The corporate sustainability due diligence Directive. A chronicle for future reference and the preview of the forthcoming two issues of ECCL

Abstract

This contribution introduces the forthcoming two issues of the European Company Case Law Review devoted to the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), reconstructing its long and troubled legislative history. Starting from the European Parliament’s 2020 resolution and the Commission’s 2022 proposal, the article traces the trilogue negotiations of 2023, the unexpected political crisis of early 2024, and the eventual adoption of Directive (EU) 2024/1760. It then examines the subsequent, and less anticipated, retrenchment brought about by the Stop the Clock Directive (2025) and, above all, by the Omnibus I Directive (2026), which considerably narrowed the scope, the cascade effect, the civil liability regime and the climate-transition obligations originally envisaged. Framing this evolution against the backdrop of the Letta and Draghi reports and the Commission's competitiveness agenda, the author highlights how shifting political majorities reshaped the balance between sustainability ambitions and business concerns. The piece closes with an overview of the essays collected in the two issues, which combine genealogical, comparative, sectoral and doctrinal perspectives on due diligence across EU Member States and beyond.