In an unexpected reversal, the European Commission has announced its intentions to withdraw the proposed Green Claims Directive — a measure designed to tackle corporate greenwashing — despite the legislation being close to final approval.
The proposal, introduced in March 2023, aimed to require companies to substantiate environmental claims with credible, independently verified data. It formed a central plank of the EU’s broader Green Deal agenda, intended to promote sustainability and consumer transparency across the single market.
An EU Commission spokesperson confirmed the decision to withdraw the proposal on Friday, declining to provide detailed reasons but promising further information in due course.
The withdrawal announcement, which comes just days ahead of a final trilogue meeting between the Polish EU Council presidency and Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), has taken lawmakers and negotiators by surprise. That meeting, scheduled for Monday, had been expected to seal a political agreement on the directive ahead of formal adoption.
“This is unacceptable,” said a member of the Parliament’s negotiating team. “The Commission is blatantly interfering with the progress made by co-legislators on this file.” Parliamentary sources confirmed that lead negotiators Delara Burkhardt (S&D) and Sandro Gozi (Renew Europe) still plan to attend the trilogue and continue negotiations as planned.
The Polish presidency of the EU Council echoed that stance. “We are ready to enter constructively into the trilogue and go ahead as planned until there is a clear decision from the Commission,” a Polish spokesperson told the media.
The Green Claims Directive is the latest casualty in a broader retreat from key elements of the European Green Deal. Earlier this year, the Commission published a set of “Omnibus” papers proposing a streamlining of EU legislative processes, which resulted in the narrowing of several Green Deal instruments, including the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.
The Commission’s authority to unilaterally withdraw legislative proposals remains a legally and politically sensitive issue. While a 2015 ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union confirmed the Commission’s right of initiative includes the power to withdraw proposals, it also established limits — stating that withdrawal must be justified and proportionate.
In the case of the Green Claims Directive, neither institutional deadlock nor legislative obsolescence appears to apply, raising concerns that the Commission may be overstepping its mandate by using withdrawal as a de facto veto.
It remains unclear whether the decision has been formally endorsed by the College of Commissioners, the weekly meeting of all 26 Commissioners and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The move has fuelled speculation about political pressure on the Commission in the lead-up to the European elections, and whether broader climate and sustainability priorities are being quietly deprioritised.
