Aiming to simplify EU regulation, the European Commission’s reform agenda – initiated in 2024 – relies on a specific legislative instrument: the ‘omnibus’ regulation. This is a single legislative act that introduces amendments to multiple legislative texts simultaneously (hence the use of the Latin term omnibus, meaning ‘covering everything’). To date, the Commission has published ten omnibus regulation proposals, amending dozens of regulations and directives, including in policy areas that directly affect animals.
This tracker offers a centralized, user-friendly overview of the key information of the omnibus regulations and how they relate to animal protection issues.
Sustainability (CSRD, CSDDD and carbon border adjustment mechanism)
Directive 2026/470 of 24 February 2026 amending Directives 2006/43/EC, 2013/34/EU, 2022/2464 and 2024/1760 as regards certain corporate sustainability reporting requirements and certain corporate sustainability due diligence requirements (2025/0045(COD)) 🔗
This Directive aims at reducing environmental monitoring obligations with the objective to ease the regulatory burden on businesses. Over 80% of companies will be exempt from the CSRD Regulation, and the due diligence requirements under the CSDDD Regulation will apply only to very large companies. The text also removes the harmonised EU civil liability framework established under the CSDDD (Article 18 (20)).
Directive 2025/794 of 14 April 2025 amending Directives 2022/2464 and 2024/1760 as regards the dates from which Member States are to apply certain corporate sustainability reporting and due diligence requirements (2025/0044(COD)) 🔗
This Directive postpones the application dates of the CSRD and CSDDD Directives (to January 2027 and January 2028 for "small and non-complex institutions" regarding CSRD, and to July 2027 and July 2028 for mid-size companies and July 2029 for small companies regarding CSDDD).
EU Investments
This omnibus aims to simplify existing legislation as regards EU investments, such as the InvestEU programme, with the aim of mobilising €50 billion in additional public and private investment to support certain EU policies.
Mostly irrelevant to animals; aims at increasing the flexibility of the InvestEU guarantee but does not change the underlying sectoral eligibility criteria, including for agricultural projects.
Regulation 2025/2649 of 19 December 2025 amending Regulation 2021/2115 as regards the conditionality system, types of intervention in the form of direct payment, types of intervention in certain sectors and rural development and annual performance reports and Regulation 2021/2116 as regards suspensions of payments, annual performance clearance and controls and penalties (2025/0236(COD)) 🔗
This omnibus eases the administrative burden for farmers and administrations; increases the payments to small farmers and simplifies the rules on conditionality, in particular for organic farms; reduces the on-the-spot checks (Article 2 (18)) and deletes the annual performance clearance (Article 2 (10)); introduces a new type of intervention for rural development, called “crisis payments to farmers following natural disasters, adverse climatic events or catastrophic events” (Article 1 (12) point (b)), in order to “efficiently support farmers whose production was damaged by natural disasters, adverse climatic events or other catastrophic events, such as epizootic outbreaks and outbreaks of quarantine pests” (Recital 32) that should be limited to a maximum annual amount available per Member State corresponding to 3 % of the combined total of the direct payments and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) funding per year (Recital 40); gives flexibility to member states to decide to what extent partially organic farms could be considered to fulfil certain environmental standards (the Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAECs)) (Article 1 (5) point (a)); improves the possibility for farmers to benefit from risk management tools (Article 1 (17)); increases the percentage rate for advanced direct payments (Article 2 (7)).
Key changes and/or impact for animals:
Small farmers (as determined by Member States under Article 28 of Regulation 2021/2115) will be exempt from the application of the conditionality system (including Statutory Management Requirements (SMRs) and Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAECs)), which aims to ensure consistency of the CAP with its objectives, including animal welfare (Article 1 (4)).
Support for commitments contributing to compliance with mandatory requirements imposed by national law that go beyond the minimum requirements laid down in Union law, including with regard to animal welfare measures, will be allowed irrespective of whether such requirements are newly imposed or already in existence, and the 24 months-limitation on the period during which support may be granted for such commitments under eco-schemes or agri-environment-climate commitments will be lifted (Recitals 18 and 24).
Payments granted, including for animal welfare commitments, may take the form of an annual payment per livestock unit for interventions supporting organic farming practices (Article 1(8)(b)(i)) and for agri-environment-climate commitments (Article 1(13)(b)), instead of the current system based on all eligible hectares covered by those commitments (Articles 31 and 70 of Regulation 2021/2115).
The article that will be added to Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 on crisis payments to farmers includes a compensation for damages resulting from animal diseases (Article 1(19)).
