Will anti-greenwashing directive survive EU institutions' tug-of-war?
The directive aims to combat greenwashing by regulating the use of terms such as "eco-responsible" or "natural" by an independent body.
"The proposal on green claims aims to ensure better consumer protection and guarantee the competitiveness of European businesses," Sandro Gozi, a French MEP (Renew Europe), told Euronews.
"We want to justify a claim that this product is very green, this product is very sustainable. That's fine, but if you say that, if you go to market saying that, you have to follow a procedure that allows us to make sure that what is being said is true", he added.
The controversy erupted following the Commission's repeated backtracking on environmental policies.
Peter Liese, a German centre-right MEP, confirms that the EPP wants the text withdrawn.
"The EPP thinks it is good that the Commission is withdrawing this legislation, because it comes from the old days, when the Commission thought we couldn't have enough environmental legislation," Liese told Euronews.
"And we have seen that businesses, particularly SMEs, are overburdened with so many complexities."
Social Democrat, Green, and Liberal MEPs, for their part, are criticising the EPP conservatives for aligning with the hard and far right, and are threatening to cut ties with the group.
"If it is confirmed that the European Commission is withdrawing this proposal for the sole reason that it is giving in to a majority constructed by the conservatives with far-right groups, this is the moment when von der Leyen loses the support of her own majority, the liberals, the social democrats, the greens and her own EPP group", René Repasi, a German social democrat MEP (S&D), told Euronews.
The European Commission could return to the negotiating table if the agreement does not apply to micro-enterprises.
"I hope there is room for agreement between the three institutions," said Teresa Ribera, European Commission Vice-President for a clean, fair and competitive transition.
"The message coming from the Commission was that this was such a relevant change in the discussion that the Commission could consider withdrawing the directive", she concluded.
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