Latest news with #PaulaPinho
Associated Press
25-06-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
EU suspends anti-greenwashing legislation as far-right influence grows
PARIS (AP) — The European Union's leadership in the fight against climate change is under increasing pressure as far-right forces gain influence and threaten its flagship Green Deal, which legally mandates the bloc to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. Following major losses for green parties in last year's European Parliament elections and a broader shift in voter sentiment away from environmental issues, the 27-nation bloc has been forced to recalibrate its environmental strategy. The latest sign of faltering ambitions came earlier this month, when the EU's executive arm suspended negotiations on a piece of legislation designed to tackle greenwashing, a technique used by companies to present a misleading image of ecological responsibility. Ahead of Thursday's summit of leaders in Brussels, the European Commission paused work on the so-called Green Claims Directive, which is intended to make environmental claims more reliable across the 27-nation bloc. The directive, first proposed in March 2023, would require companies to have environmental claims verified by independent third parties and regulate the use of eco-labels across the EU. The goal was to increase consumer trust and combat misleading marketing. But the Commission now says the current version of the legislation is too burdensome for small businesses. Paula Pinho, the Commission chief spokesperson, said the proposal would affect nearly 30 million micro-businesses — about 96% of all businesses in the EU — and warned the executive will withdraw the proposal altogether unless it is revised. The move is widely seen as the latest setback to the Green Deal, after farmers across Europe pushed back last year against strict nature and agricultural regulations tied to the bloc's plan to become climate-neutral by 2050. Unveiled in 2019, the Green Deal set out sweeping reforms across energy, transport, agriculture, buildings and industry during Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's first mandate. But growing public discontent and the rise of the far-right — both in member states and in the European Parliament — have taken a toll. The Commission has responded by softening some of its environmental goals. In a bid to calm farmer concerns, amplified by populist campaigns, the Commission shelved a proposal to reduce pesticide use and weakened the Nature Restoration Law, which had sought binding targets to restore degraded ecosystems. 'The priorities might shift even further, with a strong focus on the EU's competitiveness and clean industry that is currently taking precedence over environmental objectives,' researchers from the Stockholm Environment Institute, an international non-profit research center, said. The European Parliament and the Council — which represents EU member states — had adopted their respective positions on the Green Claims directive earlier this year. Final negotiations began in January 2025, but were halted last week when the Council canceled the closing round of talks. 'Today's victims are European consumers and companies that are truly sustainable,' said Tiemo Wölken, a member of the European Parliament and co-rapporteur of the measure. According to the European Commission, 53% of green claims are vague, misleading or unfounded, and 40% are not backed by evidence. Far-right influence The Commission's backpedaling drew sharp criticism from center and left-leaning lawmakers, who accused it of caving to pressure from the center-right European People's Party, the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists group, and the far-right Patriots for Europe. 'We've got the feeling that the Commission was taking instructions by three political groups,' said centrist MEP Sandro Gozi, the other co-rapporteur of the directive, adding that he was especially surprised by the move since Parliament negotiators had agreed to exclude micro-businesses from the law's scope. It remains unclear how the Commission's decision will affect von der Leyen's ability to pass future reforms if her EPP political family can no longer work with the Socialists and Liberals, who supported her in her first term. Laura Ballarín Cereza, a Socialist lawmaker, said the conservatives are now siding with the far-right, against 'pro-European parties' that previously backed von der Leyen. Valérie Hayer, chair of Renew, a liberal centrist group at the EU Parliament, said the EPP's request to withdraw the proposal was 'unacceptable,' and called the Commission's response disgraceful. 'Stopping negotiations and requesting a withdrawal in the middle of the process is an unprecedented institutional scandal,' she said. 'What is the value of a word once it has been given?'
