EU companies with over 5,000 employees and net turnover higher than €1.5 billion, and non-EU companies with a turnover above this threshold in the EU. These companies will have to apply the rules from 2028. The date of application will be the same for the second wave of companies: those in the EU with over 3,000 employees and net turnover higher than €900 million, and non-EU companies with turnover above that threshold in the EU.

Application of the sustainability reporting directive will also be delayed by two years for the second and third waves of companies covered by the legislation. Large companies with more than 250 employees will be required to report on their social and environmental measures for the first time in 2028 for the previous financial year, while listed small and medium-sized enterprises will have to provide this information one year later.