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 they’re written on.” In a context of deregulation and up to ten omnibuses blocking the road to 2040 expected this year, the backlash against the Green Deal grows stronger by the day.
COMMISSION PROPOSES BUSINESS AS USUAL FOR 2026 BUDGET
What we do have, is the next year’s EU budget presented by the Commission this week, the first to be prepared with Commissioner Piotr Serafin at the helm. The budget plan builds on the mid-term 2021-2027 long-term budget revision and gives an indicative glimpse into how the next 2028-2034 long-term budget could shape up. The proposal termed “Providing crucial funding for EU priorities in times of global volatility” sets the 2026 budget at € 193 billion, complemented by an estimated € 105 billion in NextGenEU disbursements. And while total commitment appropriations are lower than in 2025, the budget aims to support priorities such as support for Ukraine, competitiveness, migration management, security and defence (of course), and strategic investments, as well as continued support for green and digital transitions. The draft also foresees additional funding under the cohesion mid-term review proposal that would encourage Member States to reprogram cohesion funds towards competitiveness, defence, affordable housing, water resilience, and energy transition. Notably, the LIFE Program, which faced relentless backlash from the far right as it includes € 15 million of NGO financing, was allocated € 802 million, an increase from 2025, despite the expectation that it would not be continued in the upcoming Multi-Annual Financial Framework negotiations.
OMNIBUS: SIMPLIFICATION OR DEREGULATION
The Commission’s “simplification” omnibus package has received more eye rolls than applause, and the Socialists and Democrats are not pleased. Concerns are mounting over what the S&Ds sees as a thinly veiled deregulatory push. In response, they have launched their own consultation to ask people who work with sustainability rules what needs fixing and what must be protected. Their message? Streamlining should not mean steamrolling. The group warns that the Omnibus risks eliminating key protections for human rights and the environment under the guise of helping SMEs while actually serving corporate giants. “Simplification should not be a backdoor for deregulation,” said S&D MEP Lara Wolters, criticizing the Commission’s rushed drafting process. With ECON and EMPL committees weighing in and debating their opinions this week, and the long-awaited draft report by EPP MEP Jörgen Warborn set to be published soon, the fight is intensifying to stop simplification from becoming a euphemism for watering down essential protections.