On Wednesday 25 February 2026, Initiative Devoir de Vigilance (Duty of Vigilance Initiative - IDV), a platform consisting of sixteen civil society organisations in Luxembourg, issued its response to EU Member States giving final approval to the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).
IDV said that despite the signing of the directive after four years of negotiations, the CSDDD represented a historic turning point in corporate accountability. It said: “For the first time, large multinationals will be legally required to identify, prevent and remedy human rights violations and environmental harm throughout their global value chains. Victims of corporate abuse – from forced labour to environmental disasters – will now have new avenues to seek justice, including before the Luxembourg courts and through binding administrative mechanisms.”
However, IDV said that amendments introduced under the Omnibus I legislative package have considerably weakened the directive, reducing the scope of human rights and environmental protections and stripping out certain key climate-related obligations at a time when the climate crisis is intensifying.
It said: “It is deeply concerning that several European governments and political leaders have yielded to intense political and economic pressure, choosing to weaken essential legislation rather than fully defend human rights, the environment and the integrity of the internal market. This level of influence exercised by certain economic interests over the European legislative process sets a dangerous precedent for democratic accountability and for the credibility of the European Union as a global leader in sustainability and fundamental rights. The finding of maladministration issued by the European Ombudsman regarding the Omnibus I process only reinforces these concerns.”
With Member States expected to incorporate the directive into their domestic law by July 2028, IDV said that Luxembourg now has “a unique opportunity to restore the directive’s original ambition and fully align it with international standards by reinstating certain protections that were removed during the Omnibus process”.
Noting that Luxembourg has served on the United Nations Human Rights Council, IDV said the country “has a responsibility to set an example in upholding human rights in the context of globalised economic activities”.
Representatives for IDV stated: “Following an aggressive and highly coordinated lobbying campaign led by a handful of multinationals, essential climate, environmental and human rights protections were removed from the final text. Despite these significant setbacks, the directive remains a crucial step forward for corporate accountability. Luxembourg now has the opportunity to repair some of the damage caused by Omnibus I by restoring and strengthening key safeguards and ensuring rigorous and effective implementation.”
The platform called for Luxembourg to establish a single supervisory authority to ensure coherence, clarity and effectiveness, and that particular care must be taken with regard to companies – including holding structures – whose main economic activities are often located in industrial, agricultural or extractive sectors abroad. It also stressed the importance of the independence and credibility of any oversight mechanisms.
The CSDDD was first adopted and entered into force in July 2024 before being reopened by the Omnibus I legislative package on 26 February 2025.
