PowerShift criticises the European Commission: Omnibus initiative undermines responsible mining
Berlin, 19 June: On 26 February, the European Commission presented the Omnibus Simplification Package, which provides for substantial changes to key EU sustainability legislation, including the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). While presented as rationalisation measures, the proposed amendments significantly weaken the CSDDD, particularly for high-risk sectors such as minerals and metals, and threaten to undermine years of progress in corporate accountability, responsible sourcing and the protection of human rights.
Constantin Bitter, coordinator of the AK Raw Materials at PowerShift, comments on the proposal for the Omnibus Regulation:
“The Working Party on Raw Materials is following with great concern the developments on the proposal for the Omnibus Regulation. Mitigating mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence will fuel conflicts along supply chains. Mining and metalworking are risk sectors where infringement of rights is a structural problem. Reducing due diligence obligations to direct suppliers cannot meet the risks. The involvement of stakeholders, complaint mechanisms and ad hoc risk analyses along the entire supply chain, as well as civil liability regimes, are essential.”
The organisations of the EU Raw Materials Coalition have issued a joint statement to draw attention to the potential impact of the Omnibus package on the mineral and metals sector: https://ak-rohstoffe.de/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Statement-on-Omnibus-Package-CSDDD-Due-Diligence-AK-Rohstoffe.pdf
Right now, a strong sign of entrepreneurial care is needed. The CSDDD Directive must not be diluted. On the contrary, it needs to be implemented vigorously – in a strong German supply chain law. This is also called for by the current petition of the Supply Chain Act initiative. https://lieferkettengesetz.de/lieferkettengesetzretten/
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact:
Constantin Bittner, Coordinator of the AK Raw Materials at PowerShift, +49 (0)30 419 341 82, constantin.bittner@power-shift.de
