Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. CUTTING THROUGH RED TAPE, OR JUST CUTTING TREES? Just months before the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) takes effect, conservative MEPs are already pushing to prune it. Earlier this week, the Parliament’s environment committee backed an EPP-led resolution calling for a new “negligible risk” country category, designed to spare most EU countries from the regulation’s strict controls. The non-binding text, passed with the help of far-right groups, urges the Commission to rethink its risk classification, currently based on 2020 data. But critics say the move reeks of political convenience. “Hypocritical,” said Green MEP Thomas Waitz, noting that the same parties had fought hard against a forest monitoring law that would have provided more up-to-date data in the first place. The Commission says…

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. BRUSSELS PUTS ITS GREEN MONEY WHERE ITS TANKS ARE The Commission is tearing down bureaucratic barriers to accelerate defence investment across the bloc, with a fresh Omnibus package aimed at strengthening Europe’s military readiness and deterring external threats (notably, a resurgent Russia). Unveiled in Strasbourg on Tuesday, the package — the fifth of its kind — streamlines rules on competition, state aid and mergers to create a more predictable and investment-friendly framework for public and private players. It’s all part of the EU’s plan to foster a joint “industrial and technological defence base,” as laid out in its White Paper on Defence and Preparedness back in March. The Commission also wants to settle a long-standing ESG debate: defence is now officially…

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. SUMMIT SEASON KICKS OFF This Sunday, G7 leaders will gather in Alberta, Canada, where newly elected Prime Minister Mark Carney will host his first summit. He will not be the only G7 newbie – Shigeru Ishiba and Friedrich Merz are in the same boat. Trump will be there too, along with Zelensky, who will be discussing Ukraine, trade disputes, climate goals and the digital race. However, the summit is just the beginning of this diplomatic marathon. NATO leaders will meet in The Hague from 24 to 25 June, and the EU Council will meet from 26 to 27 June. The timing is unfortunate: Member States won't have had a chance to agree on common EU positions before chatting with NATO and…

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. THE EU’S CLIMATE TARGET: WAITING FOR GODOT? The EU’s ambitious climate targets are facing serious obstacles as the Commission's continued delay in proposing a 2040 climate target has left many questioning whether the bloc is dragging its feet on its green promises. With mounting political opposition and reluctant member states, the EU's climate agenda seems to be stuck. Meanwhile, the Green Finance Observatory warns that the EU's plan to privatize conservation policies might be putting the cart before the horse. They are concerned about the risks of making nature "investable" and the potential pitfalls of biodiversity offsetting. Adding fuel to the fire, climate scientists are urging the EU not to rely on international carbon offsets, calling them "not worth the paper…