Welcome to Better Europe’s weekly update on EU Affairs.
EPP USES FAR-RIGHT FLIRT TO WEAKEN SUSTAINABILITY RULES
Following months of negotiations, a compromise position on the corporate sustainability regulations in the Omnibus 1 file is in sight, with a clear win for the European People’s Party who are more than happy to prioritise corporate interests over climate and human rights. This week, the Socialists and Democrats in the EP were essentially blackmailed into a deal: either they would sign for relatively modest deregulation on the dotted line, or the EPP would adopt an even more “ambitious” deregulation package with the far-right, which had already been conveniently submitted as the default option for the vote next week. While EPP leaders framed the move as protecting the competitiveness of European businesses, insiders say the real goal was to confirm the pro-European von der Leyen majority. The S&D leadership had no choice as the grand coalition is too important for them and keeps key politicians including Executive Commission VP Teresa Rebeira in position – but S&D shadow rapporteur Lara Wolters resigned in protest while vowing to continue fighting for responsible business practices. Although the compromise retains some mandatory climate measures, the EPP has clearly gained the upper hand, steering the law toward a more business-friendly, lower-liability framework. Renew is happy with the deal: the Greens are still assessing their position ahead of Monday’s vote in the Legal Affairs Committee.
BAN ON VEGGIE BURGERS FINALLY IN SIGHT
Europe should be big on big things, and small on small things. Yes, but with all the simplification and deregulation that’s going on, surely sometimes it’s OK to make life a little bit more complicated? In this case, for manufacturers of meat substitutes, who have been fooling consumers for years. Remember the last time you bought a burger, and there were vegetables in there instead of meat? Exactly. For years, consumers have been tricked into buying non-meat products, which are hard to identify as their packaging absolutely never mentions that they are vegan or vegetarian. So, to help consumers against this evil form of meatwashing, and perhaps also protect the interests of the poor European farmers a little bit, the European Parliament is finally taking action. From now on, burgers or sausages may only contain “processed products resulting from the processing of meat or from the further processing of such processed products, so that the cut surface shows that the product no longer has the characteristics of fresh meat”. Sounds good? While it lasts, enjoy your coconut milk, peanut butter, and especially your hot dog.
FURTHER DELAY OF DEFORESTATION RULES IMMINENT
The saga of the EU’s Deforestation Regulation is not over, as the Commission is conveniently using IT problems to again delay and potentially even amend the landmark legislation. The four most progressive groups in the Parliament (S&D, Greens, Renew, and the Left) are urging the Commission not to open Pandora’s box, warning that a legislative proposal to delay or even change the rules would reward lobbying efforts to weaken the regulation. In a joint letter, the MEPs call on the executive to focus on fixing its faulty IT system and refrain from proposing substantial changes to the law. Interestingly, a second one-year delay would align with what the EPP always wanted, and now the party is doubling down on demands to weaken the rules, pushing for a wider legislative review that would also see the introduction of a “zero-risk” category for low-risk countries and fewer traceability obligations. The Commission maintains that the technical hiccups justify another delay, although a slip of the tongue from EPP Commissioner Jessika Roswall suggests substantial changes are indeed coming. And once again, major companies in the industry, including Mars, Nestlé, and Ferrero, are pushing back against further “simplification”, warning that already a simple postponement would undermine their investments, create uncertainty, and ultimately fuel deforestation. In their view, the EU must stick to its timeline to preserve its credibility regarding climate action.