Article 73 of Regulation 2021/2115 is amended to allow the “rearing of bovine, sheep or goat pure-bred animals of high genetic value for breeding to improve the quality and productivity of livestock herds or to preserve rare or local breeds” to be eligible for investments under the CAP Strategic Plans (Article 1 (15) point (a)).
The definition of "permanent grassland and permanent pasture" is amended to allow Member States to extend from five to seven years the period triggering reclassification of land as permanent grassland, and to prevent the automatic reclassification of land classified as arable on 1 January 2026, even where that period has elapsed (Article 1(1)).
GAEC 1 is amended to replace the 5% limit on the maximum decrease in the permanent grassland ratio compared to the 2018 reference year with a 10% limit (Annex I (3) point (a)).
Small mid-caps and digitalisation
Includes four different proposals: Proposal for a Regulation amending Regulations 2016/679, 2016/1036, 2016/1037, 2017/1129, 2023/1542 and 2024/573 as regards the extension of certain mitigating measures available for small and medium sized enterprises to small mid-cap enterprises and further simplification measures; Proposal for a Directive amending Directives 2014/65/EU and 2022/2557 as regards the extension of certain mitigating measures available for small and medium sized enterprises to small mid-cap enterprises and further simplifying measures; Proposal for a Regulation amending Regulations No 765/2008, 2016/424, 2016/425, 2016/426, 2023/1230, 2023/1542 and 2024/1781 as regards digitalisation and common specifications; Proposal for a Directive amending Directives 2000/14/EC, 2011/65/EU, 2013/53/EU, 2014/29/EU, 2014/30/EU, 2014/31/EU, 2014/32/EU, 2014/33/EU, 2014/34/EU, 2014/35/EU, 2014/53/EU, 2014/68/EU and 2014/90/EU as regards digitalisation and common specifications 🔗
This omnibus simplifies the single market through supporting small mid-cap enterprises; boosting the digitalisation of product legislation; introducing common specifications for the free circulation of products; reducing record-keeping obligations for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and small mid-caps, including with regard to General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules; postponing by two years battery due diligence requirements.
Mostly irrelevant to animals.
Defence readiness
This Regulation aims to facilitate and boost defence investments and conditions for the defence industry, and to simplify security and defence procurement.
Mostly irrelevant to animals.
Chemicals
This Regulation postpones most application dates and transitional provisions of Regulation 2024/2865 amending Regulation 1272/2008 on the classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures (which shall now apply from 1 July 2026, 1 January 2027 and 1 January 2028, depending on the sections as specified in Article 2).
Postpones and simplifies the implementation of certain EU chemical labelling and packaging requirements, notably under the CLP (Classification, Labelling and Packaging) and the REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) Regulations, including rules on label formatting, advertisements, distance sales and digital labelling, but it has no direct link to animal testing.
Proposal for a Regulation amending Regulations 1272/2008, 1223/2009 and 2019/1009 as regards simplification of certain requirements and procedures for chemical products (2025/0531(COD)) 🔗
This Regulation aims to simplify EU chemical legislation by decreasing compliance costs and administrative procedures for businesses across the chemical value chain, while “ensuring a high level of protection of human health and the environment” (Explanatory memorandum).
Some provisions of the proposal could affect animal testing by simplifying procedures for certain Carcinogenic, Mutagenic or Reprotoxic (CMR) substances, relax some safety conditions, and modify how alternatives are assessed. The proposal does not include new safeguards or explicit support for non-animal testing methods (NAMs). It also accelerates the assessment of micro-organisms and facilitates access to the single market for additional microbial plant biostimulants, which may support the plant-based transition in agriculture.
Digital
Simplification of the digital legislative framework (Digital Omnibus, 2025/0360(COD)) 🔗 and Simplification of the implementation of harmonised rules on artificial intelligence (Digital Omnibus on AI, 2025/0359(COD)) 🔗
This omnibus aims to simplify the digital legislative framework, specifically in the areas of data, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), cybersecurity and artificial intelligence.
Mostly irrelevant to animals.
Environment
Proposal for a Regulation amending Regulation 2023/1542 and Regulation 2024/1244 as regards simplification of some requirements and reduction of administrative burden (2025/0397(COD)) 🔗
This omnibus aims to facilitate and streamline existing environmental laws with a focus on speeding up environmental assessments for granting permits; to simplify industrial emissions standards; to develop effective digital solutions for hazardous substances in products; to simplify obligations relating to EU-based companies' extended producer responsibility; to boost access to geospatial data.
