Greenwashing law reversal deepens political rift in European Union
The European Commission’s abrupt reversal on an anti-greenwashing law has intensified a growing political divide in Brussels over environmental regulations, exposing deeper power struggles ahead of EU climate deadlines.
James Fernyhough reports for POLITICO.
In short:
- The European Commission appeared to kill the Green Claims Directive, a rule requiring companies to verify environmental marketing claims, sparking backlash from centrist and left-leaning parties.
- The move followed months of successful efforts by the center-right European People’s Party (EPP) to weaken EU environmental rules, including pesticide bans, deforestation laws, and vehicle emissions targets.
- Critics accuse the EPP of leveraging its dominant position in Parliament to align with far-right and industry interests, eroding the foundation of the European Green Deal.
Key quote:
“We are on the brink of an institutional crisis.”
— Valérie Hayer, chair of Renew Europe group
Why this matters:
As the European Union reshapes its environmental agenda, a wave of regulatory rollbacks is threatening progress on long-standing climate and biodiversity commitments. The EU’s Green Deal was once considered a global model for integrating science-backed environmental reforms into mainstream policy. But growing political pressure from populist and center-right forces is shifting priorities toward short-term economic concerns, often at the expense of public health, ecosystem resilience, and climate targets.
Looser pesticide laws, weakened emission standards, and diluted oversight on corporate green claims risk embedding pollution and misinformation deeper into the system. The resulting deregulation could delay decarbonization and make it harder for the EU to meet its 2040 and 2050 climate goals, with long-term consequences for air quality, food safety, and planetary health.
Related: European green-labeled funds invested billions in oil and gas giants despite climate pledges
