Ainara Rentería on the automotive sector’s keys for 2025 | Expansión

Summary of legislative and jurisprudential developments relating to the automotive sector.

Pursuant to Directive (EU) 2026/470 of 24 February (Omnibus I), the Commission has adopted a delegated regulation amending sustainability reporting standards (ESRS) and another that includes sustainability reporting standards for voluntary use by SMEs in the value chain of large undertakings that are subject to mandatory sustainability reporting. The amended European sustainability reporting standards will apply from the 2027 financial year, although large companies may choose to adopt them from the 2026 financial year.

The 8th Omnibus Package aims to simplify environmental legislation in order to reduce administrative burdens on businesses. This paper outlines the proposed measures and examines, in particular, the proposed amendments to the Industrial and Livestock Rearing Emissions Directive, as well as the proposal for a regulation on speeding-up environmental assessments.

Summary of legislative and jurisprudential developments relating to the automotive sector.

The Supreme Court judgment of 10 April 2026 characterises the concept of public service under Article 24(1) of Act 39/2015 as an exception to the ‘double silence’ rule, distinguishing it from the concept of service of general economic interest, which applies in liberalized sectors such as that of electricity supply. The Supreme Court thus concludes that in seeking an authorisation to close a combined-cycle power plant, the ‘double silence’ rule applies to the effect of a presumption of approval.

In this paper we outline the changes introduced by Royal Decree-law 7/2026 to the environmental impact assessment procedure: first, through the creation and regulation of renewables acceleration areas (RAAs), wherein renewable energy projects will be exempt from environmental impact assessments, and, second, by modifying certain aspects of the environmental impact assessment for energy generation and storage projects, as well as for transmission and distribution facilities.

Directive (EU) 2026/470 (Omnibus I) has been published, limiting the obligation to prepare a sustainability report to public-interest entities with more than 1,000 employees and a net turnover of more than €450 million during the preceding financial year, as well as to parent companies of a large group that exceed these figures on a consolidated basis. The Directive amends the audit directive, the accounting directive, the corporate sustainability reporting directive (CSRD) and the corporate sustainability due diligence directive (CSDDD).

The Court of Justice of the European Union (Fifth Chamber), in its judgment of 27 November 2025 (Case C-567/24, Svema Trade), concerning the equitable price in a squeeze-out requiring minority shareholders to sell their shares to an offeror who, following a mandatory takeover bid, has acquired more than 90% of the capital carrying voting rights in the company subject of the takeover bid, states that the presumption that the price offered in the bid, in the context of such a squeeze-out of holders of securities, is equitable is rebuttable.

Summary of legislative and jurisprudential developments relating to the automotive sector.