The Regulation would exempt livestock and aquaculture operators from reporting on water, energy and materials use under the scope of the IEPR (Industrial emissions portal, Regulation (EU) 2024/1244). Moreover, it would allow Member States to exempt operators of livestock production and aquaculture installations from reporting on off-site transfers of waste, off-site transfers of pollutants in wastewater, production volume and number of operating hours, provided that this information can be gathered by Member States by other means (Article 2).
Proposal for a Regulation suspending the application of the rules on the appointment of an authorised representative for extended producer responsibility for batteries and waste batteries and packaging and packaging waste (2025/0395(COD)) 🔗
This omnibus aims to facilitate and streamline existing environmental laws with a focus on speeding up environmental assessments for granting permits; to simplify industrial emissions standards; to develop effective digital solutions for hazardous substances in products; to simplify obligations relating to EU-based companies' extended producer responsibility; to boost access to geospatial data.
This Regulation does not directly concern animals, but rather the simplification of EU rules on waste management for batteries and packaging, with only indirect environmental impacts that may affect wild animals' habitats.
Proposal for a Directive suspending the application of the rules on the appointment of authorised representatives for extended producer responsibility for waste, waste electrical and electronical equipment and single use plastic waste (2025/0396(COD)) 🔗
This omnibus aims to facilitate and streamline existing environmental laws with a focus on speeding up environmental assessments for granting permits; to simplify industrial emissions standards; to develop effective digital solutions for hazardous substances in products; to simplify obligations relating to EU-based companies' extended producer responsibility; to boost access to geospatial data.
This Directive does not directly concern animals. It focuses on simplifying EU waste and extended producer responsibility rules to reduce administrative burdens for companies operating across Member States.
Proposal for a Regulation on speeding up environmental assessments (2025/0391(COD)) 🔗
This omnibus aims to facilitate and streamline existing environmental laws with a focus on speeding up environmental assessments for granting permits; to simplify industrial emissions standards; to develop effective digital solutions for hazardous substances in products; to simplify obligations relating to EU-based companies' extended producer responsibility; to boost access to geospatial data.
Article 8 provides that the occasional killing or disturbance of birds protected under the Birds Directive (2009/147/EC) or other species protected under the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) arising from the implementation of plans or from the construction, operation or decommissioning of projects shall not be considered deliberate, provided that appropriate and proportionate mitigation measures have been adopted and best available technologies applied to avoid such killing or disturbance. Mitigation measures shall be deemed appropriate and proportionate where they ensure that no significant adverse impact occurs at species population level, even where individual specimens may be harmed.
Proposal for a Directive on simplification of certain requirements for the establishment of the Infrastructure for Spatial Information (2025/0393(COD)) 🔗
This omnibus aims to facilitate and streamline existing environmental laws with a focus on speeding up environmental assessments for granting permits; to simplify industrial emissions standards; to develop effective digital solutions for hazardous substances in products; to simplify obligations relating to EU-based companies' extended producer responsibility; to boost access to geospatial data.
This Directive simplifies the INSPIRE Directive (2007/2/EC) on the EU's environmental spatial data infrastructure, dealing with technical requirements for geospatial data sharing, interoperability and administrative reporting. The Directive does not change the fact that biodiversity as well as agricultural and aquaculture facilities remain among the 34 data themes covered by INSPIRE.
Proposal for a Directive amending Directives 2008/98/EC, 2010/75/EU, 2015/2193 and 2024/1785 as regards simplification of some requirements and reduction of administrative burden (2025/0394(COD)) 🔗
This omnibus aims to facilitate and streamline existing environmental laws with a focus on speeding up environmental assessments for granting permits; to simplify industrial emissions standards; to develop effective digital solutions for hazardous substances in products; to simplify obligations relating to EU-based companies' extended producer responsibility; to boost access to geospatial data.
The IED Directive, which currently “covers over 75 000 large industrial installations and intensive livestock farms” (Explanatory memorandum), would be significantly amended.
Recital 16 and Article 2(6): The conversion rate of the IED Directive (Directive 2010/75/EU on industrial and livestock rearing emissions, amended by Directive 2024/1785) for calculating livestock unit (LSU) levels is adjusted so that unweaned piglets are no longer counted in installation capacity, meaning more animals may be kept in a single installation without triggering IED thresholds.
Recital 15 and Article 2(6): Organic poultry farms are removed from the scope of the IED Directive, which already does not include organic pig farms in its scope.
