EP reaches provisional agreement on simplified rules for small "mid-cap" companies under Omnibus IV

The European Parliament has announced that it has reached a provisional agreement with the Council of the EU on a package of measures to simplify regulatory requirements for a new category of undertakings named small "mid-cap" companies (SMCs). The undertakings fall between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large companies, and the measures form part of the European Commission's Omnibus IV legislative proposal, adopted in May 2025. The agreement is intended to support scaling businesses and avoid "cliff-edge" increases in regulatory obligations when firms outgrow SME status, by extending to SMCs a range of exemptions and lighter requirements currently available to SMEs.

The press release states that SMCs are broadly defined in principle as companies with fewer than 1,000 employees and either up to EUR200 million in turnover or EUR172m in total assets. The simplified regime will apply across several EU frameworks, including the General Data Protection Regulation, where lighter record-keeping obligations will apply for low-risk processing data and capital markets rules (including the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II and the Prospectus Regulation), enabling easier access to SME growth markets and simplified disclosure requirements. Additional simplifications are introduced in other areas. The measures remain subject to formal adoption by both institutions before publication in the Official Journal of the European Union and entry into force. Member states will have 15 months to introduce the Directive into their national legislation.

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