What’s in the EU’s new work plan for 2025?

The European Commission launched its official work programme on Tuesday evening, shedding light on how policymakers plan to intervene in the investment space over the coming 12 months.

“In total, we are announcing 51 flagship initiatives in this year’s work programme, of which 11 initiatives have a strong simplification dimension, including three omnibus packages,” said Maroš Šefčovič, the Commission’s executive vice president for the European Green Deal, during a presentation to Parliament on Wednesday.

“In addition, we identified 37 evaluations and fitness checks we will conduct on existing legislation at the start of this new inter-institutional cycle.

“We have examined all proposals currently awaiting a decision by the Parliament and the Council, and we are proposing to withdraw 37 where further progress appears unlikely,” he said.

FiDA

After weeks of widely-leaked versions, there were only a handful of surprises in the Commission’s final work plan document.

The main one for investors relates to the Financial Data Access regulation, known as FiDA. It’s an incoming rule that seeks to force financial institutions to allow their clients access to their personal financial information.

Asset managers and others have complained about the high cost and complexity of complying with the proposed law, and a leaked document circulating this week showed the Commission planned to ditch it as part of its promise to simplify the regulatory landscape.

However, there has been a U-turn and FiDA has been reinserted into the final work plan.

IORP III and SRD II

Other files have been left out completely, suggesting they aren’t a priority for policymakers in 2025.

IPE reported earlier this week that the Shareholder Rights Directive was missing from the draft schedule, and it remains absent in the final version.

This means its revision, which has already faced significant delays, will be pushed back even further.

The Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision Directive, known as IORP II, is also missing.

“The review of IORP II doesn’t seem to be on the table for this year,” explained Matthies Verstegen, who heads the Brussels office for the Dutch Federation of Pension Funds.

He said it’s a “welcome” development for the Dutch pension industry, which is in the midst of a years-long transition to a defined contribution system.

“Not having an IORP review in 2025 definitively means the implementation of the new rules will happen after that transition,” Verstegen continues.

“That’s important for our members, so they can focus on preparing for the new pension system, rather than being distracted by other regulatory developments.”

Another notable absence from the document relates to fossil fuel investments.

European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) published a report in November, concluding that stocks and bonds linked to unsustainable activities such as fossil fuels posed higher financial risks.

The paper, endorsed by the 27 national insurance supervisors, urged the Commission to address those risks by raising capital requirements for relevant assets.

“But there was no mention of it in the work plan,” said Marika Carlucci, a senior EU policy officer at NGO ShareAction, adding that its absence was “disappointing, given the Commission’s commitment to manage financial stability”.

Delay to SFDR

Carlucci said it was also striking to see the Sustainable Finance Disclosures Regulation (SFDR) added to the Commission’s “simplification” agenda.

SFDR was set to be reviewed over the summer, but there will be a delay to the process until the fourth quarter of 2025, according to the work plan.

Alongside the delay, Carlucci noted SFDR is identified as a “simplification” effort for the first time. “That’s an interesting and slightly concerning development,” she said.

“It’s not a complete surprise, because we know that simplification talks have been dominating the narrative, but so far the discussions around SFDR haven’t focused strictly on simplification.”

Omnibuses

The work plan confirms three ‘omnibus’ packages – laws that will each amend multiple existing regulations, with a view to achieving a single objective.

The most high profile of the three is the omnibus to simplify sustainability rules, specifically the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the Taxonomy Regulation and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D).

A formal legislative proposal is expected by the end of the quarter, according to the work plan. The official date is 26 February, but insiders say this is likely to be pushed back until March.

The second omnibus – also slated for this quarter – will be dedicated to simplifying investment rules.

“This package will facilitate, among others, the deployment of InvestEU and the European Fund for Strategic Investments, and simplify reporting,” said the Commission.

It’s also likely to fold in areas like securitisation and the harmonisation of market infrastructure and supervision.

The third omnibus is focused on creating a new category of medium-sized businesses that can be carved out of various existing laws, to reduce their regulatory burden.

The Commission also uses its work plan to consider “a possible omnibus in the area of defence” to help reach the EU’s investment goals, which will be set out in an upcoming white paper.

Reaction from Parliament

The response from members of Parliament (MEPs) to the Commission’s work plan was mixed during the plenary yesterday.

Many on the right of Parliament praised moves to better support business by reducing regulation and red tape, while others called for stronger cuts to the EU’s sustainability and “degrowth” agenda, citing Donald Trump’s return to office in the US.

Bas Eikhout, the co-president of Parliament’s green group, however, criticised the Commission’s decision to make the Clean Industrial Deal and the Savings and Investment Union non-legislative proposals.

“’Bolder, Simpler, Faster – that’s what’s [written] below the Commission’s work programme,” he said in his comments to the floor, adding that most of the document focused on simplification.

“Sorry, Commission, this is not bolder, simpler, faster. This is too simplistic,” Eikhout said.

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