In a surprise decision, the European Commission has announced it's withdrawing another key component of the once-flagship Green Deal policy, despite the legislation being close to final approval.
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The European Commission intends to withdraw a proposal aimed at combating so-called "greenwashing" by ensuring companies' environmental claims are accurate, substantiated and independently verified, an EU executive spokesperson told reporters today.
The proposal on Green Claims was initially presented in March 2023 as part of the broader European Green Deal legislative framework.
This move marks the latest in a series of rollbacks of major Green Deal initiatives, after so-called "Omnibus" papers intended to simplify EU legislation effectively narrowed the scope of measures such as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.
The current discussions around the proposal go against the Commission’s simplification agenda, notably regarding around 30 million micro-enterprises that the proposal could cover, said a Commission spokesperson.
This would distort the proposal, preventing the achievement of the objectives pursued, such as supporting the development of green markets, while preventing undue burden on the smallest enterprises, the spokesperson continued.
The announcement on the Green Claims Directive came ahead of a final meeting between the Polish EU Council presidency and MEPs scheduled next Monday, which was expected to give the proposal the green light ahead of formal adoption.
Its withdrawal at this late stage has taken many by surprise, including the negotiators. When questioned by reporters, Commission officials declined to provide detailed reasons for the decision, saying only that more information would follow.
According to parliamentary sources close to the file, chief negotiators socialist MEP Delara Burkhardt and liberal MEP Sandro Gozi still intended to proceed with the trilogue negotiations on Monday, noting that the talks were nearing a successful conclusion.
“It is unacceptable that the Commission blatantly interferes with the progress made by co-legislators on this file,” a member of the Parliament’s negotiating team told Euronews, expressing frustration at what they see as a unilateral and premature move.
Likewise, Poland's presidency of the EU Council “is ready to enter constructively into the trilogue and go ahead as planned until there is a clear decision from the Commission [on the withdrawal],” a Polish spokesperson tol Euronews.
It remains unclear whether the decision to withdraw the proposal has been formally adopted by the Commission’s College, the weekly meeting of the 26 Commissioners and EU President Ursula von der Leyen.
Beyond the immediate legislative impact, the move raises broader questions about the Commission's authority to retract its own proposals.
While EU treaties do not explicitly grant this power, a 2015 ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union affirmed that the Commission may withdraw proposals as part of its right of initiative.
However, the Court also made clear that this power is limited and subject to both substantive and procedural constraints.
The ruling emphasised that withdrawal should only occur in justified cases, such as institutional deadlock or the proposal becoming obsolete.
Neither condition appears to apply in the case of the Green Claims Directive, prompting concerns that the Commission could be overstepping its role and upsetting the institutional balance by exercising a de facto veto over the legislative process.