Will the anti-greenwashing proposal survive the tug-of-war between European institutions?

Published on 25/06/2025 - 20:55 GMT+2

Last week, nan European Commission announced plans to region 1 of nan cardinal proposals from nan European Green Deal.

The directive intends to combat greenwashing by regulating nan usage of position specified arsenic "eco-responsible" aliases "natural" by an independent body.

"The connection connected greenish claims intends to guarantee amended user protection and guarantee nan competitiveness of European businesses," Sandro Gozi, a French MEP (Renew Europe), told Euronews.

"We want to warrant a declare that this merchandise is very green, this merchandise is very sustainable. That's fine, but if you opportunity that, if you spell to marketplace saying that, you person to travel a process that allows america to make judge that what is being said is true", he added.

The contention erupted pursuing nan Commission's repeated backtracking connected biology policies.

Peter Liese, a German centre-right MEP, confirms that nan EPP wants nan matter withdrawn.

"The EPP thinks it is bully that nan Commission is withdrawing this legislation, because it comes from nan aged days, erstwhile nan Commission thought we couldn't person capable biology legislation," Liese told Euronews.

"And we person seen that businesses, peculiarly SMEs, are overburdened pinch truthful galore complexities."

Social Democrat, Green, and Liberal MEPs, for their part, are criticising nan EPP conservatives for aligning pinch nan difficult and acold right, and are threatening to trim ties pinch nan group.

"If it is confirmed that nan European Commission is withdrawing this connection for nan sole logic that it is giving successful to a mostly constructed by nan conservatives pinch far-right groups, this is nan infinitesimal erstwhile von der Leyen loses nan support of her ain majority, nan liberals, nan societal democrats, nan greens and her ain EPP group", René Repasi, a German societal politician MEP (S&D), told Euronews.

The European Commission could return to nan negotiating array if nan statement does not use to micro-enterprises.

"I dream location is room for statement betwixt nan 3 institutions," said Teresa Ribera, European Commission Vice-President for a clean, adjacent and competitory transition.

"The connection coming from nan Commission was that this was specified a applicable alteration successful nan chat that nan Commission could see withdrawing nan directive", she concluded.