Bus Package IV: Amendments to the Battery Ordinance

As part of the Omnibus IV package, the European Commission proposed a regulation on May 21, 2025, to postpone the application of the due diligence obligations under Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 (Battery Regulation) to August 27, 2027, while simultaneously giving the European Commission more time to publish the guidelines on the specifics of the due diligence obligations. The regulation also proposes relief measures for small and mid-cap companies. The Council already approved the new date on June 19, 2025. We'll bring you up to date.

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Postponement of the application start date for economic operators

Article 48(1) of the Battery Ordinance stipulates that economic operators must fulfill certain due diligence obligations before placing batteries on the market or putting them into service. These obligations are similar in form to those of the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG). For example, they must adopt a comprehensive corporate strategy (Article 49(1)), for which they must collect certain information (Article 49(2)), as well as identify and assess risks in the respective supply chains (Article 50(1)) and provide relevant information to the authorities (Article 52(1)).

The original start date of application of August 18, 2025 is now to be postponed to August 18, 2027 by the proposal published by the European Commission on 21 May 2025 and adopted by the Council on 19 June 2025. The reasons given for the postponement include the fact that the battery industry needs more time to adapt its supply chains due to a changing geopolitical landscape and the associated challenges, and that roughly half of the Member States have not yet designated a notifying body under Article 48(2) of the Battery Regulation for reviewing corporate strategies. Postponement of the European Commission's guidelines; harmonization with CSDDD. Furthermore, the European Commission was required under Article 48(5) of the Battery Regulation to publish guidelines on the due diligence obligations of Articles 48, 49, 50, and 52 by February 18, 2025. This has not yet happened. The proposal now stipulates that the guidelines must be published by July 26, 2026. The European Commission justifies this with the aim of achieving substantive harmonization with the still-pending guidelines on the EU Supply Chain Directive (CSDDD). As things stand, the CSDDD guidelines are to be published by January 26, 2027, according to Article 19(3) of the CSDDD. However, since the amendments to the CSDDD are still being discussed within the Omnibus I package, and in particular the Council's process of reaching a position has been protracted, these harmonization efforts appear questionable. In any case, economic operators will likely have to wait a while longer for the guidelines on due diligence obligations under the Battery Directive. Furthermore, the Commission proposes relief for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with the so-called "mid-cap" category. These "mid-cap" companies are medium-sized companies with a medium market capitalization that are not small or medium-sized enterprises as defined in Recommendation 2003/361/EC, but have fewer than 750 employees and either less than EUR 150 million in revenue or less than EUR 129 million in total assets. According to the new proposal for Article 47 of the Batteries Regulation, companies with less than EUR 150 million in revenue should therefore also be exempt from the scope of Chapter VII. This is intended to prevent too many companies from being classified as "large companies" and from stifling growth and restricting competitiveness through excessive obligations. Outlook: The Commission proposal has initiated the legislative process. As with the Stop-the-Clock initiative of the Omnibus I package, progress has been made quickly. Following the Council's acceptance of the postponement on June 19, 2025, negotiations with the European Parliament are now underway. Given the imminent start date of August 18, 2025, a timely agreement is hoped for, also in the interest of legal certainty.