{"id":119414,"date":"2025-12-10T13:20:42","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T12:20:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/?p=119414"},"modified":"2025-12-10T13:54:40","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T12:54:40","slug":"environmental-omnibus-eu-commission-weakens-another-set-of-laws-amid-maladministration-red-flags","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/es\/environmental-omnibus-eu-commission-weakens-another-set-of-laws-amid-maladministration-red-flags\/","title":{"rendered":"Environmental Omnibus: EU Commission weakens another set of laws amid maladministration red flags"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4><span class=\"TrackChangeTextInsertion TrackedChange TrackChangeHoverSelectColorRed SCXW83798532 BCX0\"><span class=\"TextRun SCXW83798532 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-GB\" xml:lang=\"EN-GB\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun TrackChangeHoverSelectHighlightRed SCXW83798532 BCX0\">Eroding <\/span><\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW83798532 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-GB\" xml:lang=\"EN-GB\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW83798532 BCX0\">vital<\/span> <span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW83798532 BCX0\">protections<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW83798532 BCX0\"> will <\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW83798532 BCX0\">sideline<\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW83798532 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-GB\" xml:lang=\"EN-GB\" data-contrast=\"none\"> <span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW83798532 BCX0\">people and nature<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW83798532 BCX0\">,<\/span> <span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW83798532 BCX0\">and <\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW83798532 BCX0\">leav<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW83798532 BCX0\">e<\/span> <span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW83798532 BCX0\">Europe<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW83798532 BCX0\"> less competit<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW83798532 BCX0\">ive, less<\/span> <span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW83798532 BCX0\">resilient<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW83798532 BCX0\"> and less sovereign, warns the EEB<\/span><\/span><span class=\"EOP SCXW83798532 BCX0\" data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span class=\"TextRun SCXW183756247 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-GB\" xml:lang=\"EN-GB\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW183756247 BCX0\">The European <\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW183756247 BCX0\">Commission&#8217;s<\/span> <span class=\"NormalTextRun CommentStart SCXW183756247 BCX0\">new Environmental Omnibus package <\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW183756247 BCX0\">[1]<\/span> <span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW183756247 BCX0\">chips away at crucial<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW183756247 BCX0\"> EU laws that protect people\u2019s health, nature and long-term prosperity<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW183756247 BCX0\">, <\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW183756247 BCX0\">warns the European Environmental Bureau (EEB)<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW183756247 BCX0\">. <\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW183756247 BCX0\">The proposal presented today is yet another example of the Commission bending its own procedures<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW183756247 BCX0\"> &#8211; another case of maladministration that risks undermining trust in EU rule-making and <\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW183756247 BCX0\">undercutting Europe&#8217;s ambitions to set globa<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW183756247 BCX0\">l <\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW183756247 BCX0\">standar<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW183756247 BCX0\">d<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW183756247 BCX0\">s<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW183756247 BCX0\">.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">With the 8<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">th<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> omnibus proposal, the Commission is yet again taking an axe to environmental and health laws that took years to negotiate. These rules protect people and society by cutting pollution, restoring our ecosystems and providing the regulatory certainty industry needs to innovate and invest. Removing them will leave Europeans and our nature behind [3], cost us hundreds of billions in damages [4], and make the bloc less competitive, less resilient and less sovereign.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">What&#8217;s on the chopping block<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The package seeks to weaken or roll back key laws including:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Revised<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> Industrial and <\/span><\/b><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">L<\/span><\/b><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">ivestock <\/span><\/b><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">R<\/span><\/b><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">earing <\/span><\/b><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">E<\/span><\/b><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">missions<\/span><\/b><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> Directive<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> (IED 2.0) and the <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Regulation establishing the<\/span><\/b> <b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Industrial Emissions Portal<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, which were just adopted last year. The proposal scraps the requirement to assess safer substitutes for hazardous chemicals, removes the obligation for energy-intensive industries to explain how they will transition to climate-neutral and circular production, and allows further delays to catch up with state-of-the-art pollution prevention standards. It also excludes organic poultry farms from the scope of the IED, and exempts large poultry and pig farms from reporting basic resource use. Besides, it introduces exemptions from compliance with emissions limits for hydrogen combustion, without proper assessment and consultation. This will give industrial laggards a free pass to continue bad-business-as-usual.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Waste Framework Directive<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, revised only this September, and set to be revised again in 2026. The proposal repeals the only database that contains information on chemicals manufactured and imported in Europe \u2013 leaving a major gap for waste management with no immediate plan for an alternative system. Moreover, it <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">misses the chance<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> to <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">strengthen <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">the rules to hold producers accountable for the<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">ir<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> products<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"3\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Batteries Regulation, <\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">potentially jeopardising repairability of light means of transport.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"4\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Rules on environmental assessments and to accelerate<\/span><\/b><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> permitting <\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">for energy infrastructure, storage, grids, recharging stations and renewable energy projects<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> via the Grids Package<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">: targeted amendments are proposed for the Renewable Energy Directive, the Electricity Market Directive, and the Gas Market Directive.<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><strong>Faustine Bas-Defossez, Director for Nature, Health and Environment at the EEB<\/strong>, said:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cThe Commission is breaking its own rules to tear up the laws that keep us safe. This is not simplification, it is self-sabotage. It puts our health and environment at risk, weakens Europe\u2019s competitiveness and creates chaos for businesses who rely on legal certainty. Who exactly are they doing this for?<\/span><\/i><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201d<\/span><\/i><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h4><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">A wider assault<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The Environmental Omnibus is part of a broader and troubling political trend: a coordinated attack on the laws that safeguard Europe&#8217;s health, climate and nature, in a deregulatory push that trades long-term public interest for short-term political convenience. Once opened to the co-legislators, these crucial laws risk being seriously weakened.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The Commission is already under unprecedented scrutiny for its deregulation methods. In November, t<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">he European Ombudswoman found that Omnibus bundling is unlawful and violates essential procedural safeguards. Notably, the Commission pushed out proposals without impact assessments, bypassed public consultation required by the Treaties, and failed to justify the use of urgency arguments to ram through both the due-diligence-weakening Omnibus I and the rollback of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Meanwhile, the <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">EU is set to remain off track for most 2030 environmental goals, according to the European Environment Agency\u2019s (EEA)<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> latest report<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> release<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">d<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> today<\/span> <span data-contrast=\"auto\">[<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">5<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">].<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Business rejects the \u2018regulatory bonfire\u2019<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Contrary to the Commission&#8217;s narrative, businesses are increasingly speaking up against the regulatory bonfire, which risks undermining investor confidence and delaying critical industrial renewal.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Both large companies and SMEs warn that sweeping away environmental safeguards via rushed omnibus packages destroys legal certainty, which is a cornerstone of the EU Single Market, and what they rely on to invest and plan [6].<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Notes to editors<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">[1] <\/span><a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/commission\/presscorner\/detail\/en\/ip_25_2997\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">EU Commission publication<\/span><\/a><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">[2]\u00a0 <\/span><a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.clientearth.org\/latest\/press-office\/eu-watchdog-slams-commissions-undemocratic-environmental-rollbacks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">EU watchdog slams Commission&#8217;s undemocratic environmental rollbacks<\/span><\/a><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:675,&quot;335559739&quot;:225}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">[3] <\/span><a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/eeb.org\/es\/green-protection-gutted-eu-commission-jeopardises-nature-and-health-safeguards\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Hands Off Nature coalition press release<\/span><\/a><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:675,&quot;335559739&quot;:225}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">[4] According to the Commission&#8217;s own estimates: the lack and poor implementation of existing environmental laws costs us <\/span><a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/environment.ec.europa.eu\/document\/download\/05a3b495-14b1-4e21-b12f-e90750a486ed_en?filename=COM_2025_420_F1_COMMUNICATION_FROM_COMMISSION_TO_INST_EN_V6_P1_4037868.PDF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u20ac180 billion annually<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, due to higher health and environmental damage costs. Moreover, without common EU rules, businesses would face 27 different national laws instead of one unified framework &#8211; far more paperwork, not less.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:675,&quot;335559739&quot;:225}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">[5] <\/span><a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eea.europa.eu\/en\/analysis\/publications\/monitoring-report-on-progress-towards-the-8th-eap-objectives-2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Monitoring report on progress towards the 8th EAP objectives 2025<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, European Environmental Agency<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:675,&quot;335559739&quot;:225}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">[6] A recent survey shows that <\/span><a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esgtoday.com\/most-eu-businesses-favor-tougher-sustainability-reporting-due-diligence-rules-than-omnibus-proposals-survey\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">most EU businesses favour<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> tougher sustainability reporting and due-diligence rules; 130 major European business interests, from corporations to investor groups and chambers of commerce, <\/span><a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.corporateleadersgroup.com\/files\/clean_industrial_deal_joint_statement_october_2025_1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">urged policymakers<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> to uphold binding climate targets, strengthen circular-economy measures, and accelerate the green transition and the deployment of cleantech.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:675,&quot;335559739&quot;:225}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Eroding vital protections will sideline people and nature, and leave Europe less competitive, less resilient and less sovereign, warns the EEB\u00a0 The European Commission&#8217;s new Environmental<span class=\"excerpt-hellip\"> [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":119423,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[138,132,128,4,139],"tags":[101,952,769,149,1001,953,184],"class_list":["post-119414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-circular-economy","category-industrial-emissions","category-industry-health","category-press-release","category-waste-recycling","tag-circular-economy","tag-deregulation","tag-epr","tag-industrial-emissions","tag-omnibus","tag-simplification","tag-waste"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/chi-nguyen-FqSCSM5GQew-unsplash-1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/56"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119414\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}