Fashion United
24-06-2025
- Business
- Fashion United
Green Claims Directive: European Commission clarifies withdrawal of proposed law
The Green Claims Directive, also known as the anti-greenwashing law, may not be withdrawn after all. A commission spokesperson clarified that the withdrawal will only happen if a specific recent amendment is maintained. Spokesperson Paula Pinho noted that the amendment in question would bring small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) under the scope of the law. This amendment would subject 30 million additional businesses to the legislation, meaning that a total of 96 percent of businesses would have to comply. However, a key objective of the European Commission is to reduce the administrative burden on SMEs. Pinho emphasised that the proposed amendment to the law is not yet final. Should it be upheld, the commission will withdraw the Green Claims Directive. Negotiations regarding the proposed law are currently ongoing. The final round of negotiations was scheduled for Monday, June 23, but did not proceed. Last week, news broke that the European Commission had withdrawn its support for the law. However, little clarification was provided at the time. The commission has now clarified the news. The aim of the Green Claims Directive is to help consumers navigate the numerous sustainability claims. If a product is advertised as environmentally friendly, this must be demonstrably substantiated. This article was translated to English using an AI tool. FashionUnited uses AI language tools to speed up translating (news) articles and proofread the translations to improve the end result. This saves our human journalists time they can spend doing research and writing original articles. Articles translated with the help of AI are checked and edited by a human desk editor prior to going online. If you have questions or comments about this process email us at info@
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
European Commission responds calmly to Slovak PM's threats to block 18th package of sanctions against Russia
The European Commission will discuss with Slovakia its concerns about potential challenges associated with the cessation of Russian energy supplies to the EU to ensure a unanimous vote by all EU member states for the 18th package of sanctions against Russia. Source: Paula Pinho, chief spokesperson for the European Commission, at a briefing in Brussels on 11 June, in response to a question from a European Pravda correspondent. Details: The European Commission spokesperson commented on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico's statement about how he would block the 18th package of sanctions against Russia until the EU proposes a solution to the "crisis situation" that Slovakia will face after the complete cessation of Russian energy imports to the EU. Quote from Paula Pinho: "All the preceding 17 packages were adopted with unanimity of the 27 member states. That remains our objective also for the 18th, and therefore obviously we do our homework in terms of reaching out to all the member states in discussing with them how this can be in the interest of all, and also how we can address possible concerns." This time, Paula Pinho said, the European Commission is "working with all member states, obviously also including Slovakia; listening to concerns, see how they can be addressed". "Over the past years and since the war started, we've been working very closely with all member states precisely to gradually phase out the imports of fossil fuels from Russia with success so far," Paula Pinho. The spokesperson for the European Commission said that the Commission will soon propose a new legislative initiative to completely phase out Russian energy resources in the EU. Background: On 10 June, the European Commission presented the 18th sanctions package. Slovak PM Robert Fico said he would not support the 18th package of EU sanctions against Russia "unless the European Commission proposes a real solution to the crisis situation Slovakia will face after the complete halt of gas, oil and nuclear fuel supplies from Russia". Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Business Insider
27-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
The EU signals willingness to fast-track trade talks with the US before a 50% tariff returns in July
The European Union said Monday that it is accelerating trade negotiations with the US in a bid to avert a costly transatlantic trade war. "They agreed both to fast-track the trade negotiations and to stay in close contact," Paula Pinho, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, said during a press conference a day after EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke with President Donald Trump over the phone. "We are talking about, of course, the world's single largest and closest trading relations, so these negotiations are complex," Pinho added. "With this call, there's now a new impetus for the negotiations." The comments from the EU came days after Trump criticized the bloc for dragging its feet and taking advantage of the US. Earlier last week, the US rejected a trade proposal sent by the EU Commission. In a Friday social media post, Trump warned he would slap a 50% tariff on EU goods. He said the 27-nation bloc has been "very difficult to deal with" and that trade negotiations were "going nowhere." The tariffs were originally set to take effect on June 1. In response, the EU has also approved tariffs on $23.9 billion of US goods, including soybeans, poultry, motorcycles, and other farm products. After Sunday's call, Trump said he would delay the planned tariff hike on European goods by over a month, with July 9 as the new deadline. "It was my privilege to do so," Trump said of the tariff delay on Truth Social on Sunday evening. More conversations seem to be taking place on the sidelines to de-escalate trade tensions. On Monday, Maros Sefcovic, the EU's chief trade negotiator, said on X that he had "good calls" with the secretary of commerce, Howard Lutnick, and ambassador Jamieson Greer. Sefcovic added that the EU was "fully committed" to reaching a trade deal by the July 9 deadline. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
Washington Post
26-05-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
E.U. says it will fast-track tariff talks with U.S. after Trump threat
E.U. officials said they would speed up trade talks with the United States on Monday, just days after President Donald Trump claimed the nations were dragging their feet in negotiations. Paula Pinho, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, told reporters Monday that there was 'new impetus' for the talks, which have been ongoing for weeks.