The environmental management system (EMS), would be modified as follows:
Automotive industry
Includes two proposals: Proposal for a Regulation amending Regulation 2019/1242 as regards the calculation of emission credits for heavy-duty vehicles for the reporting periods of the years 2025 to 2029 (2025/0420(COD)); Proposal for a Regulation amending Regulation 2019/631 as regards CO2 emission performance standards for new light duty vehicles and vehicle labelling and repealing Directive 1999/94/EC (2025/0420(COD)) 🔗
This omnibus sets a policy framework for a "clean and competitive automotive sector" to ensure 2050 climate neutrality and strategic independence while providing more flexibility to manufacturers.
Mostly irelevant to animals.
Regulation 2026/1165 of 20 May 2026 amending Regulation 528/2012 as regards the extension of certain data protection periods (2025/0408(COD)) 🔗
This omnibus aims to streamline and simplify EU food and feed safety legislation through: accelerating procedures for market access for bio-pesticides; making renewal procedures for pesticides and biocides faster; aligning production standards for imports regarding pesticides residues; easing the obligation to renew feed additive authorisations and digitalising labelling for feed additives; facilitating market access for fermentation products; simplifying accreditation rules for official laboratories; applying a “more pragmatic approach” to border controls for plant products; adapting bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) surveillance and risk mitigation requirements in accordance with science.
This regulation extends data protection for studies on biocidal active substances until 31 December 2030 (Article 1(2)), thereby strengthening legal certainty and financial incentives for companies investing in costly data generation, including studies on endocrine-disrupting properties that often involve vertebrate animal testing (Explanatory memorandum).
This omnibus aims to streamline and simplify EU food and feed safety legislation through: accelerating procedures for market access for bio-pesticides; making renewal procedures for pesticides and biocides faster; aligning production standards for imports regarding pesticides residues; easing the obligation to renew feed additive authorisations and digitalising labelling for feed additives; facilitating market access for fermentation products; simplifying accreditation rules for official laboratories; applying a “more pragmatic approach” to border controls for plant products; adapting bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) surveillance and risk mitigation requirements in accordance with science.
Article 2 removes record-keeping requirements for medicinal treatments and animal mortalities under Directive 98/58/EC (points 5 and 6 of the Annex to Directive 98/58/EC deleted). According to the Commission (Recital 7), this aims to avoid duplicating record-keeping requirements for farmers already covered by Regulation 2019/6 and Regulation 2016/429.
Proposal for a Regulation amending Regulations 999/2001, 1829/2003, 1831/2003, 852/2004, 853/2004, 396/2005, 1099/2009, 1107/2009, 528/2012, 2017/625 as regards the simplification and strengthening of food and feed safety requirements (2025/0410(COD)) 🔗
This omnibus aims to streamline and simplify EU food and feed safety legislation through: accelerating procedures for market access for bio-pesticides; making renewal procedures for pesticides and biocides faster; aligning production standards for imports regarding pesticides residues; easing the obligation to renew feed additive authorisations and digitalising labelling for feed additives; facilitating market access for fermentation products; simplifying accreditation rules for official laboratories; applying a “more pragmatic approach” to border controls for plant products; adapting bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) surveillance and risk mitigation requirements in accordance with science.
Key changes and/or impact for animals:
Article 9 amends Regulation 1099/2009 by deleting Article 18(4) and (6). As a result, the obligation to submit a dedicated annual report on depopulation operations is removed, including the requirement to report on the reasons for depopulation, the number and species of animals killed, the stunning and killing methods used, the difficulties encountered and, “where appropriate, solutions found to alleviate or minimise the suffering of the animals concerned”. The Commission argues (Recital 51) that Member States’ annual reports under the Official Controls Regulation are sufficient to verify compliance with Regulation 1099/2009, as they already cover animal welfare at the time of killing, including depopulation operations.
Recital 57 announces the introduction of targeted amendments to Regulation 999/2001 on transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. Articles 5, 6, 8 and 16 are amended to allow the Commission to adopt delegated acts to update the list of rapid tests (Annex X), surveillance requirements (Annex III) and the list of specified risk material (Annex V) (Article 10).
Food and feed produced using genetically modified micro-organisms (GMMs) as defined in Directive 2009/41/EC should not be classified as "produced from GMOs" under Regulation 1829/2003, provided that the GMMs are not present in the final product. Notably, this exemption does not apply to animal and plant cells in culture, which remain subject to the GMO classification (Article 5).
Title of proposal (with link to official text 🔗)
Short description of the scope of the proposal.
Description of how it relates to animal welfare: key changes and/or impact for animals.