In a new letter addressed to Members of the European Parliament, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and 31 other civil society organisations remind European lawmakers of their responsibility to assess whether financial institutions should meet additional due diligence requirements.
Brussels, 1 September 2025. The European Parliament currently negotiates its position on the so-called “Omnibus package”. Presented by the Commission last February, the package could entail drastic cuts to human, social and environmental protections by watering down key provisions of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).
Passed in the last legislative term after years of advocacy from civil society, the CSDDD was aimed at fostering responsible corporate behaviour in companies’ operations and across their global value chains.
32 civil society organisations, including FIDH, urge European parliamentarians to preserve a crucial clause in the final text – namely the review clause 36-1, which obliges the European Commission to evaluate whether financial institutions should be legally required in the future to assess and mitigate their harms on human rights and the environment.
The financial sector was already partly covered by the Directive when the text was adopted in 2024 after last-minute maneuvering. Removing the clause would mean indefinitely exempting the financial sector from conducting due diligence.
This would counter efforts to encourage responsible investment and financing practices. It would also be inconsistent with international standards on business and human rights, which specify that all companies are responsible for their negative impacts on people and the planet.
Read the full letter